Wikipedia

CityBird

CityBird S.A. was an airline founded in 1996 and based in Building 117D, Melsbroek Air Base in Zaventem.[1] The airline filed for bankruptcy in October 2001. Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium considered buying them out of bankruptcy, but later pulled out.

CityBird
IATA ICAO Call sign
H2 CTB DREAM FLIGHT
FoundedAugust 6, 1996
Ceased operationsOctober 4, 2001
HubsBrussels Airport
SubsidiariesCityBird France
Fleet size16
Destinations+50
Parent companyCityBird Holding S.A.
HeadquartersMelsbroek Air Base, Zaventem, Belgium
Key peopleVictor Hasson (Chairman & CEO)
Georges Gutelman
Employees+600 (2001)
WebsiteFormer website

They flew a fleet of twelve aircraft including the Boeing 767-300ER, various Boeing 737 models, the Airbus A300-600R and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11. Over 50 European cities were served via Brussels. Citybird employed over 600 employees as of 2001 and was listed at NASDAQ Europe a.k.a. Eastdaq under the ticker symbol CBIR (CityBird holding SA) in November 1997. Though they had bought their first MD-11 in December 1996, they did not begin operations until March 1997.

Their planes offered a "Royal Eagle" business class, "Premium Flamingo" class (not on Newark flights), and "Colibri" economy class. They used the "point-to-point" approach to air travel rather than the "hub and spoke" connecting hub concept wherein all transatlantic flights (from Los Angeles, Newark, Oakland, Miami, Orlando or Mexico City) went to Brussels Airport (BRU) on an airport to airport basis. All aircraft featured the airline's tagline, "The Flying Dream."

In July 1999, CityBird began cargo activities using two A300-600 "full freighters."

Destinations in the western hemisphere

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According to the airline's timetable covers, the following destinations in the western hemisphere were served by CityBird from its hub in Brussels:[2]

North America[3]

South America

  • Suriname
    • Paramaribo

CityBird also served over 50 destinations in Europe from its Brussels hub.

Fleet

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A CityBird 737-800 at Maastricht/Aachen Airport
 
A CityBird MD-11

CityBird operated the following aircraft:[4]

CityBird fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A300-600RF 2 1999 2001
Boeing 737-300 1 2000 2001
Boeing 737-400 4
Boeing 737-800 3 2001 2001
Boeing 767-300ER 3 1998 2001
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 5 1996 2001

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "CityBird Offices." CityBird. Retrieved on 3 November 1999.
  2. ^ http://www.timetableimages.com, CityBird system timetable covers
  3. ^ "Citybird".
  4. ^ "City Bird Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
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