Are you interested in a short summary of Martinair's history, read this page
1958
Martinair was established on May 24, 1958 by aviation pioneer Martin Schröder. At the time the airline did not carry its present name, but was called “Martin’s Air Charter” (MAC). With a fleet counting but one aircraft and a workforce of five, the fledgling airline operated roundtrip flights above Amsterdam and ad-hoc passenger and cargo flights. MAC’s first destination abroad was Palma de Mallorca, with more than five long hours in the air, coffee from a flask and homemade sandwiches instead of a hot meal. By no means the level of comfort our customers can count on nowadays, but certainly an absolute sensation. Flying in those days was a genuine happening.
It represented the start of the airline known today as Martinair. Established personally by Martin Schröder, who teamed up with a group of enthusiastic individuals and pulled out all the stops to create today’s airline, now an established household name throughout the Netherlands and beyond.
1960's
The airline’s operations and fleet expanded gradually during these initial years. With the introduction of the DC-3s, a DC-4, DC-7s, Doves and a Convair 440, a start was made operating vacation flights in cooperation with tour operators. Worldwide cargo services and special missions were initiated, too, including the transport of Tibetan refugees to Switzerland for the Red Cross and, later, the flights carrying relief supplies for famine-stricken Biafra.
Back home, Martinair took up occupancy of its Palengebouw premises at Schiphol (East). After five years of serving as the company’s sole shareholder, Martin Schröder was joined by four shipping companies (in time, Nedlloyd), each acquiring a 12.25% stake in MAC’s capital. In the years ahead, KLM took over the remaining 50%. In 1966, the airline changed names from MAC to “Martinair Holland”.
Martinair purchased its first DC-8 and DC-9 jet aircraft opening up air travel for the average vacationer. Activities literally took off from this point. In addition to operating flights for the Dutch Royal Family and members of parliament, we also transported football teams to and from competitions abroad and wounded skiers from far-away slopes back to the Netherlands. Things really got going at the end of the 1960s when Martinair was awarded landing rights for both passengers and cargo from the U.S. aviation authorities, signifying commencement of North American operations. Healthy expansion served to fuel the need for alternative accommodation. In 1968, Prince Bernard ceremoniously opened Martinair’s new headquarters at Schiphol-Center – still occupied by the company today.
1970's
Martinair’s annual Red Cross day-trip flights for people with a serious illness or handicap commenced in 1971. This came in response to a request for sponsorship of the Red Cross’ new boat, the Henri Dunant. In the same year, Martinair said goodbye to its last propeller-driven aircraft and, in so doing, became a fully-fledged jet airline. Another important development this year was the introduction of the new house style with the “MAC” logo on the tail vanishing and being replaced by the stylized red “M”, an impression of Martin Schröder’s signature. Martinair also initiated its “hadj flights”, transporting pilgrims from Indonesia to Mecca. Fate struck during one of these flights – on December 4, 1974 – when the DC-8 flew into the side of a mountain while approaching its landing in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Tragically, all 184 Indonesian passengers and 7 Dutch crew members died.
Martinair’s fleet was expanded with the addition of its first wide-body aircraft with two aisles, a DC-10. A total of four aircraft of this type were taken up in the fleet. Within the space of a few days, these aircraft can be reconfigured for passenger or cargo transport. This aircraft type symbolizes Martinair’s strength, being able to flexibly cater to changing market demands. Buoyed by international growth in the cargo market, Martinair opened its first establishment abroad in Hong Kong in 1975, followed by Frankfurt and London. On purchasing the new F-28 (PH-PBX) government aircraft, Martinair became the Netherlands’ Royal Airline.
1980's
Despite economic challenges at the outset of the decade, the demand for wide-body aircraft grew. Martinair ordered its first two Boeing 747s. To create space for these massive aircraft, construction of Hangar 4 was initiated at Schiphol-East. Several years later, Hangar 32 followed.
The first Jumbo jet arrived at Schiphol in 1987, followed by a second a year later. Long-range passenger carriers (Boeing 767-300 ERs) were purchased to serve the market in Florida and the Caribbean which began to expand towards the end of the 80's.
1990's
Because of the Boeing 767’s suitability for flights to the Caribbean, four more of these aircraft were taken up in the fleet within a relatively short space of time.
Growth in cargo traffic prompted the acquisition of a special Boeing 747 cargo carrier or full freighter, in 1991. This aircraft was the first to boast the name "Martinair Cargo" on its body and the words “Martinair Holland” on the other aircraft were replaced by a slightly larger "Martinair." The handwriting remained constant until 2004.
The second dark page in Martinair’s history came when a DC-10 crashed at Faro on December 21, 1992, killing 56 people - including two crew members - of a total number of 340.
In the U.S., Martinair USA withdrew from New York and took occupation of its new offices in Boca Raton (Florida).
The DC-10s were replaced with the more modern MD-11s. Four of these aircraft were ordered. The first, a convertible, touched down at Schiphol in 1994. The remaining three arrived a year later. And two more followed in 1996 and 1998.
Martinair strengthened its position in the rapidly expanding South American cargo market by acquiring a 40% stake in Colombian cargo carrier TAMPA. A news sales office was opened in Brussels, a regional cargo office in Nairobi and a new Inflight Services building opened its doors at Schiphol-North in the Netherlands.
Martinair President & CEO Martin Schröder withdrew from active service in 1998, 40 years after the airline’s establishment. Ties with KLM were strengthened through the national carrier’s intention to become the sole owner of Martinair through acquisition of Nedlloyd’s shares. However, since the European Commission in Brussels failed to grant its approval for the transaction, the shareholder situation remains unchanged to date. And Aart van Bochove succeeded Martin Schröder as President & CEO.
2000's
The new century kicked off with Martinair booking its worst results ever. The "Red Alert" program was called to life. The measures that followed included scrapping non-profitable intercontinental routes and termination of its business fleet operations. While recovery had set in at Martinair, this process derailed in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, plunging the global airline industry into a period of economic turmoil. Despite the challenges, Martinair succeeded in operating profitably.
In 2002, CFO Arie Verberk took over from Aart van Bochove at the helm as Martinair’s President & CEO. The cargo fleet was expanded with the addition of a Boeing 747 and an MD-11. And, in the passenger fleet, a Boeing 767 and the last Boeing 757 were replaced by three new Airbus 320s, enabling Martinair to serve more markets.
Brand awareness
With brand awareness in the Netherlands upwards of 90%, a market share of more than 30% in the Dutch vacation segment, and rated 15 on the list of the world’s biggest cargo carriers, Martinair is certainly a major player. The Martinair fleet’s design has been a familiar concept since 1971. After 33 years, Martinair changed and modified its aircraft livery. The traditional Martinair marking, an artistic director’s interpretation of the signature of founding father Martin Schröder, has been significantly enlarged and now fills the entire tail. As such, it now propels the aircraft forward. The red and blue house colors, as well as the word and logo have been maintained.
On 30 October 2005 Martinair introduced its Comfort Class on long-haul flights, in addition to the existing Star Class and Economy Class. A separate cabin was set up for Comfort Class,
with 91 seats. For an extra 65 euros per person each way, passengers could enjoy more legroom as well as personal entertainment with a DigEplayer. The Comfort Class was so successful that on 1 November 2006 Martinair introduced this class on its shorter European flights as well. Starting in the summer season of 2007, Star Class was eliminated and Comfort Class expanded.
In September 2007 Paul Gregorowitsch succeeded Arie Verberk as CEO. Nowadays the Board of Directors at Martinair consists of three persons. Paul Gregorowitsch (Managing Director), Rob Hougee (Chief Financial Officer) and Diederik Pen (Chief Operating Officer).
Under leadership from Paul Gregorowitsch the managementteam introduced a radical, expeditiously implemented restructuring plan. The net contribution of all the activities was reviewed and assessed. An examination was conducted to determine whether it would be better to outsource certain activities to achieve economies of scale and quality benefits or to keep the activities in-house. The effect of the “make or buy” process came through in 2008 and brought down costs.
As per November 1, 2007 Martinair left the shorthaul market. Herewith the European destinations were taken off the flight schedule. The 32-year-old subsidiary Martinair Partyservice had already been sold to Maison van den Boer in August 2006. The company continued providing the highest level on the market, still operating for a time under the name Martinair Partyservice before this was changed to Oseven in November 2007. In late 2007 Martinair reached an agreement with the management of its subsidiary Marfo on the takeover of that company by its own management, with the intention that Marfo would continue operating from Lelystad as an autonomous company. The subsidiary Skyjob was sold to Zaankracht Beheer in January 2008. In April 2008 Martinair concluded an agreement with the Colombian airline Avianca about the sale of Martinair’s shares in Tampa. A component of this agreement was the retention of the strategic cooperation between Martinair Cargo and Tampa.
Scale increases and synergy will clearly be the future core values in aviation. The Air France – KLM Group submitted an application to the European Commission
in 2008 for permission to become the sole shareholder of all the shares in Martinair. Permission was granted at the end of 2008, following a thorough investigation,
which the European Committee conducted among the market parties concerned. The KLM Group bought the remaining 50% of the shares from Maersk. Martinair became
part of the Air France – KLM Group on 31 December 2008. This offers Martinair and its employees new prospects.
Together with Air France – KLM and Transavia.com (also fully owned by Air France – KLM) we are now looking for opportunities to reach synergy. Question is, where do the three airlines have the possibility to work together and save on costs. One of the consequences of this research is that nowadays the catering on board of Martinair flights is no longer provided by Martinair’s own catering service, but by KLM Catering Services. Also at the check-in passengers will no longer be welcomed by a staffmember in a red uniform but by a KLM collegue.
Martinair 50 years
Clearly, generating economies of scale and synergies are core values for the airline industry to achieve success in the future. In 2008, the Air France KLM Group submitted a request to the European Commission for it to assume 100% ownership over Martinair’s shares. Following a detailed study involving the respective market parties, the European Commission granted its approval at the end of 2008. The KLM Group acquired the remaining 50% shareholding from Maersk. Effective December 31, 2008, Martinair joined the Air France KLM Group. This afforded Martinair and its employees new opportunities and prospects.
Together with Air France KLM and transavia.com (also a wholly owned subsidiary of Air France KLM), we began exploring opportunities to generate synergies. In what areas could the three airlines cooperate to achieve significant cost savings? Consequently, for example, catering on board Martinair flights was handed over to KLM Catering Services in 2009 instead of being taken care of internally as before. And Martinair’s passengers are now checked in by KLM colleagues, instead of staff dressed in red.
In the wake of the economic crisis, capacity within the Air France KLM Group was reduced. This meant that four Martinair Cargo Boeing 747 BCFs had to be parked in the desert and that two of KLM’s Boeing 747 ERFs were taken up in Martinair Cargo’s operations within the scope of a pilot project effective June 15, 2009. The blue Boeings do display the ‘operated by Martinair’ banner. In February 2010, two more KLM Boeing 747 ERFs joined the fleet as part of the same project.
Effective July 2009, two Boeing 767s (PH-MCG and PH-MCH) began to be phased out, leaving four Boeing 767s to continue passenger operations.
In June 2010, Martinair relocated to its new TransPort headquarters on Piet Guilonardweg, Schiphol-East. The Havenmeesterweg building (Schiphol Center) was sold to Schiphol. Martinair occupies the new building jointly with transavia.com. The new building satisfies stringent sustainability standards and was also the first building in the Netherlands to be awarded the prestigious BREEAM-NL certificate: Very Good. BREEAM-NL stands for Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method.
General
Now, in 2010, Martinair employs a workforce of around 1,700 worldwide.
Martinair Cargo maintains flexible and versatile operations when it comes to scheduled and ad-hoc flights from Schiphol using Boeing 747 ERF and MD11 equipment. With regional offices in Bangkok, Nairobi and Miami, the network focuses on Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Martinair Cargo has established a solid reputation worldwide as the biggest transporter of perishables: cut flowers, vegetables and fruit. On-board climate control ensures that the flowers reach their destination in mint condition. In addition to the flowers, vegetables and fruit, Martinair carries all conceivable kinds of cargo – cows to the Middle East, horses to a jumping competition, the latest cars, computers and so much more.
Martinair’s passenger flights are operated using four Boeing 767s. Our destinations include those in sunnier climes in the Greater Caribbean and Mombassa, Kenya. In addition to holidaymakers, Martinair carries lots of friends and family members visiting Aruba, Curaçao and Mexico. In sync with KLM’s European network, Martinair transports numerous international passengers as well as Dutch nationals.
Studies show that the friendly, personal service provided by our red Cabin colleagues is highly appreciated by passengers, generating a 97% satisfaction score.
