Jens Boyd, the Head of the Thomas Cook Group's Long Haul operations, says the tour operator would consider partnering Eurowings (EW, Düsseldorf) should the project prove successful.

Speaking to Bloomberg news, Boyd said that although such a partnership would help the firm's Condor (DE, Frankfurt International) unit defend its share of the Germany-Caribbean market, no talks have yet taken place.

Though it rejected reports in the UK press that it was considering selling off its quartet of carriers - Condor, Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, and Thomas Cook Airlines UK - in February this year, Thomas Cook Group did confirm it would be open to partnering other airlines or firms.

Like Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) and other legacy European mainline carriers, traditional European leisure/charter specialists such as TUI AG, Thomas Cook, and Monarch Airlines (1968) (London Luton) are facing tough times with increased competition on the domestic and regional fronts from the likes of Ryanair (FR, Dublin International), Norwegian (Oslo Gardermoen), and easyJet (London Luton).

As such, in an effort to recapture market share lost to Ryanair and easyJet within Europe and Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines internationally, Lufthansa began repositioning Eurowings as a short- and longhaul-capable LCC earlier this year. To help boost the project's viability, Lufthansa's chief executive officer (CEO) Karl Ulrich Garnadt has said the Eurowings concept would be offered as a franchise to interested carriers.

Eurowings is in the process of rolling out budget longhaul flights to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Boston, Cancún, Dubai International, Las Vegas Harry Reid, Mauritius, Miami International, Phuket, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, and Varadero from its Cologne/Bonn hub. Its Eurowings Europe (Austria) (E2, Vienna) unit is also in the process of securing its AOC from the Austrian authorities ahead of a planned launch later next year.