Formed at Moscow at the beginning of 1999 to operate long-haul passenger charters. Although a failure, the carrier will be remembered as the first operator of the new Tupolev Tu-204-100 passenger plane. Having consolidated almost every ruble they could raise, the company’s owners reportedly give the Ulianovsk-based aircraft builder Aviastar $1.2 million to complete construction of the first airframe. The airline and the manufacturer agree to share operating revenues and passenger flights with the first of 3 new Tupolevs commence on May 16.
Burdened with a heavy debt, the company, which must also battle the ongoing impact of the Russian currency crisis, cannot achieve economic viability. Unable to continue, TEA shuts its doors after the 2000 summer season. The Tu-204-100 is repossessed by Aviastar and is leased to Kras Air (Krasnoyarsk Avialinii - KrasAir) on November 10.
TRANS EUROPEAN AIRWAYS, S. A. (TEA): Belgium (19701991). TEA is formed at Brussels on December 6, 1970 to offer passenger and cargo charters and inclusive-tour flights on behalf of its owners, TIFA and G. P. Gutelman. Georges P. Gutelman himself becomes managing director. Flights to European holiday destinations are inaugurated on June 2, 1971 with an ex-Eastern Air Lines Boeing 720-025. A subsidiary maintenance organization is established, Teamco (TransEuropean Airways Maintenance Company). In August 1972, a B-720-048 is purchased from Aer Lingus Irish Airlines, Ltd.
Three B-707-131Bs, originally flown by Trans World Airlines (TWA) , are acquired in 1973. An Airbus Industrie A300B2-103 arrives on November 27, 1974. At the end of the decade, the fleet comprises 1 A300B2-103, 3 B-707-131Bs, 2 B-720s, and 1 B-737-2M8.
Services continue in the 1980s to European and Mediterranean holiday destinations. During the winter seasons, the transport of Muslim pilgrims to Jeddah and Mecca becomes a specialty. Withdrawal of the B-707-131Bs begins in 1982; however, the fleet is increased by four B-737-2M8s. In 1985, the carrier attracts wide publicity for its delivery of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel over a secret (at the time of the operation) air bridge.
World History
