Set up at Eureka, California, in 1978 to provide both scheduled and charter intrastate passenger and cargo flights. Cessna lightplane operations continue apace over the next 16 years, with destinations visited including Redding, Chico, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Oakland, and San Francisco. Flights cease in 1982.
EURO ATLANTIC AIRWAYS, S. A.: Rua das Sesmarias N3, Casca-ias, 2710-444, Sintra, Portugal; Phone 351 (21) 924 7300; Fax 351 (21) 924 7391; Code MM; Year Founded 2000. With continued backing from the Lisbon-based travel group Pestana Hotels, Air Zarco, S. A. is renamed in June 2000. The 42-person workforce, under the direction of President Tonaz Metello, continues operations with a former TAP-Air Portugal, S. A. Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar and a leased Boeing 737-33A, named the Jose de Olivera Marques. The principal long-haul destination is Canada, where there is a large expatriate Portuguese population. The “Baby Boeing” flies tourists to holiday destinations in the Mediterranean.
L-1011 charters commence on October 29 between Lisbon and Miami.
EURO CITY LINE LUFTVERKEHRS mbH.: Stuttgart Airport, Stuttgart, D-70629, Germany; Year Founded 1995. Euro City Line is established at Stuttgart in 1995 to offer scheduled third-level regional commuter service over a line to Rotterdam. Flights commence employing a Fairchild Metro II and a SAAB 340B.
EURO DIRECT AIRLINES, LTD.: United Kingdom (1994-1995). Former British World Airlines, Ltd. executive Neil Hansford establishes Euro Direct Airlines, Ltd. at London in February 1994 to provide regional and domestic services. The airline is introduced in April 8 ceremonies at Bournemouth Airport. Four days later, revenue operations begin to Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Exeter, Paris, Humberside, and Leeds/Bradford with a fleet of three leased British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31s, all of which, including the Spirit of Bournemouth, are named for cities.
A pair of BAe ATPs are added in July and these inaugurate flights from Bournemouth and London (LGW) to Berne, Switzerland. At the same time, a fourth Jetstream 31 arrives and is used to fly a network from Exeter-Amsterdam-Brussels-Bournemouth-Exeter.
In October, a Jetstream 31 is transferred to the Belgian aircraft register to support the carrier’s new associate, Sky Freighters, B. V. Later in the month, twice-weekly ATP roundtrips commence to Hamburg from London (STN).
Through November, enplanements total 18,838; however, the cost of start-up has proven expensive.
In December, services are suspended from Humberside to Bournemouth, from Dublin to Paris, and from Exeter to Dublin.
Unable to achieve economic viability, the enterprise is forced to shut down and liquidate on February 26 1995. Chairman Hansford blames rising costs of navigation services for small turboprops and the high cost of landing and handling in major European cities as among the reasons for the airline’s failure.
EURO FIRSTAIR/CANARIAS CARGO, S. A: Madrid, Spain; Year Founded 2000. Euro First is established at Madrid in the fall of 2000 to offer contract service, freight, and express flights throughout Europe and the Mideast. Two Airbus Industrie A300B4-203Fs are leased from Express. Net Airlines and revenue flights begin at the end of November. One freighter is operated on behalf of United Parcel Service (UPS), but wears the color scheme of Canarias Cargo, S. A.
EUROAIR TRANSPORT, LTD.: Gatwick House, Peeks Brook Lane, Horley, Surrey, England RH6 95U, United Kingdom: Phone 44 (0) 1293 776 969; Fax 44 (0) 1293 776 971; Year Founded 1977.
Euroair is formed at Biggin Hill Airport in 1977 to offer domestic and regional executive charter and freight flights as well as contract and airline support services. Owned by the Alexandra Towing Company, Ltd. Group, the carrier opens branch offices at Aberdeen and Guernsey.
On October 29, 1979, the company joins the Royal Mail program known as “Spokes from Speke,” flying a Britten-Norman PBN-2 Islander or an Embraer EMB-110P1 freighter each night from Cardiff, Wales, to the sorting hub at Liverpool (Speke Airport) and back to Cardiff for distribution.
Other services are maintained without change into the early 1980s, when the company base is transferred to London (LGW).
The employee population in 1984 stands at 45 and the fleet comprises 4 Vickers Viscounts, 3 Embraer EMB-110s, 1 British Aerospace BAe (HS) 125 executive jet, 1 Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander, and 2 Piper PA-23 Aztecs. Within two years, Chairman H. G. Mack has replaced the Viscounts with two BAe (HS) 748s, one each Dash-B1 and Dash-B2. An EMB-110P1 freighter flies into a 4,800-ft. hill SE of Inverness, Scotland, on November 19; the aircraft is destroyed and the pilot is killed.
In August 1985, the carrier becomes the first U. K. airline to operate the Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia, taking delivery of two. When the first is placed into service in September, the company’s four Viscounts are sold to British Air Ferries, Ltd. for $3.3 million.
Scheduled destinations in 1986 include Birmingham, Exeter, Liverpool, and Manchester. In 1987, the Lydd-based charter operator Janus Airways, Ltd. is taken over and merged. The company now operates on three primary routes: Bournemouth-Belfast-Edinburgh, Belfast-London (STN and LGW), and London (STN)-Belfast.
Service is maintained in 1988-1990. Scheduled passenger flights end during the former year as the company begins to concentrate on aircraft leasing.
The leased fleet in 1991 includes three Embraer EMB-110P1 Ban-deirantes and one EMB-110P2, all four of which are leased to Business Air, Ltd.; two EMB-120s, one BAe (HS) 748-B2, which is leased to Jersey European Airways, Ltd.; and one 748-B1 operated by the carrier.
Two additional BAe (HS) 748-B2s are chartered in 1992, one of which is leased out to Airfast Services Indonesia. In October, the “Spokes from Speke” program is altered into the Royal Mail Skynet.
By 1993, Chairman Mack oversees a workforce of 21 and his fleet comprises 6 BAe 748s and 4 Bandeirantes.
The company stops flying in 1994, selling off three 748s and leasing the other three to Knight Air, Ltd. One Bandeirante is chartered to Air-fast Services Indonesia and the other to Mount Cook Airlines, Ltd.
The Mount Cook lease ends in 1995 and the company withdraws from the airline business to become an aircraft leasing concern.
EUROBELGIAN AIRLINES, S. A.: Belgium (1991-1996). Following the failure of Trans European Airways, S. A., the assets of that company are purchased by the Brussels-based City Hotels Group, which forms this new nonscheduled airline at Melsbrock Airport in November 1991. Victor Hasson and Jacques Halfon are named joint managing directors, a 90-employee workforce is recruited, and a fleet is assembled comprising 2 leased Boeing 737-33As and 2 B-737-3Y0s, 1 of which is chartered to the Egyptian carrier Transmed Airlines, Ltd.
Revenue operations by the 100-employee airline commence on April 1, 1992 to holiday destinations in the Canary Islands and Mediterranean.
Enplanements during the first full year of service total 383,600.
Airline employment in 1993 stands at 100 and the fleet now includes 3 owned B-737-3M8s and 1 each leased B-737-33Aand B-737-4S3. Air Provence Charter, S. A. now becomes a subsidiary. Customer bookings climb to 587,504.
Although there is no change in the workforce during 1994, the fleet is increased by the addition of two B-737-436s leased from British Airways, Ltd. (2) . Late in the year, these are employed to inaugurate deep-discount scheduled services from Brussels to Rome and Vienna. Passenger boardings jump 29.8% to 836,900. Airline employment stands at 230 in 1995. On December 26, the tour operator Look Voyages acquires a 25% stake for FFr 33.5 million.
Enplanements increase 56.8% to 1,312,500 and revenues reach $167 million.
Twenty new workers are hired in 1996.
On February 19, British entrepreneur Richard Branson holds a press conference to announce that his Virgin Group has plans to take over the carrier for operation as a subsidiary of Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. Current majority-owner City Hotel Group plus a small group of private investors will receive a reported ?43 million ($67 million) for an 80% stake in their regional. The carrier will be renamed Virgin Express-EuroBelgium Airlines, Ltd. and placed under the direction of former Continental Express CEO Jonathan Ornstein. The takeover is completed on April 30.
EUROBERLIN FRANCE, S. A.: France (1988-1994). In order to compete with American and British carriers flying into the former German capital, EuroBerlin France is founded on September 9, 1988 by Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. (49%) and Air France (51%) to operate scheduled passenger services from West Berlin’s Tegel Airport. French majority participation is necessary in order to satisfy the legal requirement’s of the city’s Big Four occupation.
Bernard Arrali is named chairman with Jean Signoret, formerly the Air France general manager for Germany, as managing director. A workforce of 99 is recruited and a fleet is assembled comprising 4 Boeing 737-3Y0s wet-leased, complete with cockpit crews and maintenance, from Monarch Airlines, Ltd. Flights are undertaken, beginning on November 7, linking the one-time German capital with Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Dusseldorf.
Airline employment is increased by 10% in 1989 to 110. In December, Air France pumps $7.1 million into the carrier to aid in its further development. Enplanements during this first full year total 604,000 and 652,600 FTKs are flown.
A fifth B-737, a Dash-33A, arrives in April 1990. Following German unification in October, EuroBerlin begins to operate its services primarily on behalf of Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G.
Airline employment in 1991 stands at 200 and the fleet, still leased from Monarch, includes 4 B-737-3Y0s and 3 B-737-33As.
For all intents and purposes, EuroBerlin’s independence ends with its previously scheduled flights in April. With Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. now able to fully service Berlin, General Manager B. Teyssler’s carrier becomes a replacement service for its French and German owners until October, after which EuroBerlin operates only on behalf of Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G., flying from the reunified city to Dusseldorf, Hamburg, and Stuttgart.
For the year as a whole, passenger boardings skyrocket to 912,729, together with 108,000 FTKs. Revenues are $145.9 million and with expenses down, profits are posted: $19.3 million (operating) and $17.1 million (net).
Operations continue apace in 1992-1993 but, by 1994, the partners have agreed that support of this joint enterprise is no longer required. When the leasing arrangement is concluded, it, therefore, ceases operations on October 31.
EUROCYPRIA AIRLINES, LTD.: 97 Artemidos Ave., Artemis Building, P. O. Box 970, Larnaca, Cyprus; Phone 357 (4) 65 8000; Fax 357 (4) 65 8006; Http://www. cyprusair. com. cy/SubComp/Euro-cypZbody_Eurocyp. htm; Code UI; Year Founded 1991. Established at Larnaca on June 12, 1991, Eurocypria is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Cypriot airline Cyprus Airways, Ltd. established to provide charter and inclusive-tour flights from both Larnaca and Paphos International Airports. General Manager Demetris Pantazis oversees a workforce of 110 and a fleet comprising 2 Airbus Industrie A320-231s leased from the parent.
Destinations visited, beginning on March 25, 1992, include Basel, Belfast, Bergen, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bristol, Budapest, Cardiff, Dublin, Dusseldorf, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Hamburg, Hanover, Helsinki, Humberside, Innsbruck, Jersey, Jonkoping,
Klagenfurt, Leeds/Bradford, Leipzig, Liverpool, London (CTN), Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nuremberg, Stavanger, Stockholm, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Teesside, and Vienna.
A third A320-231 is delivered in March 1993 and flights continue apace in 1994. Traffic figures are not provided.
Flights continue in 1995-1997, during which years the company continues to visit the same destinations as it had in 1992.
Eurocypria becomes the subject of a parliamentary investigation in the spring of 1998 when its senior captains allege that their management is rigging recruitment procedures to secure appointments of particular pilots as political favors. At the same time, a number of Eurocypria pilots allege that Cyprus Airways, Ltd. Pasipy pilot union members are attempting to close the charter firm by arranging disruptions and delays of its flights.
Although flights continue, so too does labor unrest. Under terms of their collective bargaining agreement with Cyprus Airways, Ltd., copilots are not allowed to apply for captain vacancies at the charter subsidiary. This perceived injustice so angers union members that, when Cyprus advertises for captain vacancies at Eurocypria, all of the Cyprus flyers stage a 24-hr. strike on June 22, 1999 as a protest. The industrial action delays 11 flights and 3,000 passengers and costs the carrier C?120,000 ($215,000).
After giving the government and airline executives 24 hours to show goodwill (which is not forthcoming), the pilots return to the picket lines on June 24-25. Angered, the government of Cyprus refuses to cave in and temporarily deregulates its skies at midnight on June 24, opening air corridors to all airlines, including the most precious Larnaca to Athens to London’s Heathrow Airport run. Only 4 of 18 daily scheduled flights are thus affected, with 14 others completed using aircraft wet-leased from abroad.
The labor unrest is eventually resolved and service is maintained in 2000. A variety of new destinations are added with the beginning of the summer schedule in late March. Among these is a series of charters to airports in the U. K., including for the first time the facility at Humberside.
EUROFLIGHT SWEDEN, A. B.: P. O. Box 2174, Landvetter, S-3814, Sweden; Phone 46 (31) 947 200; Fax 46 (31) 946 070; Code HZ; Year Founded 1996. Euroflight Sweden is set up in 1996 to provide domestic and regional charter services from bases at Goteborg and Bromma Airport at Stockholm. JanPeder Stensson is managing director and he begins revenue services to Gallivare, Skelleftea, Sundsvalt, and Umea with a fleet of 2 Beech 1900Cs and 1 each Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante and Piper PA-31-310 Navajo. A British Aerospace BAe (HS) 125-700 executive jet is also flown.
EUROFLITE, LTD.: United Kingdom (1981-1985). The third-level carrier Euroflite, Ltd. is formed at London (CTN) in 1981 as a subsidiary of Executive Express, Ltd. to offer commuter services to various regional destinations in the U. K.
A route is extended to Brussels in 1982. Managing Director M. Harwood oversees a staff of 43 and a fleet comprising 2 Beech Super King Air 200s, 5 Cessna 404 Titans, 3 Cessna 421s, and 1 Beech King Air 90.
Upon the liquidation of Executive Express, Ltd. during the summer of 1983, McAlpine Aviation, Ltd. acquires Euroflite, operating it as before. Employing two BAe Jetstream 31s, scheduled service is provided to four British cities, plus Paris and Brussels in 1984. Late in the year, a route is opened to Amsterdam.
In June 1985 the carrier is purchased by six-month old London European Airways, Ltd.; the merger is a failure and both carriers are gone by April 1986.
EUROFLY, S. p.A.: Aeroporto Citta di Torino, Caselle Torinese, I-10072, Italy; Phone 39 (11) 470-4444; Fax 39 (11) 470-4988; Http://www. eurofly. it; Code GJ; Year Founded 1989. This Learjet executive charter operator is reformed at Turin on May 26, 1989 to offer inclusive-tour charters to destinations in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Angelo Fornassari is chairman and managing director, with Gi-ampiero Gabotto as president. A workforce of 48 is recruited and 2 chartered Douglas DC-9-51s are acquired. Revenue flights commence on February 26, 1990.
Services continue into the new decade and in 1994 the fleet includes 4 DC-9-51s and 1 leased McDonnell Douglas MD-83.
Flights are maintained in 1995-1997 with a workforce of 25 and a leased fleet of 2 DC-9-51s and 2 MD-83s.
Seasonal Saturdays-only MD-83 roundtrips commence on May 30, 1998 from Milan and Bologna to Alghero, Sardinia. Two B-767-31Bs, previously operated by China Southern Airlines Company, Ltd. are received in December for use during the summer tourist season.
The seasonal schedule is a bit more adventuresome in 1999 as the carrier, beginning on May 29, launches summer MD-83 weekly return flights from Milan to Moscow, Russia, via St. Petersburg. In addition, the two B-767-31Bs, painted in full Alitalia, S. p.A. livery, with Eurofly titles, are operated on long-haul charters from Milan to Africa and the Caribbean.
Airline employment at Chairman Angelo Formasari’s carrier totals 36 at the beginning of 2000.
In late July, the company sells its 2 DC-9-51s to the Hungarian startup airline Hun Air, Kft. On December 17, AirlinersOnline. com reports that the two are now in Florida, where they will be sold for their parts.
World History
