TUIfly

TUIfly is a German airline based in Langenhagen near Hannover and home base at the local airport Hanover. It is a subsidiary of the tourism group TUI Travel PLC and a member of the affiliated group TUI Airlines.

• 2.1 marketing
• 2.2 Flight Operations
• 2.3 Service
• 2.4 Frequent Flyer Program

• 3.1 flight numbers and call sign

• 4.1 Special coatings

History

Hapag -Lloyd Flug

Hapag -Lloyd Flug was founded in 1972 as a subsidiary of Hapag -Lloyd AG. On March 30, 1973, the operations launched by a Boeing 727 on the route from Hamburg to Ibiza.

In January 1979, Bavaria Germanair was integrated into the company. Through the acquisition, the Company received its first two widebody Airbus A300.

Hapag -Lloyd Flug led primarily charter flights to tourist destinations around the Mediterranean. After the delivery of the Airbus A310 -300, the company flew from the end of the 1980s, to long-haul destinations, including New York City, Toronto, Male, Mombasa and the Dominican Republic. Almost all long-haul flights were discontinued after a relatively short time, only the flights to the Dominican Republic were retained longer.

The low cost airline Hapag -Lloyd Express, founded in 2002 ( shortly HLX ) was not a subsidiary of Hapag -Lloyd Flug, but is independent of their companies of the TUI Group. Since launch, Hapag -Lloyd Flug together with Germania, however, responsible for the implementation of the HLX flights on wet lease, as HLX operation not own fleet.

In 2001, the last long-haul routes have been set, and used for this purpose A310 -300 used on the remaining shorter routes with heavy passenger traffic. The most distant target was now in Cape Verde with a flight time of six hours. In 2004, Hapag -Lloyd Flug a frequent flyer program blue miles. The name blue miles, an allusion to the then predominantly blue-painted aircraft of the company was later initially retained for TUIfly TUIfly although the color yellow as a distinctive mark.

Hapagfly

As part of the unification of the TUI brand identity established from 2005, the Alliance announced as the umbrella brand for all TUIfly national holiday airline of the Group. The brand Hapag -Lloyd Flug was replaced in the course of which both a marketing and an aircraft painting by Hapagfly and the TUI logo. Analog received almost all the other sister companies, the suffix -fly, from Corsair was then about Corsairfly.

In the same year, all of which were sold to an Airbus A310 -300 to other airlines. A Lufthansa Airbus A300 gecharteter was initially withheld, but this proposal was chartered to mid-November of this year, Swiss International Air Lines for the scheduled service to Africa and then returned to Lufthansa. The Airbus aircraft were replaced by the purchase of new Boeing 737 Hapag-Lloyd Flug had recently (summer 2006) a seat load factor of 88.3 percent.

TUIfly

After many acquisitions and ongoing consolidation in the airline industry TUI introduced in 2006 considerations, the two airlines merge Hapag- Lloyd Flug and Hapag -Lloyd Express and let occur under a common brand. In December 2006 it was announced in the future to use in Germany the previous umbrella brand for all airlines of the TUI Group: TUIfly. From January 2007, replacing the two former TUIfly TUI brands Hapagfly and Hapag -Lloyd Express. The companies behind them Hapag -Lloyd airline or mbH Hapag -Lloyd Express GmbH - both are 100 percent owned by TUI AG - initially remained on as legally independent companies exist. Hapag -Lloyd Flug was responsible for flight operations, the sister company Hapag -Lloyd Express for the distribution of the "new " TUIfly.

The brand name Hapag- Lloyd has since been thus almost completely disappeared from the flight operations of TUI. Only specialized in business aviation area Hapag- Lloyd Executive of the Hapag-Lloyd Express GmbH also uses this name yet in the external representation. In addition, two aircraft of the fleet carry a special livery Hapag Lloyd Cruises. These are often mistaken for retro - jets, because their paint very strongly reminiscent of the former Hapag -Lloyd Flug. The name also continues to exist in the transport and logistics company Hapag -Lloyd AG.

The new brand name TUIfly came after the introduction of some large customers to criticism, including the travel provider and allroute at the Rewe Group. These companies have their travel guests absence of own fleet of aircraft usually fly with other airlines. You feel it But as inappropriate if their own guests in aircraft climb in which they are advertising the competition (since TUI stands next to the airline for the competing tour operators) exposed. Allroute and the Rewe Group, therefore, announced a review of the contracts with TUI.

Since late 2007, negotiations between Lufthansa and TUI ran with the aim of a possible merger of Lufthansa subsidiary German Wings with TUIfly. After the failure of a takeover of the Condor by Air Berlin in July 2008, Condor should be included in this alliance. The negotiations to do this, however, failed in October 2008 on the part of both parties. To increase earnings TUI reduced the TUIfly fleet from 45 to more than 35 aircraft.

In February 2009, negotiations were held with Air Berlin, which was to take many routes. The Cockpit Association spoke out against closer cooperation with Air Berlin. In addition, the Verdi - majority was in the TUI Group Works for receipt of TUIfly. Mid-March 2009 were performed on cross-shareholdings negotiations with Air Berlin. As a result, TUI will take over 20 percent of Air Berlin and thus become its largest shareholder, at the same time takes over Air Berlin 20 percent of the shares in the TUIfly companies. The Federal Cartel Office approved the collaboration. Air Berlin took over in the wake from the winter flight schedule 2009/2010 the cities connections with 117 tracks (55 of them in Italy) TUIfly, which has since been focusing on holiday destinations. The necessary aircraft - several Boeing 737-700 - operated by TUIfly on wet lease for Air Berlin. Under the brand TUIfly flights are available to destinations according to the agreement just yet.

Mid-December 2009 was the Boeing 737-800 D- AHFP the new, slightly modified livery of TUIfly, in the previous text " TUIfly.com " was shortened to the hull to " TUIfly ".

2010, Hapag- Lloyd airline mbH was officially renamed TUIfly. Thus TUIfly is not only the brand but now officially the name of the airline.

On 10 December 2010 TUIfly became the first German airline with the D- ATUA a Boeing 737-800 with the new interior concept Sky Interior Factory in Seattle. On 25 May 2011 TUIfly took over the second Boeing 737-800 with the new interior. To date ( February 2014 ) was followed by five more, so that now seven TUIfly 737-800 with Sky Interior features (D - ATUA, D- Atub, D- ATUI, D- ATUJ, D- Kuta, D- and D- ATUL ATE ).

In January 2014 it was announced that TUIfly will replace the striking yellow paint their aircraft. As part of the transition to a Group-wide, new corporate design all machines are successively provided with the new blue and white color scheme from February 2014, which was, for example, already introduced in the sister company Jetairfly. The first machine in the new blue paint met on February 17, 2014 after a non-stop flight from Boeing from Seattle in Hanover.

Business Model

Marketing

The majority of the seats used by TUI and foreign operators for package holidays. Nevertheless TUIfly not waived the single seat sales. For the sale of each flight tickets mainly the TUIfly flight portal is used, therefore, in the word- picture mark and in the external representation still often the top-level domain ". Com" behind the name and therefore always indicated the website TUIfly.com. As part of the takeover of the TUIfly city connections by Air Berlin also a realignment of the Internet portal was made tuifly.com. Since then, not only their own flights are sold through the portal, but also other airlines flights.

Like other airlines TUIfly offers for selected flights and at certain times especially cheap flight tickets to ( with limited quota ). The seats are assigned, however, firmly; they can be reserved for an additional fee even if the reservation 48 hours in advance, for holders of TUI Card this is free.

Flight operations

Since the issue of the city links to Air Berlin in October 2009, TUIfly understood as a classic holiday plane for short, medium and long-haul flights. Usually almost exclusively single non-stop flights are available - here except for the flights to Cape Verde, which are carried out via the hub of Las Palmas; therefore, there is no larger hub at TUIfly. Furthermore, TUIfly is not a member of any airline alliance. In some cases, with the destination of Las Palmas, however, is a combined booking with matching connecting flight possible, which is performed by the partner airline Binter Canarias.

In order to achieve a high utilization of aircraft, TUIfly operates at night on behalf of Deutsche Post German domestic flights to transfer airmail by. These flights were discontinued on July 1, 2009 as a result of austerity measures the post office, but received only half a year later.

A special feature of Hapag- Lloyd had their cruise flights. For this purpose, were removed from a Boeing 737 seats to offer passengers greater comfort can. 2007 attacked the Hapag- Lloyd Cruises, also a subsidiary of TUI, on this machine PrivatAir back, since 2008, these flights are again performed by TUIfly.

Service

From 30 hours before departure, the Internet is possible the check-in. The passenger here finds its seat itself and to print the boarding pass, baggage is checked at a specially designed switch.

It is only offered in all airplanes a class of service that economy class. The pitch here is an average of about 74 cm. For an additional fee, reservation of individual seats with 96 inch seat pitch is possible.

In September 2013 TUIfly give notice, sometimes only offer depending on booking channel future meals on board an extra charge. Also, the amount was reduced to free baggage allowance for certain tickets. Since 1 January 2014 no foreign journals and magazines, blankets and pillows are available on board. Even the on-board entertainment program was discontinued.

Frequent Flyer Program

Until October 24, 2009 TUIfly continued the frequent flyer program bluemiles Hapag -Lloyd Flug. On all flights to let Points ( " miles" ) collect, which could eventually be transformed into a free flight above a certain amount. This program was replaced with the transfer of city destinations in Air Berlin by a new program called Friend chips. The new program is not a classical frequent flyer program more, but a customer loyalty program in which the participants can save up a discount for the next flight by collecting points when shopping online. The frequent flyer program was discontinued on 31 October 2012.

Destinations

TUIfly operated from Germany and Switzerland flights to tourist destinations in Europe ( Greece, Portugal and Spain), North Africa (Egypt and Tunisia), West Africa, Cape Verde Islands, the European Atlantic islands of Madeira and the Canary Islands, and Asia Minor (Turkey).

As of the winter timetable 2013/14 TUIfly will enter also like their predecessors in the long-haul business again. From Hamburg two times a week to the objectives Punta Cana and Cancun as well as in the weekly change also Barbados and La Romana are served. These flights are operated absence of its own long-haul aircraft with Boeing 767 by the Dutch sister company Arkefly.

Flight numbers and call sign

Since 2010, TUIfly is legally a separate airline and has since been out at the IATA and ICAO in as such. The flights used until October 2010, the flight number X3 ( Hapag -Lloyd Express, because this company was responsible for the distribution of flights). Depending on whether the flight from Hapag -Lloyd Express was carried out ( with X3 flight number) or by Hapag- Lloyd Flug ( with RF flight number), the aircraft received the call Yellow Cab or Hapag Lloyd in flight radio.

In the course of unifying the brand TUIfly the ICAO abbreviation HLX in TUI was October 1, 2010 converted and the call sign for Yellow Cab in TUIjet. The flights to Boa Vista and Sal lost the old HLF Callsign on 24 September and since then operating under the new TUI brand.

Fleet

As of July 2013, the fleet of 37 aircraft from TUIfly is with an average age of 8.1 years:

In the past, among other things, BAC 111-500, Airbus A300, A310 -200, A310 -300, Boeing 727-100, 727-200, 737-200, 737-400 and 737-500 in the service of Hapag -Lloyd Flug.

Special coatings

TUIfly often provides aircraft from its fleet with large advertising or other special finishes:

• Until April 2010, TUIfly had three Boeing 737-300, two of which are advertised as LogoJet for the airport Leipzig / Halle. In addition, the tail of these aircraft with the faces of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel were provided. The baroque composer, should serve as representatives for the region around the cities of Leipzig and Halle an der Saale in which they lived and worked.

• From 26 January 2009 to February 2010 promoted the 737-800 D- AHFY for Carinthia.

• Since mid-November 2008 carry two 737-800 (D - and D- AHLK AtuF ) the corporate design of Hapag -Lloyd Cruises, for which they also perform global cross flights in the winter season.

• End of 2008, 737-800 D- AHFM was painted with a blue special paint for Haribo and christened GoldbAIR. In January 2014 this painting was removed. The aircraft is now neutral white and flies for Jet2.com.

• On 23 November 2009, 737-800 D- AHFZ was " A Place in the Sun" presented in the colors of the TV lottery and called GlücksbringAIR.

• On 31 January 2010, the second Haribo Special paint was introduced in Maastricht. The golden, christened HaribAIR, 737-800 carries the registration D - AtuD.

• On 18 February 2010 a further LogoJet was presented. The 737-800 SharanAIR campaigned for the then new VW Sharan and carried the registration D - AHFB.

• On 20 January 2011, the first of two aircraft was fitted with a special livery for the German railway. The 737-800 with the registration D - ATUE was baptized at Cologne / Bonn Airport, 7 February 2011 in the name of DB Air one and wears the colors of the high speed train ICE. An airplane of the same type with the registration D - ATUC was the end of January 2011, the painting of a train of DB Regio, her name is DB Air two. Both aircraft apply the feeder road to scheduled and charter flights names Rail & Fly, also known as a train to the airport.

• In April, 2012, a 737-800 was presented with the registration D- AHFR. She was provided with advertising for Bear brand bears the name Übärflieger. End of 2013, D- AHFR but was painted white and flies since only with red titles for TUIfly.

• In June 2012, 737-800 D- AHFZ who flew as GlücksbringAIR previously been provided with advertisements for Cewe photo book and bears the name Cewe Air

Incidents

TUIfly and its predecessor companies registered in their history no accidents with fatalities, but an aircraft loss:

• On 12 July 2000 it had Hapag -Lloyd Flight 3378, an Airbus A310 -300 emergency landing on its way from Crete to Hanover in Vienna, after a landing gear would not retract and, consequently, a strong increase in fuel consumption due to the massively worse aerodynamics. In the meantime, the absence of an emergency landing with kerosene engines inoperative the machine was badly damaged and therefore subsequently scrapped.