First Choice (travel firm)
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| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Parent | TUI Travel |
| Website | www.firstchoice.co.uk |
First Choice is a brand name used by TUI Travel PLC to sell package holidays in the United Kingdom. The brand is also the name of a chain of travel agents that are part of the same group.
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[edit] History
In 1973 a new travel company was created called Owners Abroad. In 1994 the company was rebranded First Choice Holidays PLC. First Choice has received two bids from Airtours which First Choice described as hostile. In July 2005, First Choice Holidays purchased the Europe Express group of companies consisting of multi-channel distribution companies including: go-today.com for direct to consumer vacation packages, E.E.I. Travel and Brian Moore International Tours (BMIT) with travel agent distribution, Travel Services Europe (TSE), the contracting division for hotels and travel services throughout Europe.
In October 2011 it was announced that in a two-year rebranding programme, the store estate would be rebranded as "Thomson featuring First Choice" to create a single travel agency brand; the First Choice branding and uniform will be phased out, and the First Choice name will be used for package holidays sold by the combined network.[1]
[edit] First Choice Airways
First Choice Holidays used their own in-house airline First Choice Airways, formerly known as Air 2000. First Choice Airways and Thomsonfly were the UK's main charter airlines, and following the merger between First Choice and Thomson in 2007 it was announced that both First Choice Airways and Thomsonfly would merge to become Thomson Airways, which began operations in November 2008.
As of 2011 most First Choice Airways aircraft that are part of the Thomson Airways fleet still bare their former FCA livery, changes are taking place to repaint all aircraft in the refreshed Thomson Airways livery over the next year.
First Choice Airways was to be the launch customer for the Boeing 787 dreamliner aircraft. Since the merger of First Choice with TUI, Thomson Airways inherited these orders and are expecting delivery in 2012.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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