I believe LTN is one aircraft and STN is two.

There have been talks of LTN base closure but it doesn't seem likely for S20, although I believe TUI did do a rather large "slot swap" with Wizz at LTN so perhaps there's been some sort of arrangement there?

With regards to STN, for S19 it was 1xTOM and 1xTitan. I would guess Titan may be involved again this summer and, of course, STN tends to be the base which sees most Titan flights.

Perhaps someone internal will have more info?

Timetables show 1 737 at LTN, and 2 737's at STN, no information as of yet if they will be TUI aircraft, or leased in aircraft.

Are TUI using third party carriers again this year to cover Max flights?

Yes! Plus additions to the fleet

Olympus again? ..Albistar?

Pegasus were mentioned up-thread. Up to 12 737-800's. Whether that has changed after the crash last week who knows

As this thread is just constant speculation, opinion and rumour about whether or not TUI will use third party again this summer, I’ll throw in some “news”. The four lines originally planned to be operated by Norwegian out of LGW are now planned to be operated by Smartlynx on a damp lease (Smartlynx flight deck, TUI cabin crew) basis, operating using TUI flight numbers but from the South terminal.

This is due to Norwegian’s own Max issues.

Albastar are doing non based PMI flights and Freebird are doing Antalya and Dalaman.

I'm not really sure what you're implying with the first part of your post but perhaps comparing the word in bold with the name of the site would be useful. As has been said many times before, if you are not interested in the contents of a thread, you are not obligated to read or reply to it. Likewise, if you feel there's any particular subject that needs discussing instead, feel free to do so. Frankly, I can't see much else that is more news-worthy regarding TUI at the moment (especially as posters are frequently berated for posting about fleet movements and the like). The shortage of aircraft for the upcoming summer is a significant issue and so it is understandable that people wish to discuss it, whether this be through the posting of "rumours" or otherwise.

With that being said, your contribution in the later part of your post is appreciated and is the kind of helpful response people are most likely looking for.

I believe Olympus have previously confirmed they will not be operating for TUI due to a planned engagement with Transavia in France.

The reference to the “rumour” part of the website name always makes me laugh. Can I assume you’re also a “professional pilot” then?

Rumours are fine if they have come from a valid source. The majority of the stuff on this thread is just opinion. In your opinion Titan will be used at Stansted.

As has been mentioned by myself and others that might be regarded as credible sources, the expansion to the program is and always has been due to be operated by TUI crew on TUI aircraft. They wouldn’t hire 100 additional pilots if that wasn’t the case. What happens with the Max is anyone’s guess.

TUI have stated that they have secured replacement aircraft for the max, for the whole of 2020.

From "Travel Mole":Published on Tuesday, February 11, 2020

TUI reports 'exceptional booking trends' following Thomas Cook's demise

TUI is enjoying 'exceptional booking trends' following the collapse of rival Thomas Cook in September. It said in January the UK delivered its best bookings volume in the company's history. CEO Fritz Joussen told analysts: "I have never seen summer trading like this. I see double-digit growth across all our markets for this summer."
Shares in the group rose nearly 12% in early trading today.
Releasing its first quarter results for 2020, it said customer numbers in the UK have risen 3% following Thomas Cook's demise. "Post the insolvency of a key competitor, we have seen a clear uplift in bookings in the first quarter as many customers turned to TUI to rebook their holidays, particularly in the UK," it said. "We have subsequently added new capacity to both our winter 2019/20 and summer 2020 programme to accommodate the increased volume."
But the grounding of the Boeing MAX 737 cost the group €45 million in the three months to December. TUI had previously set its profit forecast based on the MAX coming back into action by the end of April. But with Boeing now pushing back the re-introduction date, TUI has now been forced to secure replacement aircraft for the whole of the 2020 financial year. However, it has managed to narrow the range of additional cost for a full FY20 grounding of the 737 Max from around €220m to €270m to around €220m to €245m. Based on this, TUI has updated its guidance range and now expects an underlying EBIT range of €850 million to €1,050 million.

https://www.flightglobal.com/fleets/...136671.article

Great news for TUI today. It appears with the inevitable cost of covering the lost capacity, they still expect to make increased profits. Based on this and information posted on this thread, it looks like TUI will be making significant aircraft acquisitions prior to the beginning of the summer season.

According to Jethro's this evening, TUI have acquired 9 second hand B737-800's.

The nine proposed aircraft are to be regd G-TUKB to K (No 'E'), and have been acquired from a variety of sources including Norwegian, Pegasus, Fly Dubia +

I've heard more that 9, lead to believe the new aircraft will be registered G-TUKB to G-TUKV, (no G-TUKE & G-TUKU) so that means possibly 18 or 19 aircraft acquired (depends if they use G-TUKQ)

so maybe 12 from Pegasus, the rest from Norwegian & Fly Dubai?

UK do not use Q in registar system

I believe the letter Q is not used in UK aircraft registrations.

Good news. This answers a lot of the questions about near term lift. Presumably if the aircraft are genuine purchases or medium term leases, it covers them into 2021 and beyond too. (As opposed to summer ACMI deals).