Air Spain was a Spanish

charter airline Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a airline ticket, ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad h ...

that operated from 1965 to 1975. Its main base was Son Sant Joan Airport, in

Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

.Planespotters - Air Spain
/ref> Air Spain declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 1975 and its fleet was sold off by the following year.airliners.de - Air Spain
/ref>

History

Air Spain was established in January 1965 by Lieutenant General

Rafael García Valiño Rafael García Valiño (24 October 189829 June 1972) was a Spanish army officer who fought in the Spanish Civil War for the Nationalist faction. Early life He was born in Toledo, and enrolled in the Infantry Academy at age fifteen. In 1916, ...

and Banco del Noroeste. Its Director General was José Maria Rivero de Aguilar and its Director of Operations Colonel Carbó. Both directors were relatives of General García Valiño and both were as well from military background, which facilitated their relationship with the Director General of Civil Aviation and made possible the issuing of licenses, a common practice in

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

. The airline began operations in May 1967 using former

British Eagle British Eagle International Airlines was a major British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline that operated from 1948 until it went into liquidation in 1968. It operated scheduled and charter services on a domestic ...

Bristol Britannia The Bristol Type 175 Britannia is a retired British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the Commonwealth. During development two prototypes were lost and the turboprop engines proved sus ...

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

aircraft.El Britannia en Air Spain
With the aim of modernizing the fleet, the Britannias were replaced between 1971 and 1973 by former

Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Ea ...

Douglas DC-8-20 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Ju ...

.Aviation Corner
/ref> As a result of increased operation costs owing to the lack of passenger traffic during the winter months and the

1973 oil crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...

, the airline ceased operations in February 1975.

Destinations

Air Spain was geared mainly towards

tourism in Spain Tourism in Spain is a major contributor to national economic life, contributing to about 11.8% of Spain's GDP (in 2017). Ever since the 1960s and 1970s, the country has been a popular destination for summer holidays, especially with large numb ...

, which at that time was booming. International services were operated between different European cities and the airports of the Balearic Islands,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

and

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

. Flights were on a charter basis, reaching a peak during the summer months in

Peninsular Spain Peninsular Spain refers to that part of Spanish territory located within the Iberian Peninsula, thus excluding other parts of Spain: the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta, Melilla, and a number of islets and crags off the coast of Moro ...

destinations, as well as in the Balearic Islands.Air Spain - Airnieuws archives
/ref>

Fleet

References

External links

*
Aerobernie - Air SpainAirlines - Spain
{{Airlines of Spain Defunct airlines of Spain Airlines established in 1965 Airlines disestablished in 1975 1975 disestablishments in Spain Spanish companies established in 1965

History

Destinations

Fleet

See also

References

External links