| Carrier: | Monarch Airlines
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| Headquarters: | UK
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| Founded: | 1969
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| Destinations: | 20
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| Bases: | London (Luton & Gatwick), Manchester, Birmingham
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| Owners: | Monarch
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| Listed: | Yes
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| Online Booking: | Yes
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| Website: | http://www.flymonarch,com
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| Fleet | B757 7
A321 8
A320 6
A300-600 4
A330-200 2
B737-300 28
| Overview - Monarch Airlines Monarch Scheduled – Hanging on in a competitive environment Monarch Scheduled is another example of a UK-based charter airline that has added a low-cost scheduled component in an attempt to diversify away from the ever-contracting package holiday business.
The carrier, like its counterparts following the same model, have not entirely turned their back on holiday tours; the sector is contracting, but it still represents a source of potentially profitable revenue and is the line of business Monarch – the UK’s largest independent charter carrier – knows best. Monarch has attempted to differentiate it from the competition in the LCC sector by offering slightly more in the way of passenger services, with high-quality meals (if on a user-fee basis), as well as a frequent-flyer programme, business class-type lounges, in-flight entertainment and – for an extra GBP15 – seats with extra legroom.
Still first a charter carrier, there are signs that passengers are beginning to recognise and use the company as a provider of low cost services to the destinations it serves (primarily in the mass market holiday destinations on Spain’s Costa del Sol). The carrier has managed to bring costs down by retiring older-vintage aircraft, using a new A320 family fleet for its scheduled business. But on the revenue side, it faces intense competition from its bases in London (Gatwick and Luton), Manchester and Birmingham, the last of which it has seen a recent doubling of departures. Outlook reasonable Monarch is making good use of a name made good to its core user-group through decades of reliable service in the charter business. It is in an ultra-competitive LCC market, but so long as it continues to innovate in finding new markets (such as in Aberdeen) and keeps its costs and fares low, it will have a role to play.
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