Cimber Sterling

Cimber Sterling
IATA ICAO Callsign
QI CIM CIMBER
Founded 1950 (as Cimber Air)
Ceased operations 2012
Operating bases Aalborg
Billund
Copenhagen
Frequent-flyer program EuroBonus
Airport lounge Scandinavian Lounge
Fleet size 7
Destinations 53
Parent company Mansvell Enterprises
Headquarters Sønderborg, Sønderborg Municipality, Denmark
Key people Jan Palmer (CEO)
Jacob Krogsgaard (deputy CEO, CCO
Martins Antonovics (deputy CEO, CFO)
Gregory Gurtovoy (Chairman)
Website www.cimber.com

Cimber Sterling A/S, also known as Cimber Air and styled as Cimber Sterling, was a Danish airline based in Sønderborg, Sønderborg Municipality, Denmark,[1] operating scheduled domestic and international services in co-operation with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and Lufthansa. Its main bases were Copenhagen Airport and Billund Airport, with a smaller base at Aalborg Airport.[2] The airline filed for bankruptcy on 3 May 2012.[3][4]

History

Cimber Air De Havilland Dove at Hanover Airport in 1970
A VFW-Fokker 614 at Groningen Airport in 1977

The airline was established on 1 August 1950 and started operations in 1950. It was founded by the late Captain Ingolf Nielsen. Its first aircraft was a single engine SAI KZ III, call sign OY-DMO which had been used for flights primarily between Sønderborg and Copenhagen. In 1969 the airline took delivery of an eight-seat De Havilland Dove twin-engine light airliner.

Cimber Air was one of the very few operators of the VFW-Fokker 614 regional jet. It also operated Nord 262 and Grumman Gulfstream I turboprop aircraft on its scheduled services. Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) purchased 26% of Cimber Air in May 1998 and expanded its codeshare agreement. In March 2003, SAS sold the stake back to Cimber Air Holding.

On 3 December 2008 Cimber Air bought parts of Sterling Airlines, which had filed for bankruptcy on 29 October 2008. The new airline, which was named Cimber-Sterling, was created on 7 January 2009. Cimber bought the AOC (Air Operators Certificate), slots, brand and website (www.sterling.com and other domains). Aircraft leases were negotiatied with the owners. Employees of the former Sterling Airlines was not part of the takeover, but were welcome to seek employment in the new airline.

Cimber Sterling was originally wholly owned by Cimber Air Holding (Nielsen family) and had 368 employees (at March 2007).[2] It was listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in 2009.[5] In 2011, due to financial difficulties[6] Cimber Sterling entered into a subscription agreement with Mansvell Enterprises Ltd, which gave Ukrainian billionaire Ihor Kolomoyskyi a stake of 70.8%.[7][8]

On the morning of 3 May 2012, Cimber Sterling cancelled all flights and declared bankruptcy.[3][9] Within hours, other airlines announced their entry on selected routes.[3]

Cimber Sterling was the main sponsor of the Danish handball team in 2009 and 2010.[10]

Destinations

Boeing 737-7L9
Cimber Air ATR 72-500

Fleet

The Cimber Sterling fleet included the following aircraft (as of 11 December 2013):[11]

Cimber Sterling fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
ATR 72-200 2 68
Bombardier CRJ-200 5 0 50
Total 7 0

References

  1. ↑ "Contact." Cimber Sterling. Retrieved on 19 January 2010. "Cimber Sterling A/S Lufthavnsvej 2 6400 Soenderborg Denmark"
  2. 1 2 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 66.
  3. 1 2 3 "Cimber Sterling's bankruptcy: routes quickly taken over". anna.aero. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  4. ↑ "Cimber Sterling has filed for bankruptcy". Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-Cimber Sterling slashes outlook again, shares drop". Reuters. 24 February 2010.
  6. ↑ http://epn.dk/brancher/transport/luft/article2483527.ece
  7. ↑ http://investor.cimber.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=589498
  8. ↑ Fraende, Metet (2011-07-07). "Cimber Sterling gets 165 mln DKK lifeline". Reuters. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
  9. ↑ http://nordicflights.co.uk/cimber-sterling-airline-bankrupt/
  10. ↑ http://spn.dk/handbold/article2078744.ece
  11. ↑ Cimber Sterling fleet list at ch-aviation.ch. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
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