Premiair Airbus A320
Premiair of Denmark began as Conair, founded by Simon Spies, an almost legendary Danish playboy and investor. Spies was already running a successful bus and boat holiday package to the Mallorca Islands, but knew that an airline would be far quicker, and far more profitable. With this in mind, he bought out Flying Enterprise, a bankrupt Danish charter airline, in 1965. It was renamed Conair and incorporated in Spies’ travel agency, Spies Rejser. Flights began with ex-Flying Enterprise Douglas DC-7s. Because the DC-7s were old when Conair took them over, they were replaced in 1970 by two Boeing 720s. Conair was popular with Danish and other travelers, not least because of the free-wheeling reputation of its founder.
The late 1980s proved to be difficult for the airline: Spies died in 1984, and its two 720s suffered nonfatal accidents in 1987. To keep Conair flying, two Airbus A300s were rapidly acquired. Spies’ widow, now in control of the airline, had ambitious plans to expand the company beyond just a pair of second-hand airliners: she wanted to compete with the bigger European holiday charters, such as Air Europe and Dan-Air, and placed an order for six new Airbus A320s, with an expansion of Comair’s route network and charters as well.
This proved to be bad timing: just as Conair was about to relaunch itself, the European charter market nearly collapsed in the wake of the First Gulf War. Fears of terrorism and a brief recession kept Europeans from flying to their favorite holiday locations. Conair was stuck with brand new aircraft, a lot of debt, and few passengers.
Once more, Spies’ reputation saved his airline: unwilling to see his legacy disappear, Conair was bailed out by Danish banks. Even this was not enough to cover Conair’s debts, but salvation came in the form of Swedish charter airline Scanair, which was also in trouble. To save both airlines, Conair and Scanair merged to form Premiair, which was in turn taken over by British-based Airtours International. Though Premiair remained an independent company, it flew under the Airtours umbrella and wore their livery.
When both Spies Rejser and Airtours was taken over by My Travel in 1996, both the Airtours and Premiair name disappeared in favor of My Travel Airways.
This A320 shows the last Premiair livery, which was identical to Airtours with the exception of titling.
Premiair Airbus A320
Premiair of Denmark began as Conair, founded by Simon Spies, an almost legendary Danish playboy and investor. Spies was already running a successful bus and boat holiday package to the Mallorca Islands, but knew that an airline would be far quicker, and far more profitable. With this in mind, he bought out Flying Enterprise, a bankrupt Danish charter airline, in 1965. It was renamed Conair and incorporated in Spies’ travel agency, Spies Rejser. Flights began with ex-Flying Enterprise Douglas DC-7s. Because the DC-7s were old when Conair took them over, they were replaced in 1970 by two Boeing 720s. Conair was popular with Danish and other travelers, not least because of the free-wheeling reputation of its founder.
The late 1980s proved to be difficult for the airline: Spies died in 1984, and its two 720s suffered nonfatal accidents in 1987. To keep Conair flying, two Airbus A300s were rapidly acquired. Spies’ widow, now in control of the airline, had ambitious plans to expand the company beyond just a pair of second-hand airliners: she wanted to compete with the bigger European holiday charters, such as Air Europe and Dan-Air, and placed an order for six new Airbus A320s, with an expansion of Comair’s route network and charters as well.
This proved to be bad timing: just as Conair was about to relaunch itself, the European charter market nearly collapsed in the wake of the First Gulf War. Fears of terrorism and a brief recession kept Europeans from flying to their favorite holiday locations. Conair was stuck with brand new aircraft, a lot of debt, and few passengers.
Once more, Spies’ reputation saved his airline: unwilling to see his legacy disappear, Conair was bailed out by Danish banks. Even this was not enough to cover Conair’s debts, but salvation came in the form of Swedish charter airline Scanair, which was also in trouble. To save both airlines, Conair and Scanair merged to form Premiair, which was in turn taken over by British-based Airtours International. Though Premiair remained an independent company, it flew under the Airtours umbrella and wore their livery.
When both Spies Rejser and Airtours was taken over by My Travel in 1996, both the Airtours and Premiair name disappeared in favor of My Travel Airways.
This A320 shows the last Premiair livery, which was identical to Airtours with the exception of titling.