Palmair
Tour operator in Dorset, England, 1993–2011
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This airline was an offshoot of RE Bath Travel Service had been formed in 1957 and had begun offering holidays by air from south coast airports. Palmair was set up in 1993, underwent a name change and also operated as Palmair Flightline for a few years. Own operations were halted in 2009 and the airline now virtual stopped any activity between late 2010 and early 2011.[1]
| |
 Boeing 737-200, in old livery, landing at Stuttgart Airport (Germany) in 2006 | |
| Founded | 1 April 1993 (as Palmair) |
|---|---|
Commenced operations | 1 May 1993 |
Ceased operations | April 2009 (own operations as Palmair European) |
| Hubs | Bournemouth Airport |
| Fleet size | 1 at closure |
| Destinations | 14 |
| Parent company | R.E. Bath Travel Service |
| Headquarters | Bournemouth, Dorset, England |
| Key people | Peter Bath (Founder) - David Skillicorn (MD) |
| Website | www.palmair.co.uk |
History
An active travel agency
RE Bath Travel Service, at that time Britain’s largest independent travel firm, had been formed in 1957. The head office was in the Space House in Bournemouth, Dorset.[2][3] It begun offering holidays by air from south coast airports. The first charter took place in 1958 with a flight to Palma followed a year later with just 2two flights. Over the following years the number of flights increased and expanded to a range of destinations, chartering aircraft from a number of different airlines[4] Dissatisfied with the service provided by contracted air carriers, the agency set up its own airline in conjunction with ACMI lease specialists, Flightline.[5]
Birth of an airline
Palmair airline was set up on 1 April 1993 and started operations on the following 1 May, operating a BAe 146 aircraft. The main base was Bournemouth Airport. The airline held a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Air Travel Organiser's Licence (ATOL0003). Until winter 1999 services was operated by Flightline, using a single BAe 146–300. Upgraded aircraft (Boeing 737-200) were acquired in 1999 to reflect increased demand for capacity from Bournemouth and for the introduction of longer range routes. In this same year the name was changed to Palmair European, after Palmair Flightline marketing name had been used from the beginning.[6]
New name and new perspectives
In 2003 Palmair European carried 75,000 passengers. In 2004 the air carrier started operating scheduled flights to ten European airports, and day trips to 25 European cities. On 22 December 2006, founder, Peter Bath, who had previously seen off every flight personally, died, aged 79.[7] For winter 2008/2009, all the flights were operated by Jet2.com using a Boeing 737-300.
On 9 May 2009, Palmair resumed flights with a Boeing 737-500 aircraft operated by Astraeus. The airline continued using the plane until October 2010 when it left Bournemouth airport for the last time. The original agreement between Palmair and Astraeus was for Palmair to use the plane up until April 2012, but due to unforeseen circumstances it had to be handed back to Astraeus.[8][9] As a result, during the Winter and Summer of 2010, Thomson Airways operated Palmair's routes to Lanzarote and Tenerife.[10]
Austerity measures lead nowhere
Thomson continued to operate these routes until April 2011 when Palmair European finally pulled the plug. Given the current climate the company has been forced to cease its entire operations starting from Summer 2011. The management stated that they won't be issuing any new schedules for the airline in the foreseeable future and that the airline would be placed in a deep freeze, at least until the climate improves. The contributing factors to the downfall was said to have been increasing competition from various low cost airlines using Bournemouth airport, rising fuel prices and the recession. Previous managing director David Skillicorn was featured in an interview with local newspaper "The Daily Echo" in which he talked about his time at the company before leaving, in which his famous final words were "Never say never".[11]
Awards
In 2003 the UK consumer magazine Holiday Which? published the results of a survey of 20,000 UK air passengers, showing that Palmair was the top rated airline flying from the UK.
Palmair was mentioned on BBC World's Fast Track on 26 June 2008, as one of the top four airlines in the world in the British Which? magazine consumer survey. In the short haul airline category Palmair was picked as the best. Palmair tied with Air New Zealand for third in the 70,000 consumer opinion responses comparing 70 worldwide airlines.
David Skillicorn, managing director of Palmair, said he was delighted. He said, "We are just little Palmair with a little Boeing 737 yet we beat the likes of Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. Singapore Airlines has 100 planes including the A380 which is the largest plane in service, on-board massages and a choice of DVDs. All we can offer is the choice of tea or coffee – that is why I feel so flattered. Coming joint third in this poll is such an amazing achievement."[12]
Livery
With the airline beginning their own scheduled service operated by an Astraeus Boeing 737-500, the airline revealed a new livery at a ceremony in a hangar at Bournemouth Airport. Over 300 people turned up to the unveiling of the new livery and aircraft that has been named The Spirit of Peter Bath (the founder of Palmair). The new livery featured larger tiles across the fuselage saying PALMAIR and on the tail, the Union Flag and the airlines new website tiles, 'flypalmair.co.uk'.[13]
