V9 HCW Destinations 9 Key people Martynas Laivys (CEO) Founded 2009 Fleet size 1 | HCW Hermis Capital Parent company Star Team Group Headquarters Vilnius, Lithuania Ceased operations October 1, 2010 | |
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Star1 airlines star 1 airways stansted airport
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.
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Star1 airlines 737 700 next generation
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. 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).
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. The first scheduled flight was from Vilnius to London Standsted (UK) on 3 July 2009. 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 suspended its flight operations and cancelled all of its flights until 2 October.
On 1 October 2010, the JSC Star Team Group, the only shareholder of Star1 Airlines, announced that it had assigned the director of the company to prepare and submit an application for initiation of bankruptcy and other relevant documents to Vilnius District Court by no later than 5 October 2010.
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 six months of operations almost 15,000 travelers used the services of Star1 Holidays; he company’s turnover reached 24 million litas. The tour operator organized trips to Turkey, Egypt, Bulgaria, the 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 has officially informed Lithunian tourist authorities that it is financially unable to provide the services its clients booked.
Fleet
Initially, Star1 Airlines used 148-seat Boeing 737-700 aircraft. The Star1 Airlines fleet (as of 1 October 2010):