Airline news

Thank you from Cancer Research UK

Thank you to everyone who has supported the onboard coin collections for Cancer Research UK. You have raised over £600,000! The charity receives virtually no government funding, so it is only thanks to the generosity of the public that they are able to continue their work improving the lives of cancer patients.

One in three people in the UK will get cancer, but thanks to Cancer Research UK, thousands of people are surviving that wouldn’t have done so 10 years ago. New ways of treating cancer have been discovered that have saved hundreds of thousands of lives across the world.

In the 1960s, less than three out of 10 children survived cancer. But now, thanks to research, the odds have improved to seven out of 10 children who survive. Cancer Research UK is a major funder of the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG), a unique organisation that ensures that children diagnosed with cancer have access to the very best cancer treatment.

Each year, 1,500 families receive the devastating news that their child has cancer. Thea Sargeant (pictured with her mum Sally) was seven years old when she was diagnosed with a Wilms Tumour (a type of kidney cancer) in November 2004. She bravely faced a tough course of chemotherapy followed by major surgery the following January. Thea’s weight plummeted to below three stone after the operation, but she fought back and made an amazing recovery. Only a few months later she took part in Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life. After missing a full school year due to her treatment, Thea has now returned to school and is looking forward to a bright future. Just 40 years ago, a little girl going through what Thea went through would probably not have survived. It is thanks to people like you that she is a happy and healthy girl today.

For more information on Cancer Research UK, log on to cancerresearchuk.org. If you’ve got questions about cancer, call the Cancer Research UK, tel. +44 (0)800 226 237 or www.cancerhelp.org.uk

Dear holidaymaker,

On behalf of everyone at Thomas Cook I’d like to welcome you onboard this Thomas Cook Airlines flight.

Today, with the world at your fingertips, we know that you have many choices when it comes to making your travel arrangements, so we’re delighted that you’ve chosen to travel with Thomas Cook today.

As you may have heard, Thomas Cook merged with MyTravel in June 2007, making it one of the world’s leading travel companies operating out of the UK and Ireland, Continental Europe, Scandinavia and North America. We have more than 160 years experience in the travel business and, by bringing together two of the best-known and trusted names in travel, we are now more perfectly placed than ever to take care of your every travel need, no matter how diverse. We can offer everything from your annual fortnight in the sun to a romantic city break, activity holidays or even just a flight if you prefer to be more independent. And it’s not just travel, we can also take care of your other arrangements like travel insurance, car hire, airport parking and exchanging your holiday money in our bureaux de change.

Your convenience and satisfaction is at the heart of everything we do, so at Thomas Cook we are there for you however, whenever, wherever you want us to be – 24 hours a day, seven days a week. From your initial thoughts of getting away, to planning your trip in more detail, flying on our aircraft, in resort, right through until you come home, our travel experts are there every step of the way to ensure that you receive the high level of service and support that you have come to expect from the original travel company.

If this flight is taking you out to your resort, our team of friendly, experienced representatives will do their v ery best for you, so please make the most of their vast local knowledge for great tips on things like the best places to eat, drink, shop and sightsee.

If you’re on your way home, we hope you had a fantastic and memorable trip. It’s important to us that you enjoyed your time, so we are keen to collect your feedback. This enables us to continually improve our service and develop our range of holidays and services. Please take a few minutes to complete the Customer Service Questionnaire that you will be offered on this flight.

You may also be thinking about your next holiday already. Thomas Cook and Going Places have one of the largest combined retail networks, with travel stores in every major town, city and shopping centre. We have a number of sales centres, a leading website in thomascook.com and our digital TV channel, Thomas Cook TV (Sky channel 645 or Freeview channel 41), so why not get in touch when you get home. There’s no better way to beat those post-holiday blues than planning for your next trip and we’d love to help you.

One final thought before you sit back and enjoy your flight. Not only do my colleagues work hard to meet your every holiday need, they also do an amazing job of fundraising towards our £2 million target for a much-needed refurbishment of the paediatric intensive-care unit at the Variety Club Children’s Hospital within King’s College Hospital, London. Thanks to the generosity of you, our customers, at the end of Summer 2007 we were more than halfway towards our target. Your donations mean that the new Critical Care Centre remains on schedule to open its doors in Spring 2008. Thank you!

Every little bit really does help, so if you have any leftover currency, or even have some spare sterling in your pockets or purses, please pass it to either one of the cabin crew or place it in the charity envelope provided.

Once again, thank you for choosing to travel with Thomas Cook or one of its extended family of travel brands.

Manny Fontenla-Novoa
Chief Executive Officer
Thomas Cook Group plc

Give so they may travel

Destination Florida takes youngsters from the North of England on a sunshine holiday adventure. The children are, in general, identified by doctors and caring professionals as both medically and socially deserving and their names put forward to the charity. The experience is an opportunity most of the children would never have due to their medical conditions. Whilst Destination Florida provides the expertise, enthusiasm and administration, it is the generosity of many companies, organisations and individuals in raising and donating time and money that makes it possible to bring not only sunshine and fun into these children’s lives, but also a sense of wonder, adventure and laughter.

MyTravel Airways has for the past three trips had the pleasure of flying the Destination Florida charity from Manchester to Sanford USA, and with the generous donations from our passengers via the charity collections onboard and through sales of our scratch cards, we have been able to help support this charity via your donations.

If you wish to make a donation, no matter how large or small, or are interested in helping raise money to send deserving children to Florida by organising a fund-raising event for Destination Florida, please contact: Ann Billington or Arthur Arrowsmith, Destination Florida, Clarendon Business Centre, 38 Clarendon Road Eccles, Manchester. M30 9ES or tel: +44 (0)161 789 7788, fax: +44 (0)161 789 7789, web: www.desinationflorida.org.uk, email: destinationflori@aol.com