Wikipedia

Spanair

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 188.84.18.231 (talk) at 13:16, 28 January 2012 (→‎History). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Spanair was a Spanish airline, with its head office in the Spanair Building in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, near Barcelona. It was, until 2009, a subsidiary of Scandinavian Airlines, which held slightly under 20% of the company.[3] Spanair provided a scheduled passenger network within Spain and Europe, with an extension to West Africa. Worldwide charters were also flown for tour companies. Its main hub was Barcelona El Prat Airport, with focus cities at Madrid-Barajas Airport and Palma de Mallorca Airport. The airline had 3,161 employees.[4] On 25 January 2011, the company was in an "Emergency Financial Situation." The Catalonian government approved a €10.5 million loan plan in order to save it. Revenue improved and the company was cutting costs; however on 27 January 2012, the airline ceased operations after a rescue deal with Qatar Airways fell through. Spanair was a Star Alliance member from 2003 until its demise.

Spanair
IATA ICAO Callsign
JK JKK SPANAIR
Founded1986
Ceased operations27 January 2012
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programSpanair Star[1]
AllianceStar Alliance
Fleet size29
Destinations40
Parent companyConsortium of Investors (led by Consorci de Turisme de Barcelona and Catalana d'Inciatives) (80.1%)
SAS Group (19.9%)
HeadquartersL'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
Key peopleMike Szücs (CEO) [2]
Websitehttp://www.spanair.com
Former Spanair logo

History

The airline was established in December 1986 and began operations in March 1988. It was set up as a joint venture between Scandinavian Airlines and Viajes Marsans, and began operations with European charters. Long-haul flights to the United States, Mexico and the Dominican Republic were launched in 1991, followed by domestic scheduled flights in March 1994. The airline flew long-haul flights with Boeing 767-300ER aircraft to Washington and Buenos Aires in the late 1990s. Spanair joined Star Alliance on 1 May 2003.[5]

The company was 94% owned by the SAS Group. SAS announced in a press release 13 June 2007 that it would sell its shares in Spanair.[6] The divestment was canceled 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 group of investors from Catalonia, led by the Consorci de Turisme de Barcelona and Catalana d'Inciatives, was later accepted, whereupon SAS became a minority shareholder.[3]

A report in The Times on the day of the Madrid crash suggests that staff were threatening strike action due to concerns about the company's viability.[7]

In 2009 the airline asked for public input on a new logo,[8] with a winner being officially confirmed on 13 May 2009.

As of June 2009, Spanair began applying the new corporate identity to their aircraft.[9]

Financially troubled over the past few years, Spanair ended operations on 27 January 2012, after Qatar Airways pulled out of talks to inject cash into the airline. [10]

Destinations

Main article: Spanair destinations

Codeshare agreements

 
A Spanair Airbus A320 in Star Alliance livery landing at Barajas Airport, Spain. (2005)
 
A Spanair Airbus A320 in their latest livery. (2009)

Spanair had codeshare agreements with the following airlines as of October 2010,[11] * indicate as Star Alliance.

On-board service

For economy-class passengers traveling within Western Europe the airline offered a buy on board service offering food and drinks for purchase.[12]

Fleet

The Spanair fleet consisted of the following aircraft in November 2011.[13][14][15]

Spanair Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A320-200 19 48
— 		108
180 		156
180 		flexible two-class layout
Airbus A321-200 5 — 212 212
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 1 68
— 		85
170 		153
170 		Flexible two-class layout
Exit from service: 2012
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 3
McDonnell Douglas MD-87 1 — 125 125 Flexible two-class layout
Exit from service: 2012
Total 29

As in November 2011, the average age for the Spanair fleet is 12.1 years.[16]

The airline announced on 19 August 2009 that it intended to replace 11 McDonnell Douglas jets in its fleet with new Airbus planes in 2010.[17]

Total: 36 planes.

Head office

 
Spanair head office in l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, near Barcelona

Spanair's head office was located in the Spanair Building (Edifici Spanair) in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, near Barcelona.[18]

Previously Spanair's head office was in the Spanair Building on the grounds of Palma de Mallorca Airport in Palma de Mallorca.[19] 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. [19] In 2009 the company announced that it planned to relocate its corporate offices to Barcelona.[20] In May 2009 Spanair made Barcelona its registered domicile. The airline began to search for a site for the Spanair headquarters in Barcelona.[21] 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.[20]

Incidents and Accidents

Main article: Spanair Flight 5022

On 20 August 2008 at 14:45 CEST, a Spanair McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft, flight number JK 5022, crashed with 165 passengers and nine crew members on board moments after takeoff at Madrid's Barajas Airport on a scheduled flight to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. 18 of the 172 on board survived. Initially 19 people survived, but one person died in hospital three days after the crash.[22] The initial investigation reports no deployment of flaps with failures in the take-off configuration warning system.

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Barcelona, 21 May 2009. Spanair announces the appointment of Mike Szücs as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
  3. ^ a b "Definitive agreement regarding the sale of Spanair signed". January 30, 2009.
  4. ^ The company had 3,161 employees and a fleet of 45 aircraft.
  5. ^ Spanair Star Alliance information
  6. ^ "New direction will ensure SASs future". June 13, 2007.
  7. ^ Steve Keenan (August 20, 2008). "'Organised chaos' at crash airline Spanair - A report suggests pilots were planning strikes as Spanair planned job cuts and fewer flights after sell-off plan failed". Times Online.
  8. ^ "Juntos elegimos la nueva identidad visual de Spanair." Spanair. Retrieved on 6 May 2009.
  9. ^ "Spanair's new livery on a first A320." Skyliner. Retrieved on 6 June 2009.
  10. ^ Spanair shuts down
  11. ^ Spanair Codeshare Agreements
  12. ^ "Menu and Minibar." Spanair. Accessed March 15, 2011.
  13. ^ Spanair Fleet
  14. ^ Spanair official fleet page
  15. ^ Seatmaestro page for Spanair
  16. ^ Spanair Fleet Age
  17. ^ Reuters.com Spanair says to replace 11 jets 19 Aug 2009
  18. ^ "Contacts." Spanair. Retrieved on 29 December 2009. "Edifici Spanair. Plaça d'Europa 54-56, 08902 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona)"
  19. ^ a b "Spanair to retain HQ in Palma." The Mallorca. 23 December 2008. Retrieved on 18 October 2009.
  20. ^ a b "Spanair workers demonstrate against move to Barcelona." thinkSpain, Wednesday 17 June 2009. Retrieved on 18 October 2009.
  21. ^ "Spanair moves its registered domicile to Barcelona." Invest in Catalonia. 14 May 2009. Retrieved on 18 October 2009.
  22. ^ "Spanish plane that crashed had overheated valve". Associated Press. August 21, 2008.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spanair.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spanair&oldid=473682249"