 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 1974 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 2012 (acquired by OLT Express Germany) | ||||||
| Operating bases | Stuttgart Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Miles & More | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance | ||||||
| Headquarters | Filderstadt, Germany | ||||||
| Key people | W.A. Hayward (owner) | ||||||
| Website | contactair.de | ||||||
Contact Air Flugdienst was a German regional airline from Filderstadt. With flight operations based at Stuttgart Airport, it operated scheduled passenger flights under the Lufthansa Regional brand.
The airline was founded in 1974 as a tax-break by Gunter Eheim, a German World War II test pilot and later manufacturer of aquarium filters, initially operating chartered passenger services using a small fleet of Dassault Falcon 20 and Learjet [ specify ] aircraft. [1] In 1981, Contact Air became one of the launch customers for the British Aerospace Jetstream, along with US carrier Mall Airways. [2] Its first aircraft of that type was delivered in the following year. [2]
In 1984, Contact Air was subcontracted by DLT to operate one of its Jetstreams on scheduled regional flights on behalf of Lufthansa. [1] Subsequently, DLT acquired 24.8 percent of the Contact Air shares. [1]
Having waged the alternative of ordering the ATR 42, Contact Air announced in 1986 that it had chosen the de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 for a fleet enlargement, thus becoming the second European airline to operate that type, after Tyrolean Airways. [3] [4] Two years later, Contact Air became the first non-Canadian buyer of the stretched Dash 8-300 version, ordering three aircraft worth $35 million. [4]
In April 1996, Contact Air became a founding member of Team Lufthansa. [5] In 2004, this airline association was reorganized as Lufthansa Regional, a Star Alliance affiliate. Henceforth, all Contact Air flights were operated using the Lufthansas branding and flight numbers.
On 29 November 2011, it was reported that Lufthansa would terminate its contract with Contact Air effective 1 October 2012. At that time, the Contact Air fleet consisted of eight Fokker 100, six of which were operated on behalf of Lufthansa out of Stuttgart Airport, with another two being based at Zurich Airport and operated for Swiss International Air Lines. [6] In May 2012, Contact Air agreed to be taken over by OLT Express Germany, a step which was finalized in September of that year following its approval by the Federal Cartel Office. [7]
Prior to acquisition the headquarters were in Filderstadt. [8] Previously they were in Stuttgart. [9]
The scheduled destinations that were served by Contact Air on behalf of Lufthansa included: [5] [10] [11]
Over the years of its existence, Contact Air operated the following aircraft types: [12] [13]
| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired |
|---|---|---|
| ATR 42-500 | 2003 | 2010 |
| ATR 72-212 | 2005 | |
| British Aerospace Jetstream | 1982 [2] | Unknown |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 | 1986 | 1994 |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 | 1990 | 1997 |
| Fokker 50 | 1996 | 2004 |
| Fokker 100 | 2008 | 2012 |
Piedmont Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline headquartered at the Salisbury Regional Airport in Wicomico County, Maryland, near the city of Salisbury. The airline is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group and it is paid by fellow group member American Airlines to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on American Eagle flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by American Airlines. Piedmont also provides ground handling and customer service for airports in the northeastern and western United States.
Condor Flugdienst GmbH, usually shortended to Condor, is a German leisure airline established in 1955 with Frankfurt Airport being its main base. Condor offers scheduled flights to leisure destinations and operates, from Germany, medium-haul flights to the Mediterranean Basin and the Canary Islands as well as long-haul flights to destinations in Africa, Asia, North America, South America and the Caribbean. Whereas medium-haul flights are operated from many German airports, long-haul flights usually depart from Frankfurt, with a few rotations operated from Düsseldorf and Munich. Condor also operates charter flights.
Luxair, legally Luxair S.A., Société Luxembourgeoise de Navigation Aérienne, is the flag carrier of Luxembourg with its headquarters and hub at Luxembourg Airport. It operates scheduled services to destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean and Middle East with additional charter and seasonal services. It is Luxembourg's only passenger-carrying airline offering regular, non-charter service.
OLT Express Germany was an airline based in Bremen in Germany. The company moved to Bremen from Emden in February 2012. It operated regional scheduled and charter flights linking northern Germany to other parts of the country and Bremen to other European destinations. Its main base was Bremen Airport.
Air Dolomiti S.p.A. is an Italian regional airline that is a member of Lufthansa Regional with its head office in Dossobuono, Villafranca di Verona. Its operating base is at Verona Villafranca Airport, Florence Peretola Airport and Venice Marco Polo Airport and focus cities at Munich Airport and Frankfurt Airport in Germany.
Air Panama is a regional airline based at Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama, and is currently the second-largest air carrier in the country, surpassed only by Copa Airlines. The carrier offers both scheduled and charter passenger flights to more than 31 destinations from its hub at Albrook International Airport.
Lufthansa Cargo AG is a German cargo airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa. It operates worldwide air freight and logistics services and is headquartered at Frankfurt Airport, the main hub of Lufthansa. Besides operating dedicated cargo planes, the company also has access to cargo capacities of 350 passenger aircraft of the Lufthansa Group.
Avanti Air GmbH & Co. KG, styled as avantiair, is a small German airline based in Burbach with a maintenance base at Siegerland Airport, operating ad hoc charter and aircraft wet-lease services.
The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner manufactured and supported by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It was designed as an improved version of the successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version of the Fokker 50.
Augsburg Airways was a regional airline from Germany. A member of Team Lufthansa and its successor Lufthansa Regional, it operated feeder services at Munich Airport on behalf of Lufthansa.
Eurowings GmbH is a German low-cost airline headquartered in Düsseldorf and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. Founded in 1996, it serves a network of domestic and European destinations and maintains bases at several airports throughout Germany and Austria.
Lufthansa CityLine GmbH is a German airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Munich Airport. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa and maintains hubs at Frankfurt Airport and Munich Airport, from where it operates a dense domestic and European network as a member of Lufthansa Regional.
Lufthansa Regional is an operational entity for regional and feeder flights performed by two regional airlines owned by Lufthansa within its route network. As part of Lufthansa's rebranding, the Lufthansa Regional brand name has gradually been removed from the public eye since early 2018. The repainted aircraft no longer wear Lufthansa Regional titles.
Helvetic Airways, previously named Odette Airways, is a Swiss regional airline headquartered in Kloten with its fleet stationed at Zurich Airport. It operates flights to destinations in Europe and Northern Africa, mainly leisure markets, on its own behalf, as well as scheduled flights on behalf of Swiss International Air Lines and Lufthansa, using their fleet of Embraer 190s and Embraer 190-E2s.
Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian or AUA, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its hub. As of July 2016, the airline flew to six domestic and more than 120 international year-round and seasonal destinations in 55 countries and is a member of the Star Alliance.
Mannheim City Airport is a minor regional airport serving the German city of Mannheim. It is mainly used for general aviation.
Piedmont Airlines was an airline in the United States that operated from 1948 to 1989, when it was acquired by and merged into USAir. Its headquarters were at One Piedmont Plaza in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a building that is now part of Wake Forest University.
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline. It served as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout Nazi Germany, when it had close links to the Nazi Party.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 2009.
On 6 January 1993, Lufthansa CityLine Flight 5634 departed Bremen Airport for Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport at 17:30. Operating the flight was a Dash 8-300, registered D-BEAT with 23 passengers and crew.
Media related to Contact Air at Wikimedia Commons
