Air Comet
IATA ICAO Callsign
A7 MPD RED COMET
Founded23 December 1996 (as Air Plus Comet)
Commenced operations1 March 1997
Ceased operations21 December 2009
Operating basesMadrid–Barajas Airport
Frequent-flyer programClub Air Comet
SubsidiariesAir Comet Chile
Fleet size9
Destinations11
Parent companyGrupo Marsans
HeadquartersMadrid, Spain
Key peopleGerardo Díaz Ferrán
Websiteaircomet.com

Air Comet was an airline based in Madrid, Spain.[1][2] It operated scheduled long-haul services from Madrid to 13 destinations in Central and South America, as well as services in Europe. Its main base was Terminal 1 at Madrid–Barajas Airport. The airline cooperated with airlines such as AeroSur through codeshare agreements.

History

Air Plus Comet Airbus A310-300
Air Plus Comet Boeing 747-200B

The airline was established on 23 December 1996 as Air Plus Comet and started operations on 1 March 1997, based at Madrid-Barajas Airport. On 11 December 1996 Oasis airline ceased operations and their only aircraft, an Airbus A310, and many of their pilots and staff became the foundation of Air Plus Comet. In the post-takeover haste, the airline lacked a commercial name and its ICAO code was MPD, which stood for the last names of its three main executives (Mata, Pascual and Díaz).

It mainly operated long-haul charter services from Madrid and Palma de Mallorca to destinations in America and the Caribbean. It relaunched as a full-service carrier under the Air Comet name in January 2007. It was wholly owned by Grupo Marsans.

In January 2007, the airline took over some of now-defunct Air Madrid's Latin American routes and was renamed Air Comet and changed its livery.[3]

On 11 February 2009, Air Comet was suspended from the IATA Clearing House due to non-payment of its January balance.[4] On 21 December 2009, a High Court in London emitted a verdict favoring the German bank HSH Nordbank, which had sued Air Comet for not meeting the terms of payment for their leased aircraft. Therefore, the airline became legally unable to either operate their four A330-200s or sell any fare tickets. Air Comet's directors announced the airline was ceasing operations owing to bankruptcy.[5]

Destinations

Air Comet flew to the following destinations:[6]

Europe

 Spain

 Italy

 United Kingdom

The Caribbean

 Cuba

South America

 Argentina

 Bolivia

 Colombia

 Ecuador

 Peru

Fleet

Air Comet Airbus A330-200

The Air Comet fleet consisted of the following aircraft[7][8]

Air Comet fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A310-300 10 1997 2009 1 leased from Austrian Airlines
Airbus A320-200 3 2007 2009
Airbus A330-200 8 2006 2009 4 leased from Grupo Marsans
1 leased from Eurofly
1 leased from Iberworld
Airbus A340-300 3 2007 2009
Boeing 737-300 2 2003 2006
Boeing 747-200B 4 2003 2008 2 leased from Aerolíneas Argentinas
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 2 2006 2007
McDonnell Douglas MD-88 2 2005 2007 Leased from Aerolíneas Argentinas

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Oficinas Centrales." Air Comet. 10 February 2007. Retrieved on 22 June 2010.
  2. ↑ "dondeestamos.gif." Air Comet. 3 February 2007. Retrieved on 22 June 2010.
  3. ↑ Airlines Remembered; R. Leeuw - Air Plus Comet
  4. ↑ "Air Comet - IATA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  5. ↑ Milenio - Air Comet cerrará sus operaciones
  6. ↑ Air Comet Schedules Archived 28 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine (as of December 2009)
  7. ↑ "Air Plus Comet Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  8. ↑ "Air Comet Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 6 May 2023.

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