VLM Airlines

Early years

VLM Airlines was established in February 1992 and started operations in May of the following year with a scheduled service between Antwerp International Airport and London City Airport. Its original hub was Antwerp; this was switched to London City, and after a management buy-out late in 2014, it was again based at Antwerp Airport.

On 24 December 2007, Air France-KLM agreed to buy the company from Panta Holdings. In 2008 the airline reported its tenth consecutive year of profits; for the year ending 31 December 2007 it had a net profit of 3.6m euros. Turnover grew to 112m euros and passenger numbers rose 9% to 745,781 during 2007. The airline at this point employed over 400 people, and carried 745,781 passengers in 2007.

On May 28, 2009, Air France-KLM announced that VLM Airlines would gradually start to operate under the brand name CityJet. The name CityJet was already used by Business City Direct, the Irish regional partner of Air France-KLM. In early 2010 VLM Airlines name was being replaced altogether by CityJet but this integration was never completed. On 16 February 2010 CityJet launched a new seating configuration on their aircraft, including the Fokker 50 aircraft added during the attempted integration. They were fitted with CityPlus, a 4-abreast premium economy class along with CityValue, the standard economy.

VLM used to promote itself as Europe's leading "business airline" and tried to reflect this in its goal of superior service. Passengers were served fresh meals on board, and were able to request a vegetarian or kosher meal at the time of reservation. Meals were presented on a half-tray, and all passengers were served drinks in real glasses with tea and coffee served in china cups. Such features were not commonly found on short-haul airlines. After the CityJet takeover, this offer was downgraded to reflect the Air France-KLM standard on short-haul flights—a simpler service of sandwiches and drinks, with glassware and china cups replaced by plastic. However, the airline did continue to distribute boiled sweets to its passengers before take-off, and Belgian chocolates mid-flight.

Development since the 2010s

In early 2014, following the sale of CityJet ownership to German investor Intro Aviation, the latter decided to separate Cityjet and VLM. VLM would from then on provide aircraft and crews on an ACMI basis.

In October 2014, however, the management of VLM Airlines undertook a management buyout and the airline became independent from both CityJet and Intro Aviation. The CEO, Arthur White, became the majority shareholder. The company continued to provide services to Cityjet and to offer charter services and reintroduced scheduled flights from Antwerp to Geneva and other destinations. In the same month the airline signed a contract to lease two Sukhoi Superjet 100s, with options for 12 more, as a possible replacement for the Fokker 50s, to be delivered from April 2015. This date was later revised to 2016 due to certification delays, however the order was cancelled.

In March 2015, it was announced that VLM would take over two routes from Waterford Airport, Ireland to the UK which were previously served by Stobart Air and Flybe. The routes to London Luton and Birmingham started in late April 2015 and continued throughout 2016. In June 2015, VLM announced it would discontinue all operations to and from their new base at Liège Airport (to Avignon, Nice and Venice) after only six weeks of service, due to low demand. In December 2015, VLM Airlines announced it would base three aircraft at Friedrichshafen Airport in Germany by February 2016 to take over the domestic routes to Berlin, Düsseldorf and Hamburg previously provided by bankrupt regional carrier InterSky.

Demise

On 13 May 2016, VLM Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection at a court in Antwerp after accumulating €6 million of debt. On May 25, 2016, bankruptcy protection was granted for a duration of six months. VLM planned to continue its operations with a turn around plan that envisaged a return to break even in mid 2017 with the main focus on improving cash flow, stabilising the economic situation and stabilising operations. After the bankruptcy protection was announced, several pilots left the airline due to a restructuring plan which focused on cost reduction and maximizing revenue. At short notice VLM Airlines announced the termination of flights from Waterford Airport to London-Luton by 13 June 2016, leaving Waterford with no scheduled link.

On 22 June 2016, People's Viennaline announced the cancellation of its ACMI contract with VLM without further notice, citing a lack of quality in the provided services (e.g. several delays and cancellations). Later on that same day, VLM Airlines declared bankruptcy and all flights were cancelled with immediate effect and all planes grounded. The airline's website was shut down a few hours later.

Owing to VLM's demise, CityJet ACMI customer opted for Danish Air Transport on the London City Airport to Antwerp route.

New ownership, restart of operations and second demise

On 9 September 2016, SHS Antwerp Aviation (owned by SHS Aviation b.v.