History
Viking Airlines started operations on 5 May 2003, with two McDonnell Douglas MD-83 which were used for charter operations throughout Europe. In 2004 another MD-83 was added to the fleet and by 2006 it was operating four MD-83s. Three aircraft were sold in 2008 leaving a single McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft being operated in 2008, which was supplemented with aircraft from Sky Wings to meet seasonal demand.
In December 2008 Viking Airlines took delivery of one Boeing 737-800, which entered service from a new base at London Gatwick Airport, UK on 19 December 2008. Viking Airlines also took delivery of 5 more Boeing 737-800's and 3 Boeing 737-300's in April 2009. Some aircraft were leased from Sunwing Airlines. Viking also opened bases at Manchester and Bristol Airport where it launched new flights to holiday destinations in Greece, Bulgaria, Egypt, the Canary Islands, France and Italy. Another base was also opened in Glasgow later in the year, with new flights to the Mediterranean.
On 16 July 2010, Goldtrail, the UK's leading tour operator for packaged holidays to Turkey and Greece collapsed leaving an estimated 16,000 customers stranded overseas. Viking Airlines was one of the three charter airlines that operated flights for Goldtrail.
On 17 August 2010, the airline stated that, as a consequence of Flight Options' going into administration, it was to cut three aircraft "immediately" from its fleet. On 15 October 2010, Viking suspended operations for the winter season, returning all remaining aircraft to their lessors. On 17 August 2010, Kiss Flights went into liquidation. Viking cut their fleet back to 6 aircraft because Viking was also an airline that operated for Kiss. Viking's fleet was further reduced to 2 during September/October 2010.
On 15 October 2010, Viking confirmed that the remaining aircraft had been handed back to the lessors. On the 19 October 2010, all operational staff employed by Viking Airlines AB in the United Kingdom by the wholly owned subsidiary Viking VIP Limited received a letter of Termination of Contract from the Director of Flight Operations, Bo-Göran Svensson. This "released all staff from employment" with immediate effect and without compensation or remuneration. However, the airline has filed for bankruptcy protection, intending to recommence services on 31 March 2011, Viking was formally declared bankrupt in February 2011 with the loss of its remaining 11 staff at its Spånga base.
In February 2011, the company's domain name was taken over by former Greek sister company Viking Hellas (Flyviking.com Limited), with flights between Gatwick, England and Greece, Turkey and Egypt using Airbus A320. Flyviking and Viking Airlines share the same United Kingdom address in Gatwick, Sussex. Viking Hellas planned to rename itself Fly Hellas on 1 May, so it can distance itself from its former sister company Viking Airlines, and at the same time withdraw from its Gatwick base.
Read more about this topic: Viking Airlines
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Only the history of free peoples is worth our attention; the history of men under a despotism is merely a collection of anecdotes.”
—Sébastien-Roch Nicolas De Chamfort (1741–1794)
“Don’t you realize that this is a new empire? Why, folks, there’s never been anything like this since creation. Creation, huh, that took six days, this was done in one. History made in an hour. Why it’s a miracle out of the Old Testament!”
—Howard Estabrook (1884–1978)
“No cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one, in fact, that from the beginning of our history has determined the very existence of politics, the cause of freedom versus tyranny.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)