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SmartLynx Airlines Limited, previously ''LatCharter'', is a
." About SmartLynx Airlines. Retrieved on 24 January 2014. "Address Mazrūdas, Mārupes novads, LV-2167." operating flights on
The privately owned company started operations in 1993 with a leased
, SmartLynx Airlines fleet - including all subsidiaries - consists of the following aircraft:
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
n charter airline
Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline).
Regulation
Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...
based in Mārupe
Mārupe (german: Marienbach) is a town in and the centre of Mārupe Municipality, Latvia. Mārupe is in practice a suburb of the Latvian capital, Riga, and is the headquarters of the Latvian Bandy Federation. A small river Mārupīte flows ...
,About SmartLynx Airlines." About SmartLynx Airlines. Retrieved on 24 January 2014. "Address Mazrūdas, Mārupes novads, LV-2167." operating flights on
wet lease
Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...
out (ACMI), holiday charter flights, and ad-hoc passenger charter flights across Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
.
History
The privately owned company started operations in 1993 with a leased Tupolev Tu-134B
The Tupolev Tu-134 ( NATO reporting name: Crusty) is a twin-engined, narrow-body jet airliner built in the Soviet Union for short and medium-haul routes from 1966 to 1989. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain o ...
."SmartLynx Airlines". www.smartlynx.aero. In 2001, the Tupolev fleet was replaced with the larger Yakovlev Yak-42
The Yakovlev Yak-42 (russian: Яковлев Як-42; NATO reporting name: "Clobber") is a 100/120-seat three-engined mid-range passenger jet developed in the mid 1970s to replace the technically obsolete Tupolev Tu-134. It was the first airlin ...
and in 2003, first Airbus A320-200
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
was inducted into the service on behalf of the airline.
In 2006, Loftleiðir
Loftleiðir HF, internationally known as Icelandic Airlines (abbreviated IAL) or Loftleiðir Icelandic, was a private Icelandic airline headquartered on the grounds of Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík, which operated mostly trans-atlantic flig ...
, the aircraft lease
Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempor ...
arm of Icelandair Group
Icelandair Group hf. is an Icelandic travel industry corporation, the owner and holding company of the airline Icelandair and several other travel industry companies in Iceland. The group's headquarters are at Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík. ...
, acquired a majority 55% shareholding in the LatCharter stock, and eventually the whole company.
In 2007, the airline expanded its fleet by adding five more A320-200s and two 767-300
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
s. The aircraft were wet-leased to different airlines around the world. Since then, the ACMI market has been the company's primary focus, having operated for numerous carriers such as Air Malta
Air Malta plc (stylized as airmalta) is the flag carrier airline of Malta, with its headquarters in Luqa and its hub at Malta International Airport. It operates services to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
History ...
, SBA Airlines
Santa Bárbara Airlines C.A, doing business as SBA Airlines and formerly as ''Santa Bárbara Airlines'' prior to 2008, was an airline with its headquarters on the third floor of the ''Edificio Tokay'' in Caracas, Venezuela. It operated scheduled d ...
, Finnair
Finnair ( fi, Finnair Oyj, sv, Finnair Abp) is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and international ...
, Condor
Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.
They are:
* The Andean condor (''Vu ...
. In 2008, the company was renamed SmartLynx Airlines.
In 2012, the airline was bought from Icelandair in a management buy-out also forming a single aircraft subsidiary Smartlynx Airlines Estonia to serve Estonian tour operators.
In 2016, the company was bought by a Netherlands-based investment fund. In 2019, the airline established a subsidiary in Malta (SmartLynx Malta). SmartLynx Airlines also became a family member of Avia Solutions Group
Avia Solutions Group is a provider of aviation capacity solutions for passenger and cargo airlines worldwide. Headquartered in Vilnius (Lithuania), the group manages over 100 offices and production facilities globally and employs a majority of its ...
.
In 2020, the airline expanded into air cargo transportation. In 2021, SmartLynx and DHL
DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. ...
signed a partnership agreement. The partnership will include two of SmartLynx Malta A321-200s transporting freight and goods on behalf of the Deutsche Post
The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies ...
subsidiary. In October 2021, SmartLynx announced the establishment of an in-house line maintenance centre, SmartLynx Technik. In December 2021, the airlines announced plans to open a new office in Vilnius, Lithuania.
In February 2022, SmartLynx Airlines signed an agreement with SMBC Aviation Capital to lease first two Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. In March 2022, SmartLynx announced the introduction of first Airbus A330-300
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A34 ...
freighters to its fleet. In 2022, SmartLynx Airlines also celebrated its 30th anniversary.
Training centre
SmartLynx Training Centre is an approved training organization (ATO) in the Baltic States, providing type rating courses forAirbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France.
The first member of the fam ...
and recurrent training for Boeing 737 MAX 8
The Boeing 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, a narrow-body airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), a division of American company Boeing. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG) and competes with th ...
aircraft.
Fleet
, SmartLynx Airlines fleet - including all subsidiaries - consists of the following aircraft:
See also
* List of airlines of LatviaReferences
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smartlynx Airlines Airlines of Latvia Airlines established in 1992 Icelandair Latvian companies established in 1992