Spantax - Formative Years

Formative Years

Spanish Air Taxi Líneas Aéreas S.A. was founded on 6 October 1959 by ex-Iberia pilot Rodolfo Bay Wright and ex-Iberia flight attendant Marta Estades Sáez. The airline was based at Gran Canaria Airport in the Canary Islands, and began operations flying geologists and technicians who were searching for oil in the Sahara and Spanish West Africa. Initial destinations included El Farsia, Gaada, Itguy, Mardesiat, Tindouf, Dakhla, Lagouira and El Aaiún. In 1959 the fleet comprised three Airspeed Consuls, two Airspeed Oxfords, one Auster and a single Avro Anson. A Douglas DC-3 was added to the fleet in 1960.

At the end of 1960, the airline purchased two DC-3s from Swissair and these were place into service from May 1961 operating tourist flights within the Canary Islands, and were joined by a Piper Apache for short flights. The fleet was joined in 1962 by a Beechcraft Model 18 executive aircraft, and a Bristol 170 which was leased from Iberia. The Bristol was returned to Iberia the following year, and four Douglas DC-4s were acquired; the first in the Belgian Congo and the other three from Aviaco. The Douglas DC-7 entered service with the airline in April 1963, and would eventually go on to operate eight of the aircraft. Between June 1963 and September 1967 the airline also acquired an additional four DC-4s, and in May 1965 it obtained two Douglas DC-6s.

Between 1962 and 1965 the airline operated DC-3s and a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver on routes for Air Mauritanie, and in 1966 the airline became the first Spanish airline to operate the Fokker F-27, which was put into service on routes in the Canary Islands. On 7 December 1965, the airline suffered its first crash, when a DC-3 on a charter flight from Los Rodeos Tenerife to Gran Canaria crashed just after take-off, killing 28 passengers and 4 crew.

After receiving approval from the Spanish authorities to operate passenger charter flights, the airline moved its headquarters from Gran Canaria to Palma de Mallorca. The Balearic base was chosen due to the role that Mallorca had taken in the development of tourism in Spain, allowing the airline to gain prestige in the European market.