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MyTravel Group

Formerly	Airtours Group plc
Company type	Public
Traded as	LSE: MT-S FTSE 250 Component
Industry	Hospitality, tourism
Founded	1972; 52 years ago (1972) (as Airtours Group)
Founder	David Crossland
Defunct	19 June 2007; 17 years ago (19 June 2007)
Fate	Merged with Thomas Cook AG
Successor	Thomas Cook Group plc
Headquarters	Rochdale, England
Key people	Michael Beckett (Chairman) Peter McHugh (CEO)
Products	Charter and scheduled passenger airlines, package holidays, cruise lines, hotels and resorts
Revenue	£2,790 million (2006)
Number of employees	13,000 (2006)
Parent	Thomas Cook Group (2007)
Subsidiaries	MyTravel Tour Operations MyTravel Airways (UK) MyTravel Airways Scandinavia BCT Travel Group Direct Holidays Tjæreborg Spies Ving ALBA Tours Sunquest Vacations

MyTravel Group plc was a British, global travel group headquartered in Rochdale, England. It was founded in 1972 as Airtours Group. The group included two in-house airlines, MyTravel Airways UK and MyTravel Airways Scandinavia, and various tour operators around the world. On 19 June 2007, the group merged with Thomas Cook AG to form the Thomas Cook Group plc.

The successor to MyTravel Group: Thomas Cook Group, entered Compulsory liquidation on 23 September 2019.

History

The group was founded under the Airtours brand in 1972, when David Crossland purchased a series of small travel agencies in Lancashire, United Kingdom. The group began operating package holidays and launched its own in-house charter airline, in the early 1980s. It offered their first charter flights to the Caribbean in 1987 for just £299.

In 1994, Airtours purchased Scandinavian Leisure Group and in 1996 it bought Simon Spies Holding, a Danish rival.

In 2002, Airtours Group plc, rebranded under the new company-wide banner of MyTravel Group plc. This included a name change for Airtours International and Premiair to MyTravel Airways.

In November 2003, MyTravel sold off its North America Cruise Division to NLG (National Leisure Group) of Woburn, Massachusetts.

On 12 February 2007, MyTravel Group plc announced that they had agreed terms on a merger with Thomas Cook AG to form Thomas Cook Group plc.

Operations

Tour Operators

Airlines

Airline	Country	Image	Description	Fate
MyTravel Airways Limited	United Kingdom		MyTravel Airways Limited was a British scheduled and charter airline, formerly known as Airtours International.	Transferred to Thomas Cook Group (2007) Merged with Thomas Cook Airlines UK (2008)
MyTravel Airways A/S	Denmark		MyTravel Airways was a Scandinavian scheduled and charter airline.	Transferred to Thomas Cook Group (2007) Rebranded to Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia (2008)

References

1. "Corporate Responsibility text from the 2006 Annual Report" (PDF). MyTravel Group plc (archived). 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
2. ^ "Journey's end for the king of the costas?". The Guardian. 19 November 2000. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
3. "Profile: Rise of the holiday maker: David Crossland will be in his". Independent.co.uk. 7 March 1993. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
4. "£10m Danish buy takes Airtours to Finland". The Independent. 16 February 1996. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
5. "Airtours and Going Places pilot new My Travel brand". The Drum. 6 March 2002. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
6. "National Leisure Group Becomes Largest Cruise Seller with Acquisition of MyTravel's U.S. Cruise Brands". Businesswire. 21 November 2003. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
7. ^ "MyTravel and Thomas Cook merging". BBC News. 12 February 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
8. "Panorama Holiday Group Limited". Companies House (HM Government). 9 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
9. ^ "BCT Travel Group Limited". Companies House (HM Government). 9 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
10. "Direct Holidays PLC". Companies House (HM Government). 9 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
11. "Thomas Cook North America Sold to Red Label Vacations". Travel Market Report. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2019.

• Travel and holiday companies of the United Kingdom
• British companies established in 1972
• Transport companies established in 1972
• Transport companies disestablished in 2007
• Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
• 2007 mergers and acquisitions