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Spanair ceased operations late Friday after a regional government in Spain announced it could no longer fund the airline, officials said.

Spanair’s financial woes were exacerbated by a 2008 crash that killed 154 people. Eighteen people survived what was Spain’s worst aviation disaster in 25 years. In a statement, the airline said its “‘last commercial flight will land at’” 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Jan. 27.

The regional government of northeastern Catalonia, which had been investing in the country’s No. 4 airline since its 2008 purchase from SAS Scandinavian Airlines System International, said in a statement that it could no longer bankroll Spanair.

source: washingtonpost.com

The Catalan regional government – ‘la Generalitat’ – has come to Spanair‘s rescue last week with a 10.5 million euro loan to cover a share increase in the airline.

“‘Or the government stepped in now, or Spanair was going to fall,'” said Francesc Homs, the Generalitat’s spokesperson, describing the loan as an “’emergency credit'”.

According to Homs the only way the government could save the airline from imminent collapse was to extend this emergency credit and give Spanair some “‘financial stability'” at least.

The president of Spanair, Ferran Soriano, has been angered by Homs’ comments, maintaining that the credit was part of a programme of share capital increases that had been deliberate “‘since the summer'”.

source: The Reader.es

A combination of factors is likely to have caused the plane crash at Madrid Airport which left 153 people dead, Spain’s civil aviation chief has said.

Manuel Batista said failure in one of the Spanair jet’s two engines should not have been enough to cause a crash.

New footage of the tragedy shows the plane struggling to gain altitude but does not show any explosion as it was taking off, contrary to some reports.

source: teletext.co.uk

Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA said, if its bid for SAS’s Spanair is successful, it will use the low-cost flyer to increase domestic and long haul routes, especially at the Barcelona El Prat airport.

Speaking during a presentation on full-year results, Iberia chairman Fernando Conte said a Spanair tie-up would also increase cost cutting synergies and reinforce more direct routes with hubs.

source: Forbes

Iberia, Spain’s flagship airline, plans to bid for Spanair, an ailing unit of Scandinavia’s SAS AB, the Spanish carrier said in a statement Thursday.

Iberia said in a regulatory filing that it planed to launch the bid in partnership with local Spanish transport company Gestair. Market analysts estimated Spanair’s worth could be around €800 million (US$1.17 billion).

If successful, a takeover of the country’s second-largest carrier would give Iberia a tighter grip on domestic flights, currently under siege from local and international low-cost airlines.

source: International Herald Tribune

On May 10, Bilbao played host to numerous events to celebrate the launch of the Spanair route linking the Biscayan and Bavarian capitals, which was inaugurated on the 15th of April.

The day commenced with the arrival at Bilbao airport of the “‘inaugural flight'” from Munich, transporting members of the German press invited to the event. On landing, the aeroplane was baptised in the presence of aviation and tourism authorities.

source: easier

Spanair launches an exclusive check-in and boarding service for users of the Madrid – Barcelona route in terminal 3 at Madrid – Barajas airport.

The new services will substantially reduce the distance passengers have to cover within the airport building.

From the 30th of October, Spanair will provide its customers with a check-in and boarding service in Terminal T3 at Madrid – Barajas Airport. This service includes five exclusive check-in desks and four Easy check-in machines, in addition to the check-in systems already available to passengers at Terminal 2, the web-based service, spanair.com, and the telephone check-in service.

source: Easier