Air Spain

Air Spain
IATA ICAO Callsign
- JA -
Founded 1965
Commenced operations 1967
Ceased operations 1975
Operating bases Palma de Mallorca Airport
Headquarters Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Key people Rafael García Valiño
Air Spain Bristol Britannia in flight

Air Spain was a Spanish charter airline that operated from 1965 to 1975. Its main base was Son Sant Joan Airport, in Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands.[1]

Air Spain declared bankruptcy in 1975 and its fleet was sold off by the following year.[2]

History

Air Spain was established in January 1965 by Lieutenant General Rafael García Valiño and Banco del Noroeste. Its Director General was José Maria Rivero de Aguilar and its Director of Operations Colonel Carbó. Both directors were relatives of General García Valiño and both were as well from military background, which facilitated their relationship with the Director General of Civil Aviation and made possible the issuing of licenses, a common practice in Francoist Spain.[3]

The airline began operations in May 1967 using ex British Eagle Bristol Britannia turboprop aircraft.[3] With the aim of modernizing the fleet, the Britannias were replaced between 1971 and 1973 by ex Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-8-20.[4] As a result of increased operation costs owing to the lack of passenger traffic during the winter months and the 1973 oil crisis, the airline ceased operations in February 1975.[3]

Destinations

Air Spain was geared mainly towards tourism in Spain, which at that time was booming. International services were operated between different European cities and the airports of the Balearic Islands, Barcelona, the Canary Islands, Málaga, Alicante and Girona. Flights were on a charter basis, reaching a peak during the summer months in Peninsular Spain destinations, as well as in the Balearic Islands.[5]

Fleet

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Planespotters - Air Spain
  2. ↑ airliners.de - Air Spain
  3. 1 2 3 El Britannia en Air Spain Archived December 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Aviation Corner
  5. 1 2 Air Spain - Airnieuws archives

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/17/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.