Connext Airlines

Connext Airlines C.V., trading as Connext, is a Myrish low-cost airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of Myrish Airways and therefore part of WorldWise airline alliance. Its main bases are in Dincuff, Vernon, Ushteyghoo, Monstad, Scrá, and Godenhaven. Connext Ventora is a subsidiary of Connext operating out of the nation of Ventora.

Early years
The airline, initially branded as "Connext.com", was founded in 1998. The lead investor is Orange Horse Partners, an Ordrish private equity firm specializing in transportation. The first test flight for Connext was a 1-hour flight circling around Vilpina International Airport, and its maiden voyage carrying passengers was a flight between Dincuff and Godenhaven on 1 July 2000. The airline's CEO is Patel Bleize, a former pilot for Myrish Airways.

Initially after creation of the company, Connext found offices at Dincuff Airport, and the fledgling's financier Leif Overby appointed the three-pronged management: Commercial Director Armel Babel, Director Operations Erik Henningsen and Technical Director Dina Hoel. Some of the first employees were pilots Stein Kleven (Myrish), Emil Oliver and Victor Malthe (Ecoralian), Chief Stewardess Marryel Gwyn and her stewardesses, Senior Stewardess Bellar Monstel and six carefully selected and trained women.

The first aircraft put into use were 5 Boeing 737-300 and 3 Embraer ERJ-145s delivered to Connext in 1999.

The callsign "Blossom" was chosen in order to pay heritage to its Myrish roots, as the national fruit of Gladomyr is the Cherry, and its national flower is the Cherry Blossom.

Development since 2000
Within the first 5 years of the airline's creation, Connext had a marketshare of 45% of the Myrish holiday market and became the main competitor to other budget airlines in Gladomyr and East Alutra as a whole. In 2008, Connext cut the ".com" from their name and became simply Connext. In 2009, the airline's major shareholder Heirhud sold its 80% holding to Myrish Airways, and in 2012 the remaining 20% was also sold, making the airline 100% Myrish Airways-owned. This, therefore, made Connext a new member of the WorldWise airline alliance.

Also in 2012, Connext was merged with charter airline Kehrgt Air.

In 2014, Connext Ventora was created in order to serve Western Alutra just the same as East. Connext Ventora is based at Plenas Global Aerodrome. Connext Ventora operates 23 Boeing 737-800s and 7 Embraer E175s, making the fleet 30 in total. A now defunct Connext Salia was also created, although the subsidiary was declared bankrupt in 2018 after failing to meet expectations.

In September of 2015, some pilots working for Connext went on strike after repeated downgrades in pay over the course of several years.

In February of 2017, Connext announced that it would no longer serve 10 airports in East Alutra, some of those including Lisaare Airport in Gladomyr, Cosan Airport and Alisse Airport in Ordrey, and several more. Also removed was Eduvesting from their list of primary bases.

In March 2020, Ushteyghoo was opened as a primary base.

In July 2020, a Boeing 747-800, a Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner, and a Boeing 777-200ER were painted in Connext's livery in a large-scale promotional stunt conducted by the airline in order to celebrate their 20 year anniversary; the first number(s) following the dashes in the airliners' names adding up to a sum of 20. Although painted in Connext's livery, these planes were not part of their official fleet and were not owned by Connext. The planes were soon repainted to their original livery.

Ownership and structure
While Connext Airlines C.V. is 100% owned by Myrish Airways, Connext is run as a completely independant operation. It holds a 45% interest in the Ventoran subsidiary Connext Ventora, which operates in the Ventoran market. Connext Ventora has an identical business model to Connext, with the added 'Ventora' logo pasted onto the aircraft's livery, the website, and everything else of the like.

Business trends
The financials for both parts of the Connext brand (Connext Gladomyr and Connext Ventora) are fully incorporated in the published annual accounts of their ultimate parent, Myrish Airways. Results reported for the Connext brand are (figures for years ending 31 December):

Business model
Connext Airlines operates as a low-cost carrier, and therefore only operates 2 aircraft type (Boeing 737 and Embraer E175 in this case) with a single class of cabin. The airline offers the "Selection on Board" buy on board service offering food and drinks for purchase, including the airline's famous "waffles and pancakes" meal for early morning flights.

Commencing 5 April 2011, Connext introduced fees for hold luggage and changed the rules for hand luggage, with the maximum allowable weight for hand luggage increased from 5 kg to 10 kg

Head office


The head office for Connext is located in the East District in Venou, Gladomyr, on the site of Dincuff International Airport. The company moved to this office building in 2011 with around 385 employees, with its previous office being a smaller building also on the grounds of Dincuff International Airport.

Destinations


Initially, at its founding, Connext airlines was a largely domestic airline, operating primarily only in Gladomyr or Ordrey. As the airline gained more traction in the international market, especially at the founding of Connext Ventora, its list of destinations grew rapidly based on customer demand.

The following list encompasses the destinations of both Connext Gladomyr and Connext Ventora.

Current fleet
As of May 2021, the Connext fleet (encompassing both Connext Gladomyr and Connext Ventora) consists of 81 aircraft, Boeing 737s and Embraer E175s.

During the summer seasons, Connext often leases several Boeing 737s from Myrish Airways. During the slower winter season, which corresponds to Myrish Airways' busy season, Myrish Airways leases several planes from Connext. This reciprocal arrangement allows both airlines to balance their fleets to reflect seasonal demand.

Connext is also known to lease aircraft from charter companies during the peak of summer in order to operate flights on their behalf.

In January of 2020, Connext Airlines ordered 10 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. These aircraft are expected to be delivered in the latter half of 2021.

Historical fleet
because of its relatively short history, Connext Airlines has largely operated the same aircraft type throughout its history. Other than this, Connext has operated the following aircraft type in the past. In 2016, Connext placed 25 orders for aircraft, although 3 months following this, all orders were cancelled.

Accidents and incidents
Only 1 fatality and no complete loss of aircraft have occurred on a Connext Airlines flight. In 2015, one substantial incident occurred which nearly resulted in the scrapping of the aircraft.


 * On 23 March 2004, Connext Airlines flight 391, a Boeing 737-700 aircraft, en route from Monstad to Merser, was damaged while at cruising altitude. The flaps from the starboard side of the aircraft became dislodged due to the incorrect screws being inserted into the flaps the day before the flight. The aircraft safely conducted an emergency landing at Eduvesting International Airport. There were no casualties on the flight and the aircraft was repaired and put back into service shortly thereafter.
 * On 2 June 2009, Connext Airlines flight 400, a Boeing 737-700, landed long at Logh Craine International Airport, which resulted in the aircraft overrunning the runway and coming to a halt in a swamp at the opposite end of the airport. While no casualties were reported, the first officer of the aircraft reported that an alligator living in the swamp attempted to "Make me his supper".
 * On 14 April 2010, A Connext Airlines 737-800 was struck by a catering truck while parked at the gate at Dincuff International Airport.
 * On 15 April 2010, Connext Airlines flight 230, an Embraer E145 had an engine fire warning after landing at Keiste. The aircraft stopped on the runway, and after inspection from fire crews, the engine fire warning was concluded to be faulty.
 * On 28 December 2015, Connext Airlines flight 199, an Embraer E175, was departing Dincuff International Airport en route for Vernon in Ordrey. At 3,000 feet after takeoff, two loud bangs were heard throughout the cabin, followed by the temporary complete loss of control of the aircraft. For 2 seconds, the aircraft fell into a dive before being recovered by the flight crew. The aircraft had lost complete thrust in both engines, as well as damage to the ailerons and horizontal stabilizers. After calling mayday, Flight 199 chose to turn around and land at the nearby Cadiou Airport. After being in the air for 5 minutes, Flight 199 landed extremely hard at Cadiou, resulting in the collapse of the nose gear. According to fire crews, a small fire erupted underneath the plane, but put itself out soonly after. There was one casualty on the flight, a 78-year-old Myrish man. After nearly being scrapped, the aircraft was eventually repaired and put back into service, In 2019, the aircraft was taken out of service due to the age of the aircraft. In the final report, the incident was concluded to have resulted from faulty parts being installed on the aircraft after a minor birdstrike the week preceding the disaster. The installation of faulty or incorrect parts was, unfortunately, a not-so-uncommon incident to occur, with several Connext pilots also reporting benign malfunctions in the aircraft's systems or faulty hardware.
 * On 10 May 2021, Connext Airlines flight 815, a Boeing 737-800, was struck by a drone immediately after departing from Roodham International Airport. The aircraft suffered extreme damage to the left aileron where the drone made contact, however the aircraft was able to circle the airport and land safely with no further incident. The operator of the drone has yet to be identified.