Marking Thomas Cook Airlines and Manchester Airport’s joint headline sponsorship of Manchester Pride’s The Big Weekend, the airline has adorned one of its fleet – an A321 operating short haul routes – with a special rainbow edition of its sunny heart logo.
The UK’s third biggest airport has sponsored for six years with Thomas Cook Airlines being onboard for the last three.
The aircraft made its first flight with the new rainbow livery last week (Tuesday 15 August) to Heraklion, and will carry this multi-coloured logo for up to a year. In addition, Thomas Cook Airlines crew can choose to wear a rainbow logo pin alongside their uniform badge throughout August and September.
Christoph Debus, Chief Airlines Officer at Thomas Cook Group, said: “This confirms our on-going support of Manchester Pride and its bank holiday celebration The Big Weekend, as well as other pride events across the UK, that celebrate the diverse communities we live and work in. We wanted to do something extra special that our customers could share with us to mark this year’s celebrations.”
Mark Fletcher, Chief Executive for Manchester Pride, said; “ It’s a proud moment to see such a large organisation as Thomas Cook Airlines outwardly displaying their support for LGBT people around the world.”
Collette Roche, interim MD of Manchester Airport, which partners in the sponsorship with the airline, said: “It gives us great pride to see one of our biggest carriers launch such a forward-thinking initiative in the run up to Manchester Pride’s The Big Weekend.
“As co-sponsors of The Big Weekend we are delighted to be the first airport to welcome and see Thomas Cook Airlines’ rainbow heart aircraft take to the skies. I am sure it will prove popular with staff, passengers and aviation enthusiasts alike, as it jets around Europe.”
Thomas Cook Airlines and Manchester Airport are official sponsors of The Big Weekend and the “The Thomas Cook Airlines USA Stage”.
To find out more about the Manchester Pride you can follow the charity on Twitter @manchesterpride or visit the website at manchesterpride.com.
