Jump to content

Monarch Airlines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Glassgun (talk | contribs) at 20:24, 23 November 2007 (Inflight entertainment is not free, you have to hite headphones.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Monarch Airlines
File:Monarch-Logo.jpg
IATA ICAO Call sign
ZB MON MONARCH
Founded1967
HubsBirmingham International Airport
London Luton Airport
London Gatwick Airport
Manchester Airport
Frequent-flyer programVantage Club
Fleet size31
Destinations20
HeadquartersLuton, England, United Kingdom
Key peopleBill Hodgson, Don Peacock, Alan Snudden, CBE, Peter Brown, Tim Jeans
Websitewww.flymonarch.com
Boeing 757-200 in the old livery, Alicante Airport, Spain.
Airbus A320 at Glasgow International Airport, Scotland.
Airbus A330 at Glasgow International Airport, Scotland.

Monarch Airlines is a British charter and scheduled airline based in Luton, England. It is one of the United Kingdom's largest charter airlines, operating to Europe, the United States, the Caribbean, India and Africa serving mainly leisure destinations. It also operates scheduled flights (under the Monarch Scheduled brand) to many Mediterranean destinations, the Canary Islands (Spain) and Cyprus. Its main base is London Luton Airport, with hubs at Birmingham International Airport, London Gatwick Airport and Manchester 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

[citation needed]

Monarch was established on 1 June 1967 by Bill Hodgson and Don Peacock, with finance from the Swiss Mantegazza and Albek families who still own it. Monarch started operations on 5 April 1968 using a Bristol 175 Britannia turboprop. In 1971, Monarch entered the jet age with the Boeing 720 aircraft. By 1976 all Monarch's fleet were jets. Alan Snudden, CBE was the chairman of Monarch at this point.

In 1981, offices were opened at London Gatwick Airport, Glasgow International Airport and Manchester Airport. In 1985, Monarch applied for scheduled airline licences, and on 5 July 1986, Monarch Crown Service was inaugurated as a scheduled division of Monarch.

In 1998 Monarch leased two McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft from World Airways for its long-haul operations whilst awaiting the arrival of the their new Airbus A330. The MD-11s were later returned on the arrival of the Airbus A330 in 1999. The Airbus A330 aircraft allowed Monarch to serve long-haul charter destinations with a two class seating configuration. In 2000 Monarch launched their website. Monarch disposed of the only McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in the fleet (G-DMCA) in 2002 and donated the front section for use at Manchester Airport Aviation Viewing Park.

In 2002, Monarch unveiled a new livery on their aircraft, and Monarch Crown Service was re-named Monarch Scheduled. Monarch Scheduled continued to offer a full service product including complimentary catering, bar service, hot towels, newspapers and in-flight entertainment. With the introduction of low-fares airlines such as easyJet and strict cost-cutting measures at British Airways, in 2004 the Monarch management adopted a low cost model. Whilst many premium features (food and drink, seat selection) now carry additional charges, including £2.50 for the hire of headphones for the in flight entertainment.

However, in line with other low cost airlines, Monarch now charges passengers for each piece of checked-in baggage on all of their scheduled services. If booked in advance on the Monarch website the charge is £3.99/€5.99 per one-way flight; bookings via the call centre incur an £8/€12 charge and at the airport, if not already paid, passengers are charged the higher rate of £10/€16 for each bag checked in. The hold baggage allowance is 15 kg. Passengers are still allowed a hand baggage allowance of 10kg each on all Monarch scheduled services.

Due to the lack of immediately available A330 aircraft on the market, Monarch leased a Boeing 767-300ER from MyTravel Airways (G-DIMB) to expand their long-haul services. In November 2005 Monarch continued expansion by adding scheduled flights from Aberdeen Airport, Newquay Cornwall International Airport and Blackpool International Airport to Málaga. The Newquay service was dropped after the airport introduced an airport development charge in 2006, which required all departing passengers to pay £5 to the airport. The service from Blackpool to Malaga was also dropped.

Monarch have added an Airbus A321 from BMI (British Midland) to their fleet and this is based at Manchester for scheduled operations to destinations such as Lanzarote. Following the very successful growth of their scheduled network from Manchester, Monarch has become the second largest carrier of passengers from Manchester Airport (1.72 million in 2005).[3]. Per statistics from the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Monarch's total passengers have increased from 4.54 million in 2002 to 5.35 million in 2005.

In August 2006, Monarch ordered six new Boeing 787-8 aircraft for use on long-haul routes. Delivery will commence in 2010. These aircraft will become the basis of the future long-haul operations of the airline, replacing the mix of Boeing 767s, Airbus A300s and Airbus A330-220s used on medium- and long-haul routes.[1]

Monarch has been voted Leisure Airline of the Year for 2006 and again in 2007 at the Travel Trade Gazette Awards.

On 27 April 2007 Monarch started flights to Ibiza partnered with popular club brand HedKandi calling the partnership "FlyKandi". One Monarch Boeing 757-200 (G-MOND) received a special FlyKandi livery with billboard FlyKandi titles and a special tail paint. The HedKandi partnership will last all summer, with flights being sold to Ibiza from four major UK airports. HedKandi CDs and radio stations will be available to buy and listen to on-board Monarch aircraft.

Airbus A321-200 taxiing to the take off point at Birmingham International Airport, England
Airbus A300B4-605R at Manchester Airport.

Monarch Scheduled destinations

Monarch Scheduled operates services to Alicante, Almeria, Barcelona, Faro, Gibraltar, Gran Canaria, Granada, Ibiza, Jerez, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Lisbon, Malaga, Menorca, Murcia, Palma and Tenerife South. Services are operated from Aberdeen, Birmingham, London Gatwick, London Luton and Manchester.

  • Aberdeen (Malaga)
  • Birmingham (Alicante, Almeria, Faro, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Malaga, Menorca, Murcia, Palma, Tenerife South)
  • London Gatwick (Alicante, Faro, Granada, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Lisbon, Malaga, Murcia, Orlando Sanford, Tenerife South)
  • London Luton (Alicante, Almeria, Faro, Gibraltar, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Malaga, Menorca, Palma, Tenerife South)
  • Manchester (Alicante, Almeria, Barcelona, Faro, Ibiza, Jerez, Lanzarote, Malaga, Menorca, Murcia [begins February 08, 2008], Orlando Sanford, Palma, Tenerife South)

Monarch Airlines charter destinations

Destinations

Monarch Airlines Airbus A321 at Malaga Airport, Spain

Arrecife, Bahrain, Burgas, Calgary, Chania, Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Faro, Fuerteventura, Goa, Grenoble, Heraklion, Hurghada, Kos, Larnaca, Las Palma, Luxor, Mahon, Male, Paphos, Preveza, Rhodes, Rome-FCO, Salzburg, Sanford, Sharm El Sheik, Sofia, Tel Aviv, Tenerife, Turin, Venice, Verona, Zakynthos.

Other destinations

Monarch Airlines operates charter flights for other tour operators, to Malé, Orlando Sanford, Goa, Cancún and Sharm El Sheik.

A weekly service to Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador operates from London Gatwick on behalf of UK holiday company Barwell Leisure, for the Humber Valley Region. Flights are operated by Boeing 757.

Monarch operates a winter ski charter service to Calgary, Canada. With two flights weekly from both Manchester and London Gatwick, it provides a link for skiers to ski the Canadian Rocky Mountains from December to April.

Incidents and accidents

  • On May 22 2002 a Boeing 757 suffered structural damage to the forward fuselage in the area of the nose landing gear during landing at Gibraltar Airport while operating a flight from London Luton Airport. The captain had developed an incorrect landing technique, applying full nose-down elevator after landing on a regular basis. During this landing the captain made this control input before the nosewheel had touched the ground, resulting in a high pitch-down rate at nosewheel touchdown in exceedance of the design limits. [4]
  • On March 17 2006, the flight crew of a Boeing 757 lost visual contact with the runway after passing the Visual Decision Point (VDP) while attempting to land at Gibraltar Airport. During the subsequent go-around, the crew did not follow the correct missed approach procedures but ATC provided effective heading control to avoid the high ground. The lowest altitude of the aircraft when over the land was 2,100 ft. The highest point on the land, just south of the airfield, is 1,420 ft. Following the incident, ATC and the aircraft operating company made changes to procedures to reduce the chances of a similar occurrence. [5]

Fleet

The Monarch Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (at May 2007)[6]:

Monarch Airlines average fleet age is 12.2 years in August 2006.[7]

Aircraft orders

  • 6 Boeing 787-8 for delivery from 2010 through 2013, with purchase rights held for a further 8 Boeing 787-8 aircraft. [8]
  • 2 Airbus A321 expected to be added to the fleet in 2008.

References

  1. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-10. p. 52.
  2. ^ Operating licence
  3. ^ "Traffic Statistics Report 2005". Manchester Airport Plc. June 2006. pp. 11, 16. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Boeing 757-200, G-MONC". UK AAIB. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  5. ^ "Boeing 757-200, G-MONE". UK AAIB. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  6. ^ Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Register
  7. ^ Fleet age
  8. ^ Flight International, 3-9 October 2006
  • British Independent Airlines since 1946, Volume 3 of 4. A.C.Merton Jones. Merseyside Aviation Society & LAAS. Liverpool, 1976. ISBN 0-902420-09-7.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monarch_Airlines&oldid=173341383"