Danube Wings


Danube Wings, a trading name of VIP Wings, a.s., was a Slovakia-based airline that ceased operations in 2013. Danube Wings had operated regional scheduled services on domestic and international routes using ATR 72 aircraft. Its home base was M. R. Štefánik Airport in Bratislava. VIP Wings, a privately owned Slovak company, was the holder of the licences and the AOC.

History

VIP Wings was established on 23 May 2000, and was created from VIP Air, the first private aviation company in Slovakia.
In August 2008 operations started with ATR 72 aircraft, offering regular transport to the general public. On November 13, 2008, the company was assigned the V5 IATA code. On July 15, 2009, Danube Wings became a member of the European Regional Airlines Association.
The company faced serious economical problems and on 20 November 2013 ceased all operations on scheduled flights. According to news reports it ceased operations in December 2013 and laid off all employees.

Business trends

The key trends for Danube Wings were as shown below. Figures as at year ending 31 December:

20082009201020112012
Turnover
Profits
Number of employees 120
Number of passengers 4.677.886.974.2122.8
Passenger load factor n/an/an/an/an/a
Number of aircraft 34334
Notes/sources

Destinations

Seasonal services to and from destinations in France were cancelled as of January 2013. On October 19, 2013 Danube Wings announced the immediate cancellation of its last remaining schedule route.

Fleet

The Danube Wings fleet included the following aircraft in an all-economy class:

Retired fleet