Flyglobespan

Flyglobespan Airlines, a subsidiary of the Globespan Group , was formed in November 2002 . Scheduled air travel began in April 2003 from Prestwick , Glasgow's second international airport, as well as Edinburgh airport on five international routes to Spain , France and Italy . For this, two Boeing 737-300 aircraft provided by Channel Express were used .

The creation of Flyglobespan was preceded by the successful activities of its parent company, the Scottish tour operator Globespan Group, in the sale of airline tickets for international flights of third-party airlines under its own brand. This led to a decision by Globespan management to make air travel an independent business line. For Flyglobespan, the format of a low-cost airline was chosen, offering significantly cheaper tickets by reducing the number of services provided in flight.

Immediately after the formation, Flyglobespan used the aircraft and crews of Channel Express, however repainted in Flyglobespan's signature red and white colors. Irregular flights to the most popular resorts in Europe, however, were quite cost-effective, all this led to a gradual increase in their number and ultimately resulted in the Flyglobespan moving from Prestwick to the larger and more conveniently located Glasgow International Airport . In 2004 , it was decided to begin the formation of its own fleet. For this, the Globespan Group acquired the bankrupt carrier Cougar Leasing , the main asset of which was its license to operate aircraft. Flyglobespan turned into a full-fledged airline. Soon the geography of routes was expanded: in particular, Prague was added to the Flyglobespan schedule, and soon Czech Airlines , which had previously exclusively served the Glasgow-Prague route, was forced to completely leave this route.

In March 2005, Flyglobespan served 15 destinations across Europe , with a fleet of 9 aircraft at its disposal, of which 3 were new. The number of passengers has tripled, to 1.5 million per year. Turnover for the airline’s second year of operations (ending in October 2004 ) was £ 98 million, with a profit of £ 3.7 million.

Despite the high cost of fuel and increasing competition in the low-cost airline market, Flyglobespan continued to successfully expand its activities. In October 2005 , scheduled flights began at London Stansted Airport. Although setbacks did occur: the daily flight from Glasgow to Amsterdam was eventually canceled from the small number of passengers using it.

November 1, 2005 Flyglobespan announced its first transatlantic route: from Glasgow to Sanford International Airport ( Orlando , Florida , USA ). Regular flights on it began in June 2006 , and a Boeing 767 aircraft is used for flights. For the summer period of 2006, the frequency of flights to Alicante and Malaga was increased to two per day, and flights to Murcia began to operate daily. In addition, seasonal weekly routes opened to Athens and Heraklion .

In January 2006, Flyglobespan announced a 70 percent profit increase over last year.

On December 19, 2009, the airline completely ceased operations.

• June 2006 : Flyglobespan announced plans to include Aberdeen International Airport in its field of activity: in winter 2006, flights to Tenerife will begin from there.
• November 2006 :
  • Liverpool : Tenerife;
  • Manchester : Toronto (this route will be shared by Flyglobespan with Zoom Airlines , with which a code sharing agreement was signed); Cape Town Both new directions will be served by the Boeing 767;
  • Belfast : Orlando ( Sanford );
• January 2007 : Glasgow - Barbados ;
• February 2007 : Glasgow - Las Vegas ;
• May 2007 :
  • Liverpool: New York ( Newark ). The route will use the Boeing 757 ;
  • Glasgow - Boston .

In order to serve Flyglobespan’s growing network of destinations, there are plans to lease another used Boeing 767-300 and a new Boeing 737-700 from ILFC . By May 2007 , especially for the opening of the Liverpool-New York flight, the Flyglobespan fleet will replenish with the first Boeing 757. There are also plans to acquire a third Boeing 767, a second Boeing 757 and two more Boeing 737s.

Flyglobespan has also announced its intention to start operating regular flights from Hamilton International Airport to various cities in the UK and Ireland in May 2007 .

In August 2006, Flyglobespan announced its intention to lease two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from ILFC for 10 years. Liners should be delivered in March and November 2010 .

As of September 2006, the airline operated flights in the following directions:

Africa

• South Africa
  • Cape Town ( Cape Town International Airport ): since November 2006

Europe

• Great Britain
  • England
    • Birmingham ( Birmingham International Airport ): since May 2007
    • Durham ( Durham Tees Valley Airport ): since November 2006
    • Doncaster ( Robin Hood Doncaster-Sheffield Airport ): since May 2007
    • Liverpool ( Liverpool John Lennon Airport ): since November 2006
    • London ( Stansted )
    • Manchester ( Manchester International Airport ): since November 2006
    • Newcastle ( Newcastle International Airport ): from May 2007
    • Exeter ( Exeter Airport ): from May 2007
  • Scotland
    • Aberdeen ( Aberdeen Airport ): since November 2006
    • Glasgow ( Glasgow International Airport )
    • Edinburgh ( Edinburgh Airport )
• Greece
  • Athens ( Eleftherios Venizelos Airport )
  • Heraklion ( Heraklion International Airport named after Nikos Kazantzakis )
• Cyprus
  • Paphos ( Paphos International Airport )
• Ireland
  • Dublin ( Dublin Airport ): from May 2007
  • Shannon ( Shannon Airport ): from May 2007
• Spain
  • Alicante ( Alicante Airport )
  • Barcelona ( El Prat International Airport )
  • Ibiza ( Ibiza Airport )
  • Lanzarote ( Lanzarote Airport )
  • Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ( Gran Canaria International Airport )
  • Menorca ( Menorca )
  • Malaga ( Malaga Airport )
  • Murcia ( Murcia-San Javier Airport )
  • Palma (city) ( Son Sant Joan Airport )
  • Tenerife ( Queen Sofia Airport Tenerife )
• Italy
  • Rome ( Leonardo da Vinci International Airport )
• Portugal
  • Faro ( Faro Airport )
• France
  • Nice ( Cote d'Azur International Airport )
  • Chambery ( Chambery Airport ): from December 2006
• Croatia
  • Pula ( Pula Airport )
• Czech
  • Prague ( Ruzyne International Airport )
• Switzerland
  • Geneva ( Cointrin International Airport )

North America

• Barbados : since January 2007
• Canada
  • Toronto ( Pearson International Airport ): since November 2006
  • Hamilton ( John Munroe International Airport ): since May 2007
• USA
  • Boston ( Logan ): May 2007
  • Las Vegas ( McCarran ): February 2007
  • Newark ( Newark Liberty International Airport ): from May 2007
  • Orlando (Sanford International Airport)

As of June 2006 , the Flyglobespan fleet consisted of 12 aircraft:

• 4 Boeing 737-300
• 4 Boeing 737-600
• 3 Boeing 737-800
• 1 Boeing 767-300