SmartLynx Airlines

SmartLynx Airlines
IATA
6Y		 ICAO
ART		 Callsign
SMART LYNX
Founded 1992 as LatCharter
Commenced operations 1993
Operating bases Riga International Airport
Fleet size 6
Destinations
Parent company Icelandair Group
Headquarters Mārupe municipality, Latvia
Key people Ómar Benediktsson (MD)
Website www.smartlynxweb.com

SmartLynx Airlines is an airline based in Mārupe, Mārupe municipality, Riga Region, Latvia.,[1][2] operating ad hoc passenger charter flights across Europe and to Africa and Asia, as well as business and VIP charters, most of them out of Riga International Airport.[3] As of March 2007, the airline had 100 employees.[3]

Contents

History

The privately owned company was established in 1992 by four professional pilots and one flight engineer as LatCharter (the name derived from Latvia) and started operations in 1993 using a leased Tupolev Tu-134B. Another two aircraft of the same type (originally belonging to Latavio and Harco Air) were acquired over the next years. The Tupolev fleet was replaced with the larger Yakovlev Yak-42 in April 2001, and the first modern Airbus A320 (though second-hand from Ansett Australia) entered the fleet in December 2003. In July 2006, Loftleiðir, the aircraft lease arm of Icelandair Group, acquired a majority 55% shareholding in the LatCharter stock, with a commitment to buy the remaining shares in the future.[4] In 2007, commemorating the airline's 15th anniversary, it was renamed SmartLynx Airlines.

Fleet

As of November 2011, the SmartLynx Airlines fleet consists of 6 Airbus A320 aircraft with an average age of 19.6 years, seating either 173 or 180 passengers in an all-economy class cabin layout.[5]

References

  1. ^ "About SmartLynx Airlines." About SmartLynx Airlines. Retrieved on 1 July 2010. "Address Mazrûdas Mârupes pagasts Rîgas rajons LV-2167."
  2. ^ "Contact Us." SmartLynx Airlines. Retrieved on 1 July 2010. "SmartLynx Airlines Mazrûdas Mârupes pagasts Rîgas rajons LV-2167."
  3. ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 105. 2007-04-03. 
  4. ^ "Loftleidir Icelandic acquires a minority stake in LatCharter Airlines". Alacra. http://www.alacrastore.com/deal-snapshot/Loftleidir_Icelandic_acquires_a_minority_stake_in_LatCharter_Airlines-456377. Retrieved 2009-11-26. "Loftleidir Icelandic of Iceland (LI), a unit of FL Group, planned to acquire the remaining ... stake, which it did not already own, in LatCharter Airlines (LC), a Riga-based provider of charter flights services. Concurrently, LI acquired a…" 
  5. ^ SmartLynx fleet at planespotters.net

External links

Latvia portal
Companies portal
Aviation portal
Airlines of Latvia

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