Air 2000 was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 charter airline that operated for 17 years between 1987 and 2004. The airline was renamed as First Choice Airways

First Choice Airways

First Choice Airways was a British charter airline of European tour operator TUI Travel PLC, based in Crawley, England. It flew to more than 60 destinations worldwide from 14 UK and Irish airports. 70% of the airline's services were operated for its parent company, rising to 85% in the summer...

 in 2004 which lasted until TUI Travel PLC merged with First Choice Holidays PLC in 2008 and as a result First Choice Airways (Previously Air2000) was merged with Thomsonfly

Thomsonfly

Thomsonfly was a British airline, previously known as Britannia and a business within TUI UK prior to September 2007. Following TUI UK merging with First Choice Holidays in September 2007 it became part of TUI Travel PLC...

 to create Thomson Airways

Thomson Airways

Thomson Airways is the world's largest charter airline, offering scheduled and charter flights from the UK to destinations across Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The company commenced operations on 1 November 2008, following the merger and subsequent re-branding of Thomsonfly and First...

.

History

The airline started operations on 11 April 1987, launched by the Owners Abroad Group using two Boeing 757

Boeing 757

The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...

 aircraft. The fleet doubled a year later, with one aircraft being based at Glasgow International Airport

Glasgow International Airport

Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...

. In the same year, the airline set up a subsidiary in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, to be called Air 2000 Airline Ltd. This subsidiary lasted only a few days before the Canadian government suspended its licence. The second attempt was more successful and became Canada 3000

Canada 3000

Canada 3000 Inc. was a Canadian discount charter airline offering domestic and international flights. It was the largest charter airline in the world at the time of its operation, with over 90 destinations worldwide, although it changed to scheduled service in 2000 after the Canadian Airlines and...

.

Long haul services to Mombasa

Mombasa

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....

 in Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 were introduced during the 1988/89 season. The 757s were re-equipped for extended range and flights to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 began in 1989. The airline was granted a licence for scheduled operations by the CAA in 1992, which commenced in 1993, initially between London-Gatwick and Paphos

Paphos

Paphos , sometimes referred to as Pafos, is a coastal city in the southwest of Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos and New Paphos. The currently inhabited city is New Paphos. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, about west of the...

, Cyprus.

In 1998 First Choice

First Choice

First Choice may refer to:* First Choice * First Choice , owned by TUI Travel PLC** First Choice Airways, its in-house airline* First Choice Haircutters, a Canadian hairdressing company...

 acquired rival tour operator Unijet including their in-house airline Leisure International Airways

Leisure International Airways

-History:The airline was established in October 1988 as Air UK Leisure, the charter branch of AirUK, and flying with Boeing 737-200 planes. The first flight of AirUK Leisure was from London to Faro. Later in October 1989, the 737-200 was retired and replaced by 737-400.In 1993, 2 Boeing 767-300...

. The Leisure International Airways fleet was repainted in Air 2000 colours.

Air 2000 received a new livery

Aircraft livery

Aircraft livery is a paint scheme applied to an aircraft, generally to fuselage, wings, empennage , or jet engines. Most airlines have a standard paint scheme for their aircraft fleet, usually prominently displaying the airline logo or name. From time to time special liveries are introduced, for...

 in Spring 2003. This was short lived as in 2004 Air 2000 was renamed First Choice Airways

First Choice Airways

First Choice Airways was a British charter airline of European tour operator TUI Travel PLC, based in Crawley, England. It flew to more than 60 destinations worldwide from 14 UK and Irish airports. 70% of the airline's services were operated for its parent company, rising to 85% in the summer...

.

Fleet

The Air 2000 fleet included the following aircraft (at March 2004)

'Total>

Air 2000 Fleet

Aircraft	In Fleet	Order	Seats
Airbus A320-214	5	0	180
Airbus A321-211	3	0	218
Boeing 757-200 Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...	14	0	233
Boeing 767-300ER Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...	6	0	258
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