Aviaco
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| Founded | 18 February 1948 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 1 September 1999 | ||||||
| Operating bases | Madrid-Barajas Airport | ||||||
| Parent company | Iberia | ||||||
| Headquarters | Madrid, Spain | ||||||
| Key people | Elías Ugartechea Isusi | ||||||
Aviación y Comercio, S.A., doing business as Aviaco, was a Spanish airline headquartered in the Edificio Minister in Madrid.
The carrier was formed by Bilbaíno businessmen as a freight company on 18 February 1948. A group of local bankers provided the necessary funds for the acquisition of six Bristol 170s. Given that Iberia had exploited the most profitable domestic and international routes since the early 1940s, Aviaco restricted its operations to secondary routes. Scheduled passenger services started between Bilbao and Barcelona and Madrid. The first international route was Algiers–Palma–Marseilles, while Canary Islands-based flights were launched shortly afterwards. In 1954, the airline won the contract for operating an airmail service between Madrid and Barcelona. In 1955, the airline's headquarters were transferred from Bilbao to Madrid, and the Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI) took over a majority interest in the company.
The financial structure of the company was re-organised in 1959, when the capital was halved to ESP 50 million, whereas Iberia injected ESP 100 million, becoming the owner of ⅔ of the shares, with the balance being split between the initial shareholders and INI. The move permitted Aviaco to acquire three second-hand Convair 440s from Sabena. These were the airline's first pressurized aircraft. By April 1960, the company had 702 employees; a fleet of three Bristol 170s, three Convair 440s, five Heron IIs and five Languedocs served a route network that included Barcelona, Brussels, Casablanca, Las Palmas, Madrid, Oran, Palma, Tanger, Tenerife and Tetouan. Two Convair 240s were bought from Varig in 1962. In early 1964, the carrier signed a contract with Aviation Traders for the conversion of two of its DC-4s into Carvairs; the first converted airframe was delivered in June the same year.
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