Luxair

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Luxair
IATA
LG		 ICAO
LGL		 Callsign
LUXAIR
Founded 1961
Hubs Luxembourg Findel Airport
Focus cities Saarbrücken Airport
Frequent-flyer program Miles & More
Fleet size 18
Destinations 59 (39 seasonal)
Parent company 49.96% state owned[1]
Headquarters Findel Airport, Sandweiler, Luxembourg
Key people Adrien Ney (CEO)
Website www.luxair.lu

Luxair S.A., Société Luxembourgeoise de Navigation Aérienne, operating as Luxair, is the flag carrier airline of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It operates scheduled services to 50 destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean and Middle East, plus charter and seasonal summer services. Its head office is located on the grounds of Luxembourg - Findel Airport in Sandweiler.[2][3] Its main base is Luxembourg – Findel Airport.[3]

History

A Luxair Sud Aviation Caravelle.
Luxair Boeing 747SP at Findel Airport in 1990.

Descended from the Luxembourg Airlines Company, founded in 1948, Luxair was set up in 1961 to meet the growing demand for air links between Luxembourg and other European cities.

In 1962, Luxair began flights by launching a Luxembourg–Paris route with a Fokker F27 Friendship. From 1964 to 1969, Luxair operated three Lockheed L-1649A Starliner aircraft in a co-operative agreement with Trek Airways, from Luxembourg to Johannesburg. The Starliners were painted in Luxair livery along with Luxair registrations.[4] By 1967, Luxair's fleet consisted of three Fokker Friendships and one Vickers Viscount. The latter was written off in a non-fatal accident in 1969 and replaced the following year by the airline's first jet airliner, a Caravelle built by Sud Aviation in Toulouse. The first Boeing aircraft, a Boeing 737–200, joined the fleet in 1977. Over the years, Luxair gradually introduced further jet aircraft Boeing 747SP (for routes to South Africa), Boeing 737–400 and Boeing 737–500 as well as Fokker 50 turboprops and Embraer jets. In an effort to move to an all-jet fleet, the last Fokker 50 aircraft was withdrawn from service in April 2005.

In March 2003, Luxair ordered two new Boeing 737–700 to replace its older Boeing aircraft. The first of the new aircraft was delivered on 18 February 2004. A third aircraft was ordered in August 2003 and delivered in January 2005.

The rising cost of oil made operating regional jets increasingly difficult. To lessen its exposure, Luxair decided to reintroduce turboprop aircraft, and in June 2006 it signed a firm order with Bombardier for three Dash 8-Q400, plus three options. The last of the three aircraft was delivered in September 2007. Two additional Q400s were ordered later.

Luxair's first aircraft was this Fokker F27 operating a holiday flight at Manchester Airport in 1966
Embraer ERJ 145 in current livery

At March 2007, Luxair had 2,210 employees.[3]

In October 2008, Luxair decided to place an order for its first Boeing 737–800. This aircraft replaced the last Boeing 737–500 in Luxair's fleet and facilitated Luxair's offer on its holiday destinations.

In 2009, the airline was awarded as the most punctual scheduled operator at London City Airport during 2008 by Flight on Time, based on CAA statistics.[5]

In 2011 Luxair carried 1,302,771 passengers.[6]

Corporate affairs

Ownership

The airline is owned by the State of Luxembourg (26.85%), Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État (21.81%), Banque internationale à Luxembourg (13.14%), Deutsche Lufthansa (13.00%), Panalpina World Transport (12.09%) as well as Luxair Group and others (13.11%).[1] In total, the State of Luxembourg owns 49.96% of the company through various state-owned corporations and through its recent acquisition of 10% of Banque Internationale à Luxembourg.

Business trends

The key trends for Luxair Group over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):

- style="background:#0091B8;" | 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Turnover (Group) (€ m) 417 383 409 429 447
Profits (Group) (net) (€ m) 8.5 1.3 8.9 3.6 −10.5
Number of employees (average) 2,461 2,334 2,317 2,344 2,309
Number of passengers (m) 1.22 1.18 1.25 1.30 1.37
Passenger load factor (%) 73.4 72.9 73.8 72.4 73.4
Cargo carried (tons 000s) 810 672 735 678 638
Number of aircraft (at year end) 15 16 16 15 16
Notes/sources [7] [7] [7] [8] [9]

Destinations

Main article: Luxair destinations

Fleet

Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 in current livery
Boeing 737-500 in old livery
Embraer ERJ 145 in old livery

Current fleet

The Luxair fleet includes the following aircraft with an average age of 5.2 years (as of January 2014):[10]

Luxair fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Options Passengers Notes
Boeing 737-700 3 — — 141
Boeing 737-800 3 1 — 186 To be delivered in 2014 – 2015
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 6 1[11] 5[11] 76 1 order and 1 option for NextGen version
Embraer ERJ 145 6 — — 49
Total 18 2 5

Historic fleet - 1969

Luxair fleet in 1970 [12]
Aircraft Total
Boeing 707–320 1
Fokker F27 3
Sud Caravelle 1
Vickers Viscount 803 1
Total 6

LUXAVIA has also operated: 3 Lockheed Super Constellations(http://www.zoggavia.com/Luxair.html Boeing 747–100 and 747-SP and Airbus A300 aircraft, under the name of LUXAIR.

Incidents and accidents

  • On 22 December 1969, a Vickers Viscount (registration LX-LGC) arriving from Frankfurt hit a snowbank on the runway while landing at Luxembourg airport in severe weather. No passengers were killed, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. It was scrapped in May 1970.[13]
  • On 6 November 2002, Luxair Flight 9642, Fokker 50 (registration LX-LGB) was flying from Berlin, Germany, and crashed in a field near the village of Niederanven during its final approach to Luxembourg airport. 20 passengers and 2 crew-members died, including artist Michel Majerus except the pilot in command and one PAP survived,. This is the only fatal accident in Luxair's history.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The State of Luxembourg directly owns 26.85%; further 21.81% are controlled by fully state-owned Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat. [http://www.luxairgroup.lu/cms/luxair.php?page&p=EN,13657,181,,1,, "About Luxair Group – Shareholders"]. www.luxairgroup.lu. Luxair S.A. Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  2. ↑ "[http://www.luxairgroup.lu/cms/luxair.php?page&p=EN,14005,243,,1,, Legal]." Luxair. Retrieved on 7 February 2011. "Luxair S.A. LuxairGroup Luxembourg Airport L-2987 Luxembourg."
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 108. 
  4. ↑ Zoggavia.com – Luxair – Retrieved 11/5/10
  5. ↑ Flight on Time Awards 2008
  6. ↑ http://www.luxairgroup.lu/cms/page?p=EN,10539,178,,1,,
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 [http://www.luxairgroup.lu/cms/luxair.php?p=EN,,,1.221,,, "Financial Report 2010"]. Retrieved 6 December 2012. 
  8. ↑ [http://www.luxairgroup.lu/cms/luxair.php?p=,,,,,7bcad0b65321237a32d07c3a6268b506, "Annual Report 2011"]. Retrieved 6 December 2012. 
  9. ↑ [http://www.luxairgroup.lu/cms/luxair.php?p=,,,,,7bcad0b65321237a32d07c3a6268b506, "Annual Report 2012"]. Retrieved 1 June 2012. 
  10. ↑ Luxair Fleet Details and History planespotters.net
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Luxair places order for 1+1 Q400NGs from Bombardier
  12. ↑ Flight International 26 March 1970
  13. ↑ Focus-Online: Luxair

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