Orion Airways
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| Founded | 1979 | |||
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| Ceased operations | 1989 | |||
| Hubs | East Midlands Airport | |||
| Secondary hubs |
List of hubs
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| Fleet size | 21 | |||
| Destinations | charter | |||
| Company slogan | The scheduled airline for un-scheduled travellers | |||
| Parent company | Horizon Travel | |||
| Headquarters | East Midlands Airport | |||
Orion Airways (known simply as 'Orion') was an airline based in the United Kingdom with its head office on the grounds of East Midlands Airport in Castle Donington, North West Leicestershire.[1] It was created as the charter airline of Horizon Travel and went on to successfully develop scheduled services. The airline operated a fleet of Boeing 737-200s, Boeing 737-300s and Airbus A300s between 1979-1989.
History
Horizon Travel created Orion to fly its growing charter network - predominantly in the Mediterranean, the airline's first flight was in the spring of 1980. In 1986, Orion successfully gained permission to fly schedule services from East Midlands Airport to various holiday destinations.
The airline quickly won a reputation for its quality of service, punctuality and distinctive look. The competition was fierce but Horizon’s destinations continued to increase, correlating with Orion’s increased route-network and fleet growth.
In the mid-1980s, Horizon and Orion were bought by Bass the large brewing and hotels group. As a successful holiday tour operator and integrated airline it was an appealing, tidy, and importantly a 'no-strings' package ripe for sale to a competitor. In 1988, Bass accepted an offer from the ever-expanding Thomson Travel Group. When the news was released that Orion was to be integrated into Britannia during 1989, it came as a surprise to the industry and public alike. The last flight took place on 26 January 1989 and it was not long before the familiar livery and titles disappeared from aircraft and buildings at East Midlands Airport because the new owner understandably intended to concentrate its activities at its Luton Airport base. Naturally the scheduled licenses were transferred to Britannia without interruption, but at the end of the 1990 summer season, the airline decided to withdraw from this market in favour of its charter work. Ironically, in 2005, TUI UK (owner of Thomson Travel Group) made big expansion plans into the scheduled market.
In the meantime, the previous management of Orion had formed 'TEA UK' in association with TEA (Trans European Airways of Belgium). Under the takeover agreement, they were not allowed to base any operations at East Midlands Airport so they choose nearby Birmingham Airport although the airline went on to establish a relatively large presence at East Midlands Airport.
Livery
The Orion Airways livery was a traditional white body with a grey underbelly separated by a triple cheatline in an unusual combination of gold, orange and chocolate-brown. The distinctive chocolate-brown tail bore a large stylized orange 'O' (see image).
Fleet
At the time of the merger, the fleet consisted of:
| Orion Airways Fleet | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Notes | |
| Boeing 737-200 | 12 | 136 | Fleet contained 737th Boeing 737 ever built | |
| Boeing 737–300 | 7 | 146 | Only 5 were merged into the Britannia Airways fleet. | |
| Airbus A300B | 2 | 375 | ||
| Total | 21 | |||
References
- ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 29 March 1986. 114.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Orion Airways. |
- Orion Airways Video
- and code information
- Orion Airways Flickr Group
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