Sunclass Airlines
Charter airline of Denmark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sunclass Airlines A/S is a Danish charter airline[1] that operates services from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The air carrier is affiliated with Ving Group, a Nordic tour operator. It was, together with Ving Group, part of Thomas Cook Group until 23 December 2019 when Norwegian investor Petter Stordalen and Strawberry Group renamed it Sunclass Airlines.[2]
- 1 January 1994 (as Premiair)
- 1 May 2002 (as MyTravel Airways S/A)
- 8 May 2008 (as Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia)
- 1 November 2019 (as Sunclass Airlines)
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| Founded | 1 January 1994 (as Premiair) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations |
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| Fleet size | 12 | ||||||
| Parent company | Nordic Leisure Travel Group
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| Headquarters | Copenhagen, Denmark | ||||||
| Key people | Valdemar Warburg (CEO) | ||||||
| Employees | 1,020 | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
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History
Background
The airline's roots trace back to two airlines: Conair of Scandinavia, owned by Danish Spies Group, and the Swedish Scanair, of the Swedish SLG - Scandinavian Leisure Group. These two charter airlines were put together in September 1993 and the merged company was officially established on 1 January 1994 as Premiair A/S. In 1994, SLG (still one of the owners) was acquired by the British conglomerate Airtours.[3] On 1 May 2002, the airline adopted the brand MyTravel Airways (MyTravel Airways Scandinavia) in parallel with the change of the British partner.
In May 2008, after MyTravel Group had been bought by Thomas Cook Group, the airline was renamed Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia.[4]
On 23 September 2019, Thomas Cook Group plc went into administration and ceased trading with immediate effect after failing to secure £200 million in emergency funding. This caused the airline to initially suspend operations,[5] which were resumed some weeks later.[6][7] It continued to operate flights to leisure destinations, mainly in the Mediterranean area and to the Canary Islands, as well as some long-haul service from several airports in the Nordic countries until November 2019.[8]
New investors and new name
On 30 October 2019, it was announced that a new investment consortium consisting of Norwegian businessman Petter Stordalen (Strawberry Group) and two private firms (Altor Equity Partners and TDR Capital) had acquired Ving Group (also known as Thomas Cook Northern Europe) from AlixPartners which handled the acquisitions of Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, Ving, Tjäreborg and Spies and was also one of the liquidators of Thomas Cook Group.[9] Following the acquisition, the air carrier was renamed Sunclass Airlines on 23 December and acquired a new air operator's certificate (AOC).[10][11]
While the Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia name would continue to be visible to passengers in tickets, airport plates, and aircraft liveries for an unspecified period during the rebranding process, the airline retained Thomas Cook's original "sunny heart" logo.[12] In December 2020, just over a year since its new name, Sunclass unveiled a totally different graphic image, discarding definitively the Thomas Cook Group logo and trademark.[citation needed] In November 2021, Sunclass Airlines announced an Airbus A330neo, very suitable for its long-haul operations, would be delivered in the following year. Sunclass is also eyeing potential routes within the Airbus A330-900's range like Delhi, Newark, Toronto, Chicago, Hong Kong, and Johannesburg.[13][better source needed]
Corporate affairs
Financials
The airline's Financial Year data starting 1 October and ending 31 September are shown below:
| Year | Turnover (kr.th.) |
Net profit (kr.th.) |
Number of employees{ |
Number of passengers (m) |
Passenger load factor (%) |
Number of aircraft |
References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | 1,493 | −540 | 875 | 0.728 | 91 | 11 | [14][15] |
| 2020–21 | 601 | −252 | 506 | 0.188 | 62 | 10 | [14][15] |
| 2021–22 | 2,734 | −14 | 654 | 1.612 | 90 | [15] | |
| 2022–23 | 3,908 | −124 | 810 | 1.908 | 92 | 11 | [15] |
| 2023–24 | 4,020 | 4 | 905 | 2.036 | 91 | 12 | [15] |
| 2024–25 | 123 | 2.100 | 91 | 12 |
Destinations
As of 2026, Sunclass Airlines serves charter flights to 52 countries including to Europe, Southeast Asia and Africa.[16]
Fleet
Current
As of August 2025[update], Sunclass Airlines operates the following aircraft:[17]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A321-200 | 6 | — | 212 | To be replaced by Airbus A321neo. |
| Airbus A321neo | 3 | 6 | 218 | Replacing Airbus A321-200. |
| Airbus A330-300 | 1 | — | 388 | Winter configuration. |
| 396 | Summer configuration. | |||
| Airbus A330-900 | 3 | 1 | 373 | Winter configuration. |
| 385 | Summer configuration. | |||
| Total | 12 | 9 | ||
Former
Sunclass Airlines and its predecessors had previously operated the following aircraft:[citation needed]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300B4 | 3 | 1994 | 2001 | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 20 | 1994 | 2015 | |
| Airbus A330-200 | 3 | 1999 | 2024 | |
| Boeing 757-200 | 1 | 2002 | 2003 | |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 | 4 | 1995 | 2001 | |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | 1 | 1997 | 1998 |
