https://airlinegeeks.com/2018/08/09/tbt ... 0661877019
A nice article about this Brussels-based airline.
Trans European Airlines: History
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Re: Trans European Airlines: History
From that article:
Actually, CityBird was in deep problems earlier then 11th Sept 2001: on 4th July 2001, they've asked protection against creditors (sursis provisioire - opschorting betaling)."...But this massive expansion would take a toll on the mainline carrier and with the price of fuel increasing in the late 1980s and early 1990s the carrier couldn’t take the losses. The Belgian Trans European Airlines carrier would be the first in a domino effect of TEA brands to fall, immediately taking the shops, TEAMCO and TEA Belgium brands into bankruptcy in 1991. The airline’s sister carriers would be spun off, but would slowly collapse in the after effects...
...Since the loss of TEA, George Gutelman would go on to attempt to bring low-cost flights to Brussels with CityBird launching in 1996. The airline would last five years before faltering in 2001 following the attacks on September 11..."