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Both airlines were formed in the early 1990s, with a focus on providing high-quality, high-frequency services to business travellers flying between London and key points in the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe. Established from a Dublin base in 1993, CityJet commenced services in January 1994, with it first scheduled flights on the Dublin to London City route. CityJet commenced its alliance with Air France in 1996, operating the Paris Charles de Gaulle to London City route under contract. In early 2000, Air France-KLM assumed sole ownership of CityJet, marked with the airline operating routes linking Europe to its parent company's Charles de Gaulle hub. 2007 saw CityJet announce a major expansion of it's London City network, with the opening of eight new routes, in addition to the existing Dublin and Paris operations.
| VLM Airlines was established in 1992, and commenced operations in 1993, with services between London City Airport and Antwerp. By 2007, it was operating a fleet of 21 Fokker 50s, carrying around 750,000 passengers. In December 2007, VLM Airlines was acquired by the Air-France KLM Group and 12 months later, began to combine operations with CityJet. In early 2009, the carriers unveiled their new combined commercial organisation, with the CityJet brand being adopted across both carriers from May 2009. CityJet's senior management team is led by CEO Geoffrey O'Byrne-White. Today, the carrier employs over 1,100 people. In addition to it's commercial offices at its London City hub, it maintains bases and facilities in Antwerp and Dublin.
Find out more about CityJet's history by clicking on the Timeline link below.
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