Air Slovakia is an airline based in Bratislava in Slovakia. It operates scheduled passenger flights from Bratislava to the Middle East and charter flights to holiday resorts in Greece and Spain, as well as to Varna and Bourgas in Bulgaria. Its main base is M. R. Štefánik Airport (BTS), Bratislava. A Boeing 747-400 of Virgin Atlantic Airways An airline provides air transport services for passengers or freight. ... Bratislava (see below for name alternatives), is the capital of Slovakia and the countrys largest city, with a population of some 450,000. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Varna (Bulgarian: ) is the the largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, and 92nd-largest in the European Union, with a population of 357,281 ([1]). Varna, commonly referred to as the marine capital of Bulgaria, is a primary tourist destination... Burgas (or Bourgas, Bulgarian: Бургас) is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. ... Milan Rastislav Å tefánik Airport (Slovak: Letisko Milana Rastislava Å tefánika) (IATA: BTS, ICAO: LZIB), also called - especially in English - Bratislava Airport (Slovak: Letisko Bratislava), in Bratislava is the main international airport of Slovakia. ...

Code Data

• IATA Code: GM
• ICAO Code: SVK
• Callsign: SLOVAKIA ^[1]

The International Air Transport Association is an international trade organisation of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations, develops the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. ... Most airlines employ a distinctive and internationally recognised call sign that is normally spoken during airband radio transmissions as a prefix to the flight number. ...

History

The airline was established on 2 June 1993 with the name of Air Terrex Slovakia and started operations on 1 July 1993. This became Air Terrex after the separation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The main aim was to fill the gap in Slovak aviation left by the departure of CSA. The first regular scheduled flight was Bratislava to Tel Aviv started in January 1994. The name Air Slovakia was adopted in 1995. Originally Boeing 727 aircraft were in the fleet.They were later replaced by more modern Boeing 737 - 200 and since 2003 Boeing 757 - 200 were part of the fleet. June 2 is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Czech Airlines (in Czech: České aerolinie (abbreviation: ČSA)) is the Czech national airline company, and former carrier of Czechoslovakia based at Ruzyně International Airport, Prague. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, single-aisle (narrow-body) commercial jet airliner. ...

Purchase

The airline was purchased by Indian businessman Harjinder Singh Sidhu in October 2006 ^[2] Harjinder Singh Sidhu, the Sikh businessman who has quietly amassed a fortune in London’s East End. According to The Sunday Times "This month, Sidhu, 56, took control of ailing Air Slovakia, and will inject $30m (£16m) into it over the next three years to buy aircraft, develop new routes and promote it as the flag carrier of the world’s widely travelled Sikhs and Punjabis. Why would they want to travel via Bratislava? It is well connected to the rest of Europe by Ryanair and others, to Vienna, to Germany. Customers pay £20 for a ticket to Bratislava and then get a direct flight to Amritsar for £200-£300 return, he said. Sidhu argues that Britain’s 500,000 Sikhs and Punjabis will gladly make the detour to travel home via Slovakia if they can enjoy the comfort of Punjabi food, music and films and be served by Punjabi flight attendants.He is planning new flights to Delhi, Goa and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, new European destinations and a code-sharing deal with a leading Indian domestic airline. Sidhu said his acquisition of Air Slovakia was a boyhood dream come true and highlighted how far he had risen since he arrived in London as a 16-year-old from Patiala in the Punjab. As a kid I always dreamt of owning an airline. When that dream comes true, you don’t want to mess up the chance.He began as a cashier in a Russian-owned petrol station in Ilford and within nine months had started to buy out his bosses.I built up to 35 stations and then sold some to Burmah and Shell. Now I’m in the wholesale petrol business, he said. Sidhu invested his gains in aviation, travel and commercial property and has built up a portfolio of assets in Canada, America and India, as well as Britain, worth more than £40m. Last December he was appointed general sales agent for Air Slovakia in Italy, India and Britain and within three months was effectively controlling the company. In February they had a financial setback — one of their planes was hit by a bird and damaged. They didn’t have enough money to replace it. I injected $2m in February and got them out of the problem. In March, as a payback, they made me a financial director, he said. Later he struck a deal to become the proud owner of a company with turnover of $30m. I won’t borrow money. I have enough to back my plans, said Sidhu. “I should have gone on the rich list a long time ago, but I stopped it. I don’t want to say what I’m worth. I want to keep it under wraps and not have the taxman on me. My kids are good, intelligent kids. They are my wealth — in that sense I’m rich. God looks after me." ^[3] A Sikh (IPA: or ; Punjabi: , , IPA: ) is an adherent of Sikhism. ... Inhabitants according to official census figures: 1800 to 2005 Vienna in 1858 Vienna (German: Wien ) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... Amritsar (Punjabi: ), meaning Pool of the Nectar of Immortality, is the administrative headquarter of the Amritsar District in Punjab, India. ... Patiala is a city in the Punjab state of India. ... This article is about the Indian state of Punjab. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from...

Services

• Air Slovakia operates scheduled services (at February 2007) from Bratislava to Kuwait City, Larnaca and Tel Aviv.

• Charter services were in Summer 2006 operated to Egypt (from Bratislava to Hurghada, Sharm el Sheik and from Košice to Hurghada), Greece (from Bratislava to Kavala, Heraklion, Rhodos and from Brno to Heraklion and Rhodos) and Tunisia (from Bratislava to Monastir and Tabarka).

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD (or CE) era. ... Bratislava (see below for name alternatives), is the capital of Slovakia and the countrys largest city, with a population of some 450,000. ... Kuwait City Kuwait City (also Al-Kuwait - الكويت), population 32,403 (2005 Census), is the capital of the emirate of Kuwait and part of the Al-Asimah governorate. ... Larnaca, or Larnaka (also colloquially Skala or Iskele), is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ...

Fleet

The Air Slovakia fleet consists of the following aircraft (at December 2006) ^[4]: 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• 2 Boeing 757-200 OM - ASA, OM - ASB
• 1 Boeing 737-200 OM - RAN

Previously used aircraft: American Airlines Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is a medium-range transcontinental commercial passenger airplane manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. ... The Boeing 737 is the worlds most popular medium-range, narrowbody commercial passenger jet aircraft. ...

• Boeing 727 - 200 (OM-AHK, CHD)
• Boeing 737 - 200 (OM-BWJ, ERA, ALK)
• Boeing 757 - 200 (OM-DGK, SNA)

Note: New Italian carrier VoliAmo operates charter and cargo flights under Air Slovakia'a AOC.

External links

• Air Slovakia
• Air Slovakia Fleet
• Air Slovakia Passenger Opinions

References

1. ^ Airline Codes
2. ^ BBC, U.K., "Fly Air Slovakia for Punjabi experience " 13 October 2006
3. ^ The Sunday TImes, U.K., "Air Slovakia ... the Sikh airline" 22 October 2006
4. ^ Flight International, 3-9 October 2006