Flyglobespan

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Flyglobespan
IATA Y2	ICAO GSM	Callsign GLOBESPAN
Founded		2002
Hubs		Glasgow International Airport Edinburgh Airport
Focus cities		Aberdeen Airport London Stansted Airport Manchester Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport Durham Tees Valley Airport Belfast International Airport
Fleet size		11
Destinations		36
Parent company		Globespan Group plc
Company slogan		Scotland's low fares airline
Headquarters		Edinburgh, Scotland
Key people		Tom Dalrymple (Chairman)
Website: http://www.flyglobespan.com

Flyglobespan is a low-cost airline based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It operates scheduled services from Glasgow and Edinburgh to 36 destinations in Europe, North America, The Caribbean and Africa. Its main bases are Glasgow International Airport and Edinburgh Airport, with secondary bases at other airports in Scotland and also in England. The airline's tag line is "Scotland's low fares airline".

Globespan Airways Limited trading as Flyglobespan 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. ^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Today 3 Future Plans 4 Destinations 5 Fleet 5.1 Aircraft orders 6 External links 7 References

[edit] History

Flyglobespan (a trading name for Globespan Airways Limited) was established in November 2002 as an offshoot of the Globespan Group. Operations started in April 2003 using two Boeing 737-300 aircraft provided by Channel Express on services from Glasgow Prestwick International Airport and Edinburgh Airport to 5 destinations in Spain, France and Italy.

Globespan, an Edinburgh-based tour operator with over 30 years experience, already offered a comprehensive portfolio of scheduled and charter flights, cruise travel, rail and coach travel, motor home and car rental, and hotel accommodation tailored for holidaymakers visiting popular destinations in Canada, the USA and Spain. The scheduled flights, mainly to Canada, were operated by Air Transat from a number of airports throughout the UK, with Globespan acting as the booking agent and selling the flights under its own brand. In summer 2002, a similar arrangement was trialed between Edinburgh and Nice, in the south of France. This was to prove particularly successful for Globespan, and led to the creation of its own no-frills brand, Flyglobespan.

Services began in 2003 with aircraft and crews provided by Channel Express, though under the Flygobespan brand with red and white livery, offering irregular flights to some of Europe's most popular holiday destinations. The offshoot was to prove successful however, and frequencies were increased to maximise aircraft utilisation and expand its market share. At this point, the operator relocated from Prestwick to the larger Glasgow International Airport, which is much closer to the major population centres of central Scotland, within months of commencing operation. In 2004, so it could operate its own aircraft, the Globespan Group bought the defunct airline operator Cougar Leasing along with its CAA Aircraft Operating Certificate. Now with its own Operating Licence, expansion was swift for the new airline. New destinations were added to the network, including Prague, where the airline faced competition from Czech Airlines, and further points in Spain, including the Canary Islands. CSA withdrew their Glasgow to Prague service on 1 August 2005.

By March 2005 the airline had grown to offer 15 destinations across Europe, with a fleet of 9 aircraft, of which 3 were bought new, and had tripled its passenger numbers to 1.5 million annually. Profits for the year ending October 2004 had risen from £2m in its first year to £3.7m, on a turnover of £98m.

In May 2005, the first domestic services were launched, with twice-daily flights from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London Stansted - routes that were already operated by the much larger low fares carrier easyJet, with much higher frequencies. However, these services were withdrawn in February 2006, together with plans to serve Bournemouth from Edinburgh.

[edit] Today

Despite high fuel costs and intense competition in the no-frills market, the airline continues to expand. Flights from London Stansted commenced in October 2005, though a new daily service between Glasgow and Amsterdam, replacing the twice daily easyJet service between the two cities, was withdrawn in June 2006 due to low passenger numbers.

On the 1 November 2005 Flyglobespan announced its first long haul service from Glasgow to Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida, US. The service commenced in June 2006 and is operated by a Boeing 767 aircraft in a 3 class configuration. The three classes include economy, Premium economy and business class which includes 50 inch sleeper seats, gourmet food and wines. Alicante and Málaga services have been upgraded to twice-daily throughout the summer for 2006, while Murcia is now served daily. Fuerteventura has also been added to the winter 2006 schedule, meaning all four main Canary Islands destinations will be served from Scotland. Weekly services linking Glasgow with Athens and Heraklion were launched in May 2006 for the summer season.

In January 2006 Flyglobespan announced a 70% rise in pre-tax profits from the previous year.

[edit] Future Plans

In June 2006 Flyglobespan announced plans to operate out of Aberdeen International Airport now that 24 hour airport operation there has been confirmed. The first route to operate from Aberdeen is Tenerife, which commenced in winter 2006. It has also announced routes to Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Murcia, Palma and Paphos, commencing in summer 2007.

Liverpool will also be added to the Flyglobespan network from November 2006, with flights to Tenerife and the airline will also operate Liverpool's first long haul flight, to New York (JFK), using Boeing 757-200 aircraft, daily from May 2007. Also added is Liverpool's first connection with Hamilton Airport from May 2007.

Flights to Toronto, Canada from Manchester are due to commence in November, with two of the three weekly flights operated by Zoom Airlines, in accordance with a new codeshare deal between the two airlines. Zoom flights from Toronto to Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, London Gatwick, London Stansted and Manchester are already available for booking on the Flyglobespan website, as well as Ottawa to London Gatwick. It will also commence three times a week service Manchester to Cape Town, South Africa on November 4, 2006. Both these Manchester services will be operated by a Boeing 767.

Flyglobespan will also launch Northern Ireland's first ever scheduled flights to Florida with a weekly service to Orlando Sanford from Belfast International Airport in November 2006.

Flyglobespan have announced the start of new services in May 2007 from Hamilton Airport, Canada to various destinations in the UK and Ireland, including Doncaster-Sheffield Airport, this will be the first scheduled transatlantic flight to operate from the airport. Hamilton Airport is based 45 minutes southwest of Toronto's main Pearson International and located between Toronto and nearby Niagara Falls. It should be noted that Hamilton Airport is slightly more than one hour away from Toronto's city centre.

Flyglobespan will commence services in May 2007 from Ireland West Airport Knock to John F. Kennedy International Airport with three services a week, and Boston Logan International Airport twice a week. This will be Ireland's first scheduled transatlantic service operated by a low cost carrier. Flights will also be operated from Durham Tees Valley Airport to various destinations in 2007.

[edit] Destinations

Main article: Flyglobespan destinations

[edit] Fleet

The Flyglobespan fleet includes the following aircraft (at November 2006) ^[2]:

• 2 Boeing 737-300
• 4 Boeing 737-600
• 3 Boeing 737-800
• 2 Boeing 767-300ER
• 1 Boeing 757-200 (on lease from Icelandair - joined fleet on March 24th 2007)

• On order: 2 Boeing 737-700

Note: 1 Boeing 767-300 is currently on lease to Air India. It is expected to return in May 2007[1]

[edit] Aircraft orders

In order to meet the expansion of the airline's network, the airline's first Boeing 757 will join the fleet for the Liverpool to New York service. There are plans to lease a third 767, a second 757 and a further two 737s.[2] Flyglobespan announced in August 2006 that it would also lease two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners from the International Lease Finance Corporation for ten years, to be delivered in March and November 2010.[3]

[edit] External links

• Flyglobespan
• Flyglobespan Fleet Detail
• Flyglobespan Passenger Opinions
• Photos of Flyglobespan aircraft
• British Photo Database - Flyglobespan
• Flyglobespan web page at Flightattitude.com

[edit] References

1. ^ Operating licence
2. ^ UK CAA Aircraft Register