Aero Lloyd

Aero Lloyd Flugreisen GmbH & Co, operating as Aero Lloyd, was a German charter airline based in Oberursel, Germany.[1] It was headquartered in Building 182 at Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt before it was moved to Oberursel.[2][3]

Not to be confused with Aerolloyd or Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano.
Aero Lloyd
IATA ICAO Callsign
YP (LL) AEF AERO LLOYD
FoundedDecember 20, 1980
Commenced operationsMarch 1981
Ceased operationsOctober 16, 2003
Operating bases
Frequent-flyer programFlyplus
Fleet size57
Destinations59
Parent companyBayernLB (66%)
HeadquartersOberursel, Germany
Websitewww.aerolloyd.de

History

Early years

Aero Lloyd was founded on December 20, 1980 and launched operations in March 1981 with three Sud Aviation Caravelles.[4] By 1982, the airline received 3 ex-Garuda Indonesia Douglas DC-9-32 aircraft.

In 1986, the airline began to receive McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft used to add new destinations. In 1988, Aero Lloyd launched scheduled services to London in the United Kingdom, Paris in France, and Zurich in Switzerland with the newly acquired aircraft. However, by 1992, Aero Lloyd dropped scheduled operations after realising it was not a good move for the airline.

In 1998, the Bayerische Landesbank took over a majority stake of 66% with the intention of selling it on to a strategic buyer. The Bayerische Landesbank was also the largest lender. In 2000, the return on sales was below 1% and thus below the industry average. In 2001 the Bayerische Landesbank had to grant a loan of 20 million euros to ensure liquidity. Aero Lloyd achieved a market share of around 12% in 2002, but suffered from overcapacities on the market.

Collapse

The airline ceased operations at 06:00 local time on October 16, 2003 after shareholders refused to continue funding the airline. The collapse left 4,000 passengers stuck at German airports and 4,500 stuck overseas.[5][6] Its assets were acquired by Aero Lloyd founder, Bogomir Gradisnik. Under the management of Gradisnik's associate, Miso Aksmanovic, the company was reshaped into a smaller charter operation named Aero Flight which was established in March 2004 and started operations on March 26, 2004. Aero Flight ceased operations in October 2005.

Fleet
An Aero Lloyd Caravelle at Frankfurt Airport, Germany
An Aero Lloyd McDonnell Douglas MD-87 at Luqa, Malta
An Aero Lloyd Airbus A321-200. This aircraft crashed in Pakistan in 2010 as AirBlue Flight 202.

During operations, Aero Lloyd used many different aircraft consisting of Airbus, Boeing, Douglas, McDonnell Douglas and Sud Aviation.

The Aero Lloyd fleet consisted of the following aircraft throughout operations:[7][8]

Aero Lloyd Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Passengers Notes
Airbus A320-200 15 174 2 leased from Adria Airways
1 leased from Dia Amber
4 leased from ILFC
1 leased from Leisure Air
2 leased from SALE
1 leased from Translift Airways
Airbus A321-200 11 210 5 leased from ILFC
Boeing 737-400 1 170 Leased from Futura International Airways
Boeing 737-800 1 189 Leased from Futura International Airways
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 4 119
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 2 167
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 16 167 1 leased from Aero Leasing International
1 leased from Chricor Equipment Finance
McDonnell Douglas MD-87 4 137
Sud SE-210 Caravelle 10B1R 3
Total 57 —

Incidents and accidents
  • On September 1, 2001, an Aero Lloyd Airbus A321-200, operating a charter flight from Catania-Fontanarossa Airport, Italy to Berlin Tegel Airport, Germany, had an attempted hijacking shortly after takeoff. The plane was diverted to Naples Airport in Italy where it made an emergency landing and the hijacker was arrested. There is a mix of reports ranging from the man using wax candles as dynamite and that of a panic attack. Nobody was injured in the incident.[9][10]
  • On July 1, 2002 Aero Lloyd flight 1135, an Airbus A320-200, was late, which caused the controller, Peter Nielsen to constantly switch from flight 1135 to Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 and DHL Flight 611. This may have contributed to the Überlingen mid-air collision.

References
  1. "Konakt." Aero Lloyd. Retrieved on 21 June 2009.
  2. "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 16 May 1981. 1391. "Luftverkehrs KG, Gebäude 182, Flughafen, 6,000 Frankfurt, West Germany" - Direct PDF Link, Archive
  3. "World airline directory." Flight International. 26 July 1980. p. 262. Direct PDF link (Archive) "Flughafen Frankfurt Rheim-Main, West Germany"
  4. "Aero Lloyd Remembered". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  5. "TUI Says Aero Lloyd Stops Service Amid Insolvency". Bloomberg.
  6. "BBC NEWS - Business - Bank pulls plug on German airline". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  7. "Aero Lloyd Fleet Details and History". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  8. Aero Lloyd Sud SE-210 pictures at Airliners.net
  9. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A321 registration unknown Napoli Airport (NAP)". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  10. Ranter, Harro. "Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Operator index > Germany > Aero Lloyd". Retrieved 21 February 2017.

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