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| Founded | December 1986; 38 years ago (1986-12) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | March 1988; 37 years ago (1988-03) | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 27 January 2012; 13 years ago (2012-01-27) | ||||||
| Hubs | Barcelona | ||||||
| Focus cities | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Spanair Star[1] | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance(2003–2012) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 28 | ||||||
| Destinations | 40 | ||||||
| Parent company |
| ||||||
| Headquarters | L'Hospitalet de Llobregat,Barcelona,Spain | ||||||
| Key people | Mike Szücs (CEO)[2] | ||||||
Spanair S.A. was a Spanishairline, with its head office in the Spanair Building inL'Hospitalet de Llobregat, nearBarcelona. Until 2009, it was a subsidiary of theSAS Group; the same parent company in control ofScandinavian Airlines and held slightly under 20% of the company.[3] Spanair provided a scheduled passenger network withinSpain andEurope, with an extension toWest Africa. Worldwide charters were also flown for tour companies. Its main hub wasJosep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport, with focus cities atAdolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport andPalma de Mallorca Airport. The airline had 3,161 employees[2] and was aStar Alliance member from 2003 until its demise on 27 January 2012.
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The airline was established in December 1986 and began operations in March 1988. It was set up as a joint venture betweenScandinavian Airlines and Viajes Marsans, and began operations with European charters. Long-haul flights to theUnited States,Mexico and theDominican Republic were launched in 1991, followed by domestic scheduled flights in March 1994. The airline flew long-haul flights withBoeing 767-300ER aircraft toWashington andBuenos Aires in the late 1990s.
Spanair joined theStar Alliance on 1 May 2003.[4]
SAS announced in a press release 13 June 2007 that it would sell its shares in Spanair.[5] The divestment was cancelled on 19 June 2008 due to SAS not being able to sell for a price that it considered to "reflect the underlying value in Spanair." On 30 January 2009, however, a one-euro bid from a group of investors fromCatalonia, led by the Consorci de Turisme de Barcelona and Catalana d'Initiatives, was later accepted, whereupon SAS became a minority shareholder.[3]
A report in the British newspaperThe Times on the day ofthe 2008 Madrid crash suggests that staff were threatening strike action due to concerns about the company's viability.[6]
In 2009 the airline asked for public input on a new logo,[7] with a winner being officially confirmed on 13 May 2009. As of June 2009, Spanair began applying the new corporate identity to their aircraft.[8]
On 25 January 2011, the company was in an "Emergency Financial Situation". TheCatalan government approved a €10.5 million loan plan in order to save it. Revenue improved and the company began cutting costs. Financially troubled during its last few years, Spanair ended operations on 27 January 2012, afterQatar Airways pulled out of talks to inject cash into the airline.[9] As a result, SAS had a write-down of 1.7 billionSwedish kronor ($251 million U.S.).[10] Ana Pastor, the development minister of Spain, said that the Spanish government may fine the airline 9 million euros (US$12 million) after breaking serious aviation security rules by shutting down without proper notice.[11][12] The carrier said all flights will remain suspended, but it did not say whether it planned to file for bankruptcy.[13][14] The last passenger flight was JK1326 fromTrondheim toLas Palmas.
Spanair's head office was located in the Spanair Building (Edifici Spanair) inL'Hospitalet de Llobregat, nearBarcelona.[15]
Previously Spanair's head office was in the Spanair Building on the grounds ofPalma de Mallorca Airport inPalma de Mallorca.[16] In 2008, during the changes in ownership, Spanair said that its head office would remain in Palma de Mallorca, despite rumors that the company would relocate its head office to Barcelona.[16]In 2009 the company announced that it planned to relocate its corporate offices to Barcelona.[17] In May 2009 Spanair made Barcelona its registered domicile. The airline began to search for a site for the Spanair headquarters in Barcelona.[18] In June of that year around 200 employees protested outside of the Spanair offices in Palma, saying that the timetable to move the offices was too hasty.[17]
For economy-class passengers traveling within Western Europe the airline offered abuy on board service offering food and drinks for purchase.[19] Spanair also had revamped their own frequent flyer programme which was renamed Spanair Star. It was innovative for allowing members to redeem points immediately, in the form of a discount on a future flight.
Between 1995 and 2005, Spanair was the main kit sponsor of Spanish football clubRCD Mallorca.
Spanair had codeshare agreements with the following airlines until of January 2012,[20] Airlines marked with * were members ofStar Alliance at the time of Spanair's collapse.
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The Spanair fleet consisted of the following aircraft at the time of closure.[21][22][23]
| Aircraft | In service | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | |||
| Airbus A320-200 | 19 | 48 | 108 | 156 | Flexible two-class layout |
| — | 180 | 180 | |||
| Airbus A321-200 | 5 | — | 212 | 212 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 2 | — | 153 | 153 | Leased fromScandinavian Airlines |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-87 | 2 | — | 125 | 125 | Flexible two-class layout |
| Total | 28 | ||||
Spanair operated the following aircraft before its closure:[citation needed]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 717-200 | 4 | 2007 | 2011 | Transferred toBlue1 |
| Boeing 757-200 | 2 | 1996 | 1998 | Leased fromAirtours International Airways |
| 4 | 1999 | 2000 | Leased fromAir2000,Air Holland, andMonarch Airlines | |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 3 | 1991 | 2002 | One leased fromLauda Air |
| Fokker 100 | 3 | 2005 | 2008 | Leased fromGirjet |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 | 1 | 1989 | 1989 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-81 | 3 | 2005 | 2006 | Leased fromScandinavian Airlines |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 15 | 1990 | 2009 | Flexible two-class layout |
| 1 | 2008 | crashed asSpannair Flight 5022 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 25 | 1993 | 2011 | |
| 1 | 1991 | 1991 | Private Jet expedition use | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-87 | 18 | 1996 | 2011 |
Media related toSpanair at Wikimedia Commons
