Titan Airways

Titan Airways is a British charter airline founded in 1988 and based at London Stansted Airport. The carrier specialises in short notice ACMI and wet lease operations as well as ad-hoc passenger and cargo charter services to tour operators, corporations, governments and the sports and entertainment sectors.[2] The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, permitting it to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats [3] and currently operates a fleet of 12 aircraft.

Titan Airways
IATA ICAO Callsign
ZT[1] AWC ZAP
Founded1988 (1988)
AOC #1212
Fleet size13
HeadquartersLondon Stansted Airport,
United Kingdom
Key peopleAlastair Wilson, Managing Director.
Websitetitan-airways.com

History
Titan Airways Short 330 in 1994.

Founded in 1988 as a subsidiary of the Artac Freight and Shipping Group, Titan Airways was named after its first aircraft type, a Cessna 404 Titan, however, the airline's logo draws reference to Titan, a moon of Saturn. Their Cessna 404 aircraft were mainly used to carry car parts between various Ford/General Motors facilities in the UK and Europe, but it was also available for ad hoc freight charters and ultimately passenger charters. By 1993, the fleet had grown to include an Embraer Emb 110 Bandeirante, two Short SD 330s and three SD 360s.[4]

The airline's success attracted investment group 3i which took a stake in the company in 1995. Two ATR 42s were also added before the first jet – a BAe146-200QC – was acquired in 1996. This was the first containerised jet used by the Royal Mail, but it also operated many passenger charter flights and airline sub-services. As the Mail contract grew in size, the first of five Boeing 737-300s was introduced in 1999.[4]

The airline has been consistently profitable, turning a profit in 24 of its 27-year history and has ranked in the Sunday Times Profit Track 100 league table on four occasions since the year 2000.[5] In the early 2000s (decade) Titan Airways found an additional niche in the market, pioneering a rapid response Go Now sub-charter service for airlines experiencing operational problems. The innovative concept earned the company Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2001.[6]

Demand by customer airlines for more seats and greater range led to the acquisition of two 757-200s in 2003 and 2005, with one aircraft having a VIP interior for corporate use. In 2006 Titan achieved ETOPS rating for the aircraft, enabling long haul charters to the US and Middle East. The largest aircraft in the Titan family, a 265-seat B767-300, joined the fleet in 2009, and the smallest, a new Cessna Citation CJ2+ arrived in December 2011.[7]

In 2012 Titan became an independent company, following a management buyout that leaves Gene Willson, Managing Director and one of the original founders, as the sole share holder.[8]

Titan added its first Airbus aircraft, an Airbus A320,[9] to its fleet in early Spring 2013. This addition was the first step in its long-term fleet strategy which will see Titan's current fleet of Boeing aircraft gradually being replaced by Airbus aircraft over the next five to six years.[10] Two additional A320s joined the fleet in early 2015.[11]

September 2015 saw Titan announce that they plan to add an Airbus A319 and an Airbus A321 to the fleet before the start of Summer 2016 and that they are considering adding the smallest member of the Airbus A320 family, an Airbus A318, to their fleet.[12]

Operations
Titan Airways Airbus A321-200 operating on lease to Jet2.com.

Airline sub-charter and lease

Titan Airways provides short, medium or long term wet and damp lease operations worldwide to third party carriers. The UK carrier also operates short notice sub-charter services, with the ability to launch aircraft within 60 minutes when airline customers experience unexpected operational problems.[13]

Tour Operator Flight Series

Titan Airways operates charter flights on a seasonal basis to a number of destinations on behalf of UK-based tour operators and cruise companies. Longstanding tour operator partnerships include regular operations from UK airports to Calvi in Corsica, Lourdes and Chambéry in France, Turin in Italy,[14] Dalaman in Turkey, Preveza in Greece and Banjul in the Gambia.[15]

Ad Hoc Charter

Aside from these regular seasonal routes, Titan Airways operates long and short haul flights on an ad hoc basis on behalf of individuals, blue chip companies, Premier League football teams, high-profile personalities and pop/rock groups.[2]

Corporate events

Titan Airways sometimes uses their aircraft in product launches, trade shows, promotional events and hospitality trips for other companies.[16]

Royal Mail

Titan Airways’ cooperation with the Royal Mail dates back to the early 1990s when operations began with the carrier's Shorts 360 and ATR42 aircraft. In 1996 the carrier's BAe 146-200 fleet superseded the smaller aircraft before being joined, and ultimately replaced, by Titan's Boeing 737-300QC's. The aircraft operated on behalf of the Royal Mail with nightly flights from Stansted to Edinburgh and to Belfast.[17]

Government

Titan Airways carries out flights for the FCO and flights for the Home Office. Most recently, operating repatriation flights on behalf of the British government, as well as delivering 100 Coronavirus vaccines to the island

On the 30 July 2020, Titan Airways' Boeing 757 became the largest passenger aircraft to land and depart from Saint Helena Airport. This flight was a repatriation mission on behalf of the Government of the United Kingdom.[18] A series of flights to Saint Helena and Ascension Island, once per month during rest of 2020, were performed with the same aircraft type.[19] On January 11, 2021 one of Titan's Boeing 757 aircraft delivered 100 coronavirus vaccines to St Helena[20]

Military

Titan Airways' Boeing 767 operated to the Falkland Islands on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence for two years until September 2012; with twice-weekly flights departing from RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, to RAF Mount Pleasant via RAF Ascension Island.[21] Titan Airways' RJ100 aircraft has been based in Sharjah on contract to the UK MoD since 2011.[22] The RJ100 superseded Titan Airways' BAe 146 operations in the Persian Gulf region which dated back to 2009.[23]

Fleet

Current Fleet
Titan Airways Airbus A320-200.
Titan Airways Boeing 757-200.
Titan Airways Boeing 767-300ER.

As of July 2020, the Titan Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft:[24]

Titan Airways Fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A318-100 1 — 32 — 32
Airbus A320-200 1 — — 168 168
1 180 180
Airbus A321-200 4 — — 218 218
220 220
Airbus A321LR 1 1 TBA To replace Boeing 757-200[25]
Airbus A330-200 — 1 32 206 238 One aircraft due to replace Boeing 767-300ER[26]
Boeing 757-200 2 — 80 — 80 To be replaced by Airbus A321LR
40 108 148
— 202 202
Titan Airways Cargo Fleet
Airbus A321P2F 1[27] 3[28] Cargo Delivered in January 2021
Boeing 737-400SF 2 — Cargo To be replaced by Airbus A321P2F
Total 13 5
Former Titan Airways BAe 146.

Former Fleet
Titan Airways Historical Fleet[29]
Aircraft Introduced Retired Notes
ATR 42 1996 2005
Avro RJ100 2011 2014
BAe 146-200 1997 2017
BAe 146-300 2009 2012
Beechcraft 350 Super King Air Unknown Unknown
Boeing 737-300 1999 2018 300(1), 300F(1) and 300QC(3)
Boeing 767-300ER 2009 2020
Cessna 500 Citation I Unknown Unknown
Cessna 525 CitationJet 2011 2015
Shorts 330 Unknown Unknown

References
  1. "IATA - Airline and Airport Code Search". iata.org. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  2. http://www.eraa.org/titan-airways
  3. Operating Licence
  4. http://www.airlinerworld.com/view_issue.asp?ID=4927
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Top honour for air charter operator". East Anglia Daily Times. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  7. http://www.ascendworldwide.com/2011/11/titan-airways-expands-fleet-with-cessna-citation-and-boeing-757s.html
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Titan add first Airbus aircraft to fleet
  10. Titan to replace Boeing fleet with Airbus aircraft
  11. A320 fleet triples/fleet plans revealed
  12. Titan to add an A319 and an A321 during 2016 considering adding A318
  13. "Titan Airways expands airline support role". Traveldailynews.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  14. http://www.incentivetravel.co.uk/news/airportairline/20047-titan-airways-increases-ski-flight-programme
  15. http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/breaking-news/249715/titan-to-fly-to-banjul-for-the-gambia-experience/
  16. "Titan Airways : Corporate Events". www.titan-airways.com. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  17. http://postandparcel.info/56762/news/companies/titan-airways-in-line-for-royal-mail-airmail-contract/
  18. Leigh, Gabriel (31 July 2020). "Titan Airways 757 visits one of the world's most remote and difficult airports". Flightradar24 Blog. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  19. "Charter Flight Update". St Helena Government. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  20. https://simpleflying.com/saint-helena-vaccine-delivery/
  21. "Falklands Air Bridge". Titan-airways.com. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  22. "Arabian Aerospace - Titan Airways bolsters fleet with BAe Avro RJ100 for Persian Gulf missions". Arabianaerospace.aero. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  23. "BAe 146-300 to Operate for UK MoD Under Titan Airways Contract". Asdnews.com. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  24. "Titan Airways Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  25. Kaminski-Morrow2020-01-17T11:45:00+00:00, David. "Titan to replace 757-200s with A321LRs". Flight Global. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  26. "UK's Titan Airways to add first A330 in 1Q20". ch-aviation.com. 15 October 2019.
  27. https://simpleflying.com/titan-airways-a321-freighter/
  28. https://www.titan-airways.com/news/three-a321-freighters-joining-the-fleet/
  29. "Titan Airways Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 20 January 2020.

Bibliography
  • Eastwood, Tony and Roach, John. Turbo Prop Airliner Production List. The Aviation Hobby Shop, 1998, ISBN 0-907178-69-3.

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