and , as Spain opened up to the outside world and tourists , the company began charter flights to various points in Europe . In 1963 , it incorporated two Sabena DC- 6s for charter flights from Palma to European destinations . In February 1964 , an agreement was reached to convert two DC-4s into ATL-98 Carvairs to be used for passenger and car transport from Barcelona and Valencia to |
Palma . Additionally , in the spring of 1965 , to increase charter flights between the UK and Spain ( mainly Gatwick-Bilbao ), AO leased for just over a year a 65- seat Viscount 831 owned by BUA and registered as EC-AZK .
These were years of expansion for Aviaco but , in another twist , Iberia inexplicably decided to strip it of planes , selling the
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7 The first Fokker 27s ( series 100 ) were leased from Spantax in 1972 and purchased in 1976 . Subsequently , the Fokker 27 series -400 and -600 were acquired . // FRANCISCO ANDREU
8 An ad from the 1970s promoting transatlantic flights between Spain and the USA using the Douglas DC-8 . // AUTHOR ’ S COLLECTION
9 A new era for Aviaco began in 1972 with the arrival of DC-8s transferred from the parent company Iberia , mainly used for charter flights competing with other contemporary Spanish companies . Aviaco flew aircraft from series 52 , 54 , 55 , and 63 . // ANGEL OSES
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Convairs , DC-4s , and Carvairs and transferring all its personnel to Iberia . From 1968 , Aviaco only marketed charter flights between the Canaries and Scandinavia using DC-8s and Iberia crews . For the next three years , the company remained in a state of semi-dormancy without means or personnel .
A NEW STAGE
In May 1971 , as a result of concerns about the small share of national companies in the charter market ( barely 14 %), the Spanish Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the INI instructed Iberia to begin boosting Aviaco ,. Gradually , IB transferred six Caravelle 10-Rs and seven DC-8-50s to AO . These were mainly destined to operate in the charter market , which was to be Aviaco ’ s main focus , in order to raise the percentage of tourists transported to Spain by Spanish companies . Aviaco was also assigned a small share of domestic regular services , which were to be operated with factory-fresh Douglas DC-9-32s , the deliveries of which began in 1974 . The following year , the company ’ s fleet encompassed five DC-8-52s , eight DC-9s , four Caravelle 10-Rs , and six Fokker 27s bought from Spantax , mainly for inter-island flights in the Balearic Islands and service to the Spanish enclave of Melilla in northern Morocco .
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Unfortunately , it was not all plain sailing ; there were also sad occurrences in the form of three accidents that cost 86 lives : at Las Palmas on July 6 , 1972 ( DC-8-52 EC-ARA ); Funchal on March 5 , 1973 ( Caravelle EC- BID ); and La Coruña on August 13 , 1973 ( Caravelle EC-BIC ). These caused Iberia to appoint a technical advisor and the INI to |