XL Airways

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XL Airways
IATA
JN		 ICAO
XLA		 Callsign
EXPO
Founded 1994 as Sabre Airways
Hubs London Gatwick Airport
Manchester Airport
Glasgow Airport
Focus cities Newcastle Airport
Bristol Airport
East Midlands Airport
Birmingham Airport
Cardiff Airport
Humberside Airport
London Stansted Airport
Dublin Airport
Belfast International Airport
Ireland West Airport Knock
Fleet size 14
Destinations Varies
Parent company XL Leisure Group
Headquarters Crawley, England, United Kingdom
Key people DFO James Scott
CEO Phil Wyatt
Chairman Peter Owen
Website: http://www.xl.com
Boeing 767
Boeing 767
Air Malta Airbus A320-200, operated on behalf of XL
Air Malta Airbus A320-200, operated on behalf of XL
Boeing 737-400 (in old livery) takes off
Boeing 737-400 (in old livery) takes off
Boeing 737-800 in current livery
Boeing 737-800 in current livery

XL Airways is a British charter and scheduled airline with headquarters in Crawley, West Sussex, near London Gatwick Airport. It is part of the XL Leisure Group. XL Airways is a trading name for XL Airways UK Limited. The airline provides short-haul and long-haul charter services predominantly to leisure destinations from its three bases at London Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow. The airline also operates services from Newcastle, Bristol, East Midlands, Birmingham, Cardiff, Humberside, London Stansted, Knock and Belfast.[citation needed]

Two other airlines within the group use the XL Airways branding; XL Airways France and XL Airways Germany.

XL Airways UK Limited holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, which permits it to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

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The airline was established in 1994 as Sabre Airways and started operations on 17 December 1994. The name Excel was adopted following the acquisition in November 2000 of a 67% stake by Libra Holidays Group, and subsequently increased. In March 2004 the Avion Group (now Eimskipafélag Íslands) completed the purchase of 40.5% of the Excel Airways Group.[citation needed]

In March 2006 Excel Airways signed an agreement with GE Commercial Aviation Services for the lease of two Next-Generation Boeing 737-900ER (Extended Range) aircraft. These will be the first examples of the latest variant of the Boeing 737 aircraft to operate in the UK when delivered in May 2008.

The airline acquired three Boeing 747-300 aircraft following the merger of sister company Air Atlanta Europe in May 2006. The aircraft were operated for Travel City Direct between the UK and Orlando, however they have left the fleet in November 2007 following expiration of their leases.

On 30 October 2006, members of management bought-out XL Leisure Group from Avion Group. XL Leisure Group consists of Excel Airways Group in the UK, Star Airlines France and Star Europe in Germany.[citation needed]

XL Airways were the owners of the plane that on the 26th February 2007 deported 21 children and 17 adults from the UK to DR Congo, a country with deteriorating human rights record according to MONUC[3]. The charter flight went ahead despite faxes sent to home office by the public, opposition from campaign groups such as the NCADC[4], condemnation from the Bishops of Winchester, Chichester, Durham and Ripon and Leeds and a letter to The Independent and The Guardian UK newspapers from actor Colin Firth protesting that the government was ‘conniving at murder’.[citation needed]

A response to a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that the Home Office's expenditure with XL Airways "to deport/repatriate persons from the UK via Charter flights for the year 2005/2006" was £1,542,826.96.

In October, 2007 it was revealed that XL, expressing "sympathy for all dispossessed persons in the world," would no longer transport asylum-seekers out of the UK.[1]

The XL.com website and aircraft branding was adopted by the Excel Airways Group in November 2006 as part of a major brand relaunch. Sister airlines in Germany and France were also rebranded.

[edit] Destinations

[edit] XL Airways Ireland

Since May 2007 XL Airways has operated flights from Dublin, Cork and Knock which are marketed through XL Holidays as XL Airways Ireland. The inaugural flight operated from Dublin to Palma on 1 May 2007. Flights are offered to the following destinations: [2].

From Dublin:

From Cork:

From Knock:

[edit] Incidents and accidents

  • 16 July 2003 - Excel Airways Boeing 737-800 (G-XLAG) with 190 passengers and seven crew took off from Manchester Airport while vehicles were working near the end of the runway. Despite the crew being told the runway was operating at reduced length, they took off from a runway intersection with reduced length using a reduced thrust setting calculated for the assumed normal runway length. The aircraft lifted off over the vehicles, missing them by 56 ft (17 m), according to the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch report. Six safety recommendations were made. [3]
  • 4 November 2004 - The left wing of an Excel Airways Boeing 767-200 (G-SATR) struck the right horizontal stabiliser of a stationary bmibaby Boeing 737-300 while both aircraft were awaiting departure from Manchester Airport. The investigation concluded that the Excel 767 Captain, who bore primary responsibility for collision avoidance, misjudged the available separation due to a combination of physiological limitations, distractions and a false assumption regarding his Air Traffic Control clearance. [4]

[edit] Awards

[edit] Fleet

The XL Airways UK fleet includes the following aircraft (as of June 2008):[5]

Aircraft Number in Fleet
Boeing 737-800 9
Boeing 737-900ER 2
Boeing 767-200ER 1
Boeing 767-300ER 2

Aircraft Orders:

  • 2 Boeing 737-900 one to be delivered from Boeing in Q2, 2009
  • 4 Airbus A330 to be delivered from Airbus, first due November 2008

Former Fleet:

[edit] Sponsorship

For the 2007-2008 football season, XL Airways are the sponsors of West Ham United F.C. [6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Major airline refuses to help with forcible removal of immigrants
  2. ^ XL.com 31 March 2008
  3. ^ Report No: 3/2006. Report on the serious incident to Boeing 737-86N, G-XLAG, at Manchester Airport on 16 July 2003. UK AAIB. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
  4. ^ Boeing 767-204, G-SATR and Boeing 737-37Q, G-ODSK. UK AAIB. Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
  5. ^ Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Register
  6. ^ West Ham United - Club Partners

[edit] External links

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Airlines of the United Kingdom
Civil Air Ensign of the United Kingdom