Westair Luxembourg
Encyclopedia
West Air Luxemburg is a daughter company of West Air, the cargo
airline
based in Gothenburg
, Sweden
. The company was founded in 2002 by West Air Sweden
and mainly operate as an air feeder for express mail companies as TNT
, DHL
, Fedex
and UPS
. The company operates a fleet of 7 BAe ATP and 1 ATR-72
As demand for the services grew, West Air operated a steady increasing number of HS748's in cargo version. Having a capacity of 55cbm and a payload of up to 6300kgs, they seemed to be the ideal fleet to perform postal flights.
In 1997 West Air build its own Hangars and Operation Control Centre at Hovby Airport near Lidköping, whereas the cooperate head office and administration was moved to Gothenburg.
The year 2000 was again a remarkable year for West Air, the faithful HS748 was no longer sufficient to respond to the steady increasing demand. BAe's Eurofreighter ATPF the successor of the HS748, also manufactured by British Aerospace Ltd started the conversion in May 2000. Finally the inauguration flight took off in September 2000, and with a great success! The increased capacity of over 70cbm and its higher payload of up to 8600kgs responded perfectly to the market demand in the integrator and postal sector. Soon West Air has been entrusted to operate new routes operated on behalf of Fedex, TNT, DHL and UPS as a feeder service to their respective hubs within Europe.
Obviously the development and expansion to West Air lay only in one direction: Southbound! Already in 2001 more than 60% of the operated flights performed by the company were operated on the European continent. The management took the decision to create a daughter company in Luxembourg . Centrally located in the heart of Europe it would serve as a crew base, operational centre and commercially facilitate the contact with our central European customers.
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
based in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The company was founded in 2002 by West Air Sweden
West Air Sweden
West Air Sweden is a cargo airline based in Gothenburg, Sweden. It operates scheduled and ad hoc freight charter services for FedEx, DHL, TNT and UPS. It is also contracted to operate mail flights 6 nights a week on behalf of the Swedish post office...
and mainly operate as an air feeder for express mail companies as TNT
TNT N.V.
TNT N.V., more commonly known as TNT, is an international express and mail delivery services company with headquarters in Hoofddorp, Netherlands. In the Netherlands, TNT operates the national postal service under the name TNT Post. The group also offers postal services in eight other European...
, DHL
DHL
DHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post providing international express mail services. DHL is a world market leader in sea and air mail....
, Fedex
FedEx
FedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee...
and UPS
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
. The company operates a fleet of 7 BAe ATP and 1 ATR-72
History
West Air was founded back in 1962, by the northern Swedish Trader and Coffee importer Anders Löfberg. He used at that time a Navajo PA31 aircraft to travel fast and efficient through Scandinavia to promote his products. 33 years later – 1995- West Air has been purchased by the present owners. When in 1996 the Royal Swedish Mail granted the company various routes to transport airmail within Sweden , West Air discovered their niche market – overnight flights performed by narrow body aircrafts.As demand for the services grew, West Air operated a steady increasing number of HS748's in cargo version. Having a capacity of 55cbm and a payload of up to 6300kgs, they seemed to be the ideal fleet to perform postal flights.
In 1997 West Air build its own Hangars and Operation Control Centre at Hovby Airport near Lidköping, whereas the cooperate head office and administration was moved to Gothenburg.
The year 2000 was again a remarkable year for West Air, the faithful HS748 was no longer sufficient to respond to the steady increasing demand. BAe's Eurofreighter ATPF the successor of the HS748, also manufactured by British Aerospace Ltd started the conversion in May 2000. Finally the inauguration flight took off in September 2000, and with a great success! The increased capacity of over 70cbm and its higher payload of up to 8600kgs responded perfectly to the market demand in the integrator and postal sector. Soon West Air has been entrusted to operate new routes operated on behalf of Fedex, TNT, DHL and UPS as a feeder service to their respective hubs within Europe.
Obviously the development and expansion to West Air lay only in one direction: Southbound! Already in 2001 more than 60% of the operated flights performed by the company were operated on the European continent. The management took the decision to create a daughter company in Luxembourg . Centrally located in the heart of Europe it would serve as a crew base, operational centre and commercially facilitate the contact with our central European customers.
Fleet
The West Air Luxembourg fleet includes the following aircraft :| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers (Economy) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATR 72-201F | 1 | 0 | - | |
| BAe ATP | 7 | 0 | - | one aircraft is leased from West Air Sweden West Air Sweden West Air Sweden is a cargo airline based in Gothenburg, Sweden. It operates scheduled and ad hoc freight charter services for FedEx, DHL, TNT and UPS. It is also contracted to operate mail flights 6 nights a week on behalf of the Swedish post office... |
| Total | 8 | 0 |