// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did TAS Airways say to the plane? "You're always taking off in the wrong direction, tas-ty mistake!
.jpg) Grumman Gulfstream (G.159) | |||||||
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| Founded | 1987 | ||||||
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Commenced operations | May 1987 | ||||||
Ceased operations | August 1994 | ||||||
| Key people | Lorenzo Casagrande managing director | ||||||
TAS Airways is a defunct airline based in Italy. It started with aero-taxi and small parcels speed transport but in 1988 it turned to scheduled transport. It ceased operating in summer 1994.[1]
History
[edit]Trasporti Aerei Speciali srl was founded in 1987 in Milan with a share capital of 900 million lire provided by the Aurantium Navigation Company.[2] Its objectives were air-taxi and the rapid transport of letters, parcels, and groupage cargo. For these reasons, the fleet included a Piper PA-31 Navajo, a Partenavia P.68, two Aero Commander 690s, and two Grumman Gulfstreams (one of which had a 19-passenger accommodation). The operational bases were set up at Bergamo's Orio al Serio airport and Alghero's Fertilia airport. A specialized cargo detachment was established at Rome's Ciampino airport.[3]
Flying operations began in May. They were night flights for the transport of letters and groupages along the north-south axis of the Italian peninsula and to Sardinia and Sicily. Charter flights for small groups (primarily to France and Spain) and air-taxis also operated, primarily departing from Rome and Milan. Such flights were operated coinciding with sport and cultural events, political conventions, conferences, and business meetings. Activities to France were primarily related to the pilgrimages of Viaggi Paolini (an organization specialized in religious tourism), which had been taken over from TEA Italia.[4]
A real turning point for the company came with the debut of scheduled flights in 1988, when an air link between Bologna and Birmingham (a British industrial and trade fair center) was inaugurated, naturally aimed at a business clientele.[5] Birmingham airport was connected to the city's exhibition center by a futuristic pneumatic-powered vehicle. The flight was operated by Grumman G159: breakfast and newspapers on the outward journey in the morning, and Bolognese specialties for dinner on the evening return flight.
Following the encouraging results of the previous route, regular flights were also opened to Cologne and Lyon, both business and industrial centers. Domestically, the Milan-Cuneo route was established, as this second city had been seriously neglected in previous times. From 1990, the more appropriate name TAS Airways was adopted. The need for a new, more capacious aircraft was now imperative, and after evaluating several turboprop models, the choice fell on the British Aerospace BAe 146 series 300 (the most capacious model), two of which were delivered in 1992. It was no coincidence that the regional four-engine jetliner was immediately used for the daily Bergamo-London route. In the following years, flights were also established from Parma airport (a small facility that had been renovated and brought to a good operational level). All bookings, however, were not handled directly but instead by Hydra International, based in Parma. However, growth had been too rapid and the capital required to sustain it was no longer sufficient. Thus, in August 1994 all activities were stopped and the company was liquidated during the following year.
Fleet
[edit]TAS fleet consisted of these following aircraft as of August 1994:
- 7 x Grumman Gulfstream alias G.159
- 2 x Aero Commander 690 Turbo
- 3 x British Aerospace BAe 146 series 300
Incidents and accidents
[edit]- On June 2, 1992 the Grumman Gulfstream registered I-MDDD was lost during landing at Pantelleria Island airport (Sicily region)
References
[edit]- ↑ T. Hamill, "World Airline Directory", Flight International weekly magazine, Reed Business Publishing Group, Sutton (Surrey - U.K.), 24-30 March 1993, ISSN 0015-3710
- ↑ G. D'Avanzo, Deregulation (in Italian language), "Armi e Politica" no. 5, Casa Editrice Nuove Ricerche, Ancona, 1996
- ↑ N. Pedde, Almanacco delle Linee Aeree Italiane 1947-2007 (in Italian language), "Landra Helicus", GAN, Roma, 2007, ISBN 978-88-89640-06-7
- ↑ G. D'Avanzo, Deregulation (in Italian language), "Armi e Politica" no. 5, Casa Editrice Nuove Ricerche, Ancona, 1996
- ↑ N. Pedde, Almanacco delle Linee Aeree Italiane 1947-2007 (in Italian language), "Landra Helicus", GAN, Roma, 2007, ISBN 978-88-89640-06-7
Further reading
[edit]- G. D'Avanzo, Deregulation (in Italian language), "Armi e Politica" no. 5, Casa Editrice Nuove Ricerche, Ancona, 1996
- N. Pedde, Almanacco delle Linee Aeree Italiane 1947-2007 (in Italian language), "Landra Helicus", GAN, Roma, 2007, ISBN 978-88-89640-06-7
