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airsLLide No. 12360: B-2806, Boeing 757-21B, China Southern Airlines, Sharjah, November 24, 1996.

Many aviation buffs know Sharjah in the UAE for the lively cargo business, with carriers from Africa, Europe, India and - especially back in the late 1990s - the GUS using the airport. However, Sharjah also had a smaller, but no less diverse passenger business going at said time. European leisure carriers refuelling en-route to Southeast Asia, local airlines from various Arab countries, rarely seen African carriers and once in a while even a scheduled service from China allowed for the icing on the cargo cake.

While China Southern still uses the same livery as displayed on one of its long gone Boeing 757s up to the present day, the passenger business in Sharjah has changed a lot since the 1990s. With the arrival of low cost carrier Air Arabia, the share of passenger traffic has grown notably, but this carriers now also clearly dominates it.

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airsLLide No. 18777: G-OKDN, Boeing 737-8Q8, Sabre Airways, Corfu, June 18, 2000.

Sabre Airways was founded in December 1994 to operate leisure flights for the British market, mostly to destinations in the Mediterranean. In addition, it also offered ACMI services with its fleet of initially Boeing 727s, later Boeing 737-800s.

In 2001, following the acquisition of over 66% of its shares by Libra Holdings, the airline altered its name to Excel Airways and added Boeing 767 widebodies to the fleet. In 2004, the Avion Group that also owned Air Atlanta Icelandic acquired a 40% share of Excel Airways.

Following a management buy-out in 2006, XL Leisure Group became the new owner of the airline, and its name was changed once more to XL Airways. Ssister airlines in France (Star Airlines) and Germany (Star Europe) were re-branded accordingly to XL Airways France and XL Airways Germany at the same time.

XL Leisure Group had to file for bankruptcy on September 11, 2008, citing week demand and an economic slow-down. That move also sent XL Airways UK, née Sabre Airways, into liquidation, while the French and German subsidiaries initially escaped bankruptcy and stayed afloat until 2012 (XL Germany) and 2019 respectively (XL France).

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B-1 B.

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F-117A

@AcePilotAV via X

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Just so impressive 😎 the XB-70 too fast to intercept 😉 one of the fastest planes to ever fly. Mach 3 speed, the equivalent of 2000 miles per hour. #aviation #avgeeks Credit: PlaneHistoria

@Stealthy360 via X

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Ben Mc Laughlin- The Train

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Whoa, I think I finally found an A-10 shot in the archives with @DaleStarkA10 in it. I'm guessing this was when he had just established that badass stache. 😀🤙 that hair ain’t regulation.

@TimFarmer via X

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Blackbird Family

@Habubrats71 via X

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Charlotte's Chariot.

Oshkosh 2024