| GB Airways | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| IATA GT |
ICAO GBL |
Callsign GEEBEE |
| Founded | 1931 (as Gibraltar Airways) | |
| Hubs | London Gatwick Airport | |
| Focus cities | London Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport | |
| Frequent flyer program | Executive Club | |
| Member lounge | Terraces Lounge | |
| Alliance | Oneworld | |
| Fleet size | 15 | |
| Destinations | 36 | |
| Parent company | Bland Group | |
| Headquarters | Crawley, England | |
| Key people | James Gaggero (Chairman) | |
| Website: http://www.gbairways.co.uk | ||
GB Airways is a UK airline based at London Gatwick Airport. It currently operates scheduled services as a British Airways franchise to 30 destinations in Europe and North Africa from Gatwick and its hubs at Manchester Airport and London Heathrow Airport.[1]. Operations under the British Airways banner will continue up to and including 29 March 2008, after which GB Airways will cease trading following the purchase of the company by no frills airline easyJet. The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, which permits it to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.[2].
Contents |
History
The airline was established in 1931 as an offshoot of Gibraltarian shipping company MH Bland, in Gibraltar. Gibraltar Airways, as it was then known, started operations later that year between 'the Rock' and Tangier, Morocco, using a Saunders-Roe A21 Windhover flying boat. During World War II, the airline represented Imperial Airways/BOAC and in 1947 began its relationship with the newly created British European Airways (BEA). BEA began flying between London and Gibraltar, connecting with Gibraltar Airways' flights to Morocco. BEA took a 49% stake in the airline, which began trading as GibAir, and the London Heathrow to Gibraltar service was jointly operated by the two carriers. British European Airways would become British Airways in 1973 upon its merger with BOAC, but the financial and operational relationship with GibAir continued. Meanwhile, GibAir continued to operated services from Gibraltar, primarily to Morocco, and also began charter flights to Portugal and France. In 1989, the company moved to the United Kingdom in order to increase the scope for expansion. A base was established at London's Gatwick Airport and the company became GB Airways Ltd (on 3 January 1989). The livery on the airline's fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft at this time was mainly white, with red and blue twin stripes down the centre of the fuselage, sweeping down to form a 'chin strap' under the nose cone. The twin stripe was repeated on the tailfin, with a speeding red arrow creating a diamond shaped centrepiece, which was repeated on the forward fuselage. A stylised version of this diamond logo is still used by the company today. The relationship with British Airways was firmly entrenched in 1995 when it became a full British Airways franchise operator, with BA relinquishing its financial holding in the airline. The franchise agreement with British Airways continues until 2010 and under these terms GB Airways trades as British Airways, with all flights operated under BA flight codes (the range BA6800-6999 are allocated to GB Airways flights). All GB Airways aircraft are presented in full British Airways livery, appointed with the same interior and class product as the BA main fleet, and staff wear the BA uniform. GB Airways flights are currently booked through British Airways and the airline participates in BA's Executive Club and BA Miles programme. GB Airways is an affiliate member of Oneworld. However, GB Airways continues its own inflight magazines, Med Life and "Elevate"(for GB Airways own duty-free goods range) in addition to the regular BA publications. Additionally, servicing of GB Airways aircraft at Gatwick is carried out by Virgin Atlantic Engineering. GB Airways headquarters is known as 'the Beehive', and is Gatwick Airport's original terminal building. The airline carries some 2.6 million passengers annually on 65 flights per day, and employs 980 people. The airline is wholly owned by the Bland Group, which owns several travel and shipping companies within the UK, Europe and north Africa, and is now in its fourth generation of family ownership. James Gaggero became chairman of the company in 2003, with his father Joseph J Gaggero CBE becoming president and non-executive director. In 2000, the airline was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise presented by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The relationship with British Airways has seen 10 new destinations added to the GB Airways network, and in May 2005 a new hub at Manchester was established. It was announced on 25 October 2007 [3][4] that GB Airways is to be sold to easyJet. The deal is worth £103.5m and will be used to expand easyJet operations at London Gatwick Airport and start operations from Manchester Airport (Manchester Airport operation comfirmed by easyJet 18/12/2007). GB Airways will continue to honour its British Airways franchise agreement and continue to operate as GB Airways until 29 March 2008, after which it will be merged into easyJet. Slots used by GB Airways at London Heathrow Airport are not included in the sale. According to Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA, they were offered to buy out the franchise, which they declined.
Destinations
The airline's main hub is at London Gatwick with a focus on London Heathrow. There is a small base at Manchester but flights from here operate as 'BA Connect' services which operate a no frills airline style "buy on board" service. The airline mainly serves destinations in the Mediterranean region and the Spanish and Portuguese islands, as well as a small number of destinations in inland continental Europe. Thus its main market is British people looking for a holiday in the sun.
- London Gatwick (Agadir, Ajaccio, Alicante, Arrecife, Bastia, Corfu, Dalaman, Fez, Faro, Funchal, Gibraltar, Heraklion, Hurghada, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Mahon, Malaga, Malta, Marrakech, Montpellier, Mykonos, Nantes, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Rhodes, Sharm El Shiekh, Tenerife South, Tunis)
- London Heathrow (Casablanca, Faro, Malaga, Marrakech, Tangiers)
- Manchester (Heraklion, Innsbruck, Malaga, Malta, Paphos, Salzburg, Tenerife South)
In addition to the above destinations the airline also operates several charter flights from London Gatwick to destinations across Africa, Asia and Europe during Winter months.
Fleet
The GB Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft (at June 2007):
- 10 Airbus A320-200 (further 1 on order)
- 5 Airbus A321-200 (further 5 on order)
External links
References
- ^ "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International, 2007-04-03, pp. 85-86.
- ^ Operating Licence
- ^ BBC story about easyJet taking over GB Airways
- ^ easyJet plc agrees to acquire GB Airways Limited
|
|
|
|---|---|
|
Astraeus · Atlantic Airlines · Aurigny Air Services · BA CityFlyer · Blue Islands · BMI · BMI Baby · BMI Regional · Bristow Helicopters · British Airways · British Mediterranean Airways · City Star Airlines · DHL Air · Eastern Airways · easyJet · EuroManx · First Choice Airways · Flightline · Flybe · Flyglobespan · GB Airways · Global Supply Systems · Highland Airways · Isles of Scilly Skybus · Jet2.com · Loganair · Lydd Air · Manx2 · MK Airlines · Monarch Airlines · MyTravel · Silverjet · ScotAirways · Thomas Cook Airlines · Thomsonfly · Titan Airways · Virgin Atlantic Airways · UK International Airlines · XL Airways · Zoom Airlines See also Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom |
 |
|
|
|
|---|---|
| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents | Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
