TUI Group is set to retire its B737-700 and B767-300ER fleets at some point during the next three years after their leases expire, following the consolidation fleet plan the company put in place in 2018, the airline confirmed ch-aviation.
In an interview with Skift, TUI Group’s Chief Airline Officer, Marco Ciomperlik, said the company has no interest in renewing the B737-700 fleet, operated by TUI fly (Belgium) (TB, Brussels National), with the still-uncertified B737-7. “We had a lot of 737-700s, and we’re getting rid of them over the next three years. I’m a fan of a very homogenised fleet. We operate 19 B787s and one 767, but even that [the 767] will leave at the end of this year,” he added.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows TUI fly (Belgium) operates four B737-700s all of which have recently been active, operating scheduled commercial flights from Moroccan airports to Europe, including Marrakech, Oujda, Al Hoceima, and Casablanca Mohamed V, according to Flightradar24 ADS-B data.
The retirement of the B737-700 fleet was first announced to be taking place in 2019. That year, the group had eight -700s, three flying for TUI fly (Germany) (X3, Hannover) and five for TUI fly (Belgium). The German carrier ended its operations with the type on October 20, 2020, ch-aviation reported at the time.
TUI fly (Belgium)’s fleet comprises twenty-one aircraft, including four B737-700s, four B737-8s, nine B737-800s, one B787-8s, and three E195-E2s. It also wet-leases three A320-200s from SmartLynx Airlines Estonia and one B737-800 from start-up Fly4 Airlines (which is an Enter Air/TUI Group joint venture).
TUI fly (Netherlands)’s fleet comprises eleven aircraft, including six B737-8s, one B767-300ER, and four B787-8s. TUI fly (Belgium) operates two B737-800s for its Dutch sister carrier.
Meanwhile, the only active B767-300ER operates under the TUI fly (Netherlands) (OR, Amsterdam Schiphol) AOC. This aircraft, PH-OYJ (msn 29384), mostly flies from Brussels National and Amsterdam Schiphol to the Canary Islands. TUI Airways (BY, London Luton) has two inactive airframes of the type, G-OBYF (msn 28208) and G-OBYK (msn 29617). The first has been under maintenance at Brussels since January 2024, and the latter has been stored at Teruel since November 2023.
