Start-up: Maastricht Airlines

[Limburg]

A new F50 start-up based in Maastricht (MST/EHBK) is planning to initially operate into Amsterdam, Berlin Schönefeld, Munich, and Paris CDG. An actual start of flying would mean the return of domestic flights in the Netherlands after KLM Cityhopper quit the route in 2008.

Maastricht Airlines (http://maastricht-airlines.nl/gb_en/pages)

[davidjohnson6]

Are they an airline flying passengers in their own name, or technically just a travel agency outsourcing the flying to another company ?

[Limburg]

Flying passengers in their own name!
a brand new scheduled airline with aircraft based in Maastricht Aachen Airport, the Netherlands. Maastricht Airlines is committed to serve the province with daily schedules to different destinations both domestic and international.

It's an idea of Hamid Kerboua (Founder of Denim Air, owner of K'air leasing company which already owns F50s)
Hamid Kerboua | LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/hamid-kerboua/28/951/825)
K'AIR - Spanning the world to exceed your aviation expectations (http://www.k-air.nl/about.php)

[serko]

unless they have interline arrangements to transfer passengers I can's see Amsterdam working it's less than 2 1/2 hours by direct train and less than €25 for a ticket.

[Limburg]

unless they have interline arrangements to transfer passengers I can's see Amsterdam working it's less than 2 1/2 hours by direct train and less than €25 for a ticket.
They claim:
Collaboration with more than 30 airlines for the best transfers

[Gulliver77]

If they would have an agreement with Star Alliance you automatically would get collaboration with 30 airlines...

[serko]

they'd probably need an agreement with Skyteam, or at least Airfance/KLM if they are planning on operating to Amsterdam and Paris.

[Phileas Fogg]

A stupid name, only so many workable routes can be operated in/out of MST before, to expand, they might commence routes out of, let us say, Eindhoven, Liege, Groningen, Rotterdam etc. and then such an identity as "Maastricht Airlines" would seem out of place.

[planenut321]

Air Berlin? Pretty sure they operate outside of Berlin...

Passengers don't care what the airline is called.. as long as it is cheap and gets them from A to B when they want...

[clareview]

Also don't forget we had Air Bristol and Air Belfast from an airline based elsewhere in the past and of course Manx Airlines with a Cardiff base and then there was Jersey European with a base in Belfast

[Phileas Fogg]

Take a wild guess as to why Jersey European changed their identity to British European? :)

[MikeMeister]

I agree that "Maastricht Airlines" is a name that required only minimal thinking. With Kerboua as CEO ("Denim Air"), one would think that a less regional and more creative name could be devised. I am sure that local financial backing is in place and maybe these investors wanted a regional name. The abbreviation "MAL" stands for "Stupid" and "Strange" in the Dutch language, not the most brilliant start for an airline.

Back in the Air Exel days, the MST-AMS schedule was served 4 times daily (maybe even 5 times) but the world has changed since then.
Regular customers are all gone and have found suitable alternatives to travel, the A2-highway was improved significantly lowering traveltimes to less than 2 hours (one way) and for those who have't paid attention, we are in the middle of a financial crisis. Iberia just stopped flying AMS-MAD (one of the oldest scheduled services) simply because nobody travels anymore (on Iberia).

I wish them all the best but I am sure they will have a difficult start and Kerboua is known for leaving behind grounded airlines (Denim Air, Amsterdam Airlines). He may be looked at with a fair amount of scepticism.

Anyone out there with the names of the rest of the postholders ?
I wonder who was hired as Chief Pilot, Chief of Training, Quality Manager, Operations Manager etc.......

[Limburg]

A press conference is planned for the 13th. Seems that it is getting serious!

[BDKLEZ]

So far so good as far as Maastricht Airlines are concerned and it appears that they'ere as good as up and running with flights already bookable.

Maastricht Airlines (http://www.maastricht-airlines.com/en/)

....this being confirmed by the press release on the official MAA website...

Maastricht-Aachen Airport (http://www.maa.nl/en-us/about/news/article:15-01-2013-maastricht-airlines-now-open-for-bookings)-

Given the current financial crisis the world is in, and given that the train service is direct to Amsterdam in 2h 30m and to Schiphol in 2h 35m (albeit with a fairly painless stopover in Sittard) I would suggest that they get their interlining agreements in place asap because I just don't see point-to-point working.

My heart however would love to see it work given the distinct lack of any progress on the much eluded to high-speed train service to this part of the world over the last few years. As a very regular user of the Dutch railways (NS), I am often left perplexed at the continual "works on the line" story, particularly at the weekends and this could be to the new start-up's benefit.

[BDKLEZ]

Hmmmm, this doesn't bode well at all......

Delay of operations | Maastricht Airlines (http://www.maastricht-airlines.com/en/uitstel-vluchten/)

[Limburg]

Delay during C-check of 1st aircraft, without a first aircraft an airline cannot obtain an AOC. Bad luck, but nothing serious!

[BDKLEZ]

This looks familiar....

Delay of operations | Maastricht Airlines (http://www.maastricht-airlines.com/en/uitstel-vluchten/)

Ah well, it looks like at this stage we'll be lucky if this outfit ever makes it off the ground at all. Need an F50? To the best of my knowledge there's a Denim a/c over at SAMCO which could be utilised, or others with a lead time of 1-2 weeks if the intention to start operating was ever serious. This second postponement will surely not encourage any further confidence from the general public and business community alike and I feel sorry for the staff employed given the increasing uncertainty.

I wished it all the best of luck (...and I still do), but I won't let my heart overrule my head in this instance.

[Hotel Tango]

They need to get the show on the road ASAP whatever it takes. Two well publicised postponements is not doing much for consumer confidence. I have a niggling feeling that they may have reached the start of the end before reaching the end of the beginning! Do hope I'm wrong though.

[BDKLEZ]

Am guessing that at this stage we can consider this as dead as a dodo, can anyone confirm or otherwise?

[NickBarnes]

It was declared bankrupt on 4 June 2013, so yes very much a dead dodo:ok:

[RAT 5]

Air Exel tried it in competition with City Hopper, and then as a franchise of KLM. They disappeared. Denim? Did that not amalgamate with VLM and was that not swallowed by KLM as well. So just what market does Air MST think is there for it; with F50's?

[MikeMeister]

Air Exel did not operate in competition with KLM Cityhopper. Air Exel had great load factors, specially to Amsterdam and London.
The purchase/lease of Embraer 145's killed them.

Anyway to get back on subject, Maastricht Airport will be de-privatised on May 16th. The Province of Limburg will take over and a lot of lobbying is going on to re-instate the Amsterdam service. Mainly pressure from local businesses.

The airline's CEO is around a lot to talk to the province, I guess hawkeyeing possible subsidies to give a local airline another try.
I don't know how serious he is taken, let's just wait and see !