Spanair is the second largest airline in Spain, with its head office in the Spanair Building in Barcelona. It was, until 2009, a subsidiary of Scandinavian Airlines Systems, which now holds slightly under 20% of the company.[2] Spanair provides a scheduled passenger network within Spain and Europe, with an extension to West Africa. Worldwide charters are also flown for tour companies. Its main hub is El Prat Airport in Barcelona, with focus cities at Barajas Airport in Madrid and Son Sant Joan Airport in Palma de Majorca. The airline has 3,161 employees.[3]
[edit] 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 Systems 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.[4]
The company was owned 94% by the SAS Group Scandinavian Airlines Systems. SAS Group announced in a press release 13 June 2007 that it would sell its shares in Spanair.[5] 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.[2]
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.[6]
In 2009 the airline asked for public input on a new logo,[7] with a winner being officially confirmed on 13 May 2009.[8]
As of June 2009, Spanair has begun applying the new corporate identity to their aircraft.[9] At October 2009, only 1 aircraft had been painted in the new livery.[citation needed]
[edit] Destinations
[edit] Codeshare agreements
Spanair has codeshare agreements with the following airlines as of April 2008:[10]
Note: This list includes Star Alliance (SA) partners.
[edit] On-board service
For economy-class passengers traveling within Western Europe the airline offers a buy on board service offering food and drinks for purchase.[11]
The Spanair fleet consists of the following aircraft (at 9 November 2009):[12]
The airline announced on 19 August 2009 that it intends to replace 11 McDonnell Douglas jets in its fleet with new Airbus planes in 2010.[13]
[edit] Gallery
[edit] Head office
Spanair's head office is now in the Spanair Building (Edifici Spanair) in Barcelona.[14]
Previously Spanair's head office was in the Spanair Building on the grounds of Palma de Mallorca Airport in Palma de Mallorca.[15] 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. [15] In 2009 the company announced that it planned to relocate its corporate offices to Barcelona.[16] In May of 2009 Spanair made Barcelona its registered domicile. The airline began to search for a site for the Spanair headquarters in Barcelona.[17] In June of that year around 200 employees protested outside of the Spanair offices in Palma, saying that the timetable to move the offices is too hasty.[16]
[edit] Accidents and incidents
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.[18] The initial investigation reports mention no deployment of flaps with failures in the take off configuration warning system.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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