Rhein-Neckar Air

GmbH (; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. It is a ...

, commonly known as ''RNA'', was a German virtual airline that offered regional scheduled and charter flights out of

Mannheim City Airport Mannheim City Airport (''City-Airport Mannheim'' in German language, German, formerly Mannheim-Neuostheim/Neuhermsheim) is a minor regional airport serving the Germany, German city of Mannheim. It is mainly used for general aviation. Location T ...

with all flights being operated by MHS Aviation. It ceased operations in December 2024.

History

Foundation

After

Cirrus Airlines Cirrus Airlines Luftfahrtgesellschaft mbH was a German regional airline with its head office in Hallbergmoos and its maintenance facilities at Saarbrücken Airport. It operated both charter and scheduled flights, the latter on behalf of Lufthans ...

ceased operations in 2012,

was left without any scheduled airline service. Although well connected to

Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport ( ) , is Germany's busiest international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. Its official name according to the German Aeronautical Information Publication is Frankfurt Main Airpor ...

, the local economy demanded the re-establishment of direct flight connections from the

Rhine-Neckar The Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region (, ), often referred to as the Rhein-Neckar Triangle, is a polycentric Metropolitan regions in Germany, metropolitan region located in south western Germany, between the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region to the nor ...

Metropolitan Region to other German cities. Rhein-Neckar Air was consequently founded as a

LLC A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

with the support of local companies such as

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a s ...

Heidelberg Cement Heidelberg Materials is a German multinational building materials company headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. Formerly known as HeidelbergCement AG, the company has rebranded as Heidelberg Materials in September 2022. It is a DAX corporation a ...

and

Südzucker Südzucker AG (, literally ''South sugar'') is a German company, the largest sugar producer in the world, with an annual production of around 4.8 million tonnes. In February 2014, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office imposed a joint fine of 280 mil ...

. Operations commenced on 10 March 2014, offering weekday flights between Mannheim City Airport and

Berlin Tegel Airport Berlin Tegel "Otto Lilienthal" Airport () was the primary international airport of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The airport was named after aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal and was the fourth busiest airport in Germany, with over 24 millio ...

. After a successful start, flights to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

began later that year.

Later developments

Since 2016 RNA served the island of

Sylt Sylt (; ; Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, with a distinctively shaped shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the largest island in North Fris ...

during the summer season, flights which were also offered from Münster/Osnabrück in 2016 and from

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

in 2017;touristik-aktuel.de
(German) 3 January 2017 however both routes since ceased. The network had since been seasonally expanded with flights to

Usedom Usedom ( , ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It lies north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the ...

which was also served from

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

as of 2022.airliners.de
(German) 21 December 2021 According to the company, 35,000 passengers used its service per year as of 2017, a figure that decreased to 22,000 by 2022. In April 2023, RNA announced it would not resume its sole remaining year-round scheduled service to

, which it had suspended in 2020 in the wake of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, due to insufficient booking numbers.rnz.de
13 April 2023 In November 2024, RNA filed for

insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...

while maintaining operations for the time being. Shortly after, it announced plans to change its brand to ''Mannheim City Airlines'' for the planned resumption of its seasonal services in 2025. The airline subsequently announced the cessation of all operations on 31 December 2024.flyrna.com - Betriebseinstellung
(German) retrieved 11 January 2025

Destinations

Current destinations

As of November 2024, Rhein-Neckar Air served the following scheduled and charter destinations:flyrna.com - "Flugplan"
(German) retrieved 9 November 2024 *

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

Marina di Campo Airport Marina di Campo Airport () is the airport of the Italian island of Elba, located in the village of La Pila, in Marina di Campo. It is also known as ''Teseo Tesei Airport'' (). It is the third airport of Tuscany in terms of passengers after P ...

''seasonal charter'' *

Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''K ...

Friedrichshafen Airport Friedrichshafen Airport (, ; also known as ''Bodensee Airport Friedrichshafen'') is a minor international airport 1.9 miles (3 km) north of Friedrichshafen, Germany, on the banks of Lake Constance (German: ''Bodensee''). It is the third bi ...

''seasonal charter'' *

Kassel Airport Kassel Airport (formerly ''Kassel-Calden Airport'', German ''Flughafen Kassel'') is a minor international airport serving the German city of Kassel in the state of Hesse. It is located west of Calden, northwest of Kassel and is mainly used for b ...

''seasonal charter'' *

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

base *

Sylt Airport Sylt Airport is the airport on the German island of Sylt located in the municipality of the same name. It mostly features summer seasonal scheduled traffic to major German cities as well as general aviation and gliding. Sometimes the airport ...

''seasonal'' *

Heringsdorf Airport Heringsdorf Airport () is a regional airport located near Garz on the island of Usedom in Germany. It used to be an East German airbase and today features summer leisure routes from cities in Germany and Switzerland as well as general aviation. ...

''seasonal'' RNA also operated non-public

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

flights, including several local top division sports clubs, such as

Adler Mannheim The Adler Mannheim (English: ''Mannheim Eagles'', formerly Mannheimer ERC) is a professional ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest-level ice hockey league in Germany. The team is based in Mannheim, a city in the northern par ...

and

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. (), commonly known as TSG Hoffenheim (), are a German professional association football, football club based in Sinsheim. Originally founded in 1899 as a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim came into bei ...

.flyrna.com - RNAinside 01/17
(German) retrieved 18 January 2023

Former destinations

RNA formerly also served the following destinations which ceased ahead of the company's shutdown: *

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Hamburg Airport Hamburg Airport () , is a major international airport in Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany. Since November 2016 the airport has been named after the former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt. It is located north of the city centre in t ...

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

Münster Osnabrück Airport Münster Osnabrück Airport , formerly ''Münster/Osnabrück International Airport'' and ''Flughafen Münster/Osnabrück'' in German, is a minor international airport in the Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located near Grev ...

''seasonal'' *

Nuremberg Airport Nuremberg Airport ( ) is an international airport of the Franconian metropolitan area of Nuremberg and the second-busiest airport in Bavaria after Munich Airport. The year 2018, with 4.5 million, was the year with the highest passenger volume t ...

''seasonal''

Fleet

As of November 2024, MHS Aviation operated the following aircraft for Rhein-Neckar Air:

References

External links

Official website
{{Airlines of Germany Defunct airlines of Germany Airlines established in 2013 Airlines disestablished in 2024 2014 establishments in Germany