VLM Airlines
Encyclopedia
VLM Airlines is a Belgian
airline whose head office is in Airport Building B50 at Antwerp International Airport
in Deurne, Antwerp. Now 100%-owned by CityJet
, all flying operations are carried out for CityJet and the fleet of Fokker 50 aircraft fly in CityJet livery.
. The airline now employs over 400 people, and carried 745,781 passengers in 2007. Its original hub was Antwerp, but the airline now has its base at London City Airport
.
In 2008 the airline reported its tenth consecutive year of profits for the year ending 31 December 2007, it had a net profit of 3.6m euros. Turnover grew to 112m euros and passenger numbers rose 9% to 745,781 during 2007.
On 24 December 2007, Air France-KLM
announced that they had signed an agreement for a full takeover of the company from Panta Holdings .
Air France-KLM announced on 28 May 2009 that VLM Airlines would gradually start to operate under the brand name CityJet
. The name CityJet was already in use by the Irish regional partner of Air France-KLM. In 2010 the name VLM Airlines had been replaced altogether by CityJet. As a result, VLM Airlines replaced its frequent flyer program
, VLM Encore, with Air France-KLM's Flying Blue
and flyvlm.com was merged with the CityJet
website.
Destinations no longer served by VLM include Liverpool, Southampton, Isle of Man, Brussels, Geneva and Frankfurt.
VLM Airlines has one Fokker 50 on standby for ad hoc-charter flights, available for flights across Europe & Northern Africa. The airline also flies on ACMI-basis for other airlines, including Air France
, Flybe
and Aer Arann
when extra capacity is needed.
On 16 February 2010, CityJet launched a new configuration on their aircraft, including the Fokker 50's taken in the merger. They are now fitted with CityPlus, a 4 abreast premium economy class along with CityValue, the standard economy.
.
After the CiyJet/Air France takeover, this product was downgraded to move in line to reflect the Air France-KLM product on short-haul flights. There is now a simple service of sandwiches and drinks, with glassware and china cups replaced by plastic. However, small features of VLM still remain, with the handing out of boiled sweets before take off and the distribution of Belgian chocolates mid-flight.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
airline whose head office is in Airport Building B50 at Antwerp International Airport
Antwerp International Airport
Antwerpen International Airport is located 2 km from the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It is home to a maintenance hangar for CityJet. In 2005 it served about 105,937 passengers . In 2010, the airport served 162,840 passengers...
in Deurne, Antwerp. Now 100%-owned by CityJet
Cityjet
CityJet Limited is an Irish regional airline headquartered in the Swords Business Campus in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. It operates at London City Airport, and flies franchise services on behalf of its parent company Air France from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Since the take over of VLM...
, all flying operations are carried out for CityJet and the fleet of Fokker 50 aircraft fly in CityJet livery.
History
VLM Airlines started operations in May 1993 with a scheduled service between Antwerp Airport and London City AirportLondon City Airport
London City Airport is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It was developed by the engineering...
. The airline now employs over 400 people, and carried 745,781 passengers in 2007. Its original hub was Antwerp, but the airline now has its base at London City Airport
London City Airport
London City Airport is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It was developed by the engineering...
.
In 2008 the airline reported its tenth consecutive year of profits for the year ending 31 December 2007, it had a net profit of 3.6m euros. Turnover grew to 112m euros and passenger numbers rose 9% to 745,781 during 2007.
On 24 December 2007, Air France-KLM
Air France-KLM
Air France-KLM is a European airline holding company incorporated under French law with its headquarters at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in Tremblay-en-France, Paris...
announced that they had signed an agreement for a full takeover of the company from Panta Holdings .
Air France-KLM announced on 28 May 2009 that VLM Airlines would gradually start to operate under the brand name CityJet
Cityjet
CityJet Limited is an Irish regional airline headquartered in the Swords Business Campus in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. It operates at London City Airport, and flies franchise services on behalf of its parent company Air France from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Since the take over of VLM...
. The name CityJet was already in use by the Irish regional partner of Air France-KLM. In 2010 the name VLM Airlines had been replaced altogether by CityJet. As a result, VLM Airlines replaced its frequent flyer program
Frequent flyer program
A frequent flyer program is a loyalty program offered by many airlines. Typically, airline customers enrolled in the program accumulate frequent flyer miles corresponding to the distance flown on that airline or its partners. There are other ways to accumulate miles...
, VLM Encore, with Air France-KLM's Flying Blue
Flying Blue
Flying Blue is the loyalty program of Air France and KLM that offers rewards to passengers travelling on certain types of tickets. In June 2005, the frequent flyer programmes of Air France and KLM were combined to create the Flying Blue program after the two companies merged into a single parent...
and flyvlm.com was merged with the CityJet
Cityjet
CityJet Limited is an Irish regional airline headquartered in the Swords Business Campus in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. It operates at London City Airport, and flies franchise services on behalf of its parent company Air France from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Since the take over of VLM...
website.
Destinations
- Belgium
- Antwerp Airport Base
- France
- Paris - Orly AirportOrly AirportParis-Orly Airport is an airport located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris, France. It has flights to cities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, North America and Southeast Asia. Prior to the construction of Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly was...
- Nantes Atlantique AirportNantes Atlantique AirportNantes Atlantique Airport is an international airport serving Nantes, France. It is located southwest of the city, in Bouguenais.The airport is operated by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Nantes...
- Paris - Orly Airport
- Germany
- Hamburg AirportHamburg AirportHamburg Airport , also known as Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel Airport , is an international airport serving Hamburg, Germany.It originally covered . Since then, the site has grown more than tenfold to . The main apron covers . The airport is north of the centre of the city of Hamburg in the Fuhlsbüttel...
- Zweibrücken AirportZweibrücken AirportZweibrücken Airport , or Flughafen Zweibrücken in German, is an airport in Zweibrücken, Germany. After Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, it is the second biggest airport in Rhineland-Palatinate.In 2010 264.247 passengers used the airport....
- Hamburg Airport
- JerseyJerseyJersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
- Saint PeterSaint Peter, JerseySaint Peter is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is in the west central part of the island. It is the only parish with two separate coastlines, stretching from St. Ouen's Bay in the west to St. Aubin's Bay in the south, and thereby cutting St. Brelade off from other...
- Jersey AirportJersey Airport-Busiest routes:Some airlines offer services between Jersey and other destinations with an intermediate stop at Guernsey. There are also periodic charter flights to European holiday destinations, Madeira and ski destinations operated by airlines such as Aurigny Air Services, Europe Airpost, Palmair...
- Saint Peter
- LuxembourgLuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
- Findel Airport
- Netherlands
- AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
- Amsterdam Airport Schiphol - Eindhoven AirportEindhoven Airport-Facilities:Passenger facilities available include: Exchange office, Lost property office, Luggage lockers, Baby changing area and a Health centre. Wireless internet access is provided free of charge throughout the airport. A business lounge is available too. Major car rental companies have their...
- Rotterdam AirportRotterdam AirportRotterdam The Hague Airport , located north northwest of Rotterdam, is the Netherlands' third largest airport, coming after Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Eindhoven Airport...
Base
- Amsterdam
- United Kingdom
- London City AirportLondon City AirportLondon City Airport is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It was developed by the engineering...
Base - Manchester Airport
- London City Airport
Destinations no longer served by VLM include Liverpool, Southampton, Isle of Man, Brussels, Geneva and Frankfurt.
VLM Airlines has one Fokker 50 on standby for ad hoc-charter flights, available for flights across Europe & Northern Africa. The airline also flies on ACMI-basis for other airlines, including Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
, Flybe
Flybe
Flybe Group PLC is a British low-cost regional airline headquartered at the Jack Walker House at Exeter International Airport in Devon, England...
and Aer Arann
Aer Arann
Aer Arann is a regional airline based in Dublin, Ireland. Aer Arann operates scheduled services from Ireland and the Isle of Man to destinations in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France, with a fleet of 18 aircraft. Aer Arann has expanded from a single aircraft to Ireland's third largest airline...
when extra capacity is needed.
Current
The VLM Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft (at January 2011):| Type | Total | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fokker 50 | 15 | 50 | All in CityJet Cityjet CityJet Limited is an Irish regional airline headquartered in the Swords Business Campus in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. It operates at London City Airport, and flies franchise services on behalf of its parent company Air France from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Since the take over of VLM... livery |
On 16 February 2010, CityJet launched a new configuration on their aircraft, including the Fokker 50's taken in the merger. They are now fitted with CityPlus, a 4 abreast premium economy class along with CityValue, the standard economy.
Retired fleet
In the year 2007 VLM used a BAe 146-300 wet leased from FlightlineFlightline (UK)
Flightline was an airline based in Southend-on-Sea, England. It operated branded wet lease, ad-hoc and contract passenger and freight charter services, as well as VIP flights and aircraft sales and maintenance. Sub-services were flown for major airlines in Europe as required...
.
Service
VLM used to promote itself as Europe's leading "Business Airline" and tried to reflect this in its pursuit of superior service. Onboard, passengers were served fresh meals, and were able to request a vegetarian or kosher meal at the time of reservation. Meals were presented on a half-tray, and all passengers were served drinks in real glasses with tea and coffee served in china cups. Such features are not commonly found on short haul airlines.After the CiyJet/Air France takeover, this product was downgraded to move in line to reflect the Air France-KLM product on short-haul flights. There is now a simple service of sandwiches and drinks, with glassware and china cups replaced by plastic. However, small features of VLM still remain, with the handing out of boiled sweets before take off and the distribution of Belgian chocolates mid-flight.