SkyWork Airlines
| Industry | Airline |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1983 |
| Defunct | 29 August 2018 |
| Fate | Filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations |
| Headquarters | Belp , Switzerland |
Area served | Europe |
| Products | Scheduled flights, charter services |
| Website | flyskywork |
SkyWork Airlines was a Swiss airline headquartered in Belp, near Bern, primarily offering scheduled flights across Europe along with additional summer charter services. The company filed for bankruptcy and halted all operations on 29 August 2018.
Growth and Changes
Initially stationed at the north terminal of Bern Airport in Belp, SkyWork retired its trio of Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft by October 2014, transferring them to Air Berlin. That same month, the airline relocated its London route from London City Airport to London Southend Airport. By April 2015, the frequency of London flights was reduced from twelve to nine round trips per week. Starting July 2015, SkyWork reinstated service to London City Airport by incorporating a stopover at EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg. In 2016, the airline introduced flights connecting Bern with Usedom via Basel.
In November 2015, SkyWork terminated its ACMI agreement with Darwin Airline and ceased London-Southend operations due to capacity constraints. Simultaneously, the airline announced plans to phase out its Dornier 328-110 fleet by autumn 2017, replacing these aircraft with Saab 2000 models. October 2016 saw SkyWork establish an interline partnership with Air France-KLM, enabling connections from Bern through Amsterdam to their worldwide network.
By October 2017, SkyWork abandoned intentions to expand scheduled services from Sion Airport aimed at ski tourism markets due to insufficient demand and also discontinued Basel–London City routes.
Closure
On 16 October 2017, the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (BAZL) announced it would revoke SkyWork's air operator's certificate after October if the airline failed to secure adequate financing for the forthcoming winter timetable. As the renewal of the license was postponed until the conclusion of the summer schedule, SkyWork canceled all flights on the initial day of the winter schedule, 29 October 2017. The suspension of services continued through 31 October as no investor had been secured to sustain operations. It became apparent that maintaining base activities solely at Bern Airport was not economically feasible. Meanwhile, competitor Adria Airways declared intentions to assume some metropolitan routes should SkyWork cease functioning.
On 29 August 2018, following unsuccessful investor negotiations, SkyWork Airlines filed for bankruptcy, ceased all flight operations, and returned its operating license to regulatory authorities.
Destinations
SkyWork Airlines operated scheduled services connecting Western European cities and seasonal holiday destinations in Southern Europe from its base in Bern, supplemented by a limited summer seasonal presence in Basel.
Fleet
As of August 2018, SkyWork’s fleet consisted of:[1]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passenger capacity[1] | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embraer 170 | — | 1 | 80 | Planned acquisition during 2018[2] |
| Saab 2000 | 6 | — | 50 | |
| Total | 6 | 1 | ||
In earlier years, SkyWork operated Dornier 328-110 aircraft but phased them out in favor of larger Saab 2000 planes by early 2018.
External links
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 flyskywork.com - "For you in service" (German) retrieved 9 May 2018
- ↑ ch-aviation.com - Switzerland's SkyWork to add first E170 in late-1Q18 16 January 2018