The commercial company responsible for providing air-to-air refueling (AAR) capability to the UK Royal Air Force has delivered one of the five Airbus A330-200 MRTTs in its "surge fleet" to Thomas Cook Airlines on a three-year lease as a passenger aircraft. AirTanker has already fulfilled its contract with the RAF to provide a "core fleet" of nine tankers to be available full time for AAR, leaving it to seek alternative revenue from another five aircraft, although these must be recalled in times of crisis for military service if required. The military-to-civil conversion process for Thomas Cook took three months in AirTanker’s dedicated facility at RAF Brize Norton.

But although Tony Carder, the company’s director of aircraft leasing, described the delivery as “a major milestone in our journey to become one of the world’s leading ACMI leasing providers,” AirTanker has not yet announced any other airline placements. The company is retaining two of the five "swing fleet" aircraft for military use. One is engaged on trooping flights for the RAF, without AAR equipment fitted. The other—slated for delivery from Airbus Defence & Space next month as a full tanker—was described by an AirTanker spokeman as a "resilience" aircraft. He told AIN that it might be used for RAF flying, but the company is still exploring its possible use to support upcoming new A330 MRTT operators such as the French air force, or the European Defence Agency’s recently agreed pooled fleet. Only three countries (the Netherlands, Norway and Poland) eventually signed up for the EDA initiative, but another six (plus France) expressed interest. “We’re talking to everybody about our services. The point is, we can be flexible,” the AirTanker spokesman added.

Airtanker is offering wet-, dry-, or "damp"-leasing to both civil and military operators. The Thomas Cook aircraft is being flown on AirTanker’s AOC using AirTanker pilots with Thomas Cook cabin crew. AirTanker is scheduled to receive the final two of its 14-strong fleet of A330s next year.