Spanair

Spanair SA
IATA code :	JK
ICAO code :	JKK
Call sign :	SPANAIR
Founding:	1986
Operation stopped:	2012
Seat:	L'Hospitalet de Llobregat , Spain
Turnstile :	Barcelona-El Prat
Home airport :	Barcelona-El Prat
Company form:	Sociedad Anónima
IATA prefix code :	680
Management:	Mike Szücs ( CEO )
Number of employees:	3,161 (May 2009)
Sales:	approx. one billion euros
Passenger volume:	10.2 million (2008)
Alliance :	Star Alliance
Frequent Flyer Program :	SpanairStar
Fleet size:	29
Aims:	National and international
Spanair SA ceased operations in 2012. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation.

Spanair SA was a Spanish airline based in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and based on the Barcelona-El Prat and a member of the airline alliance Star Alliance . It ceased flight operations at the end of January 2012 and went into bankruptcy .

history

The Spanair headquarters

The Spanair logo from 1995 to 2009

Spanair was founded in December 1986 and started its first flights in March 1988, initially as a pure charter airline . From 1994 on, regular scheduled flights were also offered.

Between November 1997 and March 2002 Spanair also offered intercontinental scheduled flights to Latin America and the USA , which were operated with Boeing 767-300ER and led to Rio de Janeiro and Havana , among others . Since 2002, however, long-haul routes have no longer been carried out by Spanair itself, but exclusively by code-sharing with other airlines.

Since April 2003 Spanair has been a member of the international airline alliance Star Alliance , which also includes Lufthansa and Thai Airways . In May 2003 Spanair received the IOSA safety certificate from IATA for the first time , which has been renewed three times since then.

In June and September 2007 Spanair expanded its fleet by a total of four Boeing 717-200s , which were again handed over to Blue1 in spring 2011 . In November of the same year, a lounge was opened at Madrid-Barajas Airport.

On July 16, 2008, the line announced a radical austerity program. Because of growing competition, but above all because of rising fuel prices, Spanair cut 1,100 of 3,800 jobs and deleted nine routes from the flight plan.

On January 31, 2009 it was announced that the SAS Group had sold 80.1% of the shares to a consortium. The SAS Group continued to hold a minority stake of 19.9%. A symbolic price of one euro was agreed as the purchase price. The SAS also assumed the debt of almost € 500 million. In addition to the regional government of Catalonia and the city of Barcelona , the buyer consortium also includes several private investors. In May 2009, Spanair and other companies moved into the new Terminal 1 at Barcelona Airport and opened their third lounge there.

In December 2011, Qatar Airways announced that it would take over a 49% stake in Spanair for 116 million euros. In the same year, the previous frequent flyer program Spanair Plus was replaced by SpanairStar .

On January 27, 2012, Spanair ceased operations at short notice after negotiations about financial investments with Qatar Airways and the Catalan government had failed. Spanair finally filed for bankruptcy three days later .

Destinations

Spanair served numerous destinations within Spain such as Alicante , Granada , Madrid , Seville and Valencia and also flew to some destinations in Europe and North Africa, including Stockholm and Algiers . In the German-speaking area, Spanair served Frankfurt am Main , Hamburg and Munich in winter 2011 .

Code sharing

In addition, Spanair had codeshare agreements with several other airlines, including Air Comet and, since January 2010, with Brussels Airlines , Lufthansa , Egyptair and Turkish Airlines .

fleet

A McDonnell Douglas MD-83 Spanair in an older livery

As of October 2011, the Spanair fleet consisted of 29 aircraft with an average age of 12.1 years:

Aircraft type	active	ordered	Remarks	Seats
Airbus A320-200	19th			156-180
Airbus A321-200	05			212
McDonnell Douglas MD-82	01		should be retired by early 2012	153
McDonnell Douglas MD-83	03		should be retired by early 2012	170
McDonnell Douglas MD-87	01		leased from SAS ; should be retired by early 2012	109
total	29	-

Incidents

Spanair recorded an accident with fatalities in its history:

On August 20, 2008, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 with the registration number EC-HFP on Spanair flight 5022 had an accident at Madrid-Barajas Airport . The machine with the destination Gran Canaria crashed shortly after the start of runway 36L due to incorrect operation of the buoyancy aids by the pilots from a height of 40  feet (12 m), shattered and went up in flames. 154 of 172 people on board were killed.

→ Main article : Spanair flight 5022

See also

• Former Airlines List (Europe)

Web links

Commons : Spanair  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Data about the airline Spanair in the Aviation Safety Network (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Mike Szücs, new Ceo of Spanair , Spanair website, May 21, 2009
2. ↑ ^{a b} airliners.de - Spanair files for bankruptcy January 30, 2012
3. ↑ spanair.com - A few words about Spanair (English) accessed on February 11, 2011
4. ↑ spanair.com - Obtención del Certificado Internacional de Seguridad IOSA (Spanish) accessed on February 11, 2011
5. ↑ ^{a b c} “News” , Spanair website, accessed on February 11, 2011 (English)
6. ↑ ^{a b c d} Spanair looks to lease aircraft to replace 717s (English) November 24, 2010
7. ↑ Spanair announces a feasibility plan to face the economic crisis and the record fuel price increase , Spanair website, July 16, 2008, (English)
8. ↑ 324.cat - El 49% de Spanair serà de Qatar Airways abans que acabi l'any (Catalan) December 14, 2011
9. ↑ airliners.de - Spanair ceases operations January 29, 2012
10. ↑ worldairlinenews.wordpress.com - Spanair to shut down tonight after Qatar Airways declines to invest (English) January 27, 2012
11. ↑ Destinations , Spanair website, accessed on February 11, 2011 (Spanish)
12. ↑ ch-aviation.ch - Spanair fleet (English) accessed on October 25, 2011
13. ↑ airfleets.net - Spanair fleet age (English) accessed on October 25, 2011
14. ↑ spanair.com - Spanair Fleet (English) accessed on April 11, 2010
15. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report in the Aviation Safety Network , accessed on January 28, 2012.
16. ↑ Report A-032/2008. Accident involving McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD82) aircraft, registration EC-HFP […]. (PDF; 5.9 MB) Accident report from the Spanish Ministry of Transport (Ministerio de Fomento). Comisión de Investigación des Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviación civil, October 26, 2011, p. 264 , accessed on December 23, 2014 (English).