Air UK Leisure
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Founded | 1987 | ||||||
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Commenced operations | 1988 | ||||||
Ceased operations | 1999 | ||||||
Hubs | London Stansted Airport |
Air UK Leisure was a British airline operating charter flights on behalf of its parent Air UK.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Boeing_737-2S3-Adv%2C_Air_UK_Leisure_AN0359210.jpg/220px-Boeing_737-2S3-Adv%2C_Air_UK_Leisure_AN0359210.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Boeing_737-4H6%2C_Air_UK_Leisure_AN0391586.jpg/220px-Boeing_737-4H6%2C_Air_UK_Leisure_AN0391586.jpg)
In June 1987 Air UK announced that it would start a new charter airline based at London Stansted Airport which would start operating in 1988 with two leased Boeing 737-200 aircraft.[1] The company Air UK (Leisure) Limited was formed in 1987 with Air UK providing 30% of the £2.5 million capital, B&C Holding (the parent company of Air UK) 30% with the rest from the travel group Viking International.[1]
The airline started operations in 1988 with two leased Boeing 737-200 aircraft and placed orders for four new Boeing 737-400s from a leasing company for delivery in October 1988.[2] The first flight was from London Stansted Airport to Faro Airport in Portugal.[2] The airline became the first operator of the Boeing 737-400 in Europe when the first aircraft was delivered on 14 October 1988.[2]
The airline went on to operate seven Boeing 737-400s on both charter and scheduled services and to base aircraft at Manchester and Gatwick Airport as well as Stansted.
In 1993 the airline introduced two leased Boeing 767-300 aircraft on behalf of British holiday tour operator Unijet.[3]
Leisure International Airways
In 1996 the airline was sold to the tour operator Unijet and was renamed Leisure International Airways and moved its main base to London Gatwick Airport.[4]
On 29 March 1996 the airline introduced the first of three Airbus A320s into service to replace the Boeing 737-400s.[5]
In 1998 First Choice acquired the airline when it took over Unijet, the aircraft fleet and operations were taken over by the First Choice airline Air 2000.
Fleet
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Air_leisure.jpg/220px-Air_leisure.jpg)
Over the years, Air UK Leisure operated the following aircraft types:[6]
Aircraft | Introduced | Retired |
---|---|---|
Boeing 737-200 | 1988 | 1989 |
Boeing 737-400 | 1988 | 1997 |
Boeing 767-300 | 1993 | 1997 |
References
- ^ a b "Air UK to set up charter airline". Flight International. 13 June 1987. p. 43.
- ^ a b c "Europe sees first 737-400". Flight International. 5 November 1988. p. 5.
- ^ "Marketplace". Flight International. 24–30 March 1993. p. 11.
- ^ "Air UK Leisure sign for Airbus". Flight International. 13–19 March 1996. p. 11.
- ^ "Leisure puts its A320-200s to work". Flight International. 1–7 May 1996. p. 11.
- ^ Air UK Leisure fleet list at airfleets.net
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)