Sunclass Airlines

Sunclass Airlines A/S
Airbus A321-200
IATA ICAO Call sign
DK VKG VIKING
Founded1 January 1994 (1994-01-01) (as Premiair)
Commenced operations
  • 1 January 1994 (1994-01-01) (as Premiair)
  • 1 May 2002 (2002-05-01) (as MyTravel Airways S/A)
  • 8 May 2008 (2008-05-08) (as Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia)
  • 1 November 2019 (2019-11-01) (as Sunclass Airlines)
Operating bases
Fleet size12
Parent company
  • Strawberry Group (40%)
  • Altor Funds (40%)
  • TDR Capital (20%)
HeadquartersCopenhagen, Denmark
Key peopleValdemar Warburg (CEO)
Websitewww.sunclassairlines.dk
Premiair Airbus A320
Airbus A321 of MyTravel at Groningen (Eelde), Netherlands

Sunclass Airlines A/S is a Danish airline that operates charter services from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The air carrier is affiliated with Ving Group, a Nordic tour operator. It was, together with Ving Group, part of Thomas Cook Group until 23 December 2019 when Norwegian investor Petter Stordalen and Strawberry Group renamed it Sunclass Airlines.[1]

History

Background

The airline's roots trace back to two airlines: Conair of Scandinavia, owned by Danish Spies Group, and the Swedish Scanair, of the Swedish SLG - Scandinavian Leisure Group. These two charter airlines were put together in September 1993 and the merged company was officially established on 1 January 1994 as Premiair A/S. In 1994, SLG (still one of the owners) was acquired by the British conglomerate Airtours.[2] On 1 May 2002, the airline adopted the brand MyTravel Airways (MyTravel Airways Scandinavia) in parallel with the change of the British partner.

In May 2008, after MyTravel Group had been bought by Thomas Cook Group, the airline was renamed Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia.[3]

On 23 September 2019, Thomas Cook Group plc went into administration and ceased trading with immediate effect after failing to secure £200 million in emergency funding. This caused the airline to initially suspend operations,[4] which were resumed some weeks later.[5][6] It continued to operate flights to leisure destinations, mainly in the Mediterranean area and to the Canary Islands, as well as some long-haul service from several airports in the Nordic countries until November 2019.[7]

New investors and new name

On 30 October 2019, it was announced that a new investment consortium consisting of Norwegian businessman Petter Stordalen (Strawberry Group) and two private firms (Altor Equity Partners and TDR Capital) had acquired Ving Group (also known as Thomas Cook Northern Europe) from AlixPartners which handled the acquisitions of Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, Ving, Tjäreborg and Spies and was also one of the liquidators of Thomas Cook Group.[8] Following the acquisition, the air carrier was renamed Sunclass Airlines on 23 December and acquired a new air operator's certificate (AOC).[9][10]

While the Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia name would continue to be visible to passengers in tickets, airport plates, and aircraft liveries for an unspecified period during the rebranding process, the airline retained Thomas Cook's original "sunny heart" logo.[11] In December 2020, just over a year since its new name, Sunclass unveiled a totally different graphic image, discarding definitively the Thomas Cook Group logo and trademark. In November 2021, Sunclass Airlines announced an Airbus A330neo, very suitable for its long-haul operations, would be delivered in the following year. Sunclass is also eyeing potential routes within the Airbus A330-900's range like Delhi, Newark, Toronto, Chicago, Hong Kong, and Johannesburg.[12]

Destinations

As of 2026, Sunclass Airlines serves charter flights to 52 countries including to Europe, Southeast Asia and Africa.[13]

Fleet

Sunclass Airlines Airbus A330-900 OY-VKO.

Current

As of August 2025, Sunclass Airlines operates the following aircraft:[14]

Sunclass Airlines fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A321-200 7 — 212 To be replaced by Airbus A321neo.
Airbus A321neo 2 7 218 Replacing Airbus A321-200.
Airbus A330-300 1 — 388 Winter configuration.
396 Summer configuration.
Airbus A330-900 2 2 373 Winter configuration.
385 Summer configuration.
Total 12 9

Former

Sunclass Airlines and its predecessors had previously operated the following aircraft:

Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A300B4 3 1994 2001
Airbus A320-200 20 1994 2015
Airbus A330-200 3 1999 2024
Boeing 757-200 1 2002 2003
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 4 1995 2001
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 1 1997 1998

See also

  • List of airlines of Denmark

References

  1. ^ Nikel, David. "Norwegian Billionaire Invests In Thomas Cook Scandinavia, Airline To Rebrand". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  2. ^ "pounds 10m Danish buy takes Airtours to Finland". The Independent. 1996-02-16. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  3. ^ "Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia - History". thomascookairlinesscandinavia-newsroom.condor.com. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  4. ^ "Informasjon i forbindelse med Thomas Cooks konkurssøknad" [Information in connection with Thomas Cook's bankruptcy application]. Ving Norge (in Norwegian). 23 September 2019. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Thomas Cook Airline In Nordic Region To Resume Flights". MorningstarUK. Alliance News. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  6. ^ Rohr-Staff, Siri (23 September 2019). "Vinggruppen i Norden fortsetter å investere (Translated: "The Ving Group in the Nordics continues to invest)". Ving.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2019-09-23. For our travelers, Thomas Cook Group's bankruptcy has no direct impact
  7. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-10. p. 54.
  8. ^ TTR Weekly (1 November 2019). "Investors rescue Thomas Cook Nordic". TTR Weekly. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  9. ^ "Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia renamed Sunclass Airlines". ch-aviation. ch-aviation GmbH. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  10. ^ Aagaard, Jan (31 October 2019). "SunClass Airlines er i luften" [SunClass Airlines in the air]. check-in.dk (in Danish). Travelmedia Nordic ApS. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia" (in Danish). Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  12. ^ Jolly, Jasper (2019-11-01). "Thomas Cook brand name bought by Chinese conglomerate". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  13. ^ [www.sunclassairlines.dk "Official website"]. Sunclass Airlines. Retrieved February 17, 2026. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  14. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2025 - Sunclass Airlines". Airliner World. September 2025. p. 58.
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