Air Comet was an airline based in Madrid, Spain.[1][2] It operated scheduled long-haul services from Madrid to 13 destinations in Central and South America, as well as services in Europe. Its main base was Terminal 1 at Madrid–Barajas Airport. The airline cooperated with airlines such as AeroSur through codeshare agreements.
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| Founded | 23 December 1996 (as Air Plus Comet) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 1 March 1997 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 21 December 2009 | ||||||
| Operating bases | Madrid–Barajas Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Club Air Comet | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | Air Comet Chile | ||||||
| Fleet size | 9 | ||||||
| Destinations | 11 | ||||||
| Parent company | Grupo Marsans | ||||||
| Headquarters | Madrid, Spain | ||||||
| Key people | Gerardo Díaz Ferrán | ||||||
| Website | aircomet.com | ||||||
History
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The airline was established on 23 December 1996 as Air Plus Comet and started operations on 1 March 1997, based at Madrid-Barajas Airport. On 11 December 1996 Oasis airline ceased operations and their only aircraft, an Airbus A310, and many of their pilots and staff became the foundation of Air Plus Comet. In the post-takeover haste, the airline lacked a commercial name and its ICAO code was MPD, which stood for the last names of its three main executives (Mata, Pascual and Díaz).
It mainly operated long-haul charter services from Madrid and Palma de Mallorca to destinations in America and the Caribbean. It relaunched as a full-service carrier under the Air Comet name in January 2007. It was wholly owned by Grupo Marsans.
In January 2007, the airline took over some of now-defunct Air Madrid's Latin American routes and was renamed Air Comet and changed its livery.[3]
On 11 February 2009, Air Comet was suspended from the IATA Clearing House due to non-payment of its January balance.[4] On 21 December 2009, a High Court in London emitted a verdict favoring the German bank HSH Nordbank, which had sued Air Comet for not meeting the terms of payment for their leased aircraft. Therefore, the airline became legally unable to either operate their four A330-200s or sell any fare tickets. Air Comet's directors announced the airline was ceasing operations owing to bankruptcy.[5]
Destinations
editAir Comet flew to the following destinations:[6]
- Europe
- Madrid - Madrid Barajas Airport base
- The Caribbean
- South America
Fleet
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The Air Comet fleet consisted of the following aircraft[7][8]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A310-300 | 10 | 1997 | 2009 | 1 leased from Austrian Airlines |
| Airbus A320-200 | 3 | 2007 | 2009 | |
| Airbus A330-200 | 8 | 2006 | 2009 | 4 leased from Grupo Marsans 1 leased from Eurofly 1 leased from Iberworld |
| Airbus A340-300 | 3 | 2007 | 2009 | |
| Boeing 737-300 | 2 | 2003 | 2006 | |
| Boeing 747-200B | 4 | 2003 | 2008 | 2 leased from Aerolíneas Argentinas |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 2 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-88 | 2 | 2005 | 2007 | Leased from Aerolíneas Argentinas |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Oficinas Centrales." Air Comet. 10 February 2007. Retrieved on 22 June 2010.
- ^ "dondeestamos.gif." Air Comet. 3 February 2007. Retrieved on 22 June 2010.
- ^ Airlines Remembered; R. Leeuw - Air Plus Comet
- ^ "Air Comet - IATA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
- ^ Milenio - Air Comet cerrará sus operaciones[permanent dead link]
- ^ Air Comet Schedules Archived 28 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine (as of December 2009)
- ^ "Air Plus Comet Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ "Air Comet Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
External links
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Media related to Air Comet at Wikimedia Commons