Maersk Air

Maersk Air A/S was a Danish airline which operated between 1969 and 2005. Owned by the eponymous A. P. Møller–Mærsk Group, it operated a mix of scheduled and chartered passenger and cargo services. Headquartered at Dragør, its main operating bases were Copenhagen Airport, Billund Airport and Esbjerg Airport. The airline had offshore helicopter operations from 1975 to 1999 and had three airline subsidiaries: Maersk Air UK, Maersk Commuter and Star Air.

The airline was founded on the foundations on the purchase of Falck Air on 21 February 1969. Fokker F27s were bought and domestic services from Copenhagen to Odense and Stauning. From 1971 to 1995 Maersk participated in Danair, which held a monopoly on all domestic services. Maersk Air was heavily involved in the inclusive tours market during the 1970s, operating the Boeing 720 and 737-200. From 1981 Maersk started international flights, first out of Billund and from the 1990s out of Copenhagen.

Maersk Air gradually invested in new aircraft, including the Fokker 50, Boeing 737 Classic and later the 737-700. During the 1990s the number of international services increased, often codesharing with foreign airlines. With the Danish airlines deregulated in 1995, Maersk first sought to compete with Scandinavian Airlines. They later created a cartel. After being exposed, the airline fell into a decline after 2001, posting large deficits from which it never recovered. The airline was bought by the FL Group and merged with Sterling Airlines in 2005.

Maersk

Coordinates: 55°41′14.81″N 12°35′53.28″E / 55.6874472°N 12.5981333°E / 55.6874472; 12.5981333

A.P. Moller–Maersk Group (Danish: A.P. Møller–Mærsk A/S, Danish pronunciation: [ˈæːˀ ˈpʰeːˀ mølɐˈmæɐ̯sg̊]), also known as Maersk, is a Danish business conglomerate. A.P. Møller – Maersk Group has activities in a variety of business sectors, primarily within the transportation and energy sectors. It has been the largest container ship operator and supply vessel operator in the world since 1996.

A.P. Møller – Maersk Group is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, with subsidiaries and offices in more than 135 countries worldwide and around 89,000 employees. It ranked 148 on the Forbes Global 2000 list for 2015.

History

A.P. Møller – Maersk Group started as the shipping company Dampskibsselskabet Svendborg (Danish for "Svendborg Steamship Company") founded by captain Peter Mærsk-Møller and his son Arnold Peter Møller (2 October 1876 - June 1965) in Svendborg, April 1904. A.P. Møller had four children, two by each of his two wives Chastine Estelle Roberta Mc-Kinney and Norwegian-born Pernille Ulrikke Amalie Nielsen. A.P. Møller's second child was Arnold Mærsk McKinney Møller (13 July 1913 – 16 April 2012).