Darwin Airline, operating under the brand name Etihad Regional since January 2014, is
a Swiss regional airline with its head office on the grounds of Lugano Airport in Agno,
Switzerland, near Lugano.
It operates scheduled domestic services and international services to Italy, France, Spain,
United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Its main bases are Lugano Airport and Geneva Airport.
History Early years
Darwin Airline was established on 12 August 2003 and operations started on 28 July 2004.
By October 2013 it had grown to include 220 employees.
On 25 November 2010, Darwin Airline announced its plans to take over some operating assets
of Baboo by early 2011.
Under the plan, some parts of the combined airline would continue to be marketed under
the Baboo name, while Darwin would be able to substantially expand their operations.
On 2 September 2013, Darwin Airline opened a base at Cambridge with flights to Amsterdam,
Paris Charles de Gaulle, Milan Malpensa and its Geneva base using Saab 2000 aircraft.
These services were suspended in early 2014 due to low demand.
Cooperation with Etihad Airways On 17 November 2013, Etihad Airways announced
that it had bought a one-third stake in Darwin Airline.
Following completion of the deal, Darwin will use the new brand name Etihad Regional but
Darwin will continue to operate as normal and will operate flights for Etihad Regional
and the new brand will have the subtitle "operated by Darwin Airline".
The first Darwin aircraft featuring the Etihad Regional livery began operating between Lugano
and Geneva on 17 January 2014; the airline announced that all ten of the Saab 2000 aircraft
would be repainted in Etihad livery by the end of June 2014.
The four ATR 72-500's leased to Etihad Regional will be also painted in the new livery as
soon as they arrive to the company.
In early 2014, Etihad Regional leased four ATR 72-500's from Nordic Aviation Capital
in order to expand routes from Geneva.
Starting from end of March 2014, the airline withdrew its Ancona-Roma Fiumicino and Trapani-Roma
Fiumicino routes, as a result of the cabotage restrictions, which prevents Swiss aviation
companies from operating domestic flights in the European Union.
It was previously possible for Darwin Airline to fly these routes thanks to a derogation
from the Italian Civil Aviation Authority, however, this has not been renewed.
In January 2014, Darwin Airline also withdrew its Aosta-Roma Fiumicino route even before
it had commenced; a result of the same cabotage and the European Union's refusal to give an
exception for a Swiss company.
In February 2014 Etihad Regional cancelled the planned routes from Berlin to Poznan and
Wroclaw, as well as the Zagreb-Rome route.
By October 2014, several more destinations like Lyon, Turin, Verona, Stuttgart and Cambridge
have also been cancelled.
Destinations
Etihad Regional served the following destinations as of September 2014.
Additionally, services between Lugano and Zurich are flown on behalf of Swiss International
Air Lines until 30 October 2014.
Austria Linz - Linz Airport
Belgium Brussels - Brussels Airport
Denmark Copenhagen - Copenhagen Airport
France Biarritz – Biarritz – Anglet – Bayonne
Airport [seasonal] Bordeaux – Bordeaux Airport
Paris – Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Toulouse – Toulouse–Blagnac Airport
Germany Dresden - Dresden Airport [base]
Düsseldorf - Düsseldorf Airport Leipzig – Leipzig/Halle Airport [base]
Italy Bolzano - Bolzano Airport
Cagliari – Cagliari-Elmas Airport [seasonal] Florence – Peretola Airport
Olbia – Costa Smeralda Airport [seasonal] Pantelleria – Pantelleria Airport [seasonal]
Rome – Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport Kosovo
Pristina - Pristina International Airport Netherlands
Amsterdam – Schiphol Airport Serbia
Belgrade - Nikola Tesla Airport Spain
Ibiza – Ibiza Airport [seasonal] Valencia – Valencia Airport
Switzerland Geneva – Geneva International Airport [hub]
Lugano – Lugano Airport [base] Zurich – Zurich Airport
United Kingdom London - London Stansted Airport
Fleet
As of September 2014, the Etihad Regional fleet includes the following aircraft:
References
External links Media related to Darwin Airline at Wikimedia
Commons Official website