| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 01/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 2 |
| Copyright: Other |
Ex-AB Airlines chairman plans charter operation
Report by PAUL NORRIS
Beal to launch carrier this winter with main thrust for summer 2001
THE FORMER chairman of failed carrier ABAirlines is to launch a new charter airline from the UK this winter.Brian Beal, who left AB Airlines before administrators were called in last summer, will operate the start-up carrier Fly Europa from Gatwick.
Destinations will be Spain, including Palma, where the new carrier is based.
Flights start in November with a pair of 168-seater Boeing 737s.
Beal, the chairman of Fly Europa, said: “We have a lot of work on for this winter but will really start next summer.”
He said the main thrust of the operation will be for summer 2001 when the fleet is expanded.
Three extra short-haul Boeings are due to join the first two next April.
Beal said he would operate the leased aircraft out of any UKairport where capacity is needed. “This will be a demand-driven operation,” said Beal.
Additional UK airports for Fly Europa are expected to include Manchester and Newcastle.
Fly Europa’s managing director Robert Galgey is currently in talks with tour operators and seat-only firms over bookings. He will offer deals for between 20 and 168 seats on each aircraft.
Independent operators are expected to be attracted to Fly Europa as the vertically integrated firms are reducing available seat capacity by using their own airlines, such as Air 2000 and Britannia Airways, for more in-house operations.
Fly Europa will also operate from Berlin, a former AB Airlines destination, to holiday destinations. Beal said the aircraft may also be used to fly intra-Caribbean routes.
The London-based UK parent company for the new airline, Europa Holdings, has been putting together the charter venture since last summer. It approached Beal to head up the operation when it became apparent ABAirlines would not survive through summer 1999.
At the time, Beal blamed intense competition from low-cost carriers including Go and Virgin Express for ABAirlines’ demise.
The charter market is not such a cut-throat area as the low-cost sector because operators continue to demand additional capacity. However, Beal is wary that some budget carriers, especially Ryanair, are already offering seats to operators in an effort to keep aircraft full.
Beal: launching a demand-driven operation from Gatwick