UKIA

[Ash95]

Hi

I am new to the group and would like to know if anyone has heard about a new airline called UK International Airlines???

:confused: :confused:

[GBALU53]

Interesting to see who they are and what they intend to do.

[Call Established]

I understand this is Excel using a Viking MD-83 at NEMA for this summer, but not branding it as Excel or Viking but as UK International Airlines. I presume to help get rid of the stigma casued by the MD83 Scandic / Viking farce last summer ?

[jethro15]

Hasn't Excel cancelled the lease application for the Viking MD80, and instead gone for a Greek registered a/c? (SXBSW?)

[Call Established]

This may weel be true, but I think VIKING are in the process of setting up a NEMA base and Excel are training crew dual on MD83 and B738.

[Ash95]

I heard UKIA has applied for their AOC this year

[md80forum]

SX-BSW is being leased from Viking (ex SE-RDH)

[Ash95]

:ugh: I am yet to know about this UKIA as one of my friend told me that they advertised for all sorts of posts in a Manchester based Asian Channel called DM Digital

[The Saw]

Try the astac website and look in their news section, they are the consultants for UKIA it looks like they're using 767s, captains names there also

[bacardi walla]

B767 = flyWHO

[Ash95]

Thanks for the Astac website.

[Wizofoz]

There was a post here with a link to an amaturish website featuring some cobbled together pictures of UN 767s (and one 777!!!) with "UKIA" photo-shopped onto the side.

I think some fantasies are being indulged here!!

[EastMids]

In that infamous monthly tome of spotter community, the latest issue of "Airliner World", it is suggested that "UK International Air Lines" have already have secured two ex-United 767-200ERs and are after another two, and will start to operate services later this year from LGW, MAN and EMA to Islamabad, Lahore and Sharjah, with their launch being from EMA.

Anyone know anymore???

Andy

[Dr747]

Do they have any website???I have tried to search them through the search engines but no results....

[Mr Angry from Purley]

There is an ad for a 767 "Captain" based Sheffield on an american job site but the advert was full of grammar errors, certainly enough to think it will be a non starter :\

[Lucifer]

AOC/Company registration? If not, then I think not.

[phil_2405]

Is this the airline that was rumoured to start from EMA sometime ago to ISB?

[UPS@EMA]

bacardi walla, Thought flyWHO are flying L1011's not 767's???

Also dont think this is anything to the proposed start up Air Tigra that was mentioned a few months ago.

Any updates or inside info available????

Regads

Stu

[Pierre 1]

UK International Airlines is the proposed new name for what was first listed as Air Tigra. 2 X7 767's were being sought for operations from NEMA to Islamabad and other Pakistan destinations. There is also a main thrust to operate into SHJ and via SHJ etc.

Current HQ is in Sheffield at the Queensland Furniture Store in Queensland Road. Sheffield

Can anyone throw anymore light on the progress of their AOC application, Hiring of Crews etc etc or when they intend to start up as this operation was intended to start up a long time ago! Many people have been very critical of this company and how it goes about its business?

[alright_pal]

hi anybody heard of this new airline UKIA going to dubai from EMA....... believe it when we see it :ugh:

[egnxema]

This is all I can find:------

Astac Aviation Solutions
Posted 2/5/2006 @ 16:0


Progresses the establishment of a new airline at Nottingham East Midlands Airport operating Boeing 767 aircraft.

Under the direction of Graham Mimms, Astac Aviation solutions is undertaking much of the development work for the new airline called U.K. International Airlines Limited (UKIA) The work includes the preparation for and submission for the Air Operators Certificate, Airline Operators Licence as well as providing aircraft technical advice

Graham Mimms has put together a team of industry professionals to work on this project including Captain John Barnes (Acting Chief Pilot and Chief Training Captain) and Mervyn Nicholl as Technical advisor. Paul Hinchcliffe is providing UKIA with CAA liaison for financial fitness and licensing arrangements.

John Barnes and Mervyn Nicholl are type rated on Boeing 767 aircraft and both previously worked with Graham Mimms at European Aviation Air Charter where Graham held the post of PA to the Managing Director where he was primarily responsible for the introduction of the Boeing 747 Classic aircraft into the company fleet which operated world wide.

Graham Mimms is also positioning Astac Aviation Solutions to develop other aviation professional training activities in the near future including Crew Resource Management, Airport and Airline Security, Flight Despatch Training and Cabin Service Consultancy.

[paul atkins]

hey all there is a web site for the above sent them a email they are confident that they will start at the end of the year with flights to pakistan then dubai concerning ryanair they are to base further aircraft, at the moment they are evalauting the current routes there will be a announcement made in september with further expansion p.s i hope excel ger rid of that md80 we paying out more claims with delayed flight then ever before
cheers paul

[egnxema]

Thanks for thiat Paul.

FR - you know how many possible new aircraft?

[BOAC]

I would appreciate a PM if anyone has an email address for John Barnes please.

[av8767]

Their website is xxx.xxx

Websites that sell tickets can help support PPRuNe by contacting: http://www.pprune.org/advert.php . Our paid advertisers prefer it that way. :)

[Mr Angry from Purley]

Thought John Barnes had gone to Jamaica ? :\

[BOAC]

MAFP - I do not know! Only looking at post #20.

[DEH]

Hello pruners
I was looking for information on this start-up airline on pprune this morning, however couldn't see any threads. I had a chat with recruit agency yesterday, though info is a little vague. Apparently they plan to start operations end of October ( a tad ambitious I thought !!!! ), from EMA with 4 x 767, to UAE/ Pakistan. Backers are a wealthy Asian consortium. Are advertising for pilots and engineers, though no mention of cabin crew or any support/admin staff.
Any ideas ?
Long live the dog :)

[BRISTOLRE]

I had seen this posted on the Airlines/Airports/Routes "East Midlands EMA" forum recently actually about routes down to/via DXB.

[avrodamo]

The airline is UK International Airlines, which was formely Air Tigra

advert removed

[bacardi walla]

Sadly, with a website like that, nobody will take them seriously. My own websites are more professional looking that this outfit IMHO :uhoh:

[Slavedriver]

It's just a template, I give them about 2 months on the evidence so far.

[Navy_Adversary]

Not short of optimism, they have a frequent flyer login:eek:
Aircraft image on the site looks like a photoshopped United Airlines:8

[Torquelink]

. . still with flight deck windows covered . . . :)

[flying brain]

1. Their website advertisement removed is registered to
Munawar Khaliq
Queens Road
308-318
S2 4DL
Sheffield
+44.1142731115
+44.1142730933
[email protected]
Registered on September 11th 2005.
2 days later the name was registered with Companies House. Their first return is due in October 2006.
2. Tigragroup
Mr Munawar gives a tigragroup mailing address.
Visit this address to see another incarnation of the airline.
3. Their alternate webside avertising removed is registered to
Gohar Latif Butt
UK International Airlines
LG 63 Hafeez Centre Gulberg III
Lahore,Punjab,PK 44000
[email protected]
+92.425877775
on 4th June 2006 at 0320 hrs
Their technical coordinator is based in Islamabad.
As a crewmember possibly applying for a job, financial fitness and CAA issuance of a valid AOC is the key test. Suggest you request to view the appropriate certificate before spending time and money of your own.
While PPRuNe appreciates the desire to put as much information into these threads as possible we also have Airline advertisers who support PPRuNe by paying for links to their websites. Any other such links are considered unpaid advertisments and will be removed. Bottom line, if the link is to a site which offers direct reservation/ticket sales it is advertising.
Cheers,
The AA&R Mods

Links copied and pasted without due thought - point taken Mods - my apologies.

[Dr747]

Hafeez Centre Gulberg III
Lahore:confused: :ugh:
They mainly sell second hand PCs and reconditioned mobile phones in this shopping center...Shall i trust any airline with any registartion links to this rather crafty center???I would rather not.:=

[newscaster]

Are they for real? the website is so cheap and unprofessional.

[toledoashley]

It looks completely rubbish

[Blighty Pilot]

Was having a look on Flight International at the jobs and this (YET ANOTHER) new UK start up is advertising positions.

I had a look at their website and it appears to be rather GASH to say the least.

I'm guessing the link might get removed but here goes anyway:

So am I slow on the uptake of this one or does anyone know anything about them??

[cwatters]

As an experiment I tried to get a price for a flight from LGW to DXB in a few weeks. It either said no flights that day (every day I tried) or if I hit "Next day" it said that date had already passed (it hadn't). So I looked for a schedule to help choose a date - and couldn't immediatly find one. Perhaps they aren't flying anywhere yet?

[BOAC]

Blighty - yes, link removed. You will see this comment earlier in this thread.

Websites that sell tickets can help support PPRuNe by contacting: http://www.pprune.org/advert.php . Our paid advertisers prefer it that way. :)

[EGCC4284]

Advert link removed

[virginblue]

In general: What a joke....

As this joke of a website says:

We are a new UK based airline. Our Head Office is based in Sheffield. Our initial flights will be to Pakistan & Sharjah (U.A.E) from Nottingham East Midlands Airport. Later on we will have other destinations.

[Lucifer]

More tosh from someone whose prime interest in the industry is fantasising about building a website and hosting aircraft pictures...

I refer to my earlier comments on the (unbelievably still flying) BNWA.

[brighton_rocks]

They are actually advertising crew positions on jobcentre plus website (look under cabin crew - East Midlands) :eek:

[Evileyes]

The same advertising link has been posted 6-7 times in the last 18 posts.

Should it be posted again the entire post will be deleted.

[paul atkins]

hey all been away just been catching up with the list i have noticed that ukia have updated there site even with the reg of there first aircraft g-cecu which now is the first of 3 B767/200s cheers paul

[The Real Slim Shady]

Interesting news Paul as that reg doesn't appear on G-INFO. The website also just reports "This domain has been blocked" in my browser.

[GOLF-INDIA BRAVO]

I think the registration is probably requested not physically registered

G-I-B

[taz95]

Hi guys talking of UKIA I have been offered the job as a cabin crew with them and yes they do seem genuine and they are looking to start in Feb'07. Their first aircraft will be in NEMA by end of December or First week of Janaury it seems.

[StbdD]

The address listed for UKIA on one of their 2 websites, 308-318 Queens Road in Sheffield, appears to be a block of furniture stores.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22308-318+Queens+Road%22+sheffield

It is somewhat disturbing to see that people have been 'hired'. Was the hiring process electronic or telephonic?

Hope the applicants haven't had any out of pocket expenses yet.

[taz95]

No the hiring was not done either electronic nor telephonic we were called and had some group activities and also one to one interview with the owners itself along with the cabin crew manager. Yes they own the entire building and also the furniture store and the third floor in that building is the airline office.

[The Real Slim Shady]

Before you quit your job on the strength of the UKIA offer it might be worth checking with the CAA if they have an AOC and with the DofT if they are on the ASC as a designated carrier.
To the best of my knowledge the only airlines who hold international route licences and landing / traffic rights at ISB and KHI are PIA (http://www.piac.com.pk), BA, (http://www.ba.com) AeroAsia (http://www.aeroasia.com),Shaheen (http://www.shaheenair.com) and AirBlue (http://www.airblue.com).

[UPS@EMA]

The Real Slim Shady,

Aero Asia seems to be the one u were talking about.

Everyone else, check out the Aero Asia website. EMA - Islamabad route

Regards

Stu

[The Real Slim Shady]

Stu,

Not so fast. Nobody is going anywhere until they reach V1.

Plans are not the same as reality.

Rgds

[egnxema]

So are BOTH UKIA and Aero Asia boastin gplans to fly from EMA to Islamabad?

[The Real Slim Shady]

If you look at the 3 private Pakistan carriers they all harbour ambitions to operate to the UK.

Their differences with UKIA are obvious: they are already operating and hold landing and traffic rights at ISB and KHI. They are all, alledgedly, examining opportunities to compete with PAI and sourcing aircraft, although Shaheen are apparently more interested in either a code share or joint venture. Air Blue and AeroAsia have been looking for suitable Airbus aircraft, however, the market is fairly hard at the moment.

Whether any of them go it alone remains to be seen.

Of course there is also Royal Bengal Airline, a new UK venture with plans to operate to Dacca.

[egnxema]

Royal Bengal Airline plan to start from STN as their primary route. Future plans inc either BHX or LTN, but they have no plans for flights from EMA.

[The Real Slim Shady]

Latest intel is that UKIA won't be in a position to start flying until July 07 at the earliest.

[UPS@EMA]

any update on the prefab pier???? any new pics??????

Had an email of UKIA today from their HR and finance director stating that they have applied for their AOC and that they are hoping to start flying in February 07 and that initial destination will either be Sharjah or Islammabad

Regards

Stu

[bmibaby.com]

Doesn't the process for gaining an AOC take a couple of months at least? Also, particularly for VFR traffic, surely they need to get the seats out on sale a few months in advance. Any idea where their Boeing 767-200s are coming from, and if there are serious talks going on between UKIA, the airport and the handling agents?

[paul atkins]

hey all, ukia aircraft are ex united airlines where there are currently 18no in storage so if things go well there is plenty of scope for expansion cheers paul

[taz95]

If you look at the 3 private Pakistan carriers they all harbour ambitions to operate to the UK.

Their differences with UKIA are obvious: they are already operating and hold landing and traffic rights at ISB and KHI. They are all, alledgedly, examining opportunities to compete with PAI and sourcing aircraft, although Shaheen are apparently more interested in either a code share or joint venture. Air Blue and AeroAsia have been looking for suitable Airbus aircraft, however, the market is fairly hard at the moment.

Whether any of them go it alone remains to be seen.

Of course there is also Royal Bengal Airline, a new UK venture with plans to operate to Dacca.

There is another difference that you have forgotten to mention. Aero Asia and Shaheen have been grounded so many times and their liabilities are quite high. Atleast UKIA has not started yet so lets wait and watch instead of counting the rotten eggs even before they hatch. You do get all your answers with UKIA if you ring or email them and I am sure many people agree with me who ever has been in contact with them.

[UPS@EMA]

Just asked a few questions to their director. this is his response:

Hi Stuart

No problem at all. We have purchased 3 aircraft's. They are ex- United Airlines and our first aircraft is in Brunei having its final maintenance done. It has already been transferred onto UK register and should be here by end of December or first week of January. Our second aircraft is being ferried to Brunei as we speak for its maintenance. Our Ground Ops Manager has been talking to Service Air for handling at NEMA and seats will go on for sale only after we have received our AOC which is in its final stages and should be getting issued in Jan or Feb. We had applied our AOC in the month of July this year. You know the market that we want to go there is no need for advance sales at all. It is busy through out the year and hence no selling in advance.
Hope this answers your queries.




Asifa Rehana
Finance & HR Director
UK International Airlines
308-318 Queens Road, Queens House
Sheffield, S2 4DL
South Yorkshire
United Kingdom



Regards

Stu

[SAM-EMA]

Sounds interesting Stu, thanks for posting. I just hope now that it materialises.

SAM-EMA

[The Real Slim Shady]

Taz,
Don't really want to p1ss all over your parade but the fact is that UKIA don't have rights, at the moment, to operate to ISB or KHI. They may well have rights to operate to Sharjah or DXB.
The ex United 200s are short range EM models built for the US domestic market and won't make ISB or the Gulf non stop with any reasonable payload. Also if you check the Companies House website their accounts haven't been filed; they were due 11 Oct 06.
Stuart
The email is very interesting:
It has already been transferred onto UK register
but it doesn't appear on the G-Info database.
You know the market that we want to go there is no need for advance sales at all. It is busy through out the year and hence no selling in advance.
My contact, a travel agent with a major presence in the market, tells me that the market is very seasonal; peak season is Mid Nov - 31 Dec, Jan - Easter is shoulder and Easter through to Jun is low season.
Good luck to them, but don't get carried away.

[UPS@EMA]

but it doesn't appear on the G-Info database.

Apparently it should be on the register in next 7-10 days

Also they are apparently it talks with Servisair for handling

Regards

Stu

[The Real Slim Shady]

That's really my point Stu, they say one thing but then change it when it is shown to be in error. Don't take anything at face value; plans are not the same as reality.

[Evileyes]

Thread reopened and new posts moved in.

Lets try to do this without the advertising links this time.

Cheers,
The Mods

[bmibaby.com]

Just asked a few questions to their director. this is his response:
Hi Stuart
No problem at all. We have purchased 3 aircraft's. They are ex- United Airlines and our first aircraft is in Brunei having its final maintenance done. It has already been transferred onto UK register and should be here by end of December or first week of January. Our second aircraft is being ferried to Brunei as we speak for its maintenance. Our Ground Ops Manager has been talking to Service Air for handling at NEMA and seats will go on for sale only after we have received our AOC which is in its final stages and should be getting issued in Jan or Feb. We had applied our AOC in the month of July this year. You know the market that we want to go there is no need for advance sales at all. It is busy through out the year and hence no selling in advance.


Not to discredit what UKIA stands for, but based on the general lexicon of this official email I'd say it is pretty unprofessional for a UK based airline. Poor grammar, incorrect spelling of the handling agent they claim to be using - it doesn't bode very well really. I would love for UKIA to succeed, there is a real need for an airline to connect the Midlands with longhaul destinations particularly in Asia, however I would not like this to become the Midlands' answer to an airline like Air Scotland. It's a shame really that a more established airline (dare I say bmi) hasn't had the thought of launching flights to this market.

[Eff Oh]

Not to discredit what UKIA stands for, but based on the general lexicon of this official email I'd say it is pretty unprofessional for a UK based airline. Poor grammar, incorrect spelling of the handling agent they claim to be using - it doesn't bode very well really. I would love for UKIA to succeed, there is a real need for an airline to connect the Midlands with longhaul destinations particularly in Asia, however I would not like this to become the Midlands' answer to an airline like Air Scotland. It's a shame really that a more established airline (dare I say bmi) hasn't had the thought of launching flights to this market.
Funny I was just thinking, sounds like history repeating itself!! :hmm:

[taz95]

http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?categoryid=60&pagetype=65&applicationid=1&mode=detailnosummary&fullregmark=G-CECU

:D :D :D

[Cyrano]

Good that there is progress towards getting the aircraft on the register.

I note that that the C of A hasn't yet been issued.

The aircraft (MSN 21864) is ex-United, 767 line number 004 :eek: built in 1981, and has been parked up for the last 18+ months. I would imagine there'll be some work involved to make it JAA-compliant, but hopefully that's already been done.

[SAM-EMA]

Sounds promising, when are the flights due to start because the airline's website just says starting soon. Any ideas?

If and when the flights start it will be a major break-through for EMA. Is the airline actually going to be EMA based, because they have plans for flights out of Manchester and Gatwick too?

Thanks SAM-EMA

[egnxema]

I have called UKIA and spoken to them. Have to admire their honesty. They said their new website is being developed "because the current one is....well, crap basically."

That is exactly what they said!

And exactly what i thought!! lol

[bmibaby.com]

UKIA says in March they will start their operations.
Sorry where has this been announced? I know they intended to start operations in 2007, but their website is bare.

[taz95]

Sorry where has this been announced? I know they intended to start operations in 2007, but their website is bare.

I have been appointed as a cabin crew by UKIA and I ring them now and then. Thats why I said March 07.

[SAM-EMA]

Congratulations and good luck with that taz95. Will you be based at EMA?

SAM-EMA

[taz95]

Thanks and yes I will be based at EMA.

[andy_13]

I must have missed this in a previous post but what kind of aircraft are UKIA going to use to EMA?

[taz95]

I must have missed this in a previous post but what kind of aircraft are UKIA going to use to EMA?

B767-200 Ex United Airlines

[SAM-EMA]

Any ideas when the UKIA new website will be up and running for bookings from EMA. It is going to be Islamabad and Sharjah to start with isn't it.

SAM-EMA

[taz95]

Any ideas when the UKIA new website will be up and running for bookings from EMA. It is going to be Islamabad and Sharjah to start with isn't it.

SAM-EMA

99% of the bookings will be done by their appointed GSA's in UK. I dont think so they are going to book online initially.

[UPS@EMA]

Is there any way of checking that UKIA's first 2 762's are in Brunei at the moment, either by confirming they have left storage or by operations in Brunei???

Any help would be appriciated

[GBALU53]

Send them an e-mail if you don,t ask you don.t get so go on and good luck.

[EastMids]

Is there any way of checking that UKIA's first 2 762's are in Brunei at the moment, either by confirming they have left storage or by operations in Brunei???
Former United 767-200 N604UA (one of two associated with UKIA, the other being N603UA) was ferried from storage at Victorville, California to Brunei in late December 2006. The ferry flight was reported in a number of "spotter's" publications.

Andy

[SAM-EMA]

Any idea when they will be finished and brought into the UK? Flights are supposed to commence in March, so they haven't got that long really.

Cheers
SAM-EMA

[SAM-EMA]

UKIA's second a/c is due to be registered as G-CEMK.
Just hope they get up and running soon.

Regards
SAM-EMA

[paul atkins]

hey all been sent a email there first aircraft will be delivered to ema on thursday 15th march ,flights will go on sale first week of april & there first flight will depart first week of may i hope this helps paul

[SAM-EMA]

The second B762 arrives in EMA in early April.

SAM-EMA

[we_never_change]

Have seats for the UKIA flights gone on sale yet?

Bit of a tight timescale if they haven't

WNC

[mr grumpy]

Does anyone know if UKIA intend to obtain their own AOC or is someone operating the aircraft for them? If the former, I don't see how they could possibly do all the necessary work and get operating before early summer. By that time they would have burned their way through plenty of cash, so lets hope it's the former.

[The Real Slim Shady]

Start-up UK International details plans for April launch
Kerry Ezard, London (05Mar07, 11:25 GMT, 293 words)


UK International Airlines, a Sheffield-based start-up, is planning to begin
scheduled flights from East Midlands Airport to the UAE and Pakistan next
month using a pair of leased Boeing 767-200s, and has ambitions of
increasing its long-haul fleet to up to 25 aircraft within five years.

The carrier has leased two former United Airlines 767-200s from Wells Fargo,
which are currently undergoing pre-delivery checks in Brunei, UK
International chairman and CEO M H Khaliq tells ATI.

The start-up will take delivery of its first aircraft later this month,
shortly after which it expects to receive its full worldwide scheduled air
operator’s certificate (AOC) from the UK CAA. The second 767-200 will be
delivered as the carrier’s route network develops.

UK International plans to launch operations from East Midlands Airport in
April and will initially serve Sharjah in the UAE as well as Islamabad and
Lahore in Pakistan. The carrier also plans to offer charter services during
the Hajj and Umrah religious pilgrimages, and will tailor its on-board
service to meet the needs of the UK-based Asian community.

Khaliq says the carrier aims to increase its long-haul fleet to between 20
and 25 aircraft within five years, and expand its network to include
Manchester and London Stansted in the UK. He adds the airline is in talks
with Stansted Airport, and that eight new destinations throughout the Middle
East, the Indian sub-continent and North America will be introduced to its
network in the future.

UK International is being privately funded and the carrier’s key
shareholders are members of the Khaliq family, as well as other UK-based and
overseas investors. The start-up has appointed the former director of
Pakistan’s civil aviation authority, Salim Arshad, as its commercial
director, and is currently recruiting for cabin crew.


Source: Air Transport Intelligence news

[SAM-EMA]

Totally agree with you there bmibaby. Although it will be sad if it doesn't return next winter.

PLUS: Is the first UKIA a/c still on track for arriving in EMA on Thursday (15th).

Thanks
SAM-EMA

[UPS@EMA]

Looks like UKIA's first 76 is delayed. not sure if its even painted yet,

Pier should be coming along very well i think. wish i could pop down. due back in a few months from Malaysia. Any Pics??????

Stu

[UPS@EMA]

UKIA has recieved there C of A today. The aircraft is almost painted, just the logo to go on now and photo's will hopefully be available in next few days

Regards

Stu

[EastMids]

UKIA has recieved there C of A today
Huh? Do you mean the aircraft has recieved its C of A, or UKIA have recieved THEIR AOC? Big difference - airlines don't need C of As, but aircraft do, and airlines certainly need AOCs!

[UPS@EMA]

sorry UKIA's 1st aircraft has recieved its C of A today. Sorry for misunderstanding. AOC should be recieved over next week or so

Regards

Stu

[paul atkins]

hey all been informed by ukia that there 1st aircraft will arrive at ema last weekend of the month 2weeks late

[the bald eagle]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d99/andy757/pie.jpg + http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d99/andy757/oates_sky_001.jpg =

[SWBKCB]

"hey all been informed by ukia that there 1st aircraft will arrive at ema last weekend of the month 2 weeks late"

Any news?

[EMA01]

The first UKIA B762 is now due on the 7th or the 8th April. Im not yet sure when the second aircraft is due but with them saying they are starting services on the 1st May it will have to be soon.
But then again it keeps changing. We might not even see them for a while. Who knows?:ugh:

EMA01

[davedog]

New to PPRuNe, been watching some time. My info tells me that ops with UKIA out of EMA will begin in the last 2 weeks in May. Aircraft will arrive soon. I am told it will be two schedule flights a week to Islamabad and two charters to sharjay a week. No days specified yet.

[EMA01]

Hey Davedog.

Welcome to PPrune. Yes you are correct U K I A are due to start flying to those places in May but its not clear when as there aircraft hasnt even been see in the UK yet... I can't find anyway of booking on a U K I A flight either which isnt very good as passengers will want to be booking as early as possible (I would) and they will most likely only be booking about 2 weeks before entering service... So far I dont think they will be able to cope with it...

The aircraft on the website has been painted which shows it exists but still no real where abouts of the aircrafts...

EMA01:ok:

[The AvgasDinosaur]

I thought the first two were both in Brunei for maintenance checks and U.K. C of A work.
Hope it helps
Be lucky
David
P.S. I dont think photography is encouraged over there

[UPS@EMA]

They are both definatly in Brunei. I have got some photo's of the plane. im not allowed to post tho but be assured, its defo there. im sceptical about UKIA but hope they work. especially the SJH run as i can fly direct home from KL then. ill fly emirates to DXB then UKIA from SJH to EMA.

Regards

Stu

[cesare]

When will possible to make booking?

[SAM-EMA]

If the 1st a/c was due in EMA today or tommorow, what is the chance we will see it touch down tommorow? Is it definately coming soon, or are there any other dates of supposed arrival?

Thanks
SAM-EMA

[Flyboy543]

If the arirval is soon I wonder where they will park their 762? The BMI hangers are full and currently a BMI A321 parked opposite the washbay, The Antonov 26's on the finger points no room down there. I'm sure the airport won't want it parked on the central ramp, that's busy enough as it is at night! I'm sure UKIA would have sorted this out before they try and fly it here wouldn't you have thought?

[dumdumbrain]

I think it could park on the east ramp, always have room, esp up near stand 81, its only really friday night sat morning, that the east ramp gets full.
I seem to spend most of friday night running between the stands when the fish flight comes in. I really dont know why air ops cant sort is out, UPS have its aircraft at the far end of the ramp, TNT sorta in the middle, but come fridaynight we are all over the place, and royal mail is on the far side. Would make more sence for UPS and Royal Mail to move.

[almost professional]

Unless the B767 is airborne between the hours of 2100-0100 then no chance it will park on the eastern-no stands free week-nights big enough to park it, until the postie flights have gone

[Flyboy543]

I thought eastern ramp was full most nights, but has been while since i've been down there at night. Only place I can think is way up DHL close to threshold of 09 end of the ramp? Bet DHL won't be too happy with that though. We'll just see when/if the bird arrives!

[Nimrod6]

Reference the East Apron and "running all over the shop":

the airport has plans for a remark of the East Apron which should benefit all having Royal Mail now fully operational in their new hub. With any luck the new layout will benefit us all and we won't be crossing each other during the peak periods.

Nimrod

[StoneyBridge Radar]

Is it me, or does that, errrr, 'livery' look like either someone sat on the loo in a cubicle feeling sick, or a passenger in the brace position??

And my goodness, we haven't seen Lady Penelope Purple like that since the days of Princess Air !:\

Stoney

[dumdumbrain]

No im sorry the east ramp is busy at night but by no means full. I should know i spend a fair amount of my time on it, stand 80/81 is free most the time.

[Yak97]

Erm..... The Princess Air livery was Rhodamine Red, a much more Pink colour rather than this garish lilac/purple?

And a least the Princess Air scheme looked as though it was properly designed rather than thrown on (up) the aircraft.

[almost professional]

Yes stands 79/80/81 do not have A/C on them all night-but you can only use them short term as the inbound Whitestar/UPS come back from 0130 onwards and require those stands-no good for longterm parking, ie overnight
its going to be nip and tuck as to whether we will have a stand on the central apron free, especially for B767 size a/c

[dumdumbrain]

Im starting to think that this project isn't going to get off the ground. Where is the crew, cabin crew, and tickets? Is it due in this weekend?
It's a shame EMA will have to look else where to find an airline that can contect EMA to Asia. :confused:

[EastMids]

Latest info I have is launch delayed until late May 2007

A

[davedog]

Checkout the nice photos on the UKIA website of the completed plane (inside & out). It will now take another two months to clean it i should think!!

[egnxema]

You'd have thought it would be quite easy to employ someone with a grasp of English grammar to write the web pages.

[SAM-EMA]

(From Airliner World June 2007)

UK International Airlines has taken delivery of its first aircraft, Boeing 767-222 G-CECU, having had its maintenance check and overhaul in Brunei.
The carrier will plans to launch scheduled flights from EMAto Sharjah and Islamabad by the end of May, subject to receiving landing rights at the foreign airports.

SAM-EMA

[Flyboy543]

Its still not obvious where EMA is going to accomodate a wide-body, but when it comes it will be a major step forward for EMA.


Last year Thomson had a B762 based at EMA, 4 days a week EMA has a FCA B763 and once a week a MYT B763 ! I've even seen an Emirates B772 at EMA so I think some people should do their research before printing their articles :hmm:

[taz95]

UKIA first aircraft expected to arrive at EMA on 15/05/07

[dumdumbrain]

Bout time!!!!

[kwoman]

heard that this new UKIA airline is a complete sham! i have friends who have just joined as Cabin Crew and they said the airline is the biggest bunch of money grabbing losers ever!
They are held to a ridiculous bond of £1800 if they leave before 2 Years service and the trainees have no idea when their first flight will be. They were pulled out of the hotel in Sheffield as the company refuse to pay for them to be training away from base and have had to have 2 weeks off while they find them suitable places to train. They have also had to wait a lifetime to have an aircraft visit to do their aircraft specifics.
It is also fair to say that the trainers have no idea of how to teach SEP and half of them havent got a clue as they are asking the class questions on how to operate rather than teaching them!!!!

[UPS@EMA]

they reckon the 1st plane is due between 1 and 2pm today. Ill believe that when i see it. :} :ugh:

[Mike16]

Hi


I may have a butchers then at lunch time, i am on my day off, and live in Castle donington, be nice to see it , if it does come ??????????


Mike

[Leofric]

Latest estimated time of arrival of G-CECU is 1640 local from Sharjah

[Mike16]

Well i will make my way down there about 4.30, i will go to diseworth lane in donno, as i think you get the best view from there.
Will it on the arrivals board the flight or not ?


Thanks for your help

Mike

[notts airgirl]

yes its true about the bond and the other things that have been said. i have a friend who is working with them at the minute and they are so unprofessional its a joke.
The crew have to do songs and dance about for the open day in Nottingham on the 24th May.
They will look good in the Alladin costumes though.

They were held at ransom to sign the bond and if they didnt then they would be out. If you dont like it then you can go they say.

On the standby duties they have to go to the sheffield office and do paperwork for them above the furniture shop.

So they will soon get the moneys worth out of them.

At least 2 people have left so far and they i believe were the good ones.

Well good luck to anyone who goes there and be prepared to be a skivvy.

[notts airgirl]

No there have been 5 in total who have left. One on the 2nd day and 2 who were asked to leave.and 2 on there own accord.

And there was only 20 odd of them in the first place.

[paul atkins]

hey all g-cecu departed sharjah at 0804 local time flight number uk 1002 to ema cheers paul

[nesboy 1976]

Surely the first thing you would do is employ a training manager and trainers who are current on type!:rolleyes:

Anyone know who the training manager is??

:ok:

[Brian Fantana]

"On the standby duties they have to go to the sheffield office and do paperwork for them above the furniture shop."

So that would mean the cabin crews flight duty period would start ticking as soon as they get to the office.
What flights are they covering whilst on standby in the office? as they may not have enough hours to cover a long flight without going into discretion - they should also be getting paid their flight duty pay whilst working on standby in the office.

[Bozie]

"On the standby duties they have to go to the sheffield office and do paperwork for them above the furniture shop."

So that would mean the cabin crews flight duty period would start ticking as soon as they get to the office.
What flights are they covering whilst on standby in the office? as they may not have enough hours to cover a long flight without going into discretion - they should also be getting paid their flight duty pay whilst working on standby in the office.



Is this right. Surely the position is based at EMA so they would have to provide transport to and from EMA to sheffield? Even with that they would have to account for the start of the standby duty period and with longhaul flights to Pakistan the hours would be tight???

Would not going to work in the office also account as a duty and not standby??? Confused.com!

[Mike16]

Hi Guys


Did it land ? i could not make it in the end, if it is there may have a pop up n a bit to have a look

Mike

[Rhino power]

G-CECU landed at about 16:40(ish), parked on the western cargo apron (DHL) and is due to be towed behind the old BMI hangar in the short term so I'm told.

Regards, RP

[anywherebutturkey]

Mmm why are these crew members putting up with all of this? Standing by at a furniture shop doing paperwork !! Never heard of such a thing. If they want office staff why dont they get some? We have flying jobs going at a very big charter operation in Manchester .....come on down. There is no paperwork here - well, only a bit for the No 1's LOL :)

[walshy_MAN]

Hey, anywherebutturkey, could you possibly tell me abit more about these flying jobs going at Manchester?


Much appreciated

Walshy_MAN

[Mr Angry from Purley]

UKIA 767 is at EMA parked up by the BMI hangers :\

[andy_13]

I was out at the airport last night and saw the UKIA 767 being towed to the hangers. I didn't get a chance for any pictures though. The livery looked better than it does in the pictures on their website but it's still a bit dodgy imo. :}

I overheard someone saying that it had flown in from the Middle East yesterday evening and that another 767 was due to arrive soon. Anyone know when it will arrive?

Andy S

[EastMids]

UKIA have a second 767-200 on the way - to become G-CEMK - which is meant to be in Brunei at present. Last I heard, due to the UK certification process for these aircraft, work wasn't going to start on the 2nd until the first had its CofA issued and they had a better idea of what had to be done.

[taz95]

Just because few cabin crew got kicked out coz of gross misconduct they have nothing better to say now than all sorts of stories. I dont think they are the first airline that has asked to sign a bond agreement. Other airlines ask to pay for their training and their uniform.
As far as staff going to work in Sheffield only two staff went to Sheffield Office and they reside in Sheffield as well. They were not forced but they volunteered. The so called paper work was done for the Cabin Crew Training Manager and not for any other department.

[paul atkins]

a local newspaper as said flights to pakistan will operate on mondays and thursdays via sharjah and a charter flight to jeddah on saturdays and will start from june

[barrowboyblue!]

UKIA- steps up and door open ....... yawn

[owenkirk2005]

Websites taking shape its all new and theres a booking section where bookings will be able to be made soon. In the news section it says there was a test flight on the 7th june, was there? looks like they are nearly there finally.

[almost professional]

Did some circuits on 7th june

[SAM-EMA]

Descriptions of UKIAs destinations are now on their homepage, and it also states that flights from EMA to Islamabad will start by theend of July, and flights between MAN and Lahore, will commence in mid-september time.

Well, I wish them luck with their new operation.

SAM-EMA

[dumdumbrain]

I really do wish them every luck with it, but i dont see it actually taking off. I wish it would, it would be great news for EMA and maybe bring in other airlines to add further a field destinations. The market for the route is in the East Midlands, its just a case of actually selling its self to the public.

Be nice to see something else outside the Ryanair cabin trainer.

[Hansol]

Still a way to go I understand they still do not have the relevent permissions for the flight.

[Re-Heat]

Websites taking shape its all new and theres a booking section where bookings will be able to be made soon. In the news section it says there was a test flight on the 7th june, was there? looks like they are nearly there finally.
Why do startups have an obsession with websites - integration to GDSs and obtaining cargo carriage agreements are far more important than trying to have a public website!

[dumdumbrain]

And servise starts when? im sick of looking at it parked outside the Ryanair cabin trainer n fire trainer

[END BAG]

Hi All
Boeing 767 G-CECU the UKIA767 has just been on a test flight and was out about one hour. Not sure if it was for some sort of licence test or what but it is now safely parked up in its usual place.

[davedog]

The reason behind the flight according to UKIA website seems like is was a crew familiarisation flight, abstract from website below:

UK International Airlines first Boeing 767-222, registration G-CECU completed a successful and worthwhile Crew familiarisation flight on Wednesday 4 July 2007, from its base ast Midlands, departing at 1110 UK Local time, routing out to the East of England and returning to East Midlands, in the capable hands of Capt James McBride UKIA Chief Training Captain. G-CECU Landed back at East Midlands Airport at 1208 UK Local time successfuly completing its Pre-proving flight. Now UKIA is ready for Proving flight and also crew training flights are planned for later this month in the circuit at EMA, followed by training sectors routing to other airports around the UK

I await the next announcement, yawn, yawn. This whole operation is burning a hole in someone's pocket!!

[Mike16]

Hi Guys

Oh great, glad to see the first test flight went really well, how many cabin crew have they recruited for ?
Also i thought james mcbride was at EZY ? but i did hear he did leave for XL or someone similiar ?
It is just i remember having him as a Captain on one of my flights at EMA and when i did a few at Liverpool few years ago.
When do tickets and all that go on sale and where is the advertising for this new venture, Well done though to EMA for getting this, just what we need at EMA

Bye

[egnxema]

The press releases on UKIA's website make funny reading - the standard of English is really funny and the amount of detail is hillarious - who gives a monkey's that the "Pre-proving flight" routed over the east of England and landed at 1208 UK Local Time.

The tone of the website would have you believe that this family have actually invented air travel. I am sure you can see a smirk on the face of Penny Coates on the pitures on the website. Penny, you did well to stay composed.

I really hope this venture will get off the ground because I want to fly with them - it will be a fun day out.:E

[dumdumbrain]

I know what you mean. UKIA is a joke, but Penny has done a good job with EMA no questions

[Hawk]

Last couple of posts starting to sound like chat room banter. Not terribly keen on individuals been discussed by name, flattering as those comments might be.

Press on for now, but we will be keeping an eye on the discussion.

Thank you.
A.A & R Moderators.

[Mike16]

Hi


Has anyone heard anything more on ths one ?
Like when they intend to do there first flight or when they go on sale ?
I must say the web site is very poorly designed and marketed

Mike

[END BAG]

Hi Mike
Occassionally little things happen that makes us think that an actual start up date might be approaching. Typical examples being ,a few weeks ago 40 cans for the hold baggage arrived but have now been dumped on the grass area next to the aircraft also the company have taken over an office in the Donair building complete with shiny UKIA purple boards over the windows but you never see anybody at work in there.The latest development i noticed a couple of weeks ago was the engineers who are BCT aviation had been allocated a office in the old prestige building but all they seem to do is make a daily visit to the aircraft to tinker about with things so i think in reality the start up is still a fair way off.I hope i am wrong as it would be nice to get a new long-haul up and running just to show the people who work there that East Midlands dream is just not to be Stansted number 2 with evething revolving around what Ryanair want!!!

[robo283]

Wonder how much it costs per month to keep a 767 sitting on the tarmac :sad:

[First Bag]

Hi

Isnt the B767 tech now, I see a tarpaulin has been put up around one of the landing gears but theres been no engineer around to ask whats up with it.Its been like it for nearly two weeks, any ideas?

cheers

[Flyboy543]

Have seen the engineers on it almost everyday over the last week. They seem to be doing some work on/near the LHS main gear. They have stopped the fans turning by using a combination of chocks and plastic tubing!! Also looks like the Static ports have been blocked up with supermarket sandwich bags lol!

Will wait and see what happens.

[OliWW]

I recentally heard from a member of senior staff at the airport that they were trying to start there first flight on the 3rd September now... Is this true??

Would be nice to finally see it get away as its just sat doing nothing at the moment!

[wheelbarrow]

UKIA is now moving forward rapidly. There will be some crew training flights within the next 7 days and it is hoped to have the AOC by mid-August. Commercial flights will start as soon as possible after that date.
The first aircraft has been undergoing a mandatory modification to both main landing gear. That is the reason for the tents around the gear legs. The weather has been foul.
The second aircraft is in Brunei undergoing a major check and will arrive in UK around the end of August.
The company is hiring more pilots and cabin crew. See the UKIA website.

[Mike16]

Hi


Weli i rang them last week in regards to cabin crew vacancies and was told they were all gone now as they recruited and trained all the crew already !
I have also rang them today from a pax view to see when they start flying and where to , and his responce, even though his english was very poor was as follows....
They are initally doing only one flight to sharjah, and in the future they are aiming to do Gambia, pakistan and another indian city, could not really understand him, sorry.
I asked him for a price for a flight on the UA, and they could not tell me ??? so i said when are you looking to start flying and he said in the next 4 weeks, and i replied back saying, well surely if you start your first flight in under 1 month surely you must be selling seats and have an idea on a price, and he said he could not give me one !!!
He also stated that they were mainly for the asian community for there pilgramage flights or something, so i said as a white person could i fly with them , and he said of course but you will be flying with asian people as this is there target audience.
I am sorry to say guys, i do wish this airline good luck, but with poor marketing, mainly there website, there poor customer service, poor communication skills and lack of pricing and start dates, i think this is going to be a dead setter.
I do ope it does work and hopeully this may inspire another airline to operate from EMA as i do think there is a market out there, not just for the asian communiy but also for other nationalities who do like to travel uter afeild and not just spain and greece. Come on someone bring a Dubai route in...

Take care Guys

Mike

[UFGBOY]

At the risk of being pedantic, the grammar and spelling in parts of the above is poor - use of spell check would eliminate these errors

I know this is not the be all and end all of the airline, but reflects on the overall professionalism of the operation.........

[Hansol]

An aeroplane, no AOC and no flying rights..veryprofessional:bored:

[mike21]

Well it doesnt show much of your knowledge either does it dear Hansol?

To apply for an AOC you need to have an aircraft and to obtain flying rights you need to have an AOC.

So they have an aircraft, they have applied for their AOC and they will get landing rights once they have an AOC.

Mike

[Hansol]

But if you have an aeroplane, an aoc and no where to fly, you are stuffed my friend. The founders of UKIA have wrongly assumed that rights to Pakistan will be easy, let me assure you they won't be.

[mike21]

Well they have too many charter contracts and also Pakistan is not their only destination. They can fly to Sharjah as soon as they get their AOC. Surely when they have reached this far they wont be just sat around doing nothing with an aircraft and AOC in hand.

[Hansol]

Lets wait and see how th experienced team take things forward, by the way they don't have rights to Sharjah, it was only a proposed tech stop on the way to the other places they don't have rights to.

[Mike16]

Hi


Well my personal feelings are this is another Flywho lot.... A wanna be airline, but i must admit at least they do have a plane !!!!

When you do a search for this airline , there is nothing really, quite worrying when they start in under a months time


Mike

[The Real Slim Shady]

With the present restrictions on granting route licences for international operation to indigenous carriers, the chance of UKIA getting on the bilateral to operate to Pakistan is minimal.

Pak Govt requirement is that domestic carriers operate for 5 years internally before being granted international rights.

Air Blue, PIA, Aero Asia and Shaheen have traffic rights as does BA. Whether they could negotiate a deal with one of those carriers remains to be seen.

[Flightrider]

To apply for an AOC you need to have an aircraft

No you don't. To be granted an AOC, you need to have an aircraft, but you don't need to have one simply in order to apply.

This does seem to have been taking an inordinate amount of time to get the operation off the ground. I'm hearing that this isn't entirely helped by the big man's frequent changes of management people.

[EMA747]

I was out at EMA yesterday and there were lots of UKIA FAs walking around near their portacabin (oh sorry, office! :}). I'm guessing they are getting ready to start soon then?

[Mr Angry from Purley]

EMA747
The CAA proving flight is getting nearer. The aircraft is currently tech (nothing major) and a test flight planned next week with a DHL TRE assisting. The DFO of UKIA has joined from Silverjet and has a few Pilots ready to go. Once the CAA AOC is granted the traffic rights should follow. From being completely sceptical i'm beginning to believe! :\

[dumdumbrain]

That's great news abouts UKIA, I wonder who will be the handling agent? I think LSG are doing the catering.

Lee

[OliWW]

I think Servisair are handleing UKIA, and i saw G-CECU testing on wednesday afternoon, so maybe the tech problem was sorted, it must have been crew testing =]

[Hansol]

Sorry to harp on guys but the traffic rights still remain the biggest hurdle. They are pining their business plan on gaining rights to Pakistan with a tech stop in Sharjah. The rights to Pakistan I would say are almost impossible to get without some very high up influence (which the owners may have). I predict that they will do some pilgrim flights around Ramadan, which starts mid Sept and runs to mid Oct and that they will then run out of ideas. The impression I get is that the homework hasn't been done but lets wait and see, they must be burning a lot of someones cash at the moment.

[Stpaul]

Thats interesting that you say they are burning up someone elses cash. the questions is who's? I maybe a million miles away from the truth here but;
1. Flyjet were taken over shortly before UKIA became a reality. Whereby the Directors who started FJ were not taken on by SJ (albeit same chairman of both companies and all!)
2. Flyjet used to do plenty of flights to that neck of the woods a few years ago, and earnt decent money from those flights.
3. Whoever set up FJ could have learnt their lessons as to high costs at LGW and decided better to move elsewhere. (Gees we hope they did learn many more lessons!)
4. 767s instead of 757s (we all know that getting 757s is like rocking horse s*** at the moment.....well at least until the charter airlines in England finish with them)
But am I clutching at straws here. I do not know the people running UKIA but I do see a few things similar. Anyone else thinking the same?

[Bear132]

Hi Guys,

Saw the UKIA 767 sitting on the tarmac today. Engineers were working on it. Spoke to someone who works on Passenger Services who said she received an email today saying the aircraft is doing a crew training flight tomorrow, departing at 11.30, going to Liverpool and returning back same day. I asked the engineer if it was flying tomorrow and he laughed and said "Not a chance" but then followed it with "well maybe for crew training".

Airport staff seem to think it is finally getting started now and say lots happening now. They seemed quite positive. They did however, comment that apparently although the aircraft has a liscense, the owner hasn't??? Don't know much about that though!

Who knows, but fingers crossed it happens this time!!!

xx

[Flyboy543]

Got airborne again today (Thursday) going to SNN and back for a few hours, left about midday. Can anyone give a reliable estimate as to when they will start selling tickets or start commercial services?

[Crusher1]

I enquired about freight, the answer was yes they will be taking it but no reply as to when! All seemed very vague.

[idlejack]

G-CECU at DSA today doing circuits.

[gatwicknose]

Crusher,,,,,due to ac type freight is going to be very marginal on routes that are planned...the aircraft also has no cargo door...so no 96 or 88inch pallets.. ates to Pakistan for freight at the moment are so low that carrying the cargo barely covers the cost of the handling and fuel ...

[Flyboy543]

UKIA now had their CAA flight, Went to SNN and back with approx 40 people not sure who they were, i'm sure they wern't all CAA people! Landed at 1730 then got towed back to usual parking place a few hours later. Anybody know how the flight went or any news on the licencing?

[OliWW]

All I know is that it should have departed at 11, and didnt leave till about 2.30 because of another tech problem!.. should have been back at 2, and got back at 5.30!

[SFCC]

Still parked in the sin bin as at 0030 19/08. Hope all is still well.:confused:

[HZ123]

In addition to the tech problems it will also have to run the gauntlet of extra security charges in Pakistan. If the additional security is not right the DFT will be only to eager to stop the operation. I am suprised the aircraft has not been put onto a more flexible registration and operated from another country with easier rules.

[EastMids]

I am told that the AOC is likely to be issued this coming Friday!!! :ooh: To be followed by a number of weeks where they'll be available for ad-hoc work and launch to SHJ initially in the autumn.

A

[andyb87]

I'm keeping my ears open for new developments, as stated in a previous post the 762 was towed onto stand ahead of a crew training flight (i believe) over to Shannon. I'm told this was its last training flight before service commences but not 100% certain.
I work for Servisair myself at EMA and managed to take a few shots while waiting for my inbound Ryanair :p
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/3961/spa0169pw1.jpg
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/1268/spa0170ln7.jpg
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/1782/spa0171us1.jpg

Will keep posted on anything new ;)

[fje1]

All I will say is UKIA has alot similar to Flyjet.
Alot of noticable faces will be working their. :)

[Brian Fantana]

"Alot of noticable faces will be working their"

FJE1 will these noticable faces be the flight deck/cabin crews, management or the ops/crewing people. If its the management - well, best stay clear then IMHO!!

BF

ps "A lot" is two separate words and "there" not "their" in the context of your sentence. :E :8 :ok:

[FlyerFoto]

Interestingly enough, the top 2 on a Google search of 'UKIA' are UK Irrigation Association and United Kingdom Intersex Asscociation - one of which I could imagine being welcome in Pakistan and the other somewhat less so!

As for the colour scheme - surely no worse than Wizzair?

My main worries would be an aircraft that is probably going to be 25 years old by the time services commence and A/C and C/C who are being left hanging until things start to move. Can the UK really support another company operating flights into the the country from Pakistan? Surely the PIA services already offer enough capacity?

[BDAviator]

Hi,
I'm new to PPRuNe and came across this thread which I though is quite interesting.

I personally think that without the AOC UKIA are nothing!

EastMids said above that "the AOC is likely to be issued this coming Friday (24 Aug 2007)"

Can anyone confirm that they have received it yet?

From what Brian Fantana and other people have said I got the impression that the Flyjet people/management, who are now with UKIA, are somehow the wrong people. Can someone please clarify to me what is meant by "If its the management - well, best stay clear then IMHO!!"

I would presume that there is/was something wrong with previous Flyjet management which resulted in them selling their company (Flyjet) to Silverjet.

[Brian Fantana]

BDAviator. Not wanting to hijack an UKIA thread I suggest you read the FJE pages. But as you asked.

FJE had 2 aircraft on very very cheap lease rates but they still could not make money, so much so that when FJE got their bag of nails 767 (which Silverjet are now finding out to their cost) the CAA would not allow it to fly as FJE would not be able to cover their ABTA bonds - Allegedly.
Flyjet would have been and could have been an excellent company, that was due to the hard working crews, pilots and cabin crew who all pulled together to get the job done. :D
The mangement screwed it up. :ugh:
A real shame.:{
BF

[BDAviator]

mmmmmmm...... looks to me that this may be the case for UKIA then!

I hope it doesn't.

If you don't mind can you please give me the links to Flyjet threads, I can't find it.

Thanks.

[brighton_rocks]

Have i had too much to drink, or does UKIA's logo on the pictures above, look like a pax adopting the brace position on an old safety card?:eek:



http://www.airlinesafetycards.be/images/safety%20cards/pia%20a310-300%2014%20april%202006.jpg

[BDAviator]

Lol. I think it is sooo true!

Their logo does look like someone's in the brace position.

[Mr Angry from Purley]

i've been invited tommorrow to go and have lunch on the aircraft whilst they test the service, no booze of course. As to be expected it's going to be a curry, which is better than the usual chicken / beef :\

[BDAviator]

Let us know what happened.

[UFGBOY]

It is coming from Bradford via Stockport to EMA.......;)

[mike21]

UKIA has received their worldwide scheduled AOC today.

:ok:

[James McBride]

Couple of milestones this week for UKIA. The AOC was issued yesterday in spite of all the sceptics and the first route licences will soon follow.

Also UKIA was voted in as a Full Member of the UK Flight SafetyCommittee this week, so I guess the company is here to stay.

There is still lots to do, but we are getting there.
The second a/c is on the way - probably end of October before she arrives in EMA and more of a similar type are to follow.

Having been delighted with the success of seeing how well received the "brace position" is, we are planning to have the rest of the safety card stencilled down the fuselage!

Happy flying guys! James McBride

[egnxema]

Please please lok at their website and pull out a few gems!

I really liked this one:-

"Flown and serviced by certified professionals, the first flights will be to Sharjah in the UAE, and Islamabad in Pakistan."

[mike21]

UKIA's first ACMI flight by Thomas Cook

[BDAviator]

Mike21 what do you mean by "UKIA's first ACMI flight by Thomas Cook"?

Do you seriously mean that Thomas Cook will use UKIA's ACMI to transport their (Thomas Cook) passengers?

If so how much can you expect Thomas Cook to pay UKIA?

[END BAG]

The UKIA 767 departed E.M.A last night on what it seems could be its first revenue earning flight. It was towed up from the hangar area to the apron at 21-00hrs last night and after being fuelled etc. it positioned out to BRUSSELS at 22-00. According to the engineer it is doing a BRUSSELS-AGADIR charter for thomson/tui today. That is the info we were told so if correct another milestone passed.:D:D

[mike21]

Whats there not to believe, UKIA is here to stay and this is a start. UKIA has proved everyone wrong by getting its world wide scheduled AOC 4th in the UK after BA, Virgin and BMI.

Well fact is YES Thomas Cook has used UKIA to transport their passengers.

Well done UKIA :ok::ok:







Mike21 what do you mean by "UKIA's first ACMI flight by Thomas Cook"?

Do you seriously mean that Thomas Cook will use UKIA's ACMI to transport their (Thomas Cook) passengers?

If so how much can you expect Thomas Cook to pay UKIA?

[munster]

at brussels last night i saw the UKIA 767 being fuelled and catered, destination unknown.

[stadis450]

Well Capt. Having already read my CV I'm Still available to come and fly for you, just give me a call if your having trouble getting pilots, now up to 210 hours on jets, but still having to refuel.........:ok:
Regards

[BDAviator]

Regarding...

"getting its world wide scheduled AOC 4th in the UK after BA, Virgin and BMI"

what exactly does this mean?

What do you mean by 4th? I've seen on the list there are many other companies who have been awarded the same.

Congrats to UKIA :ok: you have really proved me wrong!!!

I'm also a bit curious to know how much you would expect Thomas cook to pay? I'm sure there are a lot of experts and professionals reading this who may have a clue, from past experience or a future one.

[Adelez]

its all sounding very interesting!!

any idea when the flights will properly begin? when can ppl book flights with UKIA? can you book direct through there website?

when will flights commence from Manchester? any other uk airports in the pipeline to be set up as bases?

[Mr Angry from Purley]

BDAVIATOR
Why wouldnt TC use UKIA. They have an UK AOC and UK Crews. Much rather fly with them than some cowboy outfit from Europe with no crew FTL rules etc.
4TH Worldwide AOC, possibly, BMIBABY have an AOC but not worldwide, guess they will need it for their operation and thus even harder to convince the CAA.

How will TC pay them, simple, ACMI contract either direct or more likely via a broker. TC pay for all fuel, handling, food etc and UKIA get an hourly rate from TC. EMA-BRU-AGA and back aprox 7 hours flying = £30,000 profit possibly more.
767 ideal aircraft for sub charter work :\

[Captain Caveman]

I should imagine the UK CAA are monitoring them very closely in this early stage of operation, and even more so when they start to take people's hard earned cash. I suspect they have had to prove they have sufficient finance to cover the operation for a period without income as part of the AOC/OL application ?

[BDAviator]

List of UK Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) Holders: http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=50&pageid=7954

List of UK Type A Operating Licence (OL) Holders:
http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=183&pagetype=90&pageid=340

[Heffer]

From their website:

"The initial flight operations of UKIA would commence with Boeing 767-200 aircraft. Within months, bigger and better aircraft are to be introduced on UKIA route network"

777s?

[Hansol]

Great to see them making their first revenue earning flight but lets not get too excited, they still don't have any rights to operate a scheduled service anywhere. The money pit will still be swallowing piles of cash as well, but good luck to UKIA I hope they can make it work, especially following the news that Flyglobespan are having problems.

[mike21]

UKIA has been issued 6 slots to Islambad today. :D:ok:

[Ian Brooks]

Is that per week or a total?

Ian

[ROSSKi MYT]

Are They Having A Cabin Refit Before Flights Commence?

[GW76]

No major cabin refit is being carried out.

[ATNotts]

Am I correct in thinking there is still a bilateral agreement between UK and Pakistan that effectively restricts capacity on routes between the countries?

If so, I would imagine that PIA would be doing their level best to ensure there isn't too much competition to their services to and from Manchester and Birmingham.

Anyway - slots don't mean traffic rights, and frankly, I would be surprised if ISB was actually a slot restricted airport.

[Hansol]

I agree, traffic rights is the big hurdle, if UK get these then they have my respect and best wishes.

[Yak97]

Will these be so much of a problem now, as their appears a miss-match in that there are 2 Pakistani airlines - PIA & AirBlue operating to UK, but only one UK Airline - BA? Most ASA's are based on reciprocity - an equal number of airlines from each side - so, unless another carrier has the rights (didn't European Aviation get the rights when they were supposed to be operating a B747 for Global Spirit), it should be straightforward to add UKIA? Especially as EMA is a regional airport which fall outside restrictions, which i believe are aimed at LON airports.

[ATNotts]

Maybe - but Pakistan is not exactly a liberal democracy, and will surely do it's level best to hinder any competition to PIA in the regions.

We'll have to wait and see.

But in any event UKIA seem to have spent a lot of cash thus far, and earned little, if no money in return. Given the more difficult global financial situation that exists now, I would have though their bankers would be looking for some pretty concrete assurances that their loans (and I feel sure banks will have loaned at least some cash) are safe.

[newscaster]

BMI interested in flying to Lahore and Virgin too keen on serving Pakistan according to Pakistani officials, but PIA plan to keep them out with sinister plans, BA too may resume Karachi.

[The Real Slim Shady]

The market for Karachi is pretty poor compared to Islamabad and Lahore. If BA go back it would be to ISB more than likely, not KHI.

[BYALPHAINDIA]

What's so appealing about ISB??:rolleyes:

[The Real Slim Shady]

The majority of Pakistanis in the UK come from either Kashmir ( ISB ) or the Punjab ( Lahore). There aren't so many from Sindh region (KHI).

[Matterhorn]

Somebody tells me that Astraeus has traffic rights to Pakistan

[SAM-EMA]

UK International Airlines publishes its Flight Schedule.


UK International Airlines has published its flight Schedule. Flights start from East Midlands Airport Derby/Nottingham on Friday 19th October, 2007 for Sharjah (UAE) and Islamabad (Pakistan).

Initially there will be 2 weekly round trips starting on Tuesdays and Fridays. From 7th December 2007 these will increase to 3 weekly trips, Inshallah.

[UFGBOY]

All very nice but have they got traffic rights yet?

[ATNotts]

In my book, a schedule suggest days of operation, arrival and departure times, and flight numbers.

I'm struggling to find any of these fairly vital components on their website - or am I just blind?

And, how exactly are they going to make any sort of money with such short lead times - after all it's just three weeks until the first scheduled flight is supposed to leave EMA?

I'm sorry, but apart from actually having an aircraft in their colours, at their base airport, I can some fairly striking similarities with a certain FlyBlu, and subsequently FlyWho at an airport 40 miles from EMA.

[jetstream7]

As UKIA are advertising G CECU as being available for wetlease, perhaps they aren't too confident of the October 19th start....?

[JulietNovemberPapa]

August 2007 pax stats:

LHR-ISB: 18,120 – reduction of 9% over August 2006
LHR-KHI: 7037 – increase of 18% over August 2006
LHR-LHE: 8095 – decrease of 15% over August 2006

BHX-ISB: 8,948 – increase of 26% over August 2006

MAN-ISB: 21,336 – increase of 30% over August 2006
MAN-KHI: 1,991 – decrease of 45% over August 2006
MAN-LHE: 5,998 – increase of 99% over August 2006

Total for LHR/BHX/MAN-ISB: 48,404
Total for LHR/MAN-KHI: 9,028
Total for LHR/MAN-LHE: 14,093

[magicmorris]

So far, thereis no information on the EMA website about UKIA, I cant see them doing the first flight so early! And where are you meant to book tickets?

[Readability 5]

It would appear that tickets can only be booked through UKIA's appointed travel agents, of which there are only four in the UK, two in Pakistan, and one in Nepal. I understand from previous posts that they have been advertising mainly among their target market - the Asian community - lets hope that in the next three weeks they can fill enough seats to make it worthwhile. Although at the moment I agree it doesn't look promising, no doubt that is the reason they are available for wet lease.

R5.

[Hansol]

I would imagine that as a new start up handlers, airports, fuellers etc will be asking for deposits to be paid before operations can begin. You don't give new guys like this credit.

[UFGBOY]

Cannot believethey have actually entrusted gods will ¬ inshallah ¬ to the start of flights on the website!!

[owenkirk2005]

from the airlines website

UKIA's first flight from EMA to Islamabad on 19th October for just £390 return inc. all taxes.

[SAM-EMA]

The Booking section of the UKIA website is saying that the majority of the flights are full. Is this true?

SAM-EMA

[owenkirk2005]

does anyone have a link to the booking section?

thanks

[SAM-EMA]

I don't think I'm allowed to send a link, but if you go on their website and click on deals, down the left hand side their is 'ticket tracking' click on that and it opens the booking section.

(I hope this info is allowed by the mods.)

Hope this helps

SAM-EMA

[owenkirk2005]

UKIA have updated there website, and are now advertising flights and have a link on the homepage for travel agents. There are now 22 in the UK, 4 in Pakistan, and 1 in Nepal. Advert saying that prices from £390 return

[EastMids]

Poster for UKIA now in the wiindow of the Aviation hobby shop in the EMA terminal... :ooh:

It says:
* British airline with British values
* Better seat pitch than other airlines even in economy
* Good food in quality and quantity!
* No alcohol served onboard!!! :rolleyes:

Seems to be a bit of a contradiction between the first item and all the others! :p

I guess that the final point above sets the expectation in terms of their target market! :ouch:

A
PS: Second a/c apparently expected at EMA on 16th November. I'm told first a/c will then do Hajj, the second a/c will do the schedule from then on

[ATNotts]

Frankly, it matters not a jot how many travel agencies they have alledgedly signed up - they still haven't published a schedule. And as for "most of the flights being full, - come on!!?

If any flights are full I would wager they are the Hajj charters that will (hopefully) keep them afloat until they get their "scheduled airline" act together.

As I have said previously, would you give your money to an airlines like this? I certainly wouldn't; in the same way that I would not have paid a penny to FlyWho.

[Mr Angry from Purley]

ATNOTTS
UKIA have proved most folk wrong including me by getting an AOC, give them a chance. I suspect the chances of you flying on them for nothing are slim let alone paying your own money for a seat. The Haj would be an excellent way of recouping the £ for having an aircraft sitting around for 4 months or so.