Air Wales () was a Welsh airline based at Cardiff International Airport in Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan. It operated scheduled regional services within the United Kingdom, as well as to Ireland, Belgium and France. On 23 April 2006, Air Wales ceased all operations, citing "spiralling costs" and "aggressive competition" from larger low-cost airlines. Passenger numbers failed to reach the company's break-even levels and, after three years, Air Wales gave up all its Swansea routes. The airline decided to concentrate on routes out of Cardiff, moving operations to a new headquarters at Cardiff International Airport in October 2004.

During February 2006, Air Wales gave up all routes from Plymouth Airport to focus on more popular routes and international routes.

On 23 April 2006, the airline ceased all scheduled services with a loss of 80 jobs to focus on charter and cargo operations, however these operations never materialized and the aircraft were all sold to other airlines.

Destinations

Air Wales served 20 destinations across Europe.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;text-align:center"

|-

! Country !! City !! Airport !! Notes

|-

|Belgium ||Brussels ||Brussels Airport ||

|-

|rowspan=3|France ||Paris ||Charles de Gaulle Airport ||

|-

|Rennes ||Rennes–Saint-Jacques Airport ||

|-

|Tillé ||Beauvais–Tillé Airport ||

|-

|Jersey ||Saint Brelade ||Jersey Airport ||

|-

|rowspan=3|Ireland ||Cork ||Cork Airport ||

|-

|Dublin ||Dublin Airport ||

|-

|Waterford || Waterford Airport ||

|-

|rowspan=10|United Kingdom ||Aberdeen ||Aberdeen Airport ||

|-

|rowspan=2|Belfast ||Belfast International Airport ||

|-

|George Best Belfast City Airport ||

|-

|Cardiff ||Cardiff Airport ||

|-

|Exeter ||Exeter Airport ||

|-

|Glasgow ||Glasgow Prestwick Airport ||

|-

|Manchester ||Manchester Airport ||

|-

|Newcastle upon Tyne ||Newcastle International Airport ||

|-

|Newquay ||Newquay Airport ||

|-

|Plymouth ||Plymouth City Airport ||

|}

Partnership with bmibaby

Air Wales had a partnership with bmibaby to operate on the following routes:

  • Paris, France
  • Cork, Ireland
  • Belfast, Northern Ireland (suspended in March 2006)
  • Jersey
  • Glasgow, Scotland (suspended in March 2006)

Fleet

thumb|right|[[ATR42 parked at Cardiff International Airport, Wales in 2004]]

Air Wales originally operated Dornier 228 aircraft. These were replaced by a fleet of ATR-42-300 aircraft:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;text-align:center"

! Aircraft

! Total

! Routes

! Remarks

|-

|ATR-42-300

|5

|regional

|

|-

|Dornier 228

|2

|short haul regional

|leased

|}

In March 2006, Air Wales fleet average age was 13.4 years.

See also

  • List of defunct airlines of the United Kingdom

References

  • Air Wales (Archive)
  • Air Wales Photos