Thomson Airways’ Browne to take on expanded role in Tui Travel shake-up

She is to become chief operating officer of aviation across the mainstream sector, responsible for common standards across all operational areas.

Browne will have four pan-European operational roles reporting directly to her – engineering & maintenance (Jason Mahoney), flight operations & safety (John Murphy), ground operations & services (Hans van de Velde) and supplier management & procurement (Geert Somers).

Murphy will also become managing director of Thomson Airways.

The changes following a 100-day review of the five carriers to create one ‘virtual’ airline from June 1.

The aim is to provide a platform for further growth of the group’s tour operators, increase the profitability of its airlines and contribute to delivery of a “seamless integrated customer experience”.

As announced in December, Henrik Homann was appointed managing director of aviation across the mainstream sector.

In other changes:

• Alex Huber will continue his role as managing director of TUIfly Nordic and will also take up the role of strategy & planning director for aviation across the mainstream sector. He will be responsible for ensuring best use of the current infrastructure and planning from a group perspective.
• Gunther Hofman will continue his role as managing director of Jetairfly and take on the role of operational and process effectiveness director, responsible for ensuring that the five airlines operate together as efficiently as possible, working with regulatory bodies wherever necessary.
• Tom Chandler will continue in his role as director of aircraft acquisition and finance. His responsibility remains ensuring the lowest acquisition and ownership cost of aircraft, fleet flexibility and efficient fleet deployment.
• Christophe Todt will head a transition office before becoming the aviation finance director and Isabelle Drolle will become director of aviation IT while continuing in her role as CIO for TUIfly.

Homann said: “This is a very exciting new chapter in Tui Travel’s growth plans. This new way of doing business will increase collaboration and best-practice sharing while delivering operational efficiencies across the whole mainstream sector.

“I believe the collective expertise we have in this team ensures we will deliver these ambitious plans across our airlines. Leveraging our scale and expertise ensures we are greater together than apart.”