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XL Airways Germany

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XL Airways Germany
IATA ICAO Call sign
X4 GXL STARDUST
Founded3 May 2006; 18 years ago (2006-05-03) (as Star XL German Airlines)
Ceased operations3 January 2013; 11 years ago (2013-01-03)
Operating bases
Fleet size4
Parent companyALMC hf
HeadquartersMörfelden-Walldorf, Germany
Key peopleBertolt Flick (CEO)
Websitexlairways.de

XL Airways Germany GmbH was[1] a German charter airline headquartered in Mörfelden-Walldorf, Hesse, operating charter and ad-hoc lease services, mostly out of Frankfurt Airport. The airline belonged, together with now defunct XL Airways France, to ALMC hf (formerly Straumur Investment Bank) from Iceland.

History

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The airline was founded as Star XL German Airlines by Eimskip from Iceland and received its air Operator's Certificate on 3 May 2006. On 30 October of the same year, the Avion leisure business was bought out and re-organized by the XL Leisure Group, resulting in the airline changing its name to XL Airways Germany.[citation needed]

On 11 September 2008, BBC News Channel reported that XL Leisure Group had filed for administration due to rising fuel prices, although initially Simon Calder confirmed the group's website was still taking bookings, the group folded the next morning. Operations of the German and French airline subsidiaries were not affected, however. On 12 September 2008, Straumur Investment Bank acquired XL Airways Germany and its French sister company, XL Airways France.[citation needed]

The company filed for bankruptcy on 27 December 2012; operations for the winter season had already been suspended on 14 December.[1] The company officially closed on 3 January 2013.[2]

Destinations

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XL Airways Germany served the following destinations in December 2012:[3]

Country City IATA ICAO Airport Notes Refs
 Egypt Hurghada HRG HEGN Hurghada International Airport Seasonal
Sharm el-Sheikh SSH HESH Sharm El Sheikh International Airport Seasonal
 Germany Cologne/Bonn CGN EDDK Cologne Bonn Airport
Düsseldorf DUS EDDL Düsseldorf Airport
Erfurt ERG EDDE Erfurt–Weimar Airport
Frankfurt FRA EDDF Frankfurt Airport Base
Hahn HHN EDFH Frankfurt–Hahn Airport
Hamburg HAM EDDH Hamburg Airport
Hanover HAJ EDDV Hannover Airport Base
Leipzig/Halle LEJ EDDP Leipzig/Halle Airport
Munich MUC EDDM Munich Airport
Münster/Osnabrück FMO EDDG Münster Osnabrück Airport
Nuremberg NUE EDDN Nuremberg Airport
Paderborn PAD EDLP Paderborn Lippstadt Airport
Saarbrücken SCN EDDR Saarbrücken Airport
Stuttgart STR EDDS Stuttgart Airport
 Greece Heraklion HER LGIR Heraklion International Airport
 Kosovo Pristina PRN BKPR Pristina International Airport
 North Macedonia Skopje SKP LWSK Skopje International Airport
 Morocco Marrakesh RAK GMMX Marrakesh Menara Airport
 Portugal Faro FAO LPFR Faro Airport
 Spain Fuerteventura FUE GCFV Fuerteventura Airport
Menorca MAH LEMH Menorca Airport
 Tunisia Enfidha NBE DTNH Enfidha–Hammamet International Airport
 Turkey Adana ADA LTAF Adana Şakirpaşa Airport
Antalya AYT LTAI Antalya Airport Seasonal
Elazığ EZS LTCA Elazığ Airport Seasonal
Gaziantep GZT LTAJ Oğuzeli Airport Seasonal
Kayseri ASR LTAU Erkilet International Airport
Malatya MLX LTAT Malatya Erhaç Airport
Samsun SZF LTFH Samsun-Çarşamba Airport
Trabzon TZX LTCG Trabzon Airport

Fleet

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XL Airways Germany Boeing 737-800
XL Airways Germany Airbus A320-200

Fleet at airline's closing

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As of December 2012, the XL Airways Germany fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[4]

Aircraft In
service
Orders Passengers Notes
Boeing 737-800 4 189
Total 4

Formerly operated

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Previously, the fleet consisted of the following aircraft:

Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A320-200 4 2006 2008 2 leased from USA3000 Airlines
1 leased from Air New Zealand

Accidents and incidents

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  • On 27 November 2008, while executing XL Airways Germany Flight 888T, an Airbus A320-200 registered to XL Airways Germany crashed into the Mediterranean Sea near Canet-en-Roussillon on the French coast. The plane was owned by Air New Zealand and leased to XL Airways Germany registered as D-AXLA (formerly ZK-OJL), and was undertaking a technical flight immediately prior to a scheduled handover back to Air New Zealand. At the time of the accident, the plane was painted in Air New Zealand livery. All seven people on board — two Germans (captain Norbert Kaeppel and first officer Theodore Ketzer from XL Airways) and five New Zealanders (one pilot, three aircraft engineers and one member of the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand) - were killed.[5][6][7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "XL Airways Germany on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  2. ^ Hofmann, Kurt (3 January 2013). "XL Airways Germany files for bankruptcy". atwonline.com. ATW Plus. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Route Network - Booking". www.sunexpress.com. SunExpress Airlines. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  4. ^ XL Airways fleet list at planespotters.net
  5. ^ "At least two dead after Air NZ owned plane crashes in France". The New Zealand Herald. 28 November 2008.[dead link]
  6. ^ "Air NZ plane crashes in Mediterranean". Newstalk ZB. 28 November 2008.[dead link]
  7. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A320-232 D-AXLA Canet-Plage". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
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Media related to XL Airways Germany at Wikimedia Commons