Leisure International Airways

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Leisure International Airways
Boeing 767-300 from Leisure International Airways
IATA code : MV
ICAO code : ULE
Call sign : LEISURE
Founding: 1987 as Air UK Leisure
Operation stopped: 1998
Seat: Crawley , UK
United KingdomUnited Kingdom 
Home airport : Gatwick Airport
Fleet size: 7th
Aims: international
Leisure International Airways ceased operations in 1998. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation.

Leisure International Airways (originally Air UK Leisure ) was a British airline based in Crawley .

history

Air UK Leisure

Boeing 737-200 of Air UK Leisure

Air UK Leisure was founded in June 1987, with the eponymous regional airline Air UK holding a 30% stake. Flight operations began on May 1 with a fleet of three Boeing 737-200s . The first flights were from London Luton base to Rome , Girona and Faro . In October 1988, Air UK Leisure replaced the aging aircraft with newer Boeing 737-400s . With a fleet of seven aircraft, they flew for large British tour operators, even though the aircraft had to be leased out in winter due to the poor order situation.

Leisure International Airways as a subsidiary

On February 18, 1992 Air UK Leisure founded the subsidiary Leisure International Airways . This was responsible for the implementation of long-haul charter flights to the United States and the Caribbean . Operations began in April 1993 with two Boeing 767s. Soon the destinations served were expanded to include Las Vegas and Lagos .

fusion

Airbus A321-200 of Leisure International Airways

In 1996 the two companies were sold to the tour operator Unijet . After Leisure International Airways had also received three Airbus A320s for medium- haul flights in 1997 , it made sense to combine the two companies in Leisure International Airways . Air UK Leisure ceased operations under its own name in March 1996; Fleet and obligations switched to Leisure International Airways in the summer of 1996 . The Luton base was also abandoned in favor of London Gatwick . At the beginning of the summer season, Leisure International Airways received its first Airbus A321 .

Sold to First Choice

In autumn 1998, the tour operator Unijet was sold to the rival company First Choice Holidays . However, since Air 2000 already had its own airline with almost the same fleet, the integration took place. Leisure International Airways was thereby in Air 2000 , the later First Choice Airways .

Destinations

Leisure International Airways mainly operated charter flights to tourist destinations in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and Africa.

fleet

Airbus A320-200 of Leisure International Airways

When operations were transferred in November 1998, Leisure International Airways' fleet consisted of seven aircraft:

With the exception of an Airbus A320-200, which was returned to the lessor, all of the machines were transferred to Air 2000's inventory.

Incidents

  • On May 21, 1998, Air UK Leisure Flight 4064 was an Airbus A320 approaching Ibiza Airport. During the approach, the pilots received a warning about the malfunction of one of their braking systems, which did not require any action on the part of the crew. However, the braking effect after touchdown turned out to be too weak. Neither the attempted increase of the braking effect nor the rolling in sinuous lines could bring the machine to a standstill before the end of the runway, so that the nose landing gear buckled in the soft ground behind the runway and the aircraft came to a stop lying on its nose.

See also

Web links

Commons : Leisure International Airways  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Klaus Vomhof: Leisure Airlines of Europe . SCOVAL Publishing Ltd, 2001, ISBN 1-902236-09-2 .
  2. a b c d B.I. Hengi: past, forgotten, over . Former airlines worldwide - bankruptcies, mergers and sales since 1970. NARA-Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-925671-27-7 .
  3. planespotters.net: Leisure International Airways Fleet Details and History , accessed on September 21, 2015
  4. Aircraft accident data and report in the Aviation Safety Network (English)