Small Planet Airlines was a
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
n leisure airline based at
Vilnius Airport
Vilnius Airport ( lt, Vilniaus oro uostas) is the international airport of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. It is located south of the city. It is the largest of the three commercial airports in Lithuania by passenger traffic. With one runway ...
with further bases throughout
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
It was the subsidiary of the Small Planet Group which also owned sister companies in
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, all of which are also now defunct.
History
Foundation as FlyLAL Charters
![Boeing_757-204,_flyLAL_Charters_JP6277411](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Boeing_757-204%2C_flyLAL_Charters_JP6277411.jpg)
The company was previously known as FlyLAL Charters and was registered on 14 March 2007. In October 2008, the company received its operational licenses to begin passenger flight operations. In 2009, a subsidiary, ''flyLAL Charter Eesti'', was registered with an aim to provide chartered operations to and from
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
. In December 2009, another company,
flyLAL Charters PL, was registered to implement flights from various airports in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
(
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
,
Katowice
Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...
,
Gdansk as bases).
In 2010, FlyLAL Charters was authorized to perform scheduled flights to
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and various other countries. In July of the same year, flyLAL Charters was rebranded to its current name, Small Planet Airlines. In 2009 and 2010, FlyLAL Charters carried 400,000 passengers; in 2012, the renamed Small Planet Airlines had increased the number to nearly 0.7 million passengers.
Later developments
In April 2013, Small Planet Airlines announced a buyout of the 99.5 percent of Small Planet Airlines UAB (Lithuania) and Small Planet Airlines Sp. z o. o."(Poland) shares held by Avia Solutions Group. After the transaction, Small Planet Airlines was owned by Vytautas Kaikaris and Andrius Staniulis, the management of the company.
In 2014, holding company Small Planet Group was established to take ownership of the Small Planet Airlines of Lithuania and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. Small Planet Group UAB owns 100 percent of the shares of the leisure carrier Small Planet Airlines UAB and 90 percent of the shares of Small Planet Airlines Sp. z o. o.
The holding controls 100% of UAB Small Planet Airlines, 100%
Small Planet Airlines Sp. z o. o., 80% of
Small Planet Airlines GmbH (Germany) and used to own 49% of ''Small Planet Airlines Thailand'', which however never started operations.
In December 2014, Small Planet Airlines founded a company in Thailand, with the intention of securing a local
air operator's certificate
An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets, and system in pla ...
(AOC) and operating international flights from
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. In 2015, Small Planet Airlines entered the German market with the incorporation of Small Planet Airlines GmbH; the company's office was established in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. In September 2015, the company announced that during the next 5 winters, several aircraft (and flight deck crews) will be transferred to the Southeast Asia to operate from
Siem Reap
Siem Reap ( km, សៀមរាប, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia.
Siem Reap has French colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old F ...
town in Cambodia to China, South Korea and Vietnam on behalf of Cambodian airline
Sky Angkor Airlines
Sky Angkor Airlines Inc. ( km, ស្កាយ អង្គរ អ៊ែឡាញ) (), formerly Skywings Asia Airlines is an airline based in Cambodia. Its main hub is at Siem Reap International Airport and Phnom Penh International Airport.
His ...
. During the 2016, winter season, several planes and crews of Small Planet Airlines Poland were based in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and Saudi Arabia and operated on behalf of local airlines. In India, the planes and crew were operated on behalf of
GoAir
Go First, founded as GoAir, is an Indian ultra-low-cost airline based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is owned by the Indian business conglomerate Wadia Group. In October 2017, it was the fifth largest airline in India with an 8.4% passenger ma ...
and in Saudi Arabia, the planes and crew operated on behalf of
Nesma Airlines
Nesma Airlines is an Egyptian airline (member of Saudi Arabia’s Nesma Group) which operates scheduled international regional flights as well as regional flights within Saudi Arabia. It operates as a full-service carrier on international flights. ...
. At the end of March 2017, it was announced that Small Planet Airlines had obtained a permit to fly to and from Schiphol Airport in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, mainly serving south European holiday destinations. The inaugural flight was welcomed at Schiphol Airport in December, 2016. During winter 2017/2018 Small Planet Airlines was back in India operating on behalf of
IndiGo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
from its main base in Delhi.
On 24 October 2018, Small Planet Airlines announced it was entering a restructuring process due to financial difficulties shortly after its
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
and
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
subsidiaries did the same earlier in the month. Both the German and Polish companies ceased operations by November 2018, while the
Cambodian subsidiary ceased operations shortly after.
[ch-aviation.com - Small Planet Airlines Cambodia](_blank)
retrieved 28 November 2018[austrianaviation.net - "Grounding at Small Planet Cambodia"](_blank)
(German) 28 November 2018
On 28 November 2018, the Lithuanian aviation authority CAA revoked the operations license of Small Planet Airlines, resulting in grounding of all of its flights and fleets.
[ifn.news - Small Planet Airlines grounded by authorities](_blank)
29 November 2018
Business trends
Passenger numbers
In June 2009, flyLAL Charters the company flew 33,600 passengers and that month it was the largest number in Vilnius Airport, even greater than that of regular airlines. By the end of the year flyLAL Charters had a total 85% of a charter market share. In 2012, from all the bases in Lithuania,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, Poland,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
Small Planet Airline flew over 700,000 people. In 2013, Small Planet Airlines became the first Lithuanian capital company to fly a million passengers. In 2014, due to increased locations the number increased and reached 1.212 million passengers.
Financial results
Destinations
The company flew mostly to Greece, Spain,
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. In Lithuania, Small Planet Airlines cooperated with major travel organisers
Tez Tour
I-Fly is a Russian charter airline based in Moscow operating mainly out of Vnukovo International Airport
Vnukovo, formally Vnukovo Andrei Tupolev International Airport (named after Andrei Tupolev) ( rus, links=no, Внуково, p=ˈvnukəv ...
and
Novaturas. The company also provided special flights, flying government delegations, sports teams, and other private groups. During the winter, some aircraft were transferred to other locations including India.
Fleet
![LY-SPA@LGW_05JUN14_(15723561845)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/LY-SPA%40LGW_05JUN14_%2815723561845%29.jpg)
As of October 2018, before closure, Small Planet Airlines – excluding all subsidiaries – operated the following aircraft:
Accident and incidents
* LLX5288 was a Small Planet Airlines A320 flight from
Málaga
Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
, Spain, to
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, on 25 October 2016. At 12:34
GMT
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a cons ...
, Finnish police received a report of a possible
hijacking
Hijacking may refer to:
Common usage
Computing and technology
* Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth
* Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand
* Browser hijacking
* Clickjacking (including ''like ...
on the aircraft. Hornets followed the aircraft from French airspace. As the plane entered Dutch Maastricht airspace at 12:34 GMT, the crew contacted air traffic control and reported a possible hijacking. Air traffic control informed the relevant authorities of the incident. The plane continued its flight as normal until it reached Finnish airspace, where it initiated a
holding pattern
In aviation, holding (or flying a hold) is a maneuver designed to delay an aircraft already in flight while keeping it within a specified airspace.
Implementation
A holding pattern for instrument flight rules (IFR) aircraft is usually a racet ...
. The plane landed safely in
Tampere-Pirkkala airport at 15:02 GMT. According to eyewitnesses, police stormed the aircraft immediately after landing.
Later investigations show that there was no hijacking. It is unknown whether it was a mechanical or pilot error. The investigation is ongoing.
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Defunct airlines of Lithuania
Airlines established in 2008
Airlines disestablished in 2018
Defunct charter airlines
2018 disestablishments in Lithuania
Aviation in Vilnius
Lithuanian brands
Lithuanian companies established in 2008