Germanair GmbH
| File:Germanair Airbus A300 Marmet.jpg | |
| Founded | 1964 as Südwestflug GmbH |
|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 1964 as Südwestflug GmbH |
| Ceased operations | 1 January 1977 merged to form Bavaria-Germanair |
Germanair was a charter airline based in Germany. It started as a modest concern but in the 1970s it grew to a sizeable dimension before merging with a sister airline to become Bavaria Germanair.
History
The airline's origins date back to 1964, when Südwestflug GmbH was founded in Baden-Baden. The majority shareholder (50%) was Contracta, a leading German real estate company. The aim was to operate passenger charter flights catering to all travel and holiday agencies in the region. The first aircraft, two Douglas DC 6Bs, were purchased.[1]
On September 1, 1968, the company name was changed to Germanair Bedarfsluftfahrt GmbH & Co. K.G., while ownership was acquired by the Goetz textile group and the headquarters moved to Frankfurt.[2] The operations continued positively and undisturbed to the point that in April of the following year the property was acquired by the fellow charter airline Transportflug.[3] The Douglases were phased out and replaced by three BAC 111 series 500 aircraft fitted with 114 seats. Two more examples were purchased in the following years. The twin-engine aircraft were used extensively for inclusive tours and other charter flights throughout Europe and even North Africa.[4] A second-hand Douglas DC 9 series 15 was used as a stop-gap aircraft for a short time in 1969.
At the beginning of 1971, the majority shareholding passed into the hands of Josef Schorgruber, who already held 26% of the fellow charter airline Bavaria with which a collaborative relationship was established in various fields. Shortly thereafter, the airline incorporated into its fleet four Fokker 28s owned by the charter airline Bonair and operated on its behalf.[5]
Germanair was an early customer for the Airbus A300, acquiring the 12th example built and which entered service in June 1975. Appropriately named "Maximilian" it had appeared at the Paris Air Show a few days before. A second one was received a year later and both (fitted with 314 seats) spent a lot of flying hours shuttling between the main German cities and the holiday centres in the Mediterranean basin and Canary Islands.[6]
In the following years, the collaboration with Bavaria intensified and led to the merger between the two airlines, legally on 1 January 1977, operationally on the following 1 March, still under the control of Josef Schorgruber.[7]
Fleet gallery
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Douglas DC-6A in May 1969
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Douglas DC-9-15 in August 1969
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One-Eleven 524 in January 1970
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Fokker F-28-1000 in May 1973
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Airbus A300
See also
References
- ↑ "World Airline Survey". Flight International. London: 554. 11 April 1968.
- ↑ "World Airline Survey". Flight International. London: 574. 10 April 1969.
- ↑ "World Airline Survey". Flight International. London: 483. 26 March 1970.
- ↑ Church, Richard (1994). The One-Eleven Story. Tonbridge (Kent - U.K.): Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. pp. 106–107. ISBN 0 85130 221 1. Search this book on
- ↑ "World Airline Survey". Flight International. London: 26. 18 May 1972.
- ↑ Endres, Gunter (1999). Airbus A300. Shrewsbury (U.K.): Airlife Publishing Ltd. p. 80. ISBN 1 84037 069 6. Search this book on
- ↑ "World Airline Survey". Flight International. London: 939. 9 April 1977.
External links
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