Johan Martin Schröder (13 May 1931 – 2 October 2024) was a Dutch pilot and founder of
Martinair
Martinair (legally ''Martinair Holland N.V.'') is a Dutch cargo and former passenger airline headquartered and based at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The airline was founded in 1958 by Martin Schröder (aviator), Martin Schröder, and is currently ...
, the second Dutch airline (after
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ), ) and the first Dutch
air charter
Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline).
Regulation
Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...
company.
Life and career
Schröder was born in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
on 13 May 1931.
At the founding in 1958 the company was known as Martin's Air Charter (MAC).

In 1998 (40 years after the founding of Martinair) Schröder retired as president and CEO. He was succeeded by Aart van Bochove.
Between September 1975 and September 1976 Schröder was chairman of
AMREF
Amref Health Africa is a Kenyan-based non-governmental organization focused on providing community and environmental healthcare to countries in Africa. It is considered one of the most prominent health NGOs in Africa.
History
Originally known ...
Flying Doctors Nederland. In 1981 he became an honorary member of the organisation.
His son Marc Schröder founded the unmanned filling station chain Tango and Route Mobiel, a roadside assistance service.
Martin Schröder died in
Noordwijk
Noordwijk () is a town and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water and had a population of in .
On 1 January 2019, the f ...
on 2 October 2024, at the age of 93.
References
External links
*
Martin Schröder, lastige pionier met passie ''BN De Stem'', 24 May 2008
1931 births
2024 deaths
Businesspeople from Amsterdam
Dutch aviators
Dutch corporate directors
Dutch chief executives in the airline industry
Dutch company founders
Dutch investors
Dutch nonprofit directors
Dutch nonprofit executives
Martinair
{{Netherlands-business-bio-stub