JAZZ AIR LP LAUNCHES INAUGURAL FLIGHTS FOR THOMAS COOK CANADA INC.

TORONTO, Nov. 5 /CNW/ - Today, Jazz Air LP ("Jazz") officially launched its flight services agreement with Thomas Cook Canada Inc. ("Thomas Cook") when early morning flights departed from Toronto to Montego Bay, Jamaica and Cancun, Mexico.   

The five-year flight services agreement, signed earlier this year, has Jazz operating six Boeing 757-200 aircraft on behalf of Thomas Cook.  The service will operate to various sun destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax under the Thomas Cook Canada brand. Flights will operate during the winter season, November to April, and will feature several product enhancements developed jointly by Jazz, Thomas Cook and its Sunquest Division.

Jazz took delivery of the first two Boeing 757-200 aircraft earlier this week and will see four more aircraft arrive in December at which time service from Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax will commence.  The aircraft are leased to Jazz Air LP from Thomas Cook Airlines Ltd.

"The launch of the inaugural flights today represents a significant milestone for Jazz as we celebrate our partnership with Thomas Cook coming to fruition," said Joseph Randell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jazz Air LP.  "Today's departures are the culmination of the significant joint efforts of the Jazz and Thomas Cook teams, and we are very proud of the service we have launched. Our employees have worked diligently on this endeavour and are to be commended for their professionalism." 

The agreement is expected to generate approximately $100 million in additional annual revenues for Jazz.  The terms and conditions of the transaction are confidential.

"We are extremely proud to be partnering with Jazz to offer our customers high-quality in-flight services as part of the full Sunquest vacation experience," said Michael Friisdahl, Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Cook North America. "By combining the award-winning Sunquest Vacations product with Jazz's industry-leading airline operations, we have created a complete vacation package that cannot be matched in the Canadian travel industry."

About Jazz Air LP

Jazz Air LP ("Jazz") has a strong history in Canadian aviation with its roots going back to the 1930s. Since becoming publicly traded in February 2006, it has generated some of the strongest operational and financial results in the North American aviation industry.

For more information visit www.flyjazz.ca.

About Thomas Cook

Thomas Cook North America is a division of Thomas Cook Group plc, one of the world's leading leisure travel groups with sales of C$15 billion, 22.1 million customers and 31,000 employees. Its travel businesses in Canada include Sunquest Vacations, Fun Sun Vacations, Exotik Tours and Bel Air Travel.  With a network of over 3,400 owned and franchised travel stores and a fleet of 95 aircraft, Thomas Cook operates in 21 countries including Canada and the United States. For more information visit www.thomascookgroup.ca or www.thomascookgroup.com.

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