Star Air (Maersk)
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| Founded | 1 September 1987 | ||||||
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| Operating bases | Cologne Bonn Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 11 | ||||||
| Parent company | A. P. Møller–Mærsk Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Dragør, Denmark | ||||||
| Key people | Søren Graversen (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | starair.dk | ||||||
Star Air A/S is a Danish cargo airline which is part of the A. P. Møller–Mærsk Group. It operates a fleet of twelve Boeing 767 cargo aircraft. These are on contract to United Parcel Service (UPS) and operate out of Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany. Star Air is headquartered in Dragør, Denmark, at the premises of Copenhagen Airport, and had a revenue of 833 million Danish krone (DKK) in 2013.
The airline was established in 1987 with the purchase of Alkair's Fokker 27 operation. Originally the airline had three Fokker F27 Friendships, which later increased to four. These were used for both passenger and cargo operations. One was involved in a fatal accident in 1988. Star Air secured a last-minute deal with UPS in 1993, allowing it to start operations out of Cologne/Bonn with Boeing 727s.
Star Air became a subsidiary of Maersk Air in 1993. The Fokkers were retired in 1996—after which the airline had exclusively flown for UPS. Boeing 757s were introduced in 2001. From 2005 to 2006 the airline replaced its entire fleet, introducing the 767s. Meanwhile, Maersk Air was sold to Sterling Airlines and ownership resumed to the Maersk Group.
The Maersk Group entered the airline industry when it established Maersk Air in 1979. Given the nature of the mother company, Maersk Air looked at the possibilities to operate the cargo segment. The airline started operation with three F27s, mounted with cargo doors for easy conversion to cargo configuration. Oriental Air Transport Services, a cargo handling company based at Kastrup, was bought in 1971. The airline aimed at buying a Boeing 747, but restrictions on freight caused these plans to be abandoned.
Until 1987 the rules in Denmark only permitted SAS to operate freight charters. The only exception was if the entire shipment had a single sender and recipient. This made filling an entire cargo plane uneconomical and resulted in Maersk abandoning its cargo plans. Maersk Air Cargo was founded in 1982, but only acted as at cargo division. Due to the regulations, it only acted as a ground handling agent for overseas airlines, the largest being Cathay Pacific.
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