- This article is about the UK company. For the defunct U.S. air carrier, see Eastern Air Lines.
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| Founded | 1997 | |||
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| Hubs | Aberdeen Airport, Newcastle Airport |
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| Fleet size | 29 | |||
| Destinations | 17 | |||
| Company slogan | Rise above it all | |||
| Headquarters | Humberside Airport, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Key people | Richard Lake (MD) Brian Huxford (Chairman) Chris Holliday (COO) |
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| Website | http://www.easternairways.com | |||
Eastern Airways is an airline based at Humberside Airport, England. It operates scheduled domestic services and private charters [1]. Around 800,000 passengers a year are carried on the scheduled route network.[2]
It has crew bases at Leeds Bradford International Airport, Newcastle Airport, Durham Tees Valley Airport, Humberside Airport, East Midlands Airport, Southampton Airport, Isle of Man Airport, Aberdeen Airport, Wick Airport, Hawarden Airport (Chester), Norwich International Airport and Liverpool John Lennon Airport. [3] Air Kilroe Limited trading as Eastern Airways holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.[4]
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Background
The airline started operations in December 1997 with a scheduled service between Humberside and Aberdeen following KLM's withdrawal from the route. In February 1999 it purchased Manchester based Air Kilroe, granting the company an Air Operators Certificate and giving the airline a fleet of two BAe Jetstream 32 aircraft. In 2002 the first J41 entered the Eastern fleet, the aircraft type which now forms the majority of the fleet. 12 BAe Jetstream 41 aircraft and their associated routes were transferred from British Airways CitiExpress on 30 March 2003 giving Eastern a springboard into many regional UK airports which have now become aircraft bases. In 2003 an Embraer 145 and 135 were wet leased from City Airline to compete on some longer routes. They were quickly replaced with Saab 2000 aircraft due to similar speed and lower fuel consumption.[citation needed] Since 2003 the company has acquired further Saab 2000 aircraft from Crossair and other european carriers and a number of additional Jetstream 41 aircraft from American regional carriers. The airline is owned by Bryan Huxford (59%) and Richard Lake (41%).[1]
In 2006 Eastern Airways wet leased a Dornier 328 from Cirrus Airlines to operate a Newcastle to London City service. This was however withdrawn due to increasing charges at Docklands airport.[citation needed]
Eastern Airways won the European Regions Airline Association Airline of the Year Gold Award for 2006/07.[citation needed] Previously it had won the Airline of the Year Silver Award for 2003/04 and 2004/05.[citation needed] The airline was awarded as runner-up for punctuality at UK airports in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 by Flight on Time, based on CAA statistics.[5]
Eastern Airways have purchased a Jetstream 41 training simulator from the USA, this is also used by other airlines for their own pilots' training, such as Yeti Airlines.[citation needed] In late July 2007 it was announced Eastern are to acquire two more used Saab 2000 aircraft, to support both the new route to Stavanger and the booming 50-seat charter market - which is a major source of business for the airline.[citation needed]
As part of One North East's "Passionate People Passionate Places" campaign for North East England, Eastern Airways had a Jetstream 41 painted in promotional colours. It also featured in the 2007 Sunderland International Airshow. A Saab 2000 is also painted in a promotional 'Aberdeen City and Shire' colour scheme.
The airline closed its base at the Isle of Man in August 2009, discontining routes to Birmingham and Newcastle from the airport.[6]
Destinations
Eastern Airways serves the following destinations (as at August 2008):[7]
- Norway
- United Kingdom
- England
- Birmingham - Birmingham International Airport
- Bristol - Bristol International Airport
- Durham/Darlington/Middlesbrough - Durham Tees Valley Airport
- Kingston upon Hull - Humberside Airport Operations and Maintenance Base
- Leeds/Bradford - Leeds Bradford International Airport
- Liverpool - Liverpool John Lennon Airport
- Newcastle upon Tyne - Newcastle Airport Hub
- Norwich - Norwich International Airport
- Nottingham/Leicester/Derby - East Midlands Airport
- Southampton - Southampton Airport
- Scotland
- Wales
- England
The company also recently won a contract with the IAC Consortium to carry offshore personnel from Aberdeen to Scatsta on the Shetlands Isles.[citation needed]
Fleet
The Eastern Airways fleet includes the following aircraft (as of November 2009):
| Aircraft | Number [8] | Seats [9] |
|---|---|---|
| BAe Jetstream 41 | 21 | 29 |
| Saab 2000 | 8 | 50 |
References
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 75. 2007-04-03.
- ^ ERAA retrieved 12 May 2007
- ^ [1]
- ^ Operating Licence
- ^ FLIGHTONTIME.info - 2008 Awards
- ^ Eastern Airways to withdraw routes
- ^ Eastern Airways Destination Guide
- ^ CAA Aircraft Register
- ^ Eastern Airways Fleet
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eastern Airways |
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