Astraeus Airlines
Astraeus is a UK airline based in Crawley, England. It operates scheduled and charter flights for around 50 tour operators, specialising in serving destinations in Africa, Europe, CIS and Canada. Its main bases are Manchester Airport and London Gatwick Airport[1].
The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats [2].
History
The airline was named Astraeus Limited on 21 March 2002 and started operations on 6 April 2002. It was founded by staff of the former British World Airlines and the Aberdeen Asset Management international investment group[1]. The use of Boeing 737-700 aircraft for extended range operations led to the launch in December 2004 of trans-Atlantic charters between London Gatwick and Deer Lake in Newfoundland, Canada. In 2004 Astraeus opened up routes from London to Aqaba (Jordan) and Simferopol (Ukraine), with flights to the new Mediterranean resort area of El Alamein (Egypt) commencing in 2005. The Astraeus fleet was further enhanced by the addition of a number of Boeing 757 aircraft.
Plans were announced for the acquisition of a 51% share in Astraeus in September 2006 by FlyMe, but the Swedish airline later pulled out of the acquisition. On 30 October 2006, Icelandic investment company Fons Eignarhaldsfelag, acquired a 51% majority holding in Astraeus[1], reportedly for £5m. The remaining 49% share is held equally between Astraeus management and Aberdeen Asset Management, which supported the airline launch in 2002. The move helped the Icelandic group support their Iceland Express subsidiary to begin low-fare transatlantic services. The two airlines continued to operate as separate entities and Astraeus continued to fly specialist charter services from its London and Manchester bases.
Destinations
Astraeus has flights to 15 destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.
Fleet
The Astraeus fleet consists of the following aircraft (at March 2008) [3]:
- 2 Boeing 737-300 (one aircraft is operated for Sterling Airlines)
- 2 Boeing 737-700
- 5 Boeing 757-200 (one aircraft is operated for Iron Maiden) 2 of which to be leased to bmi
In March 2008, the Astraeus fleet average age was 12.4 years [4].
Notable employee
Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of British heavy metal band Iron Maiden is an Astraeus Captain flying the Boeing 757 aircraft.
On October 31st 2007, Iron Maiden announced that they had commissioned an Astraeus 757 as transport for their 'Somewhere Back in Time' tour in 2008. The aircraft was repainted with a special Iron Maiden livery and was used in this scheme for some limited commercial flights as well as use by Iron Maiden.[5]
External links
References
- ↑ a b c Directory: World Airlines, 27. März 2007, S. 78-79
- ↑ CAA
- ↑ UK CAA - Aircraft Register
- ↑ Astraeus Fleet Age
- ↑ http://www.ironmaiden.com/index.php?categoryid=8&p2_articleid=682; last accessed November 16, 2007.