Monarch Airlines, known as Monarch, was a British charter and scheduled airline founded by Bill Hodgson and Don Peacock and financed by the Swiss Sergio Mantegazza family.
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41 Facts About Monarch Airlines
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2.
Monarch Airlines later became a low-cost airline in 2004 before abandoning charter flying completely.
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3.
When Monarch entered administration in 2017, it was the biggest airline collapse in UK history up to that point, leaving nearly 100,000 passengers and holidaymakers stranded.
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4.
On 5 June 1967, Monarch Airlines was established by a pair of British businesspeople, Bill Hodgson and Don Peacock, both of whom had previously been directors at the airline British Eagle.
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5.
Unlike typical airlines at the time, Monarch was founded with the express intent of conveying British holidaymakers to tourism hotspots and desirable getaway destinations throughout Europe.
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7.
Monarch Airlines had taken over Flug-Union Berlin's charter programme from Laker Airways.
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8.
Apart from the aircraft itself, Monarch Airlines provided the flight deck crew and maintenance support for this airline.
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9.
On 1 May 1988, Monarch Airlines operated the first ETOPS Transatlantic operation under CAA regulations.
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10.
That same year, Monarch Airlines reached another milestone; the firm carried more than two million passengers within a year.
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11.
Monarch Airlines opened a new purpose-built headquarters that housed the airline's Boeing 757 flight simulator at its Luton base.
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12.
In 1993, Monarch Airlines introduced the Airbus A320 aircraft followed by the larger Airbus A321 in 1997.
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13.
Monarch Airlines continued to operate flights on the Gibraltar-Luton route until the firm's collapse.
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14.
The adoption of the A330 wide-bodies permitted Monarch Airlines to serve long-haul charter destinations with a two class seating configuration, which was another first for the airline.
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15.
Monarch Airlines Scheduled continued to offer a full-service product, including free catering, bar service, hot towels, newspapers and in-flight entertainment.
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16.
On 15 December 2004, Monarch Airlines Scheduled announced that it would open a new base at Birmingham Airport.
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17.
In 2004, following the success of the low-fares, no-frills airlines such as easyJet, Monarch decided to adopt a modified low-cost model, featuring additional charges for food and drink.
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19.
About a year later, Monarch Airlines retired the Malaga-Blackpool service due to low demand.
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20.
Monarch Airlines became the airport's second-largest passenger airline in 2005 with 1.
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21.
On 27 April 2007, Monarch Airlines started flights to Ibiza partnered with club brand HedKandi, naming the partnership "FlyKandi".
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24.
Monarch Airlines abolished all debit card charges in favour of a single £10 flat rate applied to credit card transactions.
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25.
Monarch Airlines introduced a rebrand incorporating the airline's old capital "M" and crown, as well as the airline's fifth livery.
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27.
Monarch Airlines received two Airbus A320 aircraft to support the increased level of activity.
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28.
On 3 May 2012, Monarch Airlines announced that they were to open a new base at East Midlands Airport in Autumn 2012.
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29.
On 13 December 2012, Monarch Airlines announced that they had come on board as a new sponsor for Leeds United AFC.
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30.
On 12 December 2013, Monarch announced that Monarch Airlines had returned to profit in the year ending October 2013 and that passenger numbers were up 9.
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31.
Monarch Airlines confirmed the order in October 2014, with deliveries due to take place from Q2 of 2018.
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32.
Monarch Airlines embarked on a heavy redundancy exercise and reduction of payroll mainly aimed at onboard cabin management in preparation for the company sale in October 2014.
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33.
On 24 October 2014, Monarch Airlines Holdings was acquired from the Globus Travel Group by the private investment company and turnaround specialist Greybull Capital.
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34.
However, in the following days, Monarch Airlines obtained additional funds from shareholders, and on 30 September 2016, its Civil Aviation Authority ATOL licence was temporarily extended until 12 October.
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35.
On 12 October 2016, Monarch Airlines successfully retained its ATOL licence after it received an additional £165m in investment funding.
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36.
In September 2017, reports emerged of Monarch Airlines facing difficulties over its license, as had happened in the previous year.
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37.
Furthermore, although Monarch Airlines had received an extension to its license, it tripled fares.
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38.
Shortly afterwards at approximately 04:00 BST, the CAA confirmed that Monarch Airlines ceased operations with immediate effect and had entered administration.
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39.
Monarch Airlines was the largest airline ever to have ceased trading in the UK until the collapse of Thomas Cook in 2019.
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40.
Monarch Airlines offered food and drink available to purchase on board all flights.
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41.
Monarch Airlines was part of the Monarch Group, of which the holding company was Monarch Holdings Ltd.
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