Cyprus Airways
Cyprus Airways, the national carrier of Cyprus, was founded on September 24, 1947.
The airline achieved lift-off with three 21-seater Douglas Dakota aircraft. Cyprus Airways operated from the airport that had been established in Nicosia. In those pioneering days the new national carrier provided services to Athens, London, Beirut, Cairo, Haifa, Istanbul, Alexandria and Rome.
Over the next three years the fleet doubled in size with the addition of another three Dakotas. The network in the meantime had encompassed another six destinations, Khartoum via Wadi Halfa, Kuwait, Bahrain, Baghdad, Lydda and Amman.
By 1952, the Dakota were proving inadequate for the Nicosia – London service, so agreement was reached with BEA to operate the newly-delivered Airspeed Ambassador. The relative comfort and increased performance of the pressurised Ambassador allowed a streamlining of the route, rendering the stopover at Athens unnecessary.
On April 18, 1953, Vickers Viscount 701 G-AMNY inaugurated the world’s first regular turboprop service, flying London to Nicosia, via Rome and Athens, the Athens-Nicosia sector being operated as a Cyprus Airways flight.
In 1960, Cyprus was declared an independent republic, and the new Cypriot government became the major shareholder in the airline.
Significantly, Cypriot flight crews were gradually introduced onto Cyprus Airways flights and, BEA introduced the DH Comet 4B onto the BEA/Cyprus Airways service when it inaugurated a return London-Nicosia- Tel Aviv flight.
By 1965, the company’s financial situation had noticeably improved, and they began “going it alone”, two Viscount 806s being leased from BEA for the local routes to Beirut, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Cairo, while the Comets continued with the Nicosia-Athens-Rome-London route.
For the first time, the full Cyprus Airways livery of a winged “Mouflon”, the native mountain goat, appeared on the Viscounts, the emblem becoming the landmark of the airline.
During 1968, BEA began phasing out Comets in favour of Trident 2Es, and, with expansion in mind, Cyprus Airways placed the first overseas order for two of the new triple-engined jets. With this delivery, the BEA Viscounts were returned. Two ex-Kuwaiti Trident 1 Ws joined the fleet in March and April 1973, followed by a leased BAC 1-11 518 in May 1974.
With the introduction of the faster Trident, revised services included Nicosia-London direct, a new Nicosia-Frankfurt service and Manchester, Brussels and Paris being added to the expanding European network.
At the height of the tourist season, on July 20, 1974, Turkey launched an invasion of the northern part of the island. As Nicosia airport came under UN control, Cyprus Airways counted the cost – one Trident destroyed, one Trident crippled, and the remainder of the fleet interned; Cyprus Airways effectively became an airline with no aircraft and no base. The government hastily began developing a disused airstrip on the Larnaca coast. By February 1975, enough runway and prefab buildings were ready, and operations started with two Viscount 813s leased from British Midland Airways, joined by two more by June. Re-established routes were to Beirut, Tel Aviv and Athens by Heraklion, linking British Airways flights to London. By February 1977, a total of eight Viscounts came and went on short-term leases from British Midland, and later, Alidair, forming the backbone of local operations.
Meanwhile, in August 1975, two DC-9 – 15s were leased from Douglas, to operate the all-important London route, via Salonika, until superseded in April 1976 by a DC-8-52, for a non-stop service. Also, in late 1976 and with improving finances, Cyprus Airways placed an order for two new One-Eleven 537s for delivery in late 1977 and early 1978.
February 1979 saw delivery of Cyprus Airways’ first two purchased ex-American Airlines Boeing 707-123 Bs, to be joined by three more, and the return of its last leased 720. At the beginning of the new decade, the fleet comprised four Boeing 707-123Bs, three One-Eleven 537s and the leased CL-44. New routes were direct Manchester, Dusseldorf, Munich, Heraklion, Abu Dhabi, and Baghdad.
In assessing future needs, the company recognized that widebody operations would be the profitable way forward, so orders were placed for two Airbus A310-203s, which were delivered in February and March 1984. At about the same time, Cyprus Airways placed an order for four A320-231s, with options on a further four, all powered by the IAE V2500 turbofans, with delivery from 1989. Two more A310s were delivered in March 1985 and February 1989. With the continuing upward trend in passengers and destinations, the option for four additional A320s was exercised; the first two of eight aircraft arrived in May 1989, and the final aircraft in March 1993.
In June 1991, Cyprus Airways unveiled its new corporate livery and redesigned interiors for the aircraft, new staff uniforms, and the naming of the aircraft after ancient towns and Kings. Operations included the addition of Berlin, Brussels and Helsinki to the route structure.
In March 1992, Cyprus Airways launched Eurocypria, a 100% owned subsidiary charter airline, to compete with the numerous European charter operators. Cyprus Airways Group also expanded into other related fields and took over the management of the Duty Free Shops at both Larnaca and Pafos International Airports (1994).
Taking full advantage of technological developments in the airline industry, the “Archimedes” system was installed, in 1999. This system provided the Company with maximum capacity for technological upgrading and a fully computerized environment, and made it one of the most advanced international airlines in this field.
The turn of the century celebrated a new style and look for the uniforms of in flight and ground personnel of Cyprus Airways and Eurocypria, featuring the company’s dominant colours, blue and yellow. Big plans were well into effect as decisions affecting the future course of the company were crucial. The Board of Directors made a decision to renew and expand the fleet.As part of the strategic plans to enhance its product, Cyprus Airways decided on improving the service and facilities offered on board the aircraft. A new audiovisual entertainment system was installed on the Airbus A320 offering the traveler a variety in music and films to watch on board.
On the ground, the Call Centre was introduced as part of a customer management scheme giving Cyprus Airways customers daily access to travel information.
The CUTE (Common use terminal equipment) system was in full operation at Larnaca Airport providing maximum efficiency at ticket and baggage check-in points. ZENON NDC, the distribution network affiliated company of Cyprus Airways promotes the replacement of all computer terminals used by travel agents that are on line with the SABRE system.
2002 also marked a time for change and further improvement with new livery being implemented for Cyprus Airways aircraft following modern trends. The aim was that the airline corporate identity stands out as much as possible. The percentage of the share capital of the Company also saw changes. Government share dropped from 80.46% to 69.62% thus giving private shareholders more share interest in the Company. Cyprus Airways introduced e-commerce, a channel through which people can access flight information, make on-line reservations and purchase tickets on line at times convenient for all. Two brand new Airbus A319 joined the Cyprus Airways fleet named Chalkanor and Nikoklis.
The first of two Airbus A330 aircraft arrived at Larnaca Airport in April 2003 and was named Ammochostos, while a second one, named “Keryneia”, followed in early July of the same year. The fleet therefore in 2003, consists of eight Airbus A320’s, two A319’s and two A330’s. Eurocypria, Cyprus Airways’ subsidiary charter company operates with four brand new Boeing 737-800.
In June 2003 Cyprus Airways launched Hellas Jet, an associated company based in Athens. Hellas Jet serves currently four European destinations, London (Heathrow and Gatwick), Paris and Brussels. Its fleet consists of three new Airbus A320 aircraft.
The airline currently serves 31 scheduled destinations in Europe, the Middle and Near East and Gulf area. These are: Athens, London (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted), Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Moscow, Paris, Zurich, Vienna, Birmingham, Manchester, Milan, Rome, Salonica, Heraklion, Rhodes, Cairo, Tel-Aviv, Beirut, Damascus, Amman, Jeddah, Bahrain, Dubai, & Riyadh.
Cyprus Airways has signed cooperative agreements providing code sharing with KLM on the Larnaca - Amsterdam route, with Alitalia on the Larnaca - Rome and Larnaca-Milan routes, with El-Al on Larnaca - Tel-Aviv route, with Gulf Air on Larnaca – Bahrain route, with Syrianair on the route between Larnaca and Damascus, with Aeroflot on the route between Larnaca and Moscow, with LOT on the route Larnaca and Warsaw and with SN Brussels Airlines on the route Larnaca/Paphos – Brussels.
