Draft:Germanair GmbH

Germanair

An Airbus A300 of the airline
IATA ICAO Call sign DV(1) DV(1) GERMANAIR
Founded	1964 (1964) as Südwestflug GmbH
Commenced operations	September 1, 1968 (1968-09-01)
Ceased operations	January 1, 1977 (1977-01-01) merged to form Bavaria-Germanair
Hubs	Frankfurt Airport
Fleet size	9
Headquarters	Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Notes
(1) before the mid-1980s, ICAO and IATA codes were the same, both two-letters

Germanair was a charter airline based in Germany. It started as a modest airline, but throughout the 1970s grew to become a sizeable operation, before merging with Bavaria Fluggesellschaft on March 1, 1977 to form 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, three Douglas DC-6ss, were purchased in September 1965. They were used by the company to fly potential customers to Spain and the Canary Islands for property viewings.

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. 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. The Douglas aircraft were phased out and replaced by three BAC 111 series 500 aircraft fitted with 114 seats during late 1969 into early 1970. The twin-engine aircraft were used extensively for inclusive tours and other charter flights throughout Europe and even North Africa. A second-hand Douglas DC-9-10 was loaned from McDonnell Douglas as a stop-gap aircraft for a short time between April and August of 1969. In the 1970 fiscal year, the company transported approximately 470,000 passengers using an all-jet fleet.

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, in 1972, the airline incorporated into its fleet four Fokker 28s owned by the charter airline Bonair and operated on its behalf.

Germanair was an early customer for the Airbus A300, acquiring the 12th example built. Nicknamed "Maximilian", she had appeared at the Paris Air Show just a few days before. "Maximilian" was delivered on May 23, 1975, entering service shortly thereafter in June of 1975. Germanair became the first German operator of this aircraft type. A second A300 was received a year later and both (fitted with 314 seats) spent a lot of flying hours shuttling passengers between Germany and the holiday centres in the Mediterranean basin and Canary Islands. On May 12, 1976, both A300s arrived at Glasgow Prestwick Aiport, having been charted for the 1976 European Cup Final between Bayern München and Saint-Étienne.

At the end of 1974, Bavaria Fluggesellschaft also came under the sole ownership of the Schörghuber Group, leading to close cooperation with Germanair. In May 1975, Ernst Uhl was appointed joint managing director of the two companies. Although both airlines continued to operate under their own brand identities, they cooperated in all areas under the intent of an eventual merge. Although legally beginning on January 1, 1977, the merger was actually finalized on March 1, 1977. This resulted in the airline Bavaria Germanair, which has since (following further mergers) been absorbed into TUIfly.

Fleet

Over the years, the following aircraft types were operated:

Aircraft	Quantity	Introduced	Retired
Douglas DC-6	x1 -6, x2 -6A	1965	1970
McDonnell Douglas DC-9	x1 -10	1969	1969
BAC One-Eleven	x1 -400, x7 -500	1969	1977
Fokker F28 Fellowship	x4 -1000	1972	1977
Airbus A300	x2 B4	1975	1977

Fleet gallery

• 
  Douglas DC-6A in May 1969
• 
  Douglas DC-9-15 in August 1969
• 
  One-Eleven 524 in January 1970
• 
  Fokker F-28-1000 in May 1973

See also

List of defunct airlines of Germany

External links

This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.

Categories:

• Defunct airlines of Germany
• Airlines established in 1964
• Airlines disestablished in 1977
• German brands
• Defunct low-cost airlines
• Defunct European low-cost airlines
• Companies based in Frankfurt
• German companies established in 1964