Carpatair
Encyclopedia
Carpatair S.A. is the largest regional airline
in Eastern Europe
, based in Timişoara
, Romania
. It operates services to 34 destinations in Europe. It co-operates closely with Moldavian Airlines
on fleet, maintenance and logistics. Its main base is Traian Vuia International Airport
, Timişoara
.
Carpatair was established in 1999 and started operations in February 1999 in Cluj-Napoca
. It was formed as Veg Air operating one leased Yakovlev Yak-40
from Moldavian Airlines. The present title was adopted in December 1999 when Swiss and Swedish investors took a 49% stake in the company. The airline is owned by Romanian shareholders (51%) and Swiss and Swedish shareholders (49%) and employs 450 staff (at March 2007). The current President and Chief Executive of Carpatair is Nicolae Petrov.
Because it was one of the first airlines to fly internationally from historical region Transylvania
, it has been very successful in that it has not received much competition from other airlines. It is growing in terms of market share against TAROM
and is the second-largest Romanian airline. Carpatair has various ticketing agreements with major airlines, such as Malev, Lufthansa
and Austrian Airlines
.
The Carpatair fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of 23 September 2011):
Carpatair Fleet
Destinations for each aircraft type valid according to summer 2010 schedule
As of 23 September 2011, the average age of the Carpatair fleet is 16.5 years.
Regional airline
Regional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...
in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, based in Timişoara
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. It operates services to 34 destinations in Europe. It co-operates closely with Moldavian Airlines
Moldavian Airlines
Moldavian Airlines is an airline based at Chişinău in Moldova. It operates scheduled international services from Chişinău to destinations in Europe...
on fleet, maintenance and logistics. Its main base is Traian Vuia International Airport
Traian Vuia International Airport
Timişoara "Traian Vuia" International is Romania's third largest airport in terms of air traffic, after Bucharest Henri Coandă and Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu Airport and the main air transportation hub for the western part of Romania. It is located in Timişoara, in the region of Banat, near the...
, Timişoara
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
.
History
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
. It was formed as Veg Air operating one leased Yakovlev Yak-40
Yakovlev Yak-40
The Yakovlev Yak-40 is a small, three-engined airliner that is often called the first regional jet transport aircraft...
from Moldavian Airlines. The present title was adopted in December 1999 when Swiss and Swedish investors took a 49% stake in the company. The airline is owned by Romanian shareholders (51%) and Swiss and Swedish shareholders (49%) and employs 450 staff (at March 2007). The current President and Chief Executive of Carpatair is Nicolae Petrov.
Because it was one of the first airlines to fly internationally from historical region Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, it has been very successful in that it has not received much competition from other airlines. It is growing in terms of market share against TAROM
TAROM
S.C. Compania Națională de Transporturi Aeriene Române TAROM S.A., doing business as TAROM Romanian Air Transport, is the flag carrier and oldest currently operating airline of Romania. The brand name is an acronym for...
and is the second-largest Romanian airline. Carpatair has various ticketing agreements with major airlines, such as Malev, Lufthansa
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
and Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines is the flag carrier airline of Austria, headquartered in Office Park 2 on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat, Wien-Umgebung and a subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Together with regional subsidiary Tyrolean Airways and charter arm Lauda Air, it operates...
.
Fleet
Carpatair Fleet
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Engines | Routes | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | |||||
| Fokker 70 | 3 | 12 | 60 | 72 | 2x RR Tay Mk 65015 | Düsseldorf, Bergamo, Bucharest, Iaşi, Craiova, Rome FCO, Lviv | |
| Fokker 100 | 3 | 0 | 105 | 105 | 2x RR Tay Mk 65015 | Bergamo, Chişinău, Venice, charter | one operated for Air Baltic |
| Saab 2000 Saab 2000 |-See also:-References:* Lambert, Mark. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1993–94. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Data Division, 1993. ISBN 0 7106 1066 1.... |
8 | 0 | 50 | 50 | 2 x RR Allison AE 2100A | Domestic & European | world largest operator |
Destinations for each aircraft type valid according to summer 2010 schedule
As of 23 September 2011, the average age of the Carpatair fleet is 16.5 years.
Incidents
- The most serious incident occurred on Saturday, February 28, 2009. Carpatair flight V3 128, a Saab 2000Saab 2000|-See also:-References:* Lambert, Mark. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1993–94. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Data Division, 1993. ISBN 0 7106 1066 1....
YR-SBI, had to make an emergency landing at Traian Vuia International AirportTraian Vuia International AirportTimişoara "Traian Vuia" International is Romania's third largest airport in terms of air traffic, after Bucharest Henri Coandă and Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu Airport and the main air transportation hub for the western part of Romania. It is located in Timişoara, in the region of Banat, near the...
in TimişoaraTimisoaraTimișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
, Romania. The plane's front landing wheels were not extending and, as a result, the pilots successfully landed with only the rear wheels of the aircraft. Thanks to the very experienced pilots, no passenger or crewmember was injured. The aircraft only received minor damage and no fire was caused, because of the foam bed the firefighters had placed on the runway prior to landing.
- In another incident, during a takeoff in heavy fog conditions at Bacău International AirportBacau International Airport-Terminated destinations:-Traffic statistics:George Enescu International handled 241,000 passengers in 2010, which represents a 23.4% increase over the previous year.-External links:*...
in 2006, a Carpatair SB 2000, immediately after liftoff, hit a horse with one of the wheels without experiencing any safety problems.