First Choice Airways is the charter airline and subsidiary of the British leisure travel company First Choice Holidays PLC, based in Manchester, England. With around 30 aircraft more than 60 destinations are reached worldwide.
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First Choice Airways began operations on April 11, 1987, as Air 2000. The first planes were two Boeing 757s. The fleet was doubled already one year later.
The company tried to set up an equivalent in Canada, which worked only in the second attempt, when Canada 3000 was formed.
Long-distance flights started in 1988/89, when Mombasa, Kenya became a destination. The 757s that had been re-equipped for extended range also flew to the United States from 1989.
In 1992, the airline was granted a license for scheduled flights. The first one was from London Gatwick to Paphos in Cyprus.
Dublin became the first international hub in 1996. Two years later, First Choice acquired Leisure International Airways, which was fully integrated.
In the same time, Air 2000 received a new livery, the one still used today. In March 2004, the branding “Air 2000” was changed to “First Choice”.
The route network was constantly extended, adding further European and Central American holiday destinations. Also Africa and India are destinations today.
From 2004 to 2006, several Boeing 767-300 were refurbished, giving them the Boeing 777 interior design.
First Choice was one of the launch customers of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It firmly ordered 6 aircraft in February 2005 and another two in December 2006, all of which are to be delivered in 2009. First Choice will be the first airline in the UK to operate the Dreamliner.
With the delivery of the new long-range aircraft, First Choice intends to become a long-haul airline instead of following the low-cost carrier trend.
The parent group of the airline, First Choice Holidays PLC, has merged with the TUI AG in March 2007, creating the largest tour operator in the world.
The airline owns a fleet of around 30 aircraft with an average age of 8.3 years. First Choice flies to more than 60 destinations worldwide. 70-85 % of these flights are operated for the parent company.
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