Lmml 14/32 From Malta, joined Jan 2001, 2559 posts, RR: 7 Posted (5 years 4 months 3 weeks 2 days 14 hours ago) and read 7488 times:
BritishJet, Malta's second airline, that started operations in March of 2005, will cease operations on the 8th of January. The airline operated only one aircraft, an MD90 leased from Hello of Switzerland. They claim to have carried 70K pax a year. It is a victim to the introduction of Ryanair flights to MLA..AirMalta stands to gain from this as the owner of the airline has purchased some 30K seats on AirMalta flights to the UK this year. Farwell to BritishJet and to the cabin crew, most of whom are ex-colleagues at AirMalta, who willl now end up jobless.
LMML 14/32 From Malta, joined Jan 2001, 2559 posts, RR: 7 Reply 2, posted (5 years 4 months 3 weeks 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 7128 times:
They fly an MD-90 leased from Hello (FHE) HB-JIB but after the 8th January they will start using AirMalta. The aircraft will be returned and the staff given the sack.
Jmc757 From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2000, 1296 posts, RR: 8 Reply 4, posted (5 years 4 months 3 weeks 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 6954 times:
Quoting Lmml 14/32 (Thread starter): BritishJet, Malta's second airline, that started operations in March of 2005, will cease operations on the 8th of January. The airline operated only one aircraft, an MD90 leased from Hello of Switzerland. They claim to have carried 70K pax a year. It is a victim to the introduction of Ryanair flights to MLA..AirMalta stands to gain from this as the owner of the airline has purchased some 30K seats on AirMalta flights to the UK this year. Farwell to BritishJet and to the cabin crew, most of whom are ex-colleagues at AirMalta, who willl now end up jobless
With all due respect, BritishJet were never really an airline. "BritishJet" came about from the tour operator Malta Bargains, who have specialised in holidays and flight only to malta from the UK for many years. They previously chartered Air Malta to do their flying. A few years ago this changed when Malta Bargains decided to charter Hello to carry out their flying programme. As a side arrangement it was decided to brand these flights as "BritishJet", so the aircraft wore this scheme and a website was launched. However the flights were still Hello flights, under Hello's AOC and with Hello FHE flight numbers. The flights did use local cabin crew; I imagine this was more of a logistical thing, a Swiss airline having a cabin crew base in MLA would be costly, much cheaper to source local staff.
All that has changed is that Malta Bargains has decided once again to use Air Malta for its flying programme. Hello will respray the aircraft and use it on other routes, and Malta Bargains will continue to sell holidays and flights to Malta. The BritishJet.com website is still live and selling seats on the Air Malta flights.
Bwaflyer From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2004, 675 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (5 years 4 months 3 weeks 2 days 9 hours ago) and read 6811 times:
Quoting Jmc757 (Reply 4): They previously chartered Air Malta to do their flying.
They chartered Astraeus for a couple of years with, at peak periods, nearly daily flights from LGW, several a week from MAN, and a few from other regional airports. Pretty much all the flying was overnight (cheaper), and the cabin service, although still offering a full hot meal, was downgraded to cheaper ingredients. Although the passenger were sometimes "challenging" (drunk pax - smokers and so on) the flights were normally a laugh to work. Still remember the static we used to get walking down the aisle off the shell suits! Bar takings were normally pretty good - comission!!
LMML 14/32 From Malta, joined Jan 2001, 2559 posts, RR: 7 Reply 6, posted (5 years 4 months 3 weeks 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 6709 times:
Quoting Jmc757 (Reply 4): BritishJet were never really an airline. "BritishJet" came about from the tour operator Malta Bargains,
Youi are very right. I just did not want to complicate things and write the history of the "airline". In fact when they started flying they used the callsign BritishJet but then the civil aviation department made them change it to Fly Hello. But they still used the BJC code share on the airport monitors. It's a pity to see it go though. The MD90 was a fmiliar sight at MLA.
GeorgeJetson From Bulgaria, joined Jun 2007, 169 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (5 years 4 months 3 weeks 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 4970 times:
Quoting Lmml 14/32 (Thread starter): BritishJet, Malta's second airline, that started operations in March of 2005, will cease operations on the 8th of January.
Just out of curiosity, why would an airline from Malta be called BritishJet? MaltaJet might have been more appropriate!
BBADXB From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (5 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 2996 times:
Quoting GeorgeJetson (Reply 7): Just out of curiosity, why would an airline from Malta be called BritishJet? MaltaJet might have been more appropriate!
I did not like the name of this "airline" either.
Their livery is a horrendous embarrasment in my opinion.
I am not sad to see them go. Their cabin crew, from what I heard, were treated like trash.
If I remember correctly, their first Malta-UK flight was on May 1st, 2004.
All in all, I think that the Malta-UK market is doing very well: BJC is going, but we have U2 taking over GT, and BA mainline starting LGW-MLA (I am so happy about this), as well as the well established FR flight from LTN, plus the usual KM flights. I hope to see KM keeping the momentum of their expansion; any news on this?
Humberside From United Kingdom, joined Dec 2005, 4901 posts, RR: 5 Reply 11, posted (5 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 2323 times:
Quoting Bwaflyer (Reply 5): They chartered Astraeus for a couple of years with, at peak periods, nearly daily flights from LGW, several a week from MAN, and a few from other regional airports
EMA and LBA I think. Weekly to each. Certainly wasn't as large a programme as BritishJet
SlovakFlight From Sweden, joined Nov 2006, 52 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (5 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 2040 times:
Quoting Voodoo (Reply 9): SAS is too unpredictable?('eqpt varies')
In fact they don't have the MD-90s at all... Try Iceland Express instead - or maybe that regional subsidiary of Spanair that sends MD90s to CPH (don't remember the name exactly - think it is Aebal or something like that)
LMML 14/32 From Malta, joined Jan 2001, 2559 posts, RR: 7 Reply 13, posted (5 years 4 months 2 weeks 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 1754 times:
Just heard that the former BritishJet aircraft, HB-JIB, will be operated by Airmata with Airmalta cabin crews untill the contract with Hello, the lessees, expires in April. Not sure if it will be utilised on UK routes only or throughought the Airmalta network or whether it will be repained.
D950 From United States of America, joined Jul 2004, 493 posts, RR: 2 Reply 14, posted (5 years 4 months 2 weeks 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 1695 times:
Quoting SlovakFlight (Reply 12): In fact they don't have the MD-90s at all... Try Iceland Express instead - or maybe that regional subsidiary of Spanair that sends MD90s to CPH (don't remember the name exactly - think it is Aebal or something like that)
Those would be 717's, in fact SAS still owns some of the MD90's that Blue1 operates, as well as Nordic Leisure (seasonal
Resting on your laurels is a synonym for flirting with disaster
Revo From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2006, 393 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (5 years 4 months 2 weeks 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 1647 times:
Quoting LMML 14/32 (Reply 13): Just heard that the former BritishJet aircraft, HB-JIB, will be operated by Airmata with Airmalta cabin crews untill the contract with Hello, the lessees, expires in April. Not sure if it will be utilised on UK routes only or throughought the Airmalta network or whether it will be repained.
KM are using MD-90 in May to BHX according to the timetable, presuming that will be HB-JIB?
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