Hanover/Ibiza, 19 October 2022

After a successful season: TUI Boeing 737-8 named “Ibiza“

  • Fuel efficient airplane becomes Ibiza’s new flying ambassador

  • Around 300,000 holidaymakers flew with TUI this year to the Spanish island

  • TUI airlines offer over 3,000 flights to and from Ibiza in 2022

Rounding off a successful summer season for Europe’s largest leisure, travel and tourism company, a new Boeing 737-8 airplane has entered service for TUI and will become the new flying ambassador for the Balearic Island of Ibiza. The airplane with the flight number BY 2322 arrived at the Airport of Ibiza at 9:40 a.m. having departed Manchester (United Kingdom) at 6:00 a.m. It received its name Ibiza by two local celebrities: visual artist Marta Torres and fashion designer Charo Ruiz. Around 50 guests, including Vicente Marí Torres, President of the Island Council, and Juan Miguel Costa, Director of Tourism, attended the naming ceremony.

“Today, we continue on our journey of becoming Europe’s most fuel-efficient airline as we welcome another Boeing 737-8 airplane into the TUI Airline fleet. Our Ibiza is now an ambassador for the island and the TUI Group – right across Europe. In 2022, the tourism market recovered considerably for the hotels, the family businesses and the many local partners who work with us on Ibiza to make guests' holidays successful. People want to travel again and this summer they have been flocking to warmer and sunnier climes – this year we brought close to 300,000 passengers to Ibiza. TUI is the strategic partner for holiday destinations in southern Europe and we have been at home on Ibiza now for 50 years. Here we have been able to build successful partnerships with RIU and Grupotel as well as invest in our own brands such as TUI Blue or TUI Magic Life. TUI has always set high standards when it comes to the development and sustainability of holiday destinations, hotel quality and overall service, and will continue to do so in the future. This also applies to our new aircraft: Ibiza is one of the most modern and efficient airplanes in our fleet. Investment in modern jets has been an essential part of TUI's sustainability agenda for many years,“ said David Burling, CEO Markets & Airlines of the TUI Group, during the naming ceremony at the airport.

“It is a great pleasure for me to be the godmother of this TUI Boeing 737-8 named after our beautiful island. Over the last few years, everyone has been talking about Ibiza because of the many trends that have come from this island”, said Marta Torres, a famous local visual artist, painter, sculptor, muralist and gallery owner.

“I am thrilled to have been chosen to provide the good luck blessing for the Ibiza. Not a day goes by when the airport doesn't welcome someone with a suitcase full of dreams and bid farewell to many others with the promise that they will return. Our new ambassador will make us even more popular”, added Charo Ruiz, one of Spain’s most famous fashion designers.

“It is clearly an honour that a long-standing partner such as TUI has chosen to name one of its airplanes after the island of Ibiza. Yet more importantly this marks not only the close relationship between TUI and Ibiza, but also the confidence put on us as an important holiday destination“, says Marta Torres Puyales, Director Aeropuerto Ibiza.

TUI Hotels & Resorts’ Ibiza portfolio comprises of nine hotels where five belong to long-standing partners in Spain: the RIU Group and Grupotel. The remaining four are owned by TUI: one TUI Magic Life, two TUI BLUE and one TUI Suneo. Just this year the TUI BLUE Tarida Beach joined the TUI BLUE family and caters to the lifestyle- and experience-oriented holidaymakers. The TUI Magic Life Cala Pada is popular with families who enjoy all-inclusive dining, sporting activities and evening entertainment programs. TUI offers more than 170 hotels on Ibiza and has close partnerships with other local hoteliers. The third-largest Balearic island still has great growth potential and is a desirable holiday location for customers from all around Europe.

TUI Musement, the Tours & Activities division of TUI Group, employs more than 1,200 colleagues in the Balearics – including 120 colleagues in Ibiza. On the island alone, TUI offers 160 different experiences for hotel and cruise guests and works with more than 40 different local businesses. TUI is a truly integrated part of the Ibizan economy.

This season, TUI’s airlines from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom increased their flight offerings to Ibiza. In total, all TUI Group airlines will offer more than 3,000 flights to and from the island in 2022 with most departures leaving from the UK and Belgium. London-Gatwick (UK) offers the most flights with Liège (Belgium) being the latest addition to TUI’s flight schedule.

About TUI Group

The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover. TUI Group offers its 19 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 17 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.  

Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.

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