Albanian Airlines MAK Sh. p.k. (trading as Albanian Airlines) was an airline

Airline

An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

 based in Tirana

Tirana

Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...

, Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

. It operated scheduled international services. Its main hub was Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza. On 11 November 2011 Albania’s Civil Aviation Authority revoked the license of Albanian Airlines.

Formation

The airline was established in May 1991 under the name of Arberia Airlines, and was the private airline of politicians for communist Albania. It was later renamed Albanian Airlines in May 1992 and started open operations to the public in mid 1992.
It was formed as a joint venture between the Albanian state-owned Albtransport and Tyrolean Airways of Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 flying a single Austrian registered, De Havilland Canada Dash 8-102 - Manufacturer Serial Number 243 (OE-LLI), as part of a deal to allow Gernot Langes-Swarovski and Christian Schwemberger-Swarovski, the principles of Tyrolean Airways, to establish a crystal cutting facility in Albania for Swarovski crystal. The aircraft were originally flown and maintained by Canadian pilots and mechanics under Austrian licences. Tyrolean opted out of the relationship in August 1994, taking back the single Dash 8.

Privatisation

Albanian Airlines was privatised in the same year and sold to Kuwaiti

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

-based M.A. Kharafi & Sons Group. As a result, it was restructured in 1997 when its operations were based on a single Airbus A320

Airbus A320

The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...

 - 231 aircraft leased from Shorouk Air of Egypt. By 2001 it operated a fleet of 4 Tupolev Tu-134

Tupolev Tu-134

The Tupolev Tu-134 is a twin-engined airliner, similar to the American Douglas DC-9 and the French Sud Aviation Caravelle, and built in the Soviet Union from 1966–1984. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain other Russian airliners , it can operate from unpaved...

 aircraft on scheduled services from Tirana to Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

, Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

, Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, Pristina

Pristina

Pristina, also spelled Prishtina and Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district....

, Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 and Zürich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

. In July 2001 Albanian Airlines started upgrading its fleet by gradually removing its Tupolev aircraft and acquired its first BAe 146

BAe 146

The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...

. Two more BAe 146

BAe 146

The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...

 were added in 2003 and 2004. This upgrading process allowed the company to expand to new strategic markets such as Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

In August 2008, Albanian Airlines was purchased by the Advanced Construction Group (ACG) Sh.p.k. in Tirana, Albania, by the President Yahia Farwati, who purchased 100% of capital from the Kuwaiti-based M.A. Kharafi & Sons Group.

Evsen Group

On August 14, 2009, it was announced that Albanian Airlines had been sold to Azerbaijani-based Turkish Evsen Group, of which will be purchased by the Azeri Group 93% and 7% retained by the Advanced Construction Group.

With this investment came a new logo, addition of destinations, and an addition of aircraft to the existing fleet. In 2009, the carrier saw the addition of aircraft are two Boeing 737

Boeing 737

The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...

 as well as one Boeing 757

Boeing 757

The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...

, all of which were leased from Air Slovakia

Air Slovakia

Air Slovakia was an airline based in Bratislava, Slovakia, operating out of M. R. Štefánik Airport. The airline offered scheduled and chartered passenger flights, as well as aircraft lease .- History :...

.

On October 9, 2009, it was announced that Albanian Airlines would soon open new destinations to Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Rome, Athens, Jedahh, Beijing, and later the United States of America. Along with lower rates of travel, the addition of more Fokker 100, and scheduled use of the Boeing 747

Boeing 747

The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...

, such claims fell through due to financial problems, including the repossession of all leased aircraft from Air Slovakia

Air Slovakia

Air Slovakia was an airline based in Bratislava, Slovakia, operating out of M. R. Štefánik Airport. The airline offered scheduled and chartered passenger flights, as well as aircraft lease .- History :...

.

Fleet

As of October 2011, the Albanian Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft with an average age of 22.5 years:

Albanian Airlines fleet

Aircraft	Total	Orders	Passengers	Notes
BAe 146-200 BAe 146 The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...	1	0	92
BAe 146-300 BAe 146 The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...	2	0	92 and 98
Total	3	0