Cirrus Airlines
| Company type | GmbH |
|---|---|
| Industry | Airline |
| Founded | February 1995 |
| Defunct | 20 January 2012 |
| Headquarters | Hallbergmoos , Germany |
Area served | Germany, Western and Central Europe |
| Products | Charter and scheduled passenger services |
| Parent | Aviation Investment Corp. |
Cirrus Airlines Luftfahrtgesellschaft mbH was a regional airline based in Germany, with its headquarters located in Hallbergmoos and maintenance operations conducted at Saarbrücken Airport. The airline provided both charter and scheduled services, mainly operating flights on behalf of Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines, and Air Moldova. Its primary operational bases included Saarbrücken Airport and Mannheim City Airport. The corporate motto was connecting business.
History
Established in February 1995 under the name Cirrus Luftfahrtgesellschaft mbH, the company initially specialized in executive charter flights. By March 1998, it had secured authorization to run scheduled passenger routes between Saarbrücken and Hamburg. The airline expanded its network through the 1999 acquisition of Cosmos Air, which brought Dornier 328 aircraft and the Mannheim–Berlin Tempelhof service into its portfolio. This growth continued with the takeover of Baden Air in 2000.
In February 2000, Cirrus became part of Lufthansa’s franchise system as a Team Lufthansa affiliate. It received permissions to operate scheduled flights linking Mannheim with Hamburg and Berlin with Sylt. The airline broadened its scheduled offerings mainly from Saarbrücken and Mannheim to various domestic destinations, decentralizing its operations and incorporating Embraer jets alongside its existing turboprop aircraft.
The acquisition of Augsburg Airways, a member of Lufthansa Regional, took place in 2004, prompting the relocation of Cirrus Airlines’ headquarters to Hallbergmoos near Munich Airport. Despite this move, maintenance and pilot training activities remained centered at Saarbrücken.
A rebranding initiative was launched in January 2008. Cirrus Airlines functioned under the Aviation Investment Corp. umbrella, which also included Cirrus Maintenance and Cirrus Service.
Operations were halted on 20 January 2012 when Cirrus Airlines ceased flying activities and returned its fleet to Saarbrücken. This interruption temporarily affected scheduled flights at several airports such as Hof and Mannheim City.
Destinations
The airline operated scheduled services throughout Germany as well as Western and Central Europe, serving important airports including Berlin-Tempelhof, London-City, Cologne/Bonn, and Bern.
Fleet
Over its years of operation, Cirrus Airlines maintained a varied fleet consisting of:
- 1 Airbus A310
- 1 Beechcraft Super King Air 200
- 1 Boeing 737-500
- 1 Boeing 737-800
- 8 De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8
- 19 Dornier 328 (including one transferred to École nationale d'aérotechnique)
- 8 Embraer ERJ-145
- 3 Embraer 170
Incidents and accidents
- On June 28, 2006, an Embraer 145 aircraft operating for Swiss International Air Lines went beyond the runway limits at Nuremberg. None of the 49 passengers and crew were injured.
- On March 19, 2008, Flight 1567 from Berlin-Tempelhof overran runway 27 at Mannheim City Airport, resulting in injuries to five out of the 27 passengers aboard. The involved Dornier 328 (registration D-CTOB) suffered substantial damage.