19 February 2003: bankruptcy of AirLib and transfer
from Airliner main page to this page. DC10 in AirLib Express colours 12 December 2002: bankruptcy of Delsey Airlines and transfer from Airliner
main page to this page 9 September 2002: VG Airlines changed to Delsey Airlines 27-31 May 2002: Sabena A340, A330, B747. 20 April 2002: creation of this part on former airlines. Several TWA
757s. Crossair MD82 and ARJ100. 22 November 2001: text on bankruptcy of Sabena, Swissair and several
other airlines.
My main site was becoming too big. I split
it in two, and this part features only planes from airlines that have disappeared,
mainly because of bankruptcy. My site concentrates on 5 countries with
which I have a special relation:
France (a country where I lived from 1993 to 1998)
You can order books related to commercial aviation at the following site:
Belgium
2001 was a sad year for Belgian airlines, with the bankruptcies of two
of its largest airlines: the flag carrier Sabena and the charter company
City Bird. This came after the bankruptcy of charter company Constellation
International and after British operator Airtours terminated the existence
of its charter subsidiary Air Belgium. In 2002, an effort was made to revive
a transatlantic airline (Delsey), but this also collapsed a few months later.
Sabena Belgian World Airlines were Belgium's flag carrier. Sabena was declared
in bankruptcy on 7 November 2001, after being compelled by its shareholder
Swissair to purchase a total of 34 aircraft from Airbus, i.e. 28 for the
replacement of the 13 Boeing 737-200 and the 15 Boeing 737-300, -400, -500
and 6 additional aircraft in order to develop Sabena's European network.
More specifically, this involved 26 A319, 5 A320 and 3 A321. This was the
greatest, albeit the last, aircraft order in the history of Sabena. The
delivery of the aircraft started in January 1999. Sabena's long-haul fleet
expanded as well. Together, these decisions brought Sabena's long-haul
fleet to a total of 13 Airbus in the year 2000: 4 A340 and 9 A330. On 30
June 2000, the Sabena fleet consisted of 6 A330-200, 4 A330-300, 2 A340-200,
2 A340-300, 2MD-11, 8 A319, 2 A320, 3 A321, 17 B737, 6 BAe146, 14 Avro
RJ85 and 12 Avro RJ100.
Airbus A330-300 (18k). The
A330 aircraft have a range of 8900 km. They are fitted out with 50 business
and 218 economy seats. They were initially flying Sabena's West African routes: Abidjan,
Banjul, Conakry, Nouakchott, Dakar, Ouagadougou, Lomé and Bamako.
The picture shows one of the three A330 arriving at the gate, where two
of the Sabena A340 are also parked. Later, they also flew to North America:
OO-SFS on final approach at Dorval
International Airport in Montreal (Felix Sieder - 41k)
Airbus A 340: the Belgian national carrier operated four Airbus
340. In cloudy sky (21k). Photo
2 (15k). Photo 3 (110k). A340-300
OO-SCZ taking off from Brussels National (Luís
Padrão - 39k). The same
plane as Flight SN
554 from New York approaching runway 25L in Brussels (Staffan Hardie
on Airliners.Net - 32k).
This picture shows the new A330
and A340 together at Brussels airport (15k).
Boeing 747-300 at gate in
Brussels, used on routes to North America and South Africa until late 1999
(47k). OO-SGD taking off at Palma de Mallorca
(Toni Marimon - 37k).
Boeing 727 of South African
company Nationwide Air, used by Sabena in code-share on domestic
South African connecting routes until the end of 2000 (51k)
To celebrate the airline's 75th birthday in 1998, Sabena had a new RJ100 jet painted in a special
celebration livery. The aircraft hull depicts 50 Sabena "S" logos, painted
in five colours and three sizes (45k).
In December 1998, Sabena introduced a remarkable new
colour scheme. The tail is painted blue, with a large 'open' Sabena
logo in white. The engines are completely painted blue as well, and the
'Sabena' lettering on the side is more visible than before. The wingtips
show the 'Bird of Heaven', painted for Sabena by René Margritte.
The blue colour is darker than the previous 'Sabena blue', and it refers
to the 'qualiflyer' group. Other picture.
What happens to old airliners? They are sold to third world countries:
here is the Boeing 737-200
OO-SDR sold by Sabena to Kampuchea Airlines. It kept its Belgian registration...
(27k)
A Belgian charter operator, acquired by the British company Airtours, which
forced it to stop activities. Before ceasing operations, Air Belgium operated
1 B737-400 and 2 A320s.
Boeing 737 (8k) painted in
the 1998 corporate identity of the company
On 27 March 1997, a brand new airline took to the sky from Brussels Airport.
City Bird, a Belgian airline, was operating McDonnell Douglas MD11 and
Boeing 767 aircraft on transatlantic routes. City Bird converted to charter
routes from Brussels to North America and the Carribean, and later added
European destinations served by Boeings 737 Next Generation planes.
In April 1999, for one year, City Bird flew the Luxembourg-New York (Newark)
route on behalf of Luxair with a Boeing
767-300 ER long-range aircraft. From May 1999 to January 2000,
City Bird briefly operated a weekly flight from Brussels to Kinshasa on
behalf of LAC (Lignes Aériennes Congolaises). Other photograph of
B767-300
ER by C Borda (88k).
On 22 July 1999, City Bird, added a new component to its range of activities.
City Bird took delivery of this brand new Airbus
A300-600R (19k) full-cargo aircraft, first of a series of two.
With its capacity of 15 cargo pallets on the main deck and 23 LD3 containers
on the lower deck, this aircraft is dedicated to freight transport to airports
in West Africa and the Middle East.
Two Boeing 737-400 (27k)
were added to the fleet on 1 March 2000 and two Boeing 737-800 were delivered
in 2001. City Bird was the first Belgian airline to operate the next-generation
737-800. These aircraft enabled City Bird to launch new short-haul activities
within Europe and the Mediterranean region. The two Boeing 737-400 are
fitted out with 168 full economy seats.
MD11 registered as OO-CTB (green
livery), taking off at Brussels (17k); second
image (38k), third photo by Peter Frei (123k).
A leased MD11 taking off at Brussels (15k);
the same at gate in Brussels
(8k) (white livery). The tails of
the 2 MD11 aircraft (white and green) at Brussels airport (53k). Final
destination of OO-CTC in
Sabena colours: the parking of Victorville in California (Michael Carter -
53k)
Constellation International
A Belgian charter operator, now bankrupt. Constellation operated 2 A320's.
The airline started operating on 20 May 2002 with flights from Brussels
to New York under the name VG Airilnes. Later, Boston, Los Angeles and ...
Yerevan (Armenia) were added to the network. The fleet was composed of 3
Airbus A330-200 (ex-Sabena: OO-SFQ, SFR, SFS) equipped with PW-4000 engines.
Cabin arrangement accommodated 42 business seats and 187 economy seats. The
name was changed to Delsey Airlines in August 2002: the airline was indeed
owned by the manufacturer of Delsey luggage. the airline went bankrupt in
November of the same year.
On 14 March 2002, the
first airplane of the VG Airlines fleet, painted in the livery of the
company landed in Brussels. The plane registered under the number OO-SFQ had
taken off after leaving the paint shop from Châteauroux in France for a two
hours acceptance flight.
2001/2002 was a sad year for Swiss airlines, with the bankruptcies of two
of its major airlines: the flag carrier Swissair and the regionl airline
SwissWings. This came after the bankruptcy of Swiss World Airways in 1998.
The national airline of Switzerland was known for the quality of its service.
However, excessive debts due to bad acquisitions forced its demise at the
end of 2001. Many of its routes have been taken over by its former subsidiary
Crossair, renamed Swiss.
Airbus A319:drawing (5k).
HB-IPR by Peter Frei (131k)
Airbus A320 (20k). Another
A320 landing amid flowered fields at Zürich
Airport (40k)
Airbus A330-200 landing (43k): a photo
by Peter Frei (100k)
McDonnell Douglas MD11:in clear
sky (11k). Take-off HB-IWU in Zürich
by Peter Frei (128k)
The new Swiss Romande long-haul airline went bankrupt in 1998, two months
after starting daily flights from Geneva to Newark.
Here are photographs of its only B767 taken at Geneva airport:
1
(13k), 2 (21k),
3
(20k).
A regional airline, formerly owned in part by Swissair. It has been renamed Swiss
Air Lines (Swiss for short) and it has taken over a major part of Swissair routes.
Also operates charter flights with MD80 aircraft. The present pictures are all
in the Crossair livery.
MD-82 (55k). Used for charter
flights. HB-INR in the last colours (P Frei
- 97k)
MD-83, dubbed McPlane and
painted in the colors of McDonalds. Used for charter flights to sunny spots.
McDonald's food is served on board (70k). Thanks to R. Olsson! Second photo (19k).
Boeing 757 in clear sky
(42k). N711ZX
at Baltimore (Airliner Net). N701TW
at LAS (Airliner Net). N709TW at
Baltimore (Rams paint
scheme)(Airliner Net). The
same at New Orleans
(Airliner Net).
Boeing 707, TWA's last one,
at Miami, photo from Airliners Net (126k)
USAir B-757 waiting for takeoff at Los Angeles airport while a TWA L-1011
nears touchdown on the parallel runway. Photo taken by Ralph
Olson of Flying Images in June 1994 (71k).
Combining the beauty of flight with the constant splendor of Mt. Rainier,
a TWA Boeing 767 nears the
end of its journey at Seattle, Washington. Photo taken by Flying Images
photographer Turk Apps (68k).
Nostalgy: Two superb oil paintings
by Ron Sandberg, representing old TWA
planes (77k) and more recent planes
(74k). Thanks to Ralph Olson.
Other US Airlines
Nostalgy: A superb oil paintings by
Ron Sandberg, representing Pan Am's
last Clipper (80k)(courtesy of Ralph Olson)
AirLib resulted from the merger of AOM and Air Liberté in September
2001. Until then, it was part of the defunct Swissair group. It collapsed itself
in February 2003.
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Trans World Airlines
Last updated on 15 February 2008