Air Europe (Italy)

Infobox Airline
airline = Air Europe

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logo_size =
fleet_size = 2
destinations = 6
IATA = PE
ICAO = AEL
callsign = AIR EUROPE
parent = Volare S.p.A.
company_slogan =
founded = 1989
headquarters = Varese, Italy
key_people =
hubs = Malpensa International Airport
secondary_hubs = Leonardo da Vinci International Airport
focus_cities =
frequent_flyer =
lounge =
alliance =
website = [http://www.aireurope.it/ www.aireurope.it]

Air Europe S.p.A. is an airline based in Varese, Italy. It is a charter and leisure airline, operating services to long and medium-haul holiday resorts. Its main base is Malpensa International Airport, Milan, with a hub at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, Romecite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work= Flight International | page= 56 | date= 2007-03-27] .

History

The airline was established in 1989 and started operations on 19 December 1989. It started off as part of the Airlines of Europe Group based in the United Kingdom, but became wholly Italian owned in 1991. In December 1997 it inaugurated its first scheduled flight to Havana, Cuba.

It eventually became a subsidiary of Volare Airlines which ceased operations in 2004. In its time Air Europe was a major domestic and international airline, operating at various times Airbus A320, Boeing 737, Boeing 757, Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 aircraft. In December 2004 it was announced that Air Europe had resumed charter operations with a single Boeing 767-300ER on a Milan - Rome - Mauritius route. Fact|date=April 2007

In December 2006 the Italian Government put the Volare Group up for sale and Alitalia ended up being the airline to offer more money. Air One tried to stop this by going to court five times but was unsuccessful and Volare Group should become an Alitalia subsidiary in the next few months (after antitrust immunity). In the meantime Volare Group has started providing soft maintenance services for the Alitalia fleet in Milan Malpensa. However, in Italy the sale of Volare is considered a soap-opera as the "consiglio di Stato" the 23 May 2006 has once again blocked the acquisition of the airline. The whole procedure will have to be done again. At the moment it is not clear what is going to happen as Volare is in serious financial difficulties and before a whole sale is organised again the airline might finish the cash. Fact|date=February 2007

As of the 1st of January 2008 the airline is considered an integral part of the Alitalia Group.

Destinations

Air Europe serves the following scheduled destinations (as of September 2008): [ [http://www.aireurope.it/jsp/it/web/timetable/index.jsp Air Europe Timetable (Italian)] ]

*flag|Cuba
**Havana (José Martí International Airport)
*flag|Italy
**Milan (Malpensa International Airport) Hub
**Rome (Leonardo da Vinci International Airport) Secondary Hub
*flag|Jamaica
**Montego Bay (Sangster International Airport) (via Havana)
*flag|Mauritius
**Port Louis (Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport)
*flag|Mexico
**Cancún (Cancún International Airport) (via Havana)

Fleet

The Air Europe fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of September 2008) :

External links

* [http://www.aireurope.it/ Air Europe] (Italian)

References