 | |||||||
 A Slovak AirlinesBoeing 737-300 | |||||||
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| Founded | 1995 (1995) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | February 2007 (2007-02) | ||||||
| Hubs | M. R. Štefánik Airport Bratislava | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Miles & More | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance(affiliate; 2005–2007) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 3 (May 2006) | ||||||
| Destinations | 37 scheduled + 22 charter | ||||||
| Parent company | Austrian Airlines(2005–2007) | ||||||
| Headquarters | Bratislava,Slovakia | ||||||
| Profit | SKK–57 million (2006)[1] | ||||||
| Employees | 147 (2006)[2] | ||||||
| Website | slovakairlines.sk/corpus/index_en.csp (archived) | ||||||
Slovak Airlines (Slovenské aerolínie a.s. orSlovakian Airlines) was anairline based inBratislava,Slovakia.[3] Slovak Airlines operated on the market as an air transport company, operating regular and irregular passenger,cargo and postal transit. It was theflag carrier of the Slovak Republic operating a scheduled service acrossEurope. It also offered international charter flights toBulgaria,Cyprus,Greece,Italy,Russia,Spain,Tunisia, andTurkey. The company also ran wet-lease operations. Its main base wasM. R. Štefánik Airport in Bratislava.
The airline ceased operations in February 2007.[4][5]
After theDissolution of Czechoslovakia on January 1, 1993, the Slovak Republic found itself in a specific situation in the area of air transport, in that no transport company remained and even in the past there had never been an effective network of airlines directly connecting Slovakia with the rest of the world.[6] Not a single aircraft or foreignembassy remained inSlovakia, which was a big problem in buildinginternational relations for the young republic.
A way out of the problem for the young government withMichal Kováč had been to build a transport company ensuring the connection of Slovakia with foreign countries and to resolve the entire conception of air transport, in particular in connection withtourism and the creation of aninfrastructure.[7]
In 1995 the mission of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on a visit to Slovakia proposed the creation of a national air transport company as one possibility of the development ofcivil aviation. After almost one year of intensive discussions experts agreed on the idea that it would be possible to create a strong, high quality airline company in Slovak conditions only in the form of a national airline company. The result of this endeavor was on 24 June 1995 the designation of the company Slovenské aerolínie as the national air transport company.[8] Thebusiness plan of Slovak Airlines began with the construction of a basic network of lines over a period of 5 years and started operations in May 1998. Within the framework of the Phare programme “Air Operation Safety Improvement”, Slovak Airlines was selected as one of three operators within the states ofEastern Europe as a sample transport company andconsultant in the creation of a programme of improving safety of air transport in thePhare countries.
In January 2005Austrian Airlines acquired the majority stake (62%) in the company. Slovak Airlines ceased operations after Austrian Airlines repossessed two aircraft having withdrawn financial support in January 2007. The company filed for bankruptcy on 2 March 2007.[9] Large portion of employees and offices was taken over by the now-defunctSeagle Air.[10]
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The airline flew to following scheduled services from Bratislava:
In 2006 the airline flew the following charter flights fromBratislava (withBoeing 737-300):
And fromKošice (with Boeing 737-300):
The airline also flew for Italian travel agencies a weekly Brescia - Rhodos service with the Boeing 737 - 300 aircraft. The smaller 100-seat Fokker 100 was used on the following charter flights for Greek travel agencies: Bratislava - Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki - Chania, Chios, Kos, Rhodos,Samos,Santorini.
Slovak Airlines operated the following aircraft:[11]
| Aircraft | In service | Passengers | Years of operation | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | E | Total | ||||
| Boeing 737-300 | 3 | 0 | 148 | 148 | 2004 2002-2007 2005-2007 | |
| Boeing 767-200 | 1 | 12 | 203 | 215 | 2004-2005 | |
| Fokker 100 | 2 | 0 12 | 105 85 | 105 97 | 2005 2005-2007 | |
| Saab 340A | 1 | 0 | 34 | 34 | 1998-2000 | |
| Tupolev Tu-154M | 3 | 16 0 | 131 157 | 147 157 | 1998-2003 | OM-AAC painted withTV Markíza sticker[citation needed] |
| Total | 10 | |||||
