XL Airways UK
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| Founded | 1994 as Sabre Airways | ||||||
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| Hubs | London Gatwick Airport Manchester Glasgow International Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Newcastle Airport Bristol Airport Nottingham East Midlands Airport Birmingham Airport Cardiff International Airport Humberside Airport London Stansted Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 21(+4 on summer lease and 9 on order) | ||||||
| Destinations | Varies | ||||||
| Parent company | Avion Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Crawley, England, United Kingdom | ||||||
| Key people | CEO Phil Wyatt COO Steve Tomlinson | ||||||
| Website | http://www.xl.com | ||||||
Excel Airways is a charter airline of Avion Group with headquarters at Crawley in the United Kingdom. It provides mainly short-haul services to European and Middle Eastern leisure destinations from its three bases of London Gatwick (LGW), Manchester (MAN),Glasgow (GLA). The airline also operates services from Newcastle Airport, Bristol Airport, Nottingham East Midlands Airport, Birmingham Airport, Cardiff International Airport, Humberside Airport, London Stansted and Belfast International Airport. Some long-haul services are operated also.
Code Data
History
The airline was established in 1994 as Sabre Airways and started operations on 17 December 1994. It adopted the current name following the acquisition in November 2000 of a 67% stake by Libra Holidays Group, and subsequently increased. In March 2004 Air Atlanta Icelandic completed the purchase of 40.5% of Excel Airways Group, and the share stake soon increased. Excel is now part of Air Atlanta's Avion Group, who has full control of the airline.
In December 2004 Excel Airways was presented with the award of 'Worlds Leading Charter Airline' for 2004 at the World Travel Awards in Barbados.
In January 2005, Excel Airways Group launched XL.com. This was accompanied by the rebranding of the aircraft within the Excel fleet.
October 2005, Excel Airways was awarded with 'Best Charter Airline' by readers of the Daily Telegraph. The company also received 'World's Leading Charter Airline' for the second year running.
November 2005, modified livery introduced, larger Excel Airways titles, emblem on engines and XL.com on the tail.
March 2006, Excel Airways, which forms part of Avion Group’s charter & leisure division, has signed an agreement with GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) for the lease of two Next-Generation Boeing 737-900ER (Extended Range) aircraft being marketed by Boeing in 2007 and two Boeing 737-800s with a delivery in the second quarter in 2007. In addition four Boeing 737-800s will be added to the fleet in the first six months of 2007, two from ILFC (International Lease Finance Corporation) and two from RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland). All the aircraft are leased for eight years as a part of the Group’s aircraft fleet renewal plan.
April 2006 Excel Airways Group plc, has reached an agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of Kosmar Villa Holidays Plc (‘Kosmar’), with effect from 2 May 2006, for an undisclosed sum.
In May 2006 Excel Airways announced that it would be launching an international airline in Ireland and would commence flights in summer 2007 to destinations including Florida, Mainland Spain, the Balearics, Canary Islands, Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt and expects to carry around 65,000 passengers
Fleet
The Excel Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft (July 2006):
- 11 Boeing 737-800, Reg. G-OXLA, G-OXLB, G-XLAA/B/C/D/E/F/H/I/J
- 4 Boeing 757-200, Reg. G-VKNA, G-VKNB, G-VKNC, G-VKND
- 1 Boeing 737-400, Reg. TF-ELY
- 2 Boeing 767-200, Reg. G-BOBP, G-BNYS
- 3 Boeing 767-300, Reg. G-VKNG, G-VKNH, G-VKNI
- 3 Boeing 747-300, Reg. TF-AME, TF-AMJ, TF-AMK to operate for Travel City Direct.
Aircraft on summer lease:
- 2 McDonnell Douglas MD80, SE-RDM from Nordic Regional, SX-BSW from UKJet
- 2 Boeing 757-200,OH-LBS and OH-LBX from Finnair
Further Aircraft Information:
- 2 Boeing 747-400 to be delivered from ANA, Q4 2006, to operate for Travel City Direct.
- 4 Boeing 737-800 to be delivered from Boeing in Q2 2007.
- 2 Boeing 737-900 to be delivered from Boeing in Q2 2007