Star1 Airlines

Star1 Airlines

IATA V9 ICAO HCW Callsign Hermis Capital
Founded	2009
Ceased operations	1 October 2010
Operating bases	Vilnius International Airport
Fleet size	1
Destinations	9
Parent company	Star Team Group
Headquarters	Vilnius, Lithuania
Key people	Martynas Laivys (CEO)
Website	star1.lt/en/

JSC "Star1 Airlines" was a Lithuanian low cost airline founded in 2009. The company was owned by the Star Team Group which was also an owner of the tour operator Star1 Holidays. The airline operated both regular and charter flights from its base in Vilnius International Airport. Star1 Airlines was a member of ICAO (code HCW). Its CEO Martynas Laivys has 15 years of experience in the travel industry. During the first 6 months of operations Star1 Airlines carried almost 66,000 passengers on its regular and charter routes; company's turnover reached 28 million litas. Due to financial difficulties, Star1 Airlines suspended operations on 1 October 2010.

History

The airline was established on 25 May 2009, when the Star Team Group acquired HC Airways (ICAO code: HCW), a Vilnius-based carrier, from Hermis Capital JSC.^[1] HC Airways was established in 2007 and had a fleet of aircraft Hawker 800XP. In spring 2009, Star1 Airlines signed a new generation Boeing 737-700 aircraft lease agreement. On 31 August 2009, Star1 Airlines was granted a code V9 by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).^[2]

The airline launched inclusive tour charter flights on behalf of the tour operator Star1 Holidays – part of the Star Team Group – to Antalya and Bodrum (Turkey) on 30 June, Heraklion and Thessaloniki (Greece) on 1 July, and Dalaman (Turkey) on 3 July 2009.^[3] The first scheduled flight was from Vilnius to London Standsted (UK) on 3 July 2009.^[4] This was followed by flight Vilnius–Dublin (Ireland) on 4 July 2009. The airline also started flights to Girona (Spain). The airline continued to expand its destinations. The airline started regular flights to Milan (Italy) on 21 November 2009 and to Edinburgh (UK) on 28 March 2010. On 31 March 2010, the airline announced new seasonal routes to Ibiza (Spain), Palermo (Italy) and Heraklion (Greece). All routes will operate between June and October.

On 22 September 2010, Star1's sole aircraft was seized upon landing at Dublin due to unpaid fees at the Irish airport. The airline has suspended its operations and cancelled all of its flights until October 2.

On 1 October 2010 it was announced that JSC Star Team Group, as the only shareholder of Star1 Airlines, assigned the director of the company to prepare and submit the application for initiation of bankruptcy and other relevant documents to Vilnius District Court no later than 5 October 2010.^[5]

Star1 Holidays

Star1 Holidays was a tour operator operating since summer 2009 (it was known under the name Star Holidays until October 2009). During the first 6 months of operations almost 15,000 travelers used the services of Star1 Holidays; company’s turnover reached 24 million litas. The tour operator organized trips to Turkey, Egypt, Bulgaria, Canary islands, Spain, Tunisia, Greece, Israel and Jordan. Charter flights were provided by Star1 Airlines. At the moment Star Holidays has stopped its sales and officially informed Lithunian tourist authorities that it is financially unable to provide the services booked by its clients.

Destinations

Main article: Star1 Airlines destinations

Fleet

Boeing 737-700 of Star1 Airlines at Vilnius International Airport

Initially, Star1 Airlines used 148-seat Boeing 737-700 aircraft. The Star1 Airlines fleet (as of 1 October 2010):

Star1 Airlines Fleet

Aircraft	In Fleet	Orders	Passengers (Economy)	Notes
Boeing 737-700	1	0	148

External links

	Lithuania portal
	Aviation portal
	Companies portal

• Official website
• Official website (Lithuanian)

References

1. ^ Star1.aero
2. ^ Star1 Airlines was granted an IATA code V9
3. ^ Vilnius airport
4. ^ Star1.aero
5. ^ Star1 Airlines official statement