LSG Sky Chefs and Thomas Cook Group Airlines expand cooperation
Neu-Isenburg and Frankfurt – LSG Sky Chefs and Thomas Cook Group Airlines extend and expand their pan-European catering agreement. The agreement is all-encompassing and includes Equipment, Onboard Retail, Catering and Logistics.
LSG Sky Chefs has been serving Thomas Cook Group Airlines in Germany (where it operates under the name of Condor) and the UK for many decades, while it also gained Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium as a customer with the acquisition of the Gate Gourmet operation in Brussels in 2013. With the expanded cooperation, LSG Sky Chefs will commence to cater eight major locations in Scandinavia and Finland, plus a number of smaller satellite locations in those countries. For Thomas Cook Group Airlines the new agreement further strengthens the integration of its four airlines while benefitting from synergies across all markets.
“The new joint catering and retail contract delivers significant savings and is fully in line with the Thomas Cook Group Airlines’ strategy to bundle activities across the single airlines and harmonize product offerings at the same time.”, says Ralf Teckentrup, Chief Commercial Officer of the Thomas Cook Group Airlines and CEO of Condor.
“By winning this business, we become the single supplier for Thomas Cook across Europe, serving them at all of their stations,” said Erdmann Rauer, CEO of LSG Lufthansa Service Holding AG. “We look forward to jointly develop and introduce the innovative and future-oriented onboard service concept on all Thomas Cook Group flights throughout 2016.”
The Thomas Cook Group Airlines consist of four sun- and beach-focused leisure airlines: Thomas Cook Airlines UK, Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia and Condor Flugdienst. The airlines carry 17.2m passengers per year, generating revenues of £2.7bn. The combined fleet consists of 93 aircraft. The invest of 100 million GBP of the Thomas Cook Group in the cabin refurbishment of all aircraft and the new Airbus A321 was the biggest invest in the airlines and the guest’s comfort in the company’s history. By mid-2016, the Thomas Cook Group Airlines will have integrated 25 brand new A321 aircraft. State-of-the-art engine technology and enhanced aerodynamics cut kerosene consumption, reducing emissions and improving sound protection.