With respect my pal skipper for TOM at BRS on 757/767 fleet - they (757) were all due to have been history long before 2021 - 757 retirements were planned around 4 or 5 years ago.

The MAX debacle changed the plans

The last of the 757s BC/D/E/F have been planned for years to exit spring 21. This hasn't changed. The short term extensions of EV/BG and possibly some more short term extensions of the rest are the only changes to the 757 exit plans as a consequence of the max issues. People need to get their facts right.

I'm pretty sure they'd be more interested in keeping hold of the older 738s that have started to be Wfu. Although they might not be so keen with the pickle fork issues.

These were exactly my thoughts, that point makes no sense at all. Yes, they are now looking to extend leases for the purpose of expanding their offering and covering the MAX issues but AFAIK, the MAX wasn't delayed and entered service when expected (unlike the 787) so clearly there were always going to be 757s left after the MAX arrived.

Perhaps the 'intel' from the employee at BRS was in fact that the 757 was due to be gone from that particular base long ago and this has been misinterpreted somewhere? Seems the only logical explanation.

I agree, on that point, do you know if/when any more 738s are due to be WFU following ZE recently.

rog747
Your contact in Bristol may have only meant Bristol with regards to the B757.
Base Pilots do not always fully know what the complete plans are with regards to fleets.
It is usually the engineering division which has better knowledge in that respect, as they have to plan well ahead to be ready for each aircraft's disposal.
End of lease work needs to be planned well ahead to get maintenance slots for end of lease checks, any engine shop visits and engine changes.
I was offered a job at TUI back in January well before the max issues, this was only a 2 year contract, because the B757s were leaving in the spring of 2021.

''Perhaps the 'intel' from the employee at BRS was in fact that the 757 was due to be gone from that particular base long ago and this has been misinterpreted somewhere? Seems the only logical explanation.''

Yes you are all correct - sorry for confusions - However he did say that the 757 retirement planning (which was commenced as he said some years ago) meant the 757 was to go from BRS long before 2021 and the pilots would all go to the 737 some time ago -
Just spoke to him last night and he still did think that originally there were no plans to keep them at any base until 2021.
We assume all the plans changed Spotty M.

Thanks for your input - One thing is for sure we will all lament when the 757's go for good - I loved working on this aeroplane - Go anywhere and do anything (almost)

Best R

TUI is going to have a very complicated year ahead of them because of the Max issue.
Apart from not knowing when they can get them back in the sky, there is another major problem that might rear its ugly head.
The WTO is due to give its ruling on the Boeing subsidy issues and the Max might get caught up in it, just like the Airbus A320FAM has with US imports.
If that happens this will make a massive dent in the balance sheet.

I thought that the WTO was paralysed by the refusal of the US to allow replacement judges to be appointed?

Blimey - if discussions about when the 757's were or weren't going to get retired wasn't tedious enough, lets not get on to the WTO....

LOL I thought we all loved the 757 - We'll have nowt to talk about soon :(

What exactly would you prefer the thread discussed? Please feel free to contribute some more exciting information. Otherwise, no one is forcing you to read the thread.

Tbe last couple of days seems to have descended into a squabble about who knew what when about when the 757's were leaving - guess what plans change. Being old enough to remember when the new 757 was being talked about as a derivative of the 727, they're just another of the ubiquitous twin jets...

I was told years ago by somebody in fleet planning for Britannia that selling the seats was the hard part. If they do, they'll always find somebody to operate the flights - doubt things have changed much.

G-TAWI today ferried EMA-PIK and then operated PIK-RVN on behalf of Tuninter (Tunisia). It seems to be doing the inbound back to PIK just now. Seems a bit odd.

Tuninter used to have an ICAO three-letter flight code of: TUI

Probably explains things!

Further delays to the B737 MAX return to service:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50817124

More problems for TUI?

This was a News item also on ITV GMB today -

Well certainly one (problem) that was no doubt not unexpected by TUI, who will be working hard to cover their S20 flying...
For the ACMI airlines this means lucrative business. (sad reasons though)

What this may mean for their (TUI) massive expansion plans and also for W20/21 I don't know.

If the MAX production line closes as mentioned, then TUI's MAX -10 fleet will not be built, nor delivered next year which again may see even further extension plans to 757 operations if that is at all possible.
Not sure if any ex TOM 767's are available from TUI or Neos in Europe/Nordic but they could well be holding onto them.

Do we know what happened to G-TUIE on flt BY660/661 over period 16th to 19th Dec, was it tech.

Hard to believe.... :rolleyes:

Is there any chance that we could delegate the blow-by-blow accounts of the hourly movements of the TUI fleet to the Spectators' Balcony forum? Any meaningful news about TUI fleet changes or developments is being crowded out in the noise about where G-TUIE has ended up today. "Topics about airports, routes and airline business" is the header, and it's getting rather difficult to identify that in amongst the analysis of Flightradar24 data as to which aircraft has landed where.

The posts do concern "airline business" so have some relevance in this Forum. Best approach for any frustrated readers would be to skim-read and simply ignore what fails to inspire them.

Do airlines have special arrangements to get engineers to countries like India which would require Visas - and parts which would bear tariffs. Would engineering support from say Air India available locally be used?

Air crew get 72 hours on a GD anywhere in the world, which includes flight engineers. I dare say if a problem is longer than 72 hours, you'd get local support.

I did ask because I know from experience India can be tight about these things.

TUI aren't "struggling" any more than any other airline. Almost every flight (from any airline) heading South or East today is picking up an ATC slot.

I'm sure the management will take into account the opinion of a FR24 obsessed spotter though.

TUI flights are package holiday flights, and as such they are not normally ever ''cancelled'' but merely delayed (however badly) and here in the LPA case TUI seems to have subbed in an ACMI airline to play catch up.
Am surprised TUI let the LPA delay slip to 24+ hours but guess ACMI availability for a larger 757 capacity type was limited.
Normally TUI do a better job than most in getting their program back on track.

The Sunwing 738 winter swap round is likely bound by a contractual plan as you mention, and therefore TUI UK would have to let those planes go back over to Canada for Sunwing's busy season.
I would think it would have been untenable to renege on that contract at short notice, especially as Sunwing have their own MAX's grounded.

As for next winter (20/21) which sees huge expansion with new, and reintroduced routes for TUI I guess they are planning hard now with regard to covering the program, (let alone this coming summers!!) plus the nagging doubts of whether they will ever see the MAX RTS, then add in the looming retirement decisions = Do we/Don't we? of the remaining 757/767 fleet.

Had a notification today that a TUI LGW-GVA will be operated by EnterAir instead - same flt number/terminal/times etc.

Left the fleet - going for freighter conversion.

Short term only