Cyprus Airways
| Cyprus Airways | |
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| IATA code : | CY |
| ICAO code : | CYP |
| Call sign : | CYPRUS |
| Founding: | 1947 |
| Operation stopped: | 2015 |
| Seat: |
Nicosia , Cyprus
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| Home airport : | Larnaca Airport |
| Company form: | State company |
| Management: | George Mavrokostas ( CEO ) |
| Number of employees: | 560 (January 1, 2015) |
| Passenger volume: | 1.7 million (2008) |
| Frequent Flyer Program : | SunMiles |
| Fleet size: | 6th |
| Aims: | National and international |
| Website: | www.cyprusairways.com |
| Cyprus Airways ceased operations in 2015. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation. | |
Cyprus Airways was a state-owned airline in Cyprus, based in Nicosia and also based at Larnaca Airport . Flight operations ceased on January 9, 2015. In July 2016, the new state airline of Cyprus made its first flight under the name Cobalt Air ; however, also ceased flight operations in October 2018.
The airline Charlie Airlines , based in Larnaca ( Republic of Cyprus ), acquired the trademark rights to the name Cyprus Airways in July 2016 . It has been flying to destinations in Europe from its base at Larnaka Airport under this name since March 2017.
history
Established and operated until Cyprus became independent in 1960
Cyprus Airways was founded on September 24, 1947 by the Government of Cyprus, British European Airways (BEA) and local shareholders as the country's national airline. The main shareholder was BEA with 44.9 percent, followed by the Cypriot government with 22.45 percent. Operation began with three 21-seater Douglas DC-3s from the airport in the capital Nicosia . The network comprised eight routes, to Alexandria , Athens , Beirut , Haifa , Istanbul , Cairo , London and Rome . During the following years, the fleet was reinforced with three more DC-3s, until it was realized that it was not suitable for the route to London that had become the parade route. So an agreement was reached with BEA on the use of Airspeed AS.57 "Ambassador" .
In April 1953, the Vickers Viscount 701 was able to celebrate the world's first regular turboprop flight with the London-Rome-Athens-Nicosia flight , with the last section being a Cyprus Airways flight.
From 1960 until the Turkish invasion in 1974
When Cyprus was declared an independent republic in 1960, the new Cypriot parliament became the airline's new major shareholder with a 53.2 percent stake. BEA retained 22.7 percent of the shares. At this time, the introduction of Cypriot crews began, while previously almost exclusively British were responsible for flight operations. With the improvement in the economic situation, Cyprus Airways was now able to rent two Vickers Viscount 806s from BEA for short-haul flights. With the Viscounts, the logo, a winged mouflon, which has been preserved to this day, was integrated into the paintwork of the aircraft for the first time .
Cyprus Airways was expanding in these years and ordered, among other things, two Hawker Siddeley Trident , with which the important route Nicosia-London could be flown without stopping, and which also made it possible to open further routes to Brussels , Frankfurt , Manchester and Paris .
Effect of the Turkish invasion
Cyprus Airways had established itself in the market and was able to record increasing passenger numbers, thanks in part to the rapidly growing tourism in Cyprus. This quickly changed when, on July 20, 1974 (in the middle of the tourist high season) Turkish troops occupied the north of the island . This event had badly affected not only the Cypriot economy and population, including the national airline had fatal consequences: the Nicosia International Airport was approved by the UN controlled by that are available on aircraft, a Trident destroyed (5B-DAB) and a hard damaged (5B-DAE). Cyprus Airways became an airline with no base and no airworthy equipment.
The government looked around for a new airport for society and found a suitable property in a disused airfield on the coast near Larnaka . A runway and a few buildings were quickly erected, the company leased two Vickers Viscount 813s from British Midland and was able to resume flight operations in February 1975. Further Viscounts were later leased and thus formed the backbone of the fleet.
Development since 1975
Cyprus Airways leased two Douglas DC-9-15s in August 1975 , and a year later a DC-8-52 was added, which finally enabled a non-stop connection to London again. In February 1979 the first two of the five Boeing 707-123s from American Airlines' stocks were integrated into the fleet.
In the early 1980s, British Airways sold the majority of its shares in the airline to the Cypriot government, which now owned 70.86 percent of the shares. It was recognized that wide Bodies would be for the future business of great importance and ordered two Airbus A310-203 , which were delivered in the spring 1984th At the same time, four copies of the new Airbus A320-231 were ordered , the delivery of which began in 1989 and which form the backbone of the fleet until bankruptcy (2015). After the delivery of the last A320 ordered in 1993, the fleet now consisted of four Airbus A310s and eight Airbus A320s.
In June 1991, the new corporate identity , which had been retained until the turn of the millennium, was introduced, naming aircraft after ancient cities and kings. In 1994 Cyprus Airways took over the duty-free shops in Larnaka and Paphos airports . Around the turn of the millennium, the design was changed again, first with new uniforms, but also with more modern aircraft painting in 2002. At the same time, two Airbus A319-100s joined the fleet, which are mainly used on less frequented routes. Much more important, however, was the acquisition of two Airbus A330-200s in the same year, which replaced the older Airbus A310s. Since the beginning of 2006, Cyprus Airways has had a homogeneous fleet of new-generation Airbus aircraft, whose similar cockpits allow pilots to fly all types side by side.
Financial difficulties since 2011
In February 2011, it became known that the airline was in financial difficulties, despite the fact that the airline had already received aid from the state in 2007. At the end of 2011, the two Airbus A330-200s were handed over to the Spanish Air Europa and replaced by two Airbus A321-200s. These left the fleet again in April 2013 after around nine months in service. In order to prevent bankruptcy, the state invested a total of 31.3 million euros and a further 73 million euros in loans in the airline at the beginning of 2013, increasing its stake in the airline to around 94%. This prompted the European Commission to open an examination procedure on March 6, 2013 in order to clarify whether this capital increase was carried out under normal market conditions.
In April 2013, the Greek Cyprus newspaper Phileleftheros reported that the ailing airline was about to end due to the euro crisis and its effects. Unless the government of the Republic of Cyprus would provide funds of over 80 million euros for the next three years. However, until the end of the investigation, the Republic of Cyprus is not allowed to provide any further aid. In 2012 sales fell by 18% compared to the previous year to 176 million euros, which means a loss of 55.8 million euros. Furthermore, the interest of two investors, the Lebanese Middle East Airlines and the Chinese Beijing Yi Xiang , in a takeover of Cyprus Airways was announced. The Lebanese central bank, which is the majority shareholder in MEA, refused to finance the takeover due to concerns. Middle East Airlines then withdrew from the takeover negotiations.
Cyprus Airways agreed with the trade unions on July 1, 2013 to lay off 490 employees, cut employee salaries and reduce the fleet by three aircraft to six in the future. Five Airbus A320s are to remain in active service and one aircraft as a replacement aircraft. In order to save further costs, the Greek domestic flights were also discontinued. At the end of July 2013, Cyprus Airways submitted a restructuring plan to the European Commissioner for Competition, Joaquín Almunia . In addition to the measures already announced, the plan is to lay off a further 117 employees in 2014, sell the group's own catering company Cyprus Airways Catering and cut salaries by 10 percent. One assumes costs of 54 million euros. With these measures Cyprus Airways expects to be profitable again in 2015. The airline expects a response and approval of the plan by the Commission in October 2013.
Since Turkish airspace is closed to airlines in the Republic of Cyprus, Cyprus Airways received 5.6 million euros from the Republic of Cyprus for 2013 to compensate for the higher kerosene consumption caused by flying around Turkish airspace. This earmarked aid has been approved by the European Commission.
In November 2013, the operator of Larnaka and Paphos airports arranged for an Airbus A319-100 from Cyprus Airways to be confiscated , as it would not have paid outstanding bills of five million euros.
In August 2014 it became known that Ryanair , among others, had submitted an offer to buy Cyprus Airways.
Cessation of flight operations in 2015
On January 9, 2015, flight operations were suspended after the EU Commission decided that the state aid received since 2007 was illegal and must be repaid, whereupon the airline filed for bankruptcy and is in liquidation.
On January 12, 2015, government spokesman Nikos Christodoulides stated that the Republic of Cyprus would like to resurrect the airline based in Nicosia and based at Larnaca Airport. In July 2016, it made its maiden flight under the name Cobalt Air .
Destinations
Cyprus Airways flew from Larnaca to several European cities such as Athens , Paris and Moscow as well as to Beirut and Tel Aviv . Frankfurt am Main , Munich , Vienna and Zurich were served in German-speaking countries .
fleet
As of January 2015, the Cyprus Airways fleet at the time of cessation of operations consisted of six aircraft with an average age of 12.5 years:
Former subsidiaries
Eurocypria
In March 1992 Cyprus Airways founded the charter airline Eurocypria as a wholly-owned subsidiary, which was initially to handle the heavy tourist traffic to and from Cyprus with five Airbus A320-200s from the parent company and later with six of its own Boeing 737-800s . Eurocypria was sold to the Cypriot government in June 2006 as part of a restructuring plan and was therefore in competition with its former parent company. In November 2010, however, it was announced that the government would dissolve Eurocypria due to this competition and failed plans for a merger, which was finally implemented.
Hellas Jet
In 2003, the low-cost airline Hellas Jet was founded, which served three Airbus A320-200 destinations in Central Europe from Athens . After only two years, however, operations were stopped again on May 11, 2005.
Incidents
- On August 19, 1979, a Cyprus Airways Boeing 707-123B ( aircraft registration number 5B-DAM ) jumped up again after touching down at Bahrain Airport and then touched down on the nose landing gear. The same collapsed and the machine was irreparably damaged during the subsequent spinning process. All 66 occupants survived the accident.
Trivia
- The Cyprus Airways logo is a stylized mouflon .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ aerotelegraph: Cyprus Airways is counted , accessed on January 6, 2015
- ↑ Annual report 2012 (English) accessed on October 6, 2008
- ↑ a b Cyprus Airways ceases operations , accessed on January 9, 2015
- ↑ Cobalt Air is broke report of the Austrian aviation magazine Austrian Wings from October 18, 2018, accessed on October 29, 2019
- ↑ Cyprus Airways | Cyprus Airways. Retrieved February 16, 2018 .
- ^ Charlie Airlines to Sign Agreement for Cyprus Airways Logo. Retrieved February 16, 2018 .
- ↑ Cyprus Airways | Πρόγραμμα δρομολογίων. Retrieved February 16, 2018 .
- ^ Message on airliners.de of February 23, 2011 , accessed on February 23, 2011
- ↑ a b c d europa.eu - State aid: Commission will thoroughly examine capital increase by EUR 31.1 million and rescue package for Cyprus Airways , March 6, 2013
- ↑ planespotters.net - Cyprus Airways (English), accessed on August 5, 2013
- ↑ ch-aviation.ch - European Commission to investigate state aid for Cyprus Airways (English), March 11, 2013
- ↑ spiegel.de - State airline: Cyprus Airways is facing bankruptcy , April 4, 2013
- ↑ aerotelegraph.com - Cyprus Airways in intensive care , March 12, 2013
- ↑ aerotelegraph.com - Will Cyprus stay European after all? , May 25, 2013
- ↑ ch-aviation.ch - Cyprus Airways unions agree to tough cuts as MEA deal collapses (English), May 13, 2013
- ↑ ch-aviation.ch - Struggling Cyprus Airways cuts Greek routes, sells off two jets (English), June 24, 2013
- ↑ cyprus-mail.com - CY could be in the black by 2015 if plan works (English), July 31, 2013
- ↑ cyprus-mail.com - CY to receive over € 5m due to Turkish ban (English), July 12, 2013
- ↑ ch-aviation.ch - Cyprus Airways irate at move to seize its jet over € 4million debt (English) November 6, 2013
- ↑ Ryanair wants to buy Cyprus Airways . airliners.de. August 27, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ↑ Austrianwings.info - Cyprus to be revived , accessed on January 12, 2015
- ↑ Martin Metzenbauer: Cyprus has an airline again . In: austrianaviation.net . July 11, 2016. Accessed August 31, 2018.
- ↑ cyprusair.com - Our Destinations ( Memento of March 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (English) accessed on September 24, 2011
- ↑ ch-aviation.com - Cyprus Airways ( memento of September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (English) accessed on January 10, 2015
- ↑ airfleets.net - Fleet age Cyprus Airways (English) accessed on January 10, 2015
- ↑ forbes.com: Cyprus Airways shuts down after order to repay state aid leaves it bankrupt January 9, 2015
- ↑ accident report B-707-120B 5B-DAM , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 11 December 2018th
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