(Oshein) OsheinFly.os

OsheinFly.os is a commercial airline based at Oshein Falmouth Airport [OSF] in Oshein. The airline is the second biggest airline based out of Oshein and has many routes out of the airport. It is regarded as a Low Cost carrier. The airline offers 2 class options, Basic (Economy) and Basic+ (Premium Economy).

## **History:**

OsheinFly.os was founded in 1972 as a small airline flying between Oshein Falmouth and Nybro utilising second hand BAC One-Eleven. This remained the same until early 1974 when OsheinFly decided to buy a second BAC One-Eleven so they could offer additional flights to London Gatwick and sporadic charters for UK Holiday companies.

In 1979, OsheinFly invested in two used Boeing 737-200ADV aircraft to compliment the BAC One-Eleven aircraft, The newly gained Boeing 737-200s were acquired to help with demand, the two BAC One-Eleven's were now mostly used for the Falmouth to Nybro route, which allowed it to go 6 times daily (3 legs per aircraft), with the Boeing 737-200s being used on the London Gatwick route and a new Manchester route, these were both Once daily routes.

In 1981, OsheinFly ordered the new Boeing 737-300 aircraft to join the fleet, these were due to be delivered in 1985, initially they had wanted 1984, though due to the popularity of the Boeing 737 'Classic' series, OsheinFly's order was delayed. OsheinFly needed extra aircraft in 1981, so bought 3 more Boeing 737-200s, This made their total fleet of 737-200s go up to five aircraft heading into 1982. With the new found Boeing 737-200s, OsheinFly expanded into Newcastle, Liverpool, Plymouth (Seasonal), Newquay (Seasonal), Teesside (Seasonal). Some of these routes are still present within the airline.

Things remained much the same, until 1985 when the first 737-300 arrived, this was met with much hype within the community as it was the first Oshein registered Boeing 737 'Classic' aircraft and was one of the newest aircraft on the Island, OS-CLA was the first Boeing 737-300 delivered, with it operating its first flight on 1/5/84, when it flew 132 Passengers from Falmouth to London Gatwick as OSF12F (Flight Number). In August, a second Boeing 737-300 joined the fleet, registered as OS-CLB. These two aircraft replaced the two older BAC One-Eleven aircraft, thus meaning the fleet was all Boeing (5 x 737-200, 2 x 737-300). In December 1985, the last of 3 new 737-300s arrived. It is also worth noting, in December the airline received a 737-400 as a diverted order from Continental Airlines, this was promptly entered into service and was the largest aircraft in the fleet.

In 1986, OsheinFly launched their biggest flight program to date, with the summer being a huge period of change for the airline. Due to the newer aircraft, many customers chose to fly with OsheinFly, and the new aircraft fact was promoted heavily on their advertising. In the Summer, OsheinFly achieved a 98.9% load factor on their flights as they were often lower priced then other airlines at the time, this is due to the newer aircraft in use.

In the 1990s, OsheinFly became more low-cost orientated with prices often being £20 or more less then other airlines at the time, they were also one of the first airlines to ban all forms of in-flight smoking, with that being banned in 1990. OsheinFly also advertised flights to Nybro for as little as £1 per way, per customer. This attracted many people to book with OsheinFly as up to 30,000 tickets were priced at the low price, though this low price did not include a piece of checked luggage and was only valid on the 20:30 departure from Falmouth.

In 1995, OsheinFly signed a deal with Boeing to buy 2 Boeing 737-500s with an option of a further 3, This was to add to their existing fleet, showing the airlines real intent to launch more routes. Also in 1995, OsheinFly launched routes to Paris Orly, marking the first time they flew to France. This route was 4 x Weekly using a Boeing 737-200 aircraft. OsheinFly also launched routes to Shannon, Cork, Belfast and Dublin, all using a mix of Boeing 737-200 aircraft and Boeing 737-300 aircraft, though it was mostly the older -200s.

In 1997, OsheinFly received its first Boeing 737-500, registered as OS-DLA, this arrived in June, just in time for the summer schedule, This new aircraft freed up a Boeing 737-200 to be used on contract work. The first 737-500 operated flight was OSF39L from Falmouth to Newcastle. In 1997, OsheinFly launched their own website, this could be used to view timetables and the latest deals. In 1997, OsheinFly also launched a "Mystery Flight", which would fly you to a random destination within the OsheinFly network. This proved vastly popular with travellers who wanted to try something new, it was such a success, that every summer since, it has operated. Destinations can include Newcastle, Bristol, Teesside, Paris just to name a few.

In 1998, OsheinFly became the first Oshein-Based airline to order a Boeing 737NG aircraft, coming in the form of 2 Boeing 737-800NG aircraft with a further 3 options, this was mostly to replace the now older Boeing 737-200s and compliment the -300, -400 and -500 series. Also in 1998, OsheinFly faced major competition from Ryanair on its Dublin route, which caused the route to be terminated in September after the summer rush.

In 2000, OsheinFly received their first Boeing 737-800 aircraft, Registered as OS-FLM, and like the -300 launch years back, this was met with much fanfare, The first Boeing 737-800 route was the 8:00am Falmouth to Nybro. Also in 2000, Osheinfly received their first Boeing 737-900ER aircraft. This arrived in June and first operated high-frequency shuttles to Nybro. The -900ER was also found flying Osheinfly's routes to the UK.

In 2001, like most airlines, Osheinfly was effected by the September 11th attacks, as for the year, load factors went to their lowest in history at just 72.1%, during this period Osheinfly reported a loss of over £3m for the year, though due to good financing, this didn't really effect the airline like it did with others.

In 2004, Osheinfly placed a single order for a brand new Boeing 737-700 aircraft from Boeing, this was due to be delivered in the Summer of 2007, also in 2004, Osheinfly changed to in-house maintenance for the first time. Before this, Britannia, and later Thomsonfly would do maintenance for Osheinfly, including heavy work. Despite moving to in-house maintenance, Osheinfly kept a good relationship with Thomsonfly, often leasing aircraft to them, and this would continue.

In 2005, Thomsonfly leased a Boeing 737-300 from Osheinfly, this would be operated from their Manchester base. This guaranteed revenue for the 2005 summer season for Osheinfly, and on the 23rd of July 2005, Thomsonfly would lease another aircraft, this time a Boeing 737-900ER. This was also to be based at their Manchester base, and would prove a hit as it had a higher capacity then any of Thomson's own 737s. The 2 aircraft returned in October of the same year

In 2006, Osheinfly operated their last BAe 146 flight, OSF33L from Falmouth to Nybro. This route is now operated on the Boeing 737-300.

In 2007, Osheinfly received their Boeing 737-700, this would mainly be deployed on lesser demand routes. It would operate its first flight from Falmouth to Durham Tees Valley. The aircraft was then mostly deployed on smaller UK flights.

In 2008 Osheinfly entered a codeshare agreement with XL Airways, and because of that, Osheinfly started a route to East Midlands. Passengers could book flights to Oshein via XL Airways website, but they would be flying on an Osheinfly aircraft, Passengers could also book the flights on Osheinfly's website. This came to an end on the 12th of September however when XL Airways ceased operations, though Osheinfly would be a part of the repatriation effort and any bookings were still valid if they were operated by Osheinfly.

In early 2009, The airline would announce new flights from Falmouth, for the first time, passengers could fly to Croatia for the summer season, as a flight to Zadar was announced. In addition, flights to Bilbao were announced. Zadar was a 2x a Week service, with Bilbao being 1x a Week. Some routes also ended, with Osheinfly ending its Montpellier route. This was 2x a week. In addition, Nybro went from 6x a day to 7 a day (except on Sundays)

In late 2009, Osheinfly would announce 50p flights to select destinations as a part of their Black Friday deals, though only select destinations were included in that (Nybro, London Gatwick, Birmingham and Paris Orly)

In 2010, like all airlines, the airline was hit by the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in Iceland, a lot of flights had to be cancelled during this time. This also left many aircraft and crew stranded. The furthest effected flight was OSF54L, which was stuck in Tenerife.

## **Incidents and Accidents**

OsheinFly.os has a very good safety record, only having 1 hull loss of an aircraft.

On the 10th of June 2000 flight OSF12W (Operated by a Boeing 737-500) departed from Bodrum Airport in Turkey, bound for Falmouth via London Gatwick on a Charter for Britannia. About 2 hours into the flight, the Pilot flying noticed the aircraft was starting to fly oddly, with serve vibrations starting 10 minutes later, the aircraft descended into Zurich with no further issue. The cause was found to be a fan-blade separation on the left hand side.

On the 23rd of December 2009, flight OSF793 (Operated by a 737-300) was approaching into Falmouth airport, the flight had originated from Manchester Airport. The aircraft touched down in Falmouth however the aircraft slipped on some ice/snow that had built up on the runway, the aircraft suffered a runway excursion causing the main landing gear to collapse, this caused major damage. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair, though all 117 passengers and 4 crew were unharmed. This is the only Hull Loss of an OsheinFly aircraft.