CityJet
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| Founded | 1992 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 1994 | ||||||
| Hubs | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Flying Blue | ||||||
| Alliance | SkyTeam | ||||||
| Fleet size | 38 | ||||||
| Destinations | 15 | ||||||
| Parent company | Air France-KLM | ||||||
| Headquarters | Swords Business Campus Swords, Ireland | ||||||
| Key people | Christine Ourmières (CEO) Pat Byrne (Chairman) Michael Collins (CFO) | ||||||
| Website | cityjet.com | ||||||
CityJet Limited is an Irish regional airline with headquarters at the Swords Business Campus in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland.[1] It operates at London City Airport, and flies franchise services on behalf of its parent company Air France from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Since the take over of VLM Airlines, CityJet has some head-office departments located in London and Antwerp, Belgium. The airline owns and operates maintenance facilities at Dublin Airport and Antwerp Airport.
They operate a mixed fleet of Avro RJ85 and Fokker 50 aircraft on a network out of London City Airport. CityJet competes with BA CityFlyer on flights to Edinburgh and Amsterdam, and Luxair to Luxembourg. It is the sole carrier on its routes to Dublin, Dundee, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Antwerp, Paris, Florence, Milan and Nantes.
In the IATA year ending 31 March 2010, CityJet carried just over 1 million passengers on its London City Network.
History
The airline was established on 28 September 1992 and started scheduled operations on 12 January 1994. It was founded by Pat Byrne and began operations between London City Airport and Dublin under a franchise agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airways. On 4 July 1997 the airline began operations on the route using its own identity, with Saab 2000 aircraft.
Initially CityJet operated the Paris to London City service on behalf of Air France. In May 1999, Air France in partnership with Air Foyle Ireland took a 25% equity stake in the airline. In February 2002, Air France assumed complete control.[2]
Geoffrey O’Byrne White replaced Jacques Bankir as CEO of CityJet in 2000, and held this position until 2010.
On 24 December 2007, Air France-KLM announced it had signed an agreement for a full takeover of VLM Airlines NV from Panta Holdings[3] and later they announced on 28 May 2009 that VLM Airlines would gradually start to operate under the brand name CityJet. As of 1 June 2010 all of the VLM Airlines Fokker 50 fleet wore full CityJet livery although VLM remained the owner of its own Airline Operators Certificate and the Fokker 50 fleet is listed on the Belgian registry.
Christine Ourmières joined as new chief executive on 1 October 2010. She has previously held a number of senior posts within the Air France-KLM group.
In June 2012 it was released, that Air France-KLM is considering to sell CityJet to support its own ailing business.[4]
Appointed the7stars as their media planning and buying agency in 2011. [5]
Plans
As of 2 April 2011, CityJet will operate three new flights from Pau-Pyrénées to London-City, Dublin and Amsterdam using an Avro RJ85.[6]
Financial Situation & Staff Relations
CityJet filed a pretax loss of €51.5 million for the year to the end of March 2010. This compared to a €53.9 million loss in the year to end March 2009. Revenues fell by 8 per cent from €282.4 million to €258.9 million over the same period. Passenger numbers grew, climbing by 6.5 per cent to 2.1 million, while average fares dropped by 16 per cent. CityJet’s directors said “the negative result at operating level was due to the continued severe economic environment with sharp decline in business traffic and extreme volatility in oil prices and currencies”. They said the airline’s network out of London City Airport “continued to be impacted by the difficulties in the banking and financial sectors”.[7]
Product
- No charge for any onboard services. No credit card fee for booking on CityJet website
- Franchise flights from Paris: three classes (business, premium economy, economy)
- Flights from London: two classes (premium economy, economy)
Flight number prefixes
CityJet operates flights using four IATA flight prefixes.
- AF – CityJet flights to/from Paris are operated using the AFxxxx code
- WX – CityJet flights to/from London City and charter flights are operated using the WXxxxx code
Sponsorships
CityJet is the main shirt sponsor of London Irish Rugby Club for the third season. They were the official airline of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2010.[8]
City Jet are also the 'Official Airline' of European Champions Leinster rugby. [9]
Destinations
Fleet
As of February 2012 the CityJet fleet consists of the following aircraft, they are currently leasing 2 Dornier 328-110 from Suckling Airways (Loganair). These aircraft are not published in the table below or on CityJet's website:[10]
| Aircraft | In Fleet | Passengers | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | Notes | |
| Avro RJ85 | 23 | var. | var. | 95 |
| Fokker 50 | 15 | var. | var. | 50 |
| Total | 38 | |||
See also
References
- ^ "CityJet." Air France. Retrieved on 21 June 2010. "Address: CityJet Ltd. Swords Business Campus Balheary Road Swords, Co. Dublin Ireland"
- ^ CityJet wins Airline of the Year; CityJet.com
- ^ Message on the VLM website announcing the takeover - access date 24 December 2007]
- ^ volaspheric: Air France-KLM considering to sell CityJet
- ^ "Cityjet campaign highlights personal touch". MarketingWeek. 2011-09-15.
- ^ "Air France launches 4 new destinations out of Pau". Air France Corporate Press Release. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
- ^ Irish Times article reporting filing of CityJet's annual accounts
- ^ CityJet Flies Into The Spotlight EIFF
- ^ http://www.cityjet.com/news/cityjet-celebrates-the-heineken-cup.shtml
- ^ "CityJet's fleet of Avro RJ85 and Fokker 50 aircraft". CityJet Ltd. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- Fuelled by Belief: The CityJet Story by Pat Byrne, first printed September 2004 - ISBN 1-904148-57-3
External links
