Gyliair
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| Founded | 1960 | ||||||
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| Secondary hubs |
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| Frequent-flyer program | Gyliair Frequent Flyer Program | ||||||
| Alliance | CommonSky | ||||||
| Subsidiaries |
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| Fleet size | 180 | ||||||
| Destinations | 100 | ||||||
| Company slogan | From Gylias to the World | ||||||
| Headquarters | Tavis, Aðuna, Gylias | ||||||
| Employees | 70.000 (2020) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.gyliair.gls/ | ||||||
Gyliair is the national airline of Gylias. Its head office is in Tavis, while its hubs are at Mişeyáke and Velouria airports.
Founded in 1960, Gyliair is Gylias' largest airline. Famed for its safety record and egalitarianism, it has an iconic stature within Gylias, and a reputation abroad for excellent customer service and glamour associated with the "golden age" of air travel.
History
Early years
Gyliair was established in 1960, by consolidating civil aviation assets that had come into public ownership.
Its first years were concentrated on domestic flights, internal organisation, and building up its fleet and workforce. During the National Obligation period, it used smaller planes for its fleet, compensating through more frequent flights.
From the start, it followed a similar approach as GNRTS: emphasising passenger comfort, service reliability, and rigorous staff training.
The years 1963–1964 proved a turning point for Gyliair. International flights were inaugurated in 1963. Membership of the Common Sphere, improving economic growth, and the signing of contracts with Kirisakian and Akashian aerospace manufacturers allowed for a significant fleet overhaul. The election of Estelle Launay as Director of the Management Board ushered in an ambitious programme of expansion.
Jet age
Gyliair experienced a "golden age" in the 1960s–1970s, simultaneous with Gylias' economic boom and Golden Revolution. Traffic increased quickly, and the company's routes expanded.
Gyliair built up a reputation for stability, comport, and egalitarianism. It offered the same accommodation and services to all passengers, eschewing travel classes. Plane design emphasised passenger comfort: seats had wide headroom and legroom, seating arrangements encouraged socialisation, and berths and common beds were provided for long-distance and night flights. Onboard services and cuisine were notable for high quality, and it was an early experimenter with in-flight entertainment.
With a dominant position domestically and a monopoly on international flights, Estelle successfully executed her strategy. A talented administrator popular with workers, she directed the company to consolidate its identity and concentrate on foreign markets.
Operations diversified into flight-related trades such as baggage handling, catering, and duty-free stores. The GYLIRES automated reservation system was introduced in 1971. Subsidiary companies were established for hospitality industry and travel agency services, which built a close cooperation with the National Travel Administration.
Gyliair came to embody the ideal of public luxury. Its stylish cabin crew uniforms were designed to instil confidence in its workers, seen as glamorous professionals. The job of flight attendant became much sought-after.
Seen at home as a successful embodiment of the Golden Revolution's ideals, Gyliair's prestige, low prices, and relaxed character attracted foreign passengers, helping fuel a boom in tourism.
Despite these advantages, the airline operated at a loss throughout its golden age, earning the derogatory nickname "The Flying White Elephant". Generous salaries and benefits produced high overhead costs. Its deficits were generally manageable, and covered by the federal government. Estelle herself cared little for profits, and often told colleagues that hitting the break-even point was her ideal.
Struggles
Estelle stepped down as Director of the Management Board in 1979.
Gyliair suffered during the wretched decade as did other public services. Deficits widened due to the economic downturn. Growing competition from domestic airlines and low-cost carriers began to be felt.
A moratorium on further expansion was imposed, with the 1980s being dedicated to consolidation. All remaining turboprop aircraft were retired from service in 1980. Dry leases were employed to control costs during fleet renewal. The company made great efforts to avoid dismissals, including implementing job sharing schemes.
The Filomena Pinheiro government urged Gyliair to bring its operating deficit under control. Following difficult internal debates, the company implemented a wage freeze, which lasted from 1987 to 1989. Among other reforms, inflight smoking was completely prohibited in 1986 and red-eye flights were banned. Domestic routes were reorganised, several being closed down, and the airline moved towards a hub and spoke model.
Recovery and expansion
Gyliair's fortunes improved in the 1990s in tandem with renewed economic growth.
Elected in 1989, the new Director Amédée Lejeune embarked on a two-pronged strategy. Domestically, a managed reduction of short-haul flights was implemented, in line with the Mathilde Vieira government's policy of replacing air travel with high-speed rail. Domestic services were concentrated on large cities. Generous early retirement packages with full benefits were used to adjust workforce numbers accordingly, and personnel were retrained and reassigned to international flights.
Gyliair's focus shifted to international flights, where it capitalised on its reputation and boosted its profile in the Tyranian market. It participated more closely in codeshare agreements, separated its non-flight subsidiaries into independent companies, and divested itself of other holdings to focus on core operations. Improvements in technology allowed it to expand in-flight entertainment and passenger amenities.
It began modernising its fleet in the 1990s to increase fuel efficiency and reduce aircraft emissions.
Amédée's strategy paid off: Gyliair reduced its deficits and reported its first profit in 1996. It has since remained consistently profitable. Its route network shifted towards international flights, and its reputation made it attractive for codeshare agreements.
Contemporary
Amédée retired as Director in 2004.
Recent years have seen a mild expansion of domestic services and reopening of previously closed routes, and the implementation of a long-term program to convert its fleet to sustainable biofuels.
Organisation
Gyliair is a public organisation, overseen by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. It is organised by workers' self-management, and managed by the Management Board.
The Management Board has 20 members, half of which are elected by workers' assemblies, and the other half are chosen through sortition from the populace to be representative of society. The worker assemblies also elect a 25-member Supervisory Board to oversee the workings of the Management Board.
The Management Board is accountable to the Supervisory Board and to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. It sets objectives and strategy, assesses the performance of the company, addresses complaints, and appoints the Director and the Chair of the Management Board.
Elected members of the Management Board are elected to a five-year term, with no term limits. Allotted members of the Management Board are chosen yearly. Members of the Supervisory Board are elected annually without the possibility of immediate reelection.
Gyliair's headquarters are in Tavis, Aðuna.
Business trends
Gyliair has been consistently profitable since 1996, although its profits are small.
Branding
Livery
Gyliair's livery consists of a white fuselage and the four-pointed sun on a white tail. Some planes include the name in golden lettering, others do not.
Several planes received commemorative liveries for its 40th and 50th anniversary.
Use of liveries for marketing or advertising is strictly forbidden by company regulations. Amédée famously likened using Gyliair planes for advertising to "a slap in the face to all Gylians".
Uniforms
The current uniform of Gyliair flight personnel was introduced in 2002. It consists of a navy blue jacket, trousers or skirt (depending on worker preference), a white shirt, and a cap. The cap features a badge depicting a plane. Colourful scarves and bows are optional for wear. White gloves are also worn for health and safety reasons.
Uniforms denote the specific responsibilities of flight personnel using stripes on the jacket shoulders. No stripes indicate normal flight crew, one stripe on each shoulder represents personnel who assist the Flight Service Manager in managing the cabin, and two stripes on each shoulder represent the Flight Service Manager.
The airline orders uniforms for each employee in slightly larger size than actual measurements to prevent excessively tight clothes from interfering with their duties.
Advertising
Gyliair's advertising is concentrated abroad, and is known for its gauchic style.
Slogans it has used include:
- "Gateway to the World"
- "With Gyliair, You're in Good Hands"
- "Gylias, Up Close"
- "At Gyliair, Passengers Are Passengers"
One famous unofficial slogan is "The Only Way to Travel". It originated in The Gylian Journal to lampoon Gyliair's monopoly on international flights. Estelle loved the phrase and appropriated it for international advertising.
The 1967 book Coffee, Tea or Me? has been jokingly dubbed "Gyliair's greatest commercial".
The airline has built an internet presence since the 1990s, and runs a blog which allows customers to make enquiries and the airline to provide important information.
Commemorative figurines
To mark its 50th anniversary, Gyliair released a set of commemorative figurines depicting past uniform designs. The set was produced in cooperation with Gylian toy companies under the name "Uniform Figure Collection".
The initial collection was limited. It became popular and sold out quickly, necessitating additional editions.
Destinations
Gyliair flies to 100 destinations, the majority being international.
The main international hubs are Mişeyáke and Velouria airports. Additional hubs for domestic flights include Argyrokastron, Kyman, Riáona, Landráy, Kaşa, Etra, Garés, Antánas, and Jaţe.
Gyliair serves destinations in most Tyranian countries and a few in other regions. It observes unofficial boycotts of countries with authoritarian regimes or with a history of poor relations.
Fleet
Gyliair operates exclusively narrow-body aircraft. The purchase of wide-body aircraft was initially avoided to control costs in the 1960s, and subsequently became a hallmark policy.
Reasons for its continued avoidance of wide-body aircraft include associated expenses, greater fuel consumption, and clashing with its image.
Planes in current use include:
- MDA E210 (144–157 passengers)
- MDA E220 (179–210 passengers)
- Cheppali 739 (160–170 passengers)
- Cheppali 759 (187–200 passengers)
- Ranier Ra-62 (170–185 passengers)
- Mercuri Talaria (140–160 passengers)
Previously used planes include:
Services
Gyliair has only one travel class for all passengers, equivalent to traditional first class or business class.
Seats have a seat pitch of 150-200 cm, offering significant legroom and headroom. They are variously organised in 2-2 or 3-3 layout, facing each other, or in a circular arrangement.
Extras offered to passengers include blankets, pillows, footrests, noise-canceling earplugs, comfort kits (containing eye mask, toothbrush, toothpaste, lip balm, and skin moisturizer), and power ports for laptops and mobile phones.
Free meals are available, with their cost included in the price of tickets. Special meal offerings can be requested during booking. Alcoholic drinks and drugs can be purchased on board in restricted quantity.
Aircraft are equipped with free audio/video on demand in-flight entertainment systems. These also have internet connectivity, and allow access to Gylian publinet services. A diverse choice of Gylian newspapers and magazines is available.
Special services are provided for passengers travelling with pets, young travellers and infants, and those who require assistance.
The airline's frequent-flyer program is named Gyliair Frequent Flyer Program.
Environmental policy
Gyliair adopted a strong environmental policy starting in the 1990s. Goals include minimising environmental impact and maintaining sustainable practices.
Methods used to reduce its environmental impact include recycling programs, reduced waste in offices and flights, and converting its fleet to biofuels and clean energy sources.
Cultural significance
Gyliair is regarded as a national icon in Gylias. It has a prestigious reputation comparable to GNRTS and P&T, and a lofty position in Gylian pop culture.
The airline has often been depicted in Gylian pop culture, reflecting its fame and impact on Gylian aviation. One of the most famous works to do so was the 1967 book Coffee, Tea or Me?, which became a best-seller and was later adapted as a cartoon and musical.
Internationally Gyliair has a reputation as a "libertine" airline, reflecting the role of Gylias' permissive society in tourism. The airline allows sex between consenting adults as well as mild consumption of drugs and alcohol on its flights.
Accidents and incidents
Gyliair has had seven accidents and incidents in its history, although none have resulted in a loss of life or hull loss since 1964.