Leisure International Airways
Leisure International Airways | |
---|---|
IATA code : | MV |
ICAO code : | ULE |
Call sign : | LEISURE |
Founding: | 1987 as Air UK Leisure |
Operation stopped: | 1998 |
Seat: |
Crawley , UK |
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
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
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
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
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Klaus Vomhof: Leisure Airlines of Europe . SCOVAL Publishing Ltd, 2001, ISBN 1-902236-09-2 .
- ↑ 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 .
- ↑ planespotters.net: Leisure International Airways Fleet Details and History , accessed on September 21, 2015
- ↑ Aircraft accident data and report in the Aviation Safety Network (English)