page_title: History of Maersk Air
section_title: New airlines
hierarchical_section_title: History of Maersk Air / New airlines
context_page_description: Maersk Air was a Danish airline which operated between 1969 and 2005. Owned by the eponymous A. P. Møller–Mærsk Group, it operated a mix of scheduled and chartered passenger and cargo services. Headquartered at Dragør, its main operating bases were Copenhagen Airport, Billund Airport and Esbjerg Airport. The airline had offshore helicopter operations from 1975 to 1999 and had three airline subsidiaries: Maersk Air UK, Maersk Commuter and Star Air.
  The airline was founded on the foundations on the purchase of Falck Air on 21 February 1969. Fokker F27s were bought and domestic services from Copenhagen to Odense and Stauning. From 1971 to 1995 Maersk participated in Danair, which held a monopoly on all domestic services. Maersk Air was heavily involved in the inclusive tours market during the 1970s, operating the Boeing 720 and 737-200. From 1981 Maersk started international flights, first out of Billund and from the 1990s out of Copenhagen.
  Maersk Air gradually invested in new aircraft, including the Fokker 50, Boeing 737 Classic and later the 737-700. During the 1990s the number of international services increased, often codesharing with foreign airlines.
context_section_description: Maersk established a cargo division, Maersk Air Cargo, in 1982. Due to regulations, it only acted as a ground handling agent for overseas airlines, the largest being Cathay Pacific. When the cargo market was deregulate din 1987, Star Air was established as a separate cargo company directly under the Maersk Group. Incorporated on 1 September 1987, it bought an existing hangar on the south sector of Copenhagen Airport. Three Fokker F-27-600s were leased and converted to combi-freighters. These could be converted from freighter to passenger configuration in half an hour. Star Air originally had a mix of operations. One part was corporate charters, one was wet leasing to other airlines, one was charter and domestic operations for Maersk Air, and finally it conducted European hauls for freight companies, including FedEx, TNT and United Parcel Service (UPS). A Star Air F-27 crashed during landing at Cologne Bonn Airport on 26 May 1988, killing the crew of two.
  Although initially profitable, Star Air recorded a loss of DKK 10 million in 1991. To cut costs the operations were transferred to a new legal entity, Star Air I/S, which was then placed under Maersk Air. At the time UPS was looking for a European partner to haul intra-European flights out of Cologne Bonn Airport, using a fleet of Boeing 727s. Star Air missed this contract narrowly to Sterling, an existing 727 operator. However, in 1993 Sterling fell into financial distress and was not able to meet its contractual obligations. UPS turned to Maersk, signing a deal on 22 October 1993. UPS Airlines transferred two of its 727-200s to Maersk and within ten days operations had commenced. This were based at Cologne Bonn Airport and involved flights to Milan, Rome, Zaragoza and Porto.
  With the deregulation approaching, Maersk looked at other markets in which it could operate. Maersk determined that the British market was lucrative. Through its joint venture with British Airways, the Plimsoll Line, it bought Birmingham Executive Airways. The Plimsoll Line had previously bought Plymouth-based Brymon Airways and also owned Plymouth City Airport. The rules at the time hindered Maersk from owning more than fifty percent of the company. Birmingham Executive Airways was of particular interest for Maersk as they held concessions from Birmingham Airport to Copenhagen, Göteborg Landvetter Airport and Milano. This would allow Maersk to establish itself with additional international routes.
  To expand its operations, Birmingham Executive Airways changed its name to Birmingham European Airways and replaced its older Jetstream 31 and Grumman Gulfstream I turboprops with four British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven. By 1991 its revenue had tripled to £56.7 million, although its deficits plummeted eightfold to £11.8 million. The two companies were merged in 1992 and renamed Brymon European Airways. However, the two parts of the airline has vastly different scopes, fleets and strategies and few synergies could be taken advantage of. Maersk and British Airways therefore decided to split up the company. The company was demerged in 1993, with British Airways taking over the former Brymon operations and Maersk taking over the former Birmingham operations. The latter was renamed Maersk Air UK.
  Maersk signed a franchise agreement in which Maersk Air UK would fly with British Airways livery and flight codes, but at their own expense and their own aircraft and crew. International services were provided out of Birmingham to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Cork, Dublin, Milan and Stuttgart with the One-Elevens. Domestic services were flown with turboprops to Glasgow, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Belfast. Patronage rose from 300,000 to 451,000 from 1992 to 1996. The 737-500s were delivered from 1996.
  The airline carried out a major overhaul of its fleet in 1996. The four One-Elevens were sold and replaced with newer Boeing 737-500s. Meanwhile, a Jetstream 41 was transferred from British Airways, replacing the smaller Jetstream 31s. The services to Dublin, Cork and Glasgow were terminated and instead a route was started t
caption: Boeing 727-200 of Star Air at Faro Airport
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