MADDUX AIR LINES: United States (1927-1929). During a reliability tour, Los Angeles Lincoln automobile dealer Jack L. Maddux is impressed with the reliability of the Ford 4-AT TriMotor. Backed by wealthy colleagues, he offers to become Ford’s West Coast distributor and build an airline if two TriMotors can be flown from their Michigan factory over the mountains to Los Angeles’ Rogers Airport. In anticipation, he purchases two 4-AT-Bs and hires pilot Lawrence G. Fritz to make the first delivery flight.
In mid-July 1927, aviator Fritz and his copilot, Ford Motor Company chief pilot J. Parker Van Sandt, who is also serving as operations director of Stout Air Services, depart Detroit for California with Ford 4-AT-
7. Among the passengers are Ford Chief Engineer William B. Mayo, Eddie Hamilton, and six others.
According to Van Sandt, during this delivery flight it was he who persuaded the group to detour from Salt Lake City over the Grand Canyon to Williams, Arizona, taking in the view. This half-hour flight is credited with inspiring an entire new business, the Grand Canyon air tour industry. (Van Sandt’s account was later written down as “Origin & History of Scenic Airways, 1926-1929,” and has recently been posted on Grand Canyon Airlines’ website.) The 4-AT-7 arrives in Los Angeles on July 27, where Fritz becomes “Commodore” of the Maddux fleet, and is joined as copilot by Edward A. Bellande, with Van Sandt returning to Stout.
The new entrant launches Los Angeles (Rogers Airport) to San Diego (Mahoney Flying Field) return passenger service on July 28, 1927. The flights, at $15 per head, are very popular and frequencies are increased to twice daily before the end of the summer. An active publicity department is established by Maddux to promote his carrier; whenever possible, movie stars such as Dolores Del Rio are photographed next to the trimotors.
Ms. Del Rio is the star of a Raoul Walsh film The Red Dance, which is shot in January 1928 at Truckee, California; pilot Fritz flies 4-AT-7 in a number of the Russian Revolution-related scenes. The third Ford TriMotor, 4-AT-16, arrives on March 31 and on April 14 the aircraft inaugurate twice-daily flights between San Francisco and Los Angeles. A fourth Tri-Motor, 4-AT-12, is acquired on May 2. During the summer, it will be leased to Metro Goldwyn Mayer; christened The Flying Laboratory, it is used as an aerial cutting room during the filming of George Hill’s motion picture, Gold Braid, starring Ramon Navarro. Meanwhile, the 4-AT-23 enters service on June 23.
Another Ford Tri-Motor, 4-AT-32, is acquired on August 25, followed by the 4-AT-33 on September 7. The 4-AT-36 is delivered on September 25 and is christened The Glendale in honor of the actual Los Angeles terminus. By the close of the year, Maddux can fly travelers from San Francisco via Los Angeles and San Diego to points further south in California.
A total of 9,440 passengers are transported on the year over 386,736 miles.
The first upgraded Tri-Motor, Ford 5-AT-10, is delivered on January 4, 1929. It is followed by the arrival of the $65,475 5-AT-16 on January 16. Also on that day, the 4-AT-16 is sold to G. E. Flaherty of Los Angeles, who plans to begin an airline to be known as Golden State Airways. While landing at Santa Rosa, California, on January 18, the 4-AT-16, piloted by Marino J. Guglielmetti, crashes and is damaged. Ford 5-AT-17 is delivered on February 9 and the next day the carrier initiates a Los Angeles-Phoenix route, while expanding service to additional points in southern California.
The Ford 5-AT-18 arrives on February 29 followed by 5-AT-19 on March 5. In mid-month, the carrier joins with the newly established Air Express Division of UPS (United Parcel Service) and Pacific Air Transport (PAT) to ship packages from Los Angeles to Seattle. Maddux flies the UPS boxes to San Francisco, where they are transferred to PAT for shipment up to the state of Washington; service is inaugurated by the 5-AT-10.
Equipped with a large number of 4-AT-Bs and 5-ATs, Maddux, now the world’s largest operator of the trimotor, also flies two Lockheed Model 5 Vegas and two Travel Air 5000s. Ford 5-AT-41 joins this collection on April 20. Enroute to Phoenix from San Diego on April 21, Ford 5-AT-10, piloted by Maurice Murphy with one crew and three passengers, is struck by a USAAC 95th Pursuit Squadron Boeing PW-9D; both aircraft crash (six dead). The replacement 5-AT-46 arrives on May 29.
In June, a 4-AT, piloted by Jack Collier and with a full complement of passengers enroute from Los Angeles to Oakland, is flown under the Carquinez Bridge over the Sacramento River in order to avoid fog, circling about for a landing at Alameda Airport. The maneuver is the first time a Ford Tri-Motor in passenger service is flown under a bridge.
While on its delivery flight, the $55,475 5-AT-51 is employed as a press plane at Port Columbus, Ohio, during July 8 opening ceremonies for Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT). Two days later, the aircraft is flown from Grand Central Air Terminal at Burbank, serving Los Angeles, up to Alameda Airport to inaugurate increased Maddux service in the San Francisco area. The pilot is TAT’s chief technical advisor, Charles A. Lindbergh.
The 4-AT-23 is sold to the Curtiss Flying Service of California on
July 12; three days later the new entrant also purchases 4-AT-32. On August 26, it is the 5-AT-51 that guides the giant German dirigible Graf Zeppelin into Mines Field, Los Angeles, as it arrives from San Francisco on August 26.
Ford 4-AT-36 is up-engined with Wright J-6 engines during September and, on November 16, less than a month after the New York Stock Market crash, Maddux Air is purchased by Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) and becomes known as TAT-Maddux Air Lines. Owner Maddux receives a directorship; however, others are not so fortunate. For example, Operations Manager Daniel W. “Tommy” Tomlinson is hired as a Ford Tri-Motor copilot. During the year, 40,000 passengers are transported.
MADINA AIRLINE: Borovski Proezd 6/36, Moscow, 119619, Russia; Phone 7 (095) 470-3547; Year Founded 1995. Madina is established at Moscow in 1995 to provide domestic and regional passenger charters. M. G. Kulev is general director and he begins, and continues, revenue flights with a single Tupolev Tu-134.
MADRAS AIR TAXI SERVICE, LTD.: India (1933-1934). Founded in December 1933, this nonscheduled carrier begins experimental twice-weekly scheduled de Havilland DH 83 Fox Moth passenger and mail services between Calcutta and Madras via Puri, Vizagapatnam, and Bezwada, on February 10, 1934. These flights and the carrier cease on March 31.
MAERSK AIR, A. S.: Copenhagen Airport South, Dragoer, DK-2791, Denmark; Phone 45 32 31 44 44; Fax 45 32 31 44 90; http:// Www. maersk-air. com; Code DM; Year Founded 1969. In February 1969, A. P. Moller Shipping Co. Chairman Maersk McKinney Moller acquires a Hawker Siddeley HS 125 for corporate travel; late in the year, it is decided to offer executive charters, which commence in December.
An F.27-500 with four crew fails its takeoff from Rinne, Denmark, on December 27 for a training flight and crashes into the sea 500 yards beyond the runway; there are no fatalities.
In January 1970, the domestic freight operator Falck Air, A. S. is purchased and merged; however, all-cargo flights soon prove a moneylosing proposition. Meanwhile, in light of the continuing popularity of the executive charters, the decision is taken to concentrate on nonscheduled service to Mediterranean holiday spots on behalf of Scandinavian inclusive-tour promoters. With an initial fleet of Fokker F.27-500s, Maersk Air is created as a fifty-fifty subsidiary of the parent’s two aviation subsidiaries, A/S Maersk Aviation and Flyaktiesselskabet Maersk.
In February 1971, Maersk Air (38%) joins with SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) (7%) and Cimber Air, A. S. (5%) to create Danair, A. S., the nation’s new principal internal carrier, pledging flight support and equipment to the Copenhagen-based new entrant.
Operations continue apace in 1972-1973; between January 17 and March 8 of the latter year, three B-720-051Bs are purchased from the American carrier Northwest Airlines. Two more arrive between January 16 and February 20, 1974.
Following its January 15, 1975 bad weather landing at Vagar in the Faroe Islands, all 4 crew and 22 passengers on board an F.27-600 are safe after the plane plunges off the runway, although the aircraft must be written off.
As charter demand increases and additional destinations are added in 1976-1979, the fleet is upgraded to include 8 Boeing 737-2L9s and 2 de Havilland Canada DHC-7-102s. The latter gradually replace the original Fokkers in support of Danair, A. S. in scheduled services between Copenhagen and Billund, Esbjerg, Odense, Ronne, Thisted, and Skryd-strup. Managing Director Johan H. Paus’s workforce grows to 600.
In addition to freight forwarding offices, Maersk travel agencies are opened in 1980 in Copenhagen, London, Hong Kong, Aberdeen, and Singapore.
Traffic figures show that enplanements for new President Bjarne Hansen’s carrier have, at 1,119,255, surpassed the one million-mark.
Expansion is undertaken in 1981 in support of the offshore North Sea oil industry; an offshore-oriented subsidiary, Maersk Helicopters, A. S., is created to operate a fleet of 5 Bell 212 helicopters from a base at Esbjerg Airport.
Overall passenger boardings jump 10.1% to 1,245,000.
Charter and scheduled fixed - and rotary-wing services increase in 1982, including flights over an 834-mile Boeing 737-2L9 route (the company’s longest) to the Faeroe Islands in the North Atlantic. One Bell is retired in 1983 as two Aerospatiale AS-365 Super Pumas join the Offshore Division. The commuter carrier Air Business, A. S. (and its two Shorts 360s) are purchased on May 1 and on behalf of its new parent, launch scheduled regional flights connecting Esbjerg with Stavanger, Norway.
The Shorts are also employed on Danair, A. S. flights. As the result of a 1984 EEC directive allowing international regional operations, the carrier in November starts twice-daily DHC-7-102 service Billund-Southend, England; four Dash-7s are dedicated to this operation by year’s end, at which time an order is placed for two B-737-3L9s.
In 1985, Maersk Air continues to undertake substantial service for its partial subsidiary, Danair, A. S., while maintaining regional, international, charter, and helicopter operations. With a fifth DHC-7-102 available, boardings on the England route reach 15,000 for the first complete year. During the year, the two B-737-3L9s are delivered, replacing two B-737-2L9s on the Mediterranean holiday service.
In October, the carrier becomes the fifth airline to purchase the new Fokker 50 turboprop; four are ordered for delivery in early 1988.
Enplanements total 14,075 on the British run and the net profit is $13.4 million.
Airline employment in 1986 stands at 950 and President Bjarne Hansen’s fleet now comprises 20 aircraft: 2 B-737-3L9s, 6 B-737-2L9s,
1 HS 125-400, 5 DHC-7-102s, 1 AS-365s, and 4 Bell 212s.
In March, two additional B-737-3L9s are ordered for delivery the following June. The company, meanwhile, has five helicopters assigned to offshore support roles.
Fixed-wing passenger boardings, including 20,000 on the Southend run, exceed 1.3 million.
The workforce grows 5.3% in 1987 to an even 1,000 as the B-737-3L9s arrive in June and July.
A total of 1.58 million revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) are flown, a 6.2% boost.
In addition to the four B-737-3L9s, the fleet in 1988 has been pared to 2 B-737-2L9s, 5 DHC-7-102s, 2 Shorts 360s, and 4 helicopters. The subsidiary Air Business, A. S. is reformed at Maersk Commuter, I. S. and equipped with the two Shorts 360s and the DHC-7-102s.
In July, the first of eight requested Fokker 50s is delivered and two more B-737-3L9s are requested. Maersk seeks permission to fly from Copenhagen to Birmingham, England; SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) exercises its veto over new international routes from consortium nations to block the expansion.
Enplanements for the year dip to 1,291,000.
The 1,000-employee Danish domestic operator sees its passenger boardings dip another 5.9% in 1989 to 1,215,000.
The fleet in 1990 includes 6 Fokker 50s, 1 B-737-2L9, 7 B-737-3L9s— 4 leased to British Airways, Ltd. (2) and three on order—and 4 B-737-5L9s, 1 of which is still on order. Four helicopters are now active in offshore support roles.
In April, the Maersk Commuter, I. S. subsidiary is absorbed. In England, services are switched from Southend to London (LGW) following the SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) withdrawal. In October, joint venture flights begin with Sabena Belgian World Airlines, S. A. from Brussels to the Danish city of Billund, home to Lego toys, which now becomes a major hub with connecting flights to Britain and Belgium.
Passenger boardings for the year slip 0.5% to 1,153,000.
The fixed-wing fleet in 1991 includes 9 B-737-3L9s, 1 of which is leased to VASP Brazilian Airlines (Viacao Aerea Sao Paulo, S. A.) and
2 to British Airways, Ltd. (2). There are also 8 Fokker 50s, 2 of which are leased to Deutsche Luftverkehrsgesellschaft, GmbH. (DLT). At the same time, an AS-332L Super Puma is leased from Helikopter Service, A. S. With two Bell 212s and two Super Pumas of its own, the helicopter division continues to operate offshore support flights.
During the spring, permission is won to inaugurate new scheduled passenger services from Billund to London (LGW). A previous service to Southend Airport is suspended; however, the route will briefly be flown during the summer by the Danish regional Sun Air of Scandinavia, A. S.
In August, the company applies for permission to fly from Copenhagen to Oslo, Stockholm, and Goteborg.
Enplanements total 1,136,640 and revenues are $204 million; a net loss of $3.1 million is suffered and comes after a decade of profits.
Airline employment stands at 1,038 in 1992 and the fleet now features 2 Aerospatiale AS-332Ls, 1 BAe 125 Mk. 700B, 3 Bell 212s, 8 Fokker 50s, and 5 B-737-5L9s, 1 of which is leased to the Korean carrier Asiana Airlines. Also included are 13 B-737-3L9s, 1 of which is leased to Air Holland Charter, N. V., 7 to Deutsche BA, GmbH., and 2 to Germania Fluggesellschaft, GmbH.
By summer, the domestic network from Copenhagen includes stops at Billund, Esbjerg, Odense, Vojens, Ronne, and the Faroe Islands.
Passenger boardings climb 11.2% to 1,280,000. Revenues climb to $225 million and yield a profit of $4.5 million.
Chairman Troels Dilling and President Hansen oversee a workforce of 1,200 in 1993, up 15.6% over the previous year. The Copenhagen Cargo Center, of which the company owns 40%, opens in January.
In May, the company joins with British Airways, Ltd. (2) to implement a rescue package designed to secure the future of the U. K. regional Brymon European Airways, Ltd. as well as the jobs of 500 employees of its parent organization, The Plimsoll Line, Ltd. (TPL). Under the joint agreement, the two airlines will each inject ?6 million into TPL to enable it to meet its outstanding debts and restructure its three core subsidiaries. Meanwhile, Brymon Aviation and Plymouth City Airport will both become wholly owned subsidiaries of BA while BEA becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Maersk Air.
When Brymon European Airways, Ltd. splits apart in July following an unsuccessful rescue attempt by the company and British Airways, Ltd. (2), Maersk steps in to purchase the old Birmingham European Airways, Ltd. component, renaming its new subsidiary Maersk Air U. K., Ltd.
Maersk is the first company to take advantage of the new European Union regulations that permit 100% ownership of an airline in the nation of another EU member. The newly reformed entity becomes a BA franchise carrier in August.
On the year, Maersk Air enjoys an increase of 3.1% in customer bookings, to 1.32 million, and a 5.5% boost in revenues to $220 million. The operating and net profits slip to an identical $4.05 million.
The fleet in 1994 includes 12 B-737-3L9s, 4 B-737-5L9s, 8 Fokker 50s, and 1 British Aerospace BAe 125-800A. One B-737-5L9 is still leased to Asiana Airlines and orders are placed for six B-737-7L9s. The Maersk Helicopters, A. S. (MHAS) subsidiary, under the leadership of Vice President-Helicopters Jan Hagemann, flies two SA-365N Dauphin 2 helicopters.
The fixed-wing company division continues to provide regional and international services from Billund and Copenhagen to Amsterdam, Brussels, the Faroe Islands, Frankfurt, London (LGW), and Stockholm; domestic destinations include Bullund, Esbjerg, Odense, Roenne, and Vojens. In October, the Kristianstad-London (LGW) via Copenhagen service is increased to six roundtrips per week.
Passenger boardings increase 31% to 1,729,000 and revenues advance 31.2% to $286 million. Expenses climb 23.3% to $263.7 million. Operating and net profit figures are again identical: $22.3 million.
In 1995 , seven B-737-3L9s are leased to Munich-based Deutsche BA Luftfahrtgesselschaft, GmbH. On September 1, a $24-million longterm lease is signed by MHAS with Helikopter Services, A. S. of Norway for the lease of three Eurocopter AS-355L.1 Super Pumas.
Enplanements climb 7.9% to 1,864,800 and operating revenues accelerate 5.2% to $303 million. Net profit reaches $26 million.
Early in 1996, two more B-737-3L9s are sent to Deutsche BA. Codesharing commences with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) on March 17 from Billund to Amsterdam. The route, formerly operated by KLM, is now flown with Maersk equipment. Later in the year, Maersk Air leads a consortium that purchases majority interest in Estonian Air, A. S. A marketing agreement is reached with Finnair O/Y in November and plans for block-seat flights are announced.
Customer bookings accelerate 2.4% to 1,908,700.
A major dual-designator agreement is signed with Finnair O/Y during the first week of February 1997. Employing its eight available B-737-5L9s, the company launches dual-designator service from Copenhagen and Billund to Stockholm on April 28. Finnair will employ its DC-9-51s and, between them, the two carriers will offer 47 weekly roundtrips between the 2 Scandinavian cities.
On August 4, a code-sharing agreement is signed with Swissair, A. G. It takes effect on October 26 when a Maersk B-737-5L9 inaugurates daily roundtrips from Copenhagen to Geneva. The route is an extension of another new joint service that the two provide between Billund and Zurich via Frankfurt.
Passenger boardings inch up 0.7% to 1,921,600.
As a result of a five-month delay in Joint Airworthiness Authorities certification, Europe’s first Next Generation B-737-700 is not delivered to Maersk until March 2, 1998. The DASH-7L9 is in service by month’s end, making Maersk the airline first in Europe to operate the new type.
On June 1, Maersk Air is taken to court by the Danish Equal Status Council for demanding that its female flight attendants wear makeup. The airline is accused of gender discrimination and it is expected to be ordered to change its dress code.
Although the European Commission has begun to take a harder line toward code-sharing pacts, on July 14, EU Competition Chief Karel van Miert, speaking for the EC, approves the carrier’s pact with Finnair, O/Y. Van Miert states that the pact has enhanced competition between Copenhagen and Stockholm, which had previously been dominated by SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System).
In October, upstaging both Finnair, O/Y and Minister van Miert, SAS negotiates its own comprehensive commercial accord with Maersk Air, guaranteeing itself an even stronger dominant role in Nordic air transport. When the pact takes effect on March 28, it will provide for joint ground handling, marketing, frequent flyer program linkage, and dual-designator flights.
Passenger boardings drop 3% during the 12 months to 1.86 million.
By the beginning of 1999, airline employment has been increased by 3.1% to 1,279.
With the beginning of the summer schedule on March 28, twice-daily B-737-5L9 return services are launched between Copenhagen and both Athens and Venice. In addition, the three daily roundtrips from Copenhagen to Kristiansand are upgraded to B-737-5L9.
On April 1, a new B-737-5L9 return route, The Aalborg Feeder, is inaugurated four times a day between Aalborg and Billund. The flights are planned to have the best possible connections with the carrier’s Billund departures for other European destinations.
A new reservations center is opened in Billund Airport on July 1. Under terms of a code-sharing agreement signed with Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. on June 10, the German major is able to sell tickets on Maersk’s return services from Billund to Frankfurt, for those passengers flying beyond the DLH hub, beginning on October 1. In addition to increased profits for both parties, the pact improves connections from Billund.
A Next Generation B-737-7L9 is delivered on October 19, bringing the fleet total to five, including two others received this year. Frequencies between Copenhagen and Bornholm are increased on October 29 to 40 weekly roundtrips, including early morning departures known as Fog Crushers.
Due to poor load factors, the Copenhagen to Esbjer service, first operated in 1982, is halted on October 31.
Passenger boardings this year jump 7.5% to 2,095,000, but cargo traffic drops 33% to 654,000 FTKs. Maersk Air Group revenues advance 8.6% to $472.77 million, even as the net gain slides to $15.12 million.
Airline employment at the beginning of 2000 stands at 1,321, a 4.8% increase over the previous 12 months. The B-737 fleet now includes 15 Dash-5L9s, 5 Dash-7L9s, and 2 Dash-3L9s.
Two Next Generation B-737-7L9s are chartered to Air Malta Company, Ltd. in time for the start of the summer schedule on March 26. A B-737-5L9 is placed on half of the Copenhagen to Bornholm frequencies, thereby increasing the number of weekly seats to 3,100 each way.
On March 26, as part of a code-sharing arrangement with SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System), new daily B-737-5L9 return service is inaugurated between Copenhagen and Lisbon.
On April 9, daily (except Sunday) nonstop B-737-5L9 roundtrips are inaugurated from Billund to Dublin.
On May 1, Jorn Eriksen, senior vice president at Maersk, succeeds Borge Thornbech as president of Estonian Air, A. S.; Thornbech returns to an executive position at Maersk
In mid-June EU Commission officials suddenly descend upon the offices of Maersk, as well as those of Maersk owner A. P. Moeller Group, and SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) as part of an investigation into the competitive results of the code-sharing pact between the two airlines. The dual-designator review, confirmed to the press by EU headquarters in Brussels, is to determine if the Maersk-SAS pact violates Commission rules.
The sixth Next Generation B-737-7L9 is delivered on October 19. The tenth anniversary of four international routes from Billund is celebrated on October 29: London (LGW), Amsterdam, Stockholm, and Brussels.
On November 1, the twice-daily roundtrip B-737-5L9 return service between Billund and Brussels becomes thrice daily. Three Canadair CRJ200LRs are leased from Maersk Air UK, Ltd. on November 1; the trio has been repainted from “British Airways Express” colors to the standard, two-tone scheme of the Danish line. The regional jets are scheduled to initiate daily roundtrips between Billund and Milan on November 6.
Daily Next Generation B-737-7L9 service is initiated four times a week from Copenhagen to Cairo on November 20; the next day, Next Generation B-737-5L9 thrice-weekly roundtrips commence from Copenhagen to Istanbul. Five-times-a-week B-737-5L9 return service is started on November 22 from Billund to Zurich while twice-weekly B-737-5L9 flights begin from Billund to the Faroe Islands. A fifth daily return flight is offered between Billund and Stockholm.
Six-times-a-week CRJ200LR return frequencies begin on November 22 between Billund and Milan. The service had originally been scheduled to start on November 6.
MAERSK AIR U. K., LTD.: Maersk House, 2245-2249 Coventry Road, Birmingham, England, B26 3NG, United Kingdom; Phone 44 (121) 743-9090; Fax 44 (121) 743-4123; Http://www. british-airways. com/inside/wrldwide/partners/franchise/docs/maersk. shtml; Code VB; Year Founded 1993. When Brymon European Airways, Ltd. splits apart in July 1993, Maersk Air, A. S. of Copenhagen steps into purchase the old Birmingham Executive Airways, Ltd. component. Maersk is the first company to take advantage of a new European Union ruling which permits 100% ownership of an airline by another from an EU nation. Firmly in control by July, the Danish renames its new subsidiary, but chooses to see it operate as an independent in order for it to avoid service restrictions imposed by the ancient international SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) compact.
Headquarters are retained at Birmingham; Peter Harris is president with Flemming Knudsen as managing director. The company is outfitted with 5 British Aerospace BAe (BAC) 1-11s and 3 BAe Jetstream 31s.
In August, the reformed entity becomes a franchise of British Airways, Ltd. (2). Under its agreement with the British major, the company will repaint its aircraft in modified BA livery. These are employed to inaugurate “British Airways Express” revenue services connecting the carrier’s Birmingham base with Amsterdam, Belfast, Copenhagen, Cork, Dublin, Glasgow, Milan, Newcastle, and Stuttgart.
Airline employment stands at 185 in 1994 and the fleet includes 1 each British Aerospace (BAC) 1-11-401AK and 1-11-416EK, 3 Jetstream 31s, and 2 each 1-11-408EFs and 1-11-510EXs, the latter 2 leased from British Airways, Ltd. (2). Berlin and Lyon join the route network.
Enplanements for the first full year of service total 370,000.
By early 1995, the company is offering 200 “British Airways Express” flights per week from Birmingham to six European cities. Passenger boardings total 42,845.
A British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 41 is leased in September 1996. Painted in “British Airways Express” colors, it is placed into service at the beginning of October over a route from Birmingham to Newcastle.
Customer bookings rise 5% to 45,100 and revenues are $109 million. Net gain drops to $5.1 million.
Managing Director Knudsen returns to AP Moller Shipping Group in September 1997; he is succeeded by Maersk Air, A. S. Senior Vice President-Finance Gert Kristensen. Four Boeing 737-5L9s join the fleet painted in the controversial new British Airways, Ltd. (2) color scheme, each with a tail representing the culture of another land.
In October, the company places a $64-million order for 3 Canadair CRJ-200LRs and takes options on 12 more. The three will be delivered during the second quarter of 1998 and will replace the BAC 1-11-400s.
Passenger boardings during these 12 months surge 22.7% to 554,352 while cargo skyrockets 66% to 1.09 million FTKs.
Flights continue in 1998. Destinations visited include Amsterdam, Belfast, Berlin, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Lyon, Milan, Newcastle, and Stuttgart.
While en route from Belfast to Birmingham on January 4, Flight 8343, a BAC 1-11, develops a minor electrical fault that causes smoke in the rear of the cockpit; a precautionary landing is made at Liverpool.
In early October, British Airways, Ltd. (2) leads an effort by several European airlines to prevent implementation of an Italian government decree requiring a shift of their services to the new Malpensa Airport. Consequently, when the new BA winter schedule starts on October 25, all 12 of its weekly roundtrips to Milan from Manchester and the twice-daily roundtrips from London (LGW) are switched to the new Malpensa Airport. Franchise partner Maersk is, however, permitted to continue operating its 17 weekly return flights from Birmingham into Linate Airport.
Later in the month, new services from Birmingham to Vienna and Geneva, due to start in February, are announced. The BAC 1-11 flights will be operated twice daily during the workweek and daily on weekends.
The CRJ-200LRs enter service before Christmas, with the fourth arriving just after New Year’s.
Passenger boardings during the 12 months ascend 4.6% to 589,000.
BAC 1-11 twice-daily workweek roundtrips commence on February 1, 1999, from Birmingham to Vienna and Geneva. A daily roundtrip is offered between the three cities on weekends.
Two additional CRJ-200LRs are ordered from Bombardier Aerospace on February 24, along with options for two more CRJ-200LRs and five CRJ-700s. Deliveries on this request will be made in March and April 2000.
New routes to Rome and Stockholm are opened on November 1. Simultaneously, frequencies from Birmingham to Manchester are increased from four times a day to five times a day.
Customer bookings shoot up 11.4% to 686,000, while freight traffic swells 11.4% to 43.38 million FTKs.
Airline employment at the beginning of 2000 stands at 432, a 28.6% increase over the previous 12 months. The two CRJ200LRs requested the previous year are delivered as scheduled.
The BA franchise carrier introduces a Boeing 737-5L9, leased from its Danish parent, at the beginning of April. Painted in full BA franchise colors, it will soon be joined by four more of the same type.
The company’s “British Airways Express” CRJ service from Newcastle to Birmingham is turned over to British Regional Airlines, Ltd. on October 30. The new operator downgrades the route from jet to turboprop by replacing the Canadair with a British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 41. The move is protested by Gill Airways (Gill Aviation, Ltd.), which had been negotiating with Maersk Air, U. K. to take it over for itself.
Three CRJ200LRs are leased to Maersk Air, A. S. on November 1; the trio has been repainted from “British Airways Express” colors to the standard, two-tone scheme of the Danish line. The regional jets are scheduled to initiate daily roundtrips between Billund and Milan on
November 6. Six-times-a-week CRJ200LR return frequencies begin on November 22 between Billund and Milan. The service had originally been scheduled to start on November 6.
Options are converted on December 11 into two firm orders for a pair of CRJ700s valued at $53.6 million. The new regional jets are scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2002.
As the year ends, negotiations with British Airways, Ltd. (2) concerning the franchise arrangement continue. The arrangement, which is scheduled to end on March 24, will be extended through the end of the upcoming summer season, with an actual decision on the pact expected by the end of April.
MAERSK COMMUTER, I. S.: Denmark (1988-1990). In 1988, the Maersk Air, A. S. subsidiary Air Business, A. S. is reformed as MCIS. Jan Goffredsen remains as general director with Leif Nielsen as operations manager. All previous routes, especially those linking Esbjerg with Stavanger and Aarhus, are maintained with the original two Shorts 360s. The reorganized regional operation is unable to expand or retain its viability and ceases operations on April 1, 1990, being absorbed into the parent company.
MAERSK HELICOPTERS, A. S. See MAERSK AIR, A. S.
MAFIKENG AIR SERVICE (PTY.), LTD.: South Africa (19781979). MAS is established by the government of the black African “homeland” of Bophuthatswana (located within the borders of the Republic of South Africa) in 1978 to operate scheduled Cessna flights and on - demand charters from an airfield near its namesake town. On July 20, 1979, the concern is renamed Mmabatho Air Service (Pty.), Ltd.
MAFIKENG AVIATION SERVICES, LTD. See MAGNUM AIRLINES (PTY.), LTD.
MAGADAN AIR CARGO (MAGADAN AERO GRUZ): Naberezh-naya Reki Magadki 7, Magadan, Magadan Zone ATD, 685007, Russia; Phone 7 (41322) 93633; Fax 7 (41322) 21082; Code MGG; Year Founded 1994. MAC is established at the Siberian city of Magadan in 1994 to provide all-cargo services throughout the vast wilderness area. M. U. Kuznechik is appointed general director and he launches revenue flights with 11 Antonov An-12s and 3 Ilyushin Il-76TDs.
Flights continue in 1995-2000; however, the number of An-12s is reduced by four. During the first quarter of the former year, an Il-76TD is chartered to Volga-Dnepr Airlines to help it increase its capacity on freight charters to and from China.
MAGADAN AIR CONCERN (MAGADAN AVIAKONCERN MAK): Russia (1992-2000). Based at the remote Siberian destination of Magadan, this Aeroflot Soviet Airlines directorate is reformed in 1992 into a semiautonomous division of the new Aeroflot Russian International Airlines (ARIA). As greater independence is sought from Moscow, the company, now under Victor G. Trezhbov’s leadership, introduces cargo charters to Europe, Africa, Asia, and the U. S.
An Antonov An-12V with six crew and a passenger suffers fuel exhaustion and makes a forced wheels-up landing at a point 48 km. from Irkutsk on July 14; there are no fatalities.
Enplanements for the year total 814,990.
The fleet in 1993 includes 15 Ilyushin Il-76s, 20 Tupolev Tu-154s, 8 Antonov An-12s, and an unspecified number of An-24s/-26s and Yakovlev Yak-40s. As a result of the failing Russian economy, the company suffers significant traffic declines.
Passenger boardings fall 37.8% to 591,430 while freight is off 39.4% to 192.1 million FTKs.
The traffic downturn continues in 1994 as customer bookings plunge 44.2% to 330,200 and cargo drops 20.8% to 152 million FTKs. The passenger fleet is dramatically reduced in size, down to 1 each An-24, Tu-154, and Yak-40; however, an additional Il-76 is added.
Flights continue in 1995-1999, during which years cargo charters are operated to Western Europe, Asia, Africa, and the U. S. The Russian currency crisis, which begins in August 1998, has a devastating impact on the airline. By the end of 1999, the company is deeply in debt.
Having determined that Magadan Air Concern will not regain its economic viability, the Russian government’s aviation authority, the FSVT, grounds the northeastern carrier on January 21, 2000. The defunct airline’s assets are all seized and parceled out to its creditors.
MAGADAN AIRLINES (MAVAIL): Poselok Sokoi, Magadan, Magadan Zone ATD, 685018, Russia; Phone 7 (41300) 93644; Fax 7 (41300) 93368; Code H5; Year Founded 1995. Magadan Air Concern (Magadan Aviakoncern MAK) is reformed in 1995. A. A. Russ is named director general and he begins domestic and international services with a fleet of 5 Tupolev Tu-154Ms and 3 Tu-154Bs.
Flights continue in 1995-1999. Scheduled destinations now include Anchorage, Ekaterinburg, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Seattle, St. Petersburg, Ust-Ilimsk, and Vladivostok. The company’s weekly roundtrip services to Anchorage and Seattle allow U. S. citizens a rare opportunity to see a Tu-154M on American territory.
The fleet at the beginning of 2000 includes 5 An-12s, 3 Il-76s, 7 Tu-154Bs, and 6 Tu-154Ms.
By order of a local court, the company’s bank records are seized for inspection on January 20. At this point, the carrier is shut down. Flights are, however, allowed to resume on January 25.
On March 10, the company takes over the Vladivostok services to the U. S. formerly operated by Aeroflot Russian International Airlines (ARIA).
MAGEC AVIATION, LTD.: London Luton Airport, Luton, Bedfordshire, England, LU2 9NT, United Kingdom; Phone 44 (1582) 724 182; Fax 44 (1582) 455 453; Year Founded 1947. Originally established as the FBO at London (CTN) in 1947, Magec, over the next half - century, also undertakes executive and small group charters, first around the country and then to northwest Europe and overseas.
By 2000, Operations Manager Richard Kneale oversees the flights of four British Aerospace BAe (HS) 125 Hawker biz jets.
MAGNICHARTERS, S. A. de C. V.: Lavarca 1128, Mitras 4, Monterrey, 64620, Nuevo Leon, Mexico; Phone 52 (83) 369-0855; Fax 52 (83) 369-0977; Code GMT; Year Founded 1994. Magnicharters is established in late 1994 as a subsidiary of Manitur, which is itself part of Gruppo Turistico Magno. Passenger charter and inclusive tour flights commence in January 1995 employing 1 each leased Boeing 737-205, B-737-205A, B-737-222, and B-737-247.
Flights to holiday points throughout North and South America and the Caribbean continue through the remainder of the decade. During this time, the Dash-205A, Dash-222, and Dash-247 are replaced with two Dash-2C3As and a Dash-2K9A. At the end of 1999, two former Aero Continente, S. A. B-727-130s are chartered from C-S Aviation Services.
MAGNITOGORSK STATE AIR ENTERPRISE: Magnitogorsk Airport, Chelyabinsk Region, 455033, Russia; Phone 7 (35317) 329 425; Fax 7 (35317) 346 374; Code MNG; Year Founded 1993. The former Aeroflot Soviet Airlines Magnitogorsk division is reformed and renamed in 1993. Vitali Martyniuk is named director general and he begins regional feeder services with a fleet of 6 each Antonov An-24Vs and An-2s, plus 4 An-26s.
During the remainder of the decade, the company also provides wet-lease contract services on behalf of Third World airlines, mostly in Africa. One more An-24V has been acquired by 2000.
MAGNOLIA AIRWAYS: United States (1975). Magnolia is set up at
Alexandria, Louisiana, in 1975 to provide scheduled passenger and cargo services to New Orleans and to De Ridder and Fort Polk. Daily roundtrips with a Piper PA-31-310 Navajo are duly inaugurated, but cannot be maintained for more than a few months.
MAGNUM AIRLINES: United States (1980-1982). Philip Kupers establishes this tiny third-level carrier at Van Nuys, California, on February 8, 1980 to provide scheduled passenger flights to Las Vegas and San Francisco. Employing a Cessna 402 and a Cessna 310, he commences revenue operations on May 10. Caught up in the ATC effects of the PATCO air traffic controllers’ strike of summer 1981 and suffering from the recession, Kupers goes out of business in early 1982.
World History
