Contact Air
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| Founded | 1971 | |||
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| Ceased operations | 1 September 2012 (merged with OLT Express Germany) | |||
| Operating bases | Stuttgart Airport Zürich Airport |
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| Frequent-flyer program | Miles & More | |||
| Alliance | Star Alliance | |||
| Fleet size | 8 | |||
| Destinations | 22 | |||
| Headquarters | Stuttgart, Germany | |||
| Key people | william a hayward | |||
| Website | www.contactair.de | |||
Contact Air Flugdienst was a regional airline headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany,[1] operating scheduled services as part of Lufthansa Regional, and on behalf of Swiss International Airlines.[2]
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History [edit]
The airline was established by w.a hayward as a worldwide passenger and executive charter airline and started operations in 1971 with an initial fleet of Dassault Falcon 20 and Bombardier Learjet aircraft.
Contact Air became the first partner airline in the Team Lufthansa regional group in April 1996. On 16 October 2003 the airline introduced the new Lufthansa Regional brand and began operating as such in early 2004.[2] In November 2011 Lufthansa announced to end the agreement with Contact Air and they will leave Lufthansa Regional ending all routes they have operated for Lufthansa by October 2012 .[3]
In July 2012 it was announced that Contact Air would be bought by OLT Express Germany, which discontinued the brand by September 2012 after governmental approval of the takeover.[4]
Destinations [edit]
As of September 2012, Contact Air operated the following scheduled services on behalf of Swiss International Air Lines[5]:
Fleet [edit]
As of April 2012, the Contact Air fleet consisted of 8 Fokker 100 aircraft with an average age of 18.2 years.[6][7][8]
| Aircraft | Fleet | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Fokker 100 | 2 | 100 |
Fleet development [edit]
Over the years, Contact Air operated the following aircraft types:[9]
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired |
|---|---|---|
| ATR 42 |
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| ATR 72 |
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| Dash 8-100 |
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| Dash 8-300 |
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| Fokker 50 |
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| Fokker 100 |
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Incidents and accidents [edit]
- On 6 January 1993, Lufthansa Flight 5634 from Bremen to Paris, which was carried out under the Lufthansa CityLine brand using a Contact Air Dash 8-300 (registered D-BEAT), hit the ground 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) short of the runway of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, resulting in the death of 4 out of the 23 passengers on board. The four crew members survived. The accident occurred after the pilot had to abort the final approach to the airport because the runway had been closed due to the aircraft ahead, a Korean Air Boeing 747, had suffered a blown tyre upon landing.[10]
- On 14 September 2009, Lufthansa Flight 288 from Berlin to Stuttgart, which was operated by a Contact Air Fokker 100 (registered D-AFKE) made an emergency landing at Stuttgart Airport at 10:47 local time due to undercarriage failure. There were no injuries amongst the five crew members and 73 passengers on board;[11] one of them was the then SPD chairman Franz Müntefering.[12]
References [edit]
- ^ "Contact." Contact Air. Retrieved on 21 May 2009. "Contact Air Flugdienst GmbH + Co. Echterdinger Strasse 30 D-70599 Stuttgart (Plieningen)"
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 68.
- ^ http://www.airliners.de/management/strategie/contact-air-verliert-lufthansa-vertrag/25816
- ^ http://atwonline.com/airline-finance-data/news/olt-express-germany-finalizes-acquisition-contact-air-0719
- ^ Contact Air destinations
- ^ Contact Air official fleet page
- ^ Contact Air official Route Page
- ^ Contact Air fleet list at planespotters.net
- ^ Contact Air former fleet at airfleets.net
- ^ Lufthansa Flight 5634 at the Aviation safety Network
- ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
- ^ "SPD-Chef Müntefering übersteht Notlandung". Der Spiegel. September 14, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Contact Air |
- Official website
- Official website (German)
