Berlin Regional UK

Berlin Regional UK is a defunct regional UK airline based at Tegel Airport in what used to be West Berlin in the days prior to Germany's [German reunification| [re-] unification] .

History

Captain Richard "Dick" Twomey, a former British Airways pilot and general manager in Berlin, was the founder and majority owner of Berlin Regional. [http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1986/1986%20-%201322.html?search=Berlin%20European%20UK "Berlin Regional service to start", Flight International, 14 June 1986, p. 6] ] [http://www.berlin-spotter.de/airlines/berlineuropean.htm "Berlin European UK Ltd."] ]

Preparations for Berlin Regional's launch were complete in December 1985, following which the airline was legally constituted in 1986. Commercial airline operations commenced during April 1987. [http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1988/1988%20-%200850.html?search=Berlin%20Regional%20UK "Berlin's commuter market grows", Flight International, 2 April 1988, pp. 6, 8] ]

Its initial fleet comprised two BAe Jetstream 31 commuter turboprop planes. These featured a reduced seat capacity of 16 (rather than the more usual 19). While Berlin Regional employed its own maintenance engineers at Tegel Airport for routine maintenance tasks, East Midlands Airport-based maintenance engineering contractor Fields performed heavy maintenance on Berlin Regional's Jetstreams. [http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1988/1988%20-%200850.html?search=Berlin%20Regional%20UK "Berlin's commuter market grows", Flight International, 2 April 1988, pp. 6, 8] ]

Both the UK CAA and West Berlin's Allied Air Attachés had licensed Berlin Regional to operate year-round, daily scheduled services from Berlin Tegel to Basle, Brussels, Copenhagen, Friedrichshafen, Geneva and Kiel. None of these destinations was served from any West Berlin airport on a regular, scheduled basis at the time of Berlin Regional's application for traffic rights to the relevant authorities.

In April 1987 Berlin Regional inaugurated its first two scheduled routes from Berlin Tegel to Copenhagen and Geneva. Basle and Friedrichshafen joined Berlin Regional's scheduled route network in June 1987. Services to Brussels never got off the ground, as a result of US major TWA's subsequent decision to enter the Tegel-Brussels market with a much bigger Boeing 727-100 from July 1987. Poor loads to Basle and Geneva forced Berlin Regional to combine these services. When Pan Am Express launched a competing Tegel-Basle route in November 1987, Berlin Regional dropped Basle from its schedule. Like Brussels, Kiel was never served, as a result of Pan Am Express's decision to serve this destination from Tegel itself. Ultimately, Copenhagen and Friedrichshafen were Berlin Regional's only surviving scheduled destinations. [ [http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1988/1988%20-%201037.html?search=Berlin%20European%20UK "The battle for Berlin", Flight International, 23 April 1988, pp. 19-21] ]

On May 4, 1988 Capt. Twomey held a press conference in Berlin during which he announced a new strategy for his airline. This strategy envisaged the adoption of a new name for the airline as well as the replacement of the regional turboprop fleet with "mainline" jet equipment, thereby enabling the company to exit the overcrowded, cut-throat regional scheduled market from Berlin and to apply for scheduled licences to serve higher margin trunk routes, as well as to enter the lucrative IT charter market under contract to the city's leading package tour operators.. As a result, Berlin Regional UK would become Berlin European UK and lease a brand-new, state-of-the-art Boeing 737-300. However, an unsuccessful application for a scheduled route licence to serve the prestigious Berlin-Frankfurt route with up to four daily flights in each direction resulted in Berlin European subleasing this aircraft to fellow UK Independent Monarch Airlines from October 1988. [http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1989/1989%20-%202395.html?search=Euroberlin%20France "The airline from Berlin", Flight International, 5 August 1989, pp.29-31] ] (Berlin European arranged for the aircraft, which had already been painted in Berlin European's livery, to be directly transferred from the manufacturer's Seattle plant in the US to Monarch's Luton base in the UK.)

All remaining Berlin European scheduled services ceased at the end of the 1989/90 winter timetable period.

Following the cessation of its scheduled operations, Berlin European leased another new 737-300 for sole use on charter flights to the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands from its Tegel base. This aircraft was exclusively contracted to Berliner Flug Ring, at the time Berlin's leading package tour operator, from the beginning of the 1990 summer season.

Capt. Twomey took the occasion of his 60th birthday on July 1, 1990, which also marked his official retirement from Berlin European, to enter into an agreement with Germania to sell Berlin European to that airline, with effect from April 1, 1991. On that day Berlin European's AOC expired and the transfer of its ownership to Germania became effective.

Aircraft operated

Berlin Regional UK operated the following aircraft types:

* BAe Jetstream 31

* Cessna Citation

* G-159 Gulfstream 1

* Boeing 737-300 [http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1989/1989%20-%202395.html?search=Euroberlin%20France "The airline from Berlin", Flight International, 5 August 1989, pp.29-31] ] .

Incidents and accidents

There are no recorded accidents or incidents involving Berlin Regional. [http://aviation-safety.net/database/operator/airlinesearch.php]

Code data

*Former IATA Code: WZ
*Former callsign:

Notes

References

*cite journal| title=Flight International | publisher=Reed Business Information | place=Sutton, UK | issn= 0015-3710 (various backdated issues relating to Berlin regional UK, 1986-1988)

External links

* [http://www.berlin-spotter.de/airlines/berlineuropean.htm "Berlin European UK Ltd." (German language only)]
* [http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/wz.htm Berlin Regional UK timetable covers dated June 1, 1987 and February 1, 1988, respectively]