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| Founded | 1976 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | Monaco Heliport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 14 | ||||||
| Destinations | Nice Airport (scheduled flights every twenty minutes) | ||||||
| Headquarters | Monaco | ||||||
| Website | http://www.heliairmonaco.com | ||||||
Heli Air Monaco is theflag carrier ofMonaco.
Heli Air Monaco was founded in 1976 with the support ofPrince Rainier III,[1] and began operations from theMonaco Heliport, located in theFontvieille quarter of Monaco, from where it now operates regularshuttle services between Monaco Heliport andNice Airport (an average 24 transfers a day), and offers on request flights from Monaco andNice to other European destinations including theAlps,Corsica, theFrench Riviera,Italy andSwitzerland.
Initial services were operated with a singleEnstrom F-28 helicopter, and in the first year of operations, the airline flew 747 passengers. In order to meet demand aBell 206 JetRanger was acquired in 1976, and by 1980 15,237 passengers had been carried. Free shuttle service in Monaco was introduced in 1983, a year in which 39,673 passengers were carried. AEurocopter Dauphin was added to the fleet in 1991, joining a fleet made up of sixEurocopter AS350s and a Bell 206 JetRanger. The number of passengers carried in 1991 increased to some 94,300. 2000 saw the airline carrying 103,000 passengers and passing the 1,500,000 passengers carried mark.[2]
In September 2003, the airline ordered a number of six-seatEurocopter EC130 B4 to replace the Eurocopter Squirrels in the fleet.[3]
On 8 June 2004, a Heli Air MonacoAS350 on a scheduled flight from Monaco to Nice crashed into the sea 2.16 kilometres offSaint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, killing the pilot and four passengers.[4][5][6]
Due to a drop in the number of passengers being carried, in February 2009 Heli Air Monaco laid off ten employees and announced that an additional thirty employees may be laid off if the situation does not improve. Jacques Crovetto, theCEO of the company, noted that theMonegasque government takes taxes from the company, but gives no support to the company in return. The airline accounts for 90-95% of traffic at the Monaco Heliport, and its services are not subsidised. Crovetto also showed disdain for a decision by the Monegasque authorities to bar the company's minivans from operating in the bus lanes in Monaco, but in September 2009, he expressed hope that the decision would be overturned. He also noted that due to the re-registration of passengers inNice being required, it is almost as quick to take a taxi between Monaco and Nice.[7][8] According to Heli Air Monaco, the Monaco-Nice route has a natural ceiling of 130,000 passengers per year,[3] but in January 2009 the company only carried 3,450 passengers.[7]