CANADA'S NEWEST CHARTER FLEET TAKES OFF FROM HALIFAX

TORONTO, Dec. 17 /CNW/ - Today, Thomas Cook Canada ("Thomas Cook") and Jazz Air LP ("Jazz") celebrate the launch of service out of Halifax Stanfield International Airport with a direct flight to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic that is scheduled to depart at 6:05pm local time.

The winter program from Halifax will offer three weekly departures to three destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico, specifically Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, Montego Bay in Jamaica and Cancun/Riviera Maya in Mexico on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays respectively.

This is part of a nationwide program that will see the Thomas Cook-branded Boeing 757-200s departing on 56 flights each week travelling to 13 destinations. The aircraft are leased to Jazz from Thomas Cook Airlines Ltd. Jazz took delivery of the first two Boeing 757-200 aircraft in early November, when it began service from Toronto, and four additional aircraft were delivered earlier this month. Service from Montreal will begin on December 18 and flights from Ottawa are scheduled to commence on December 20.

Operated by Jazz exclusively for Sunquest's flying program, the Thomas Cook Canada fleet will transport hundreds of thousands of Canadians to vacation wonderlands in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Aruba, Curaçao and Costa Rica.

"We're committed to providing the best service possible from Canada and we are extremely pleased to celebrate the launch of this service out of Halifax today," said Michael Friisdahl, CEO, Thomas Cook North America. "Based on our research Canadians want flights that operate on time. We have invested the resources necessary to make this happen, including a partnership with Jazz, which has the best on-time performance in the country and an industry-leading safety record," he added.

"As we enter the first season of our strategic partnership with Thomas Cook, our goal is to enrich the vacation of every Sunquest customers," said Joseph Randell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jazz Air LP. "Partnering with one of the world's largest leisure travel groups is bringing Jazz to new heights as we continue to grow and diversify our business," added Randell.

For more information, visit www.flythomascookcanada.ca.

About Thomas Cook Canada

Thomas Cook Canada 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.

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.

For further information: (media only): Kerry Sharpe, Director, Corporate Communications, Thomas Cook North America, 416-485-1481 ext. 6309, Toll-free: 1-800-387-8438, [email protected]; Manon Stuart, Manager, Corporate Communications, Jazz Air LP, 902-873-5054, [email protected]