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'Astraeus' is a UK airline based in Crawley, England. It operates scheduled and charter flights for around 50 tour operators, specialising in serving destinations in Africa, Europe, CIS and Canada. Its main bases are Manchester Airport and London Gatwick Airport^[1].
The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats ^[2].

Contents

History

Destinations

Fleet

Notable employee

External links

References

History

The airline was named Astraeus Limited on 21 March 2002 and started operations on 6 April 2002. It was founded by staff of the former British World Airlines and the Aberdeen Asset Management international investment group. The use of Boeing 737-700 aircraft for extended range operations led to the launch in December 2004 of trans-Atlantic charters between London Gatwick and Deer Lake in Newfoundland, Canada. In 2004 Astraeus opened up routes from London to Aqaba (Jordan) and Simferopol (Ukraine), with flights to the new Mediterranean resort area of El Alamein (Egypt) due to commence in 2005.
Plans were announced for the acquisition of a 51% share in Astraeus in September 2006 by FlyMe, but the Swedish airline later pulled out of the acquisition. On 30 October 2006, Icelandic investment company Fons Eignarhaldsfelag, acquired a 51% majority holding in Astraeus.
Icelandic investment group, Fons Eignarhaldsfelag, has agreed to acquire a majority 51% stake in Astraeus, reportedly for £5m. The remaining 49% share would be held equally between Astraeus management and Aberdeen Asset Management, which supported the airline launch in 2002. The move would help the Icelandic group support their Iceland Express subsidiary to begin low-fare transatlantic services. The two airlines would continue to operate as separate entities and Astraeus would continue to fly specialist charter services from its London and Manchester bases. It is understood that Astraeus could supply Iceland Express with Boeing 757-200 aircraft to start flights from Iceland to New York City and Boston in spring 2007 ^[3].

Destinations

Main articles: Astraeus destinations

Astraeus has flights to 15 destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

Fleet

The Astraeus fleet consists of the following aircraft (at April 2007) ^[4]:

★ 2 Boeing 737-300

★ 2 Boeing 737-700

★ 5 Boeing 757-200
In October 2006, the Astraeus fleet average age was 13.7 years ^[5].

Notable employee

Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of British heavy metal band Iron Maiden is an Astraeus Captain flying the Boeing 757 aircraft.

External links

★ Astraeus

★ Astraeus Fleet Detail

★ Photos of Astraeus aircraft

References

1. Directory: World Airlines
2. CAA
3. Airliner World January 2007
4. UK CAA - Aircraft Register
5. Astraeus Fleet Age