Maritime Shipping Companies Operating Airlines

NDWDCPGUY · Fri Jun 07, 2013 2:48 am

Quite a few maritime shipping companies have ventured into the airline business. I am thinking of Matson Lines, American Export Lines, Cunard, Maersk, Hapag Lloyd, and Dan Air. Any more to add? I know Matson lines operated DC-4 aircraft to and from Hawaii with a mid flight rendezvous with one of their ocean liners. This was back in the 1950's. How cool would that have been? Any other interesting stories about maritime and airlines?

LAXintl · Fri Jun 07, 2013 3:02 am

Evergreen Group
Mearsk

COSPN · Fri Jun 07, 2013 3:02 am

Evergreen Shipping owns EVA air in Taiwan

TreeHillRavens · Fri Jun 07, 2013 3:16 am

EVA Air of Taiwan is probably the largest passenger airline in the world that is owned by a shipping company. Rumor has it that the founder's son is a keen aviation buff. How lucky of him!

eta unknown · Fri Jun 07, 2013 3:52 am

Swire Shipping and Cathay Pacific

Canadian Pacific- railroads/hotels/ships/CP Air

lutfi · Fri Jun 07, 2013 4:16 am

NYK and Nippon Cargo Airlines
Swire's bought Cathay Pacific in 1948 to "protect the air above our ships"
Hanjin Shipping and Korean Airlines.

n1805bn · Fri Jun 07, 2013 4:19 am

Hanjin owns Korean Air.

coronado · Fri Jun 07, 2013 4:23 am

Grace Lines was instrumental in Panagra the original El Intermericano.

BreninTW · Fri Jun 07, 2013 5:09 am

Quoting TreeHillRavens (Reply 3):
Rumor has it that the founder's son is a keen aviation buff. How lucky of him

He is, he is also type-rated on the A330 I believe.

Mortyman · Fri Jun 07, 2013 5:13 am

Fred. Olsen & Co and Fred. Olsen Flyselskap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Olsen

Color Line (ferry operator) and Color Air:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Line_(ferry_operator)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Air

EY460 · Fri Jun 07, 2013 5:56 am

Don't forget Carnival Airlines!

Scooter01 · Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:32 am

Quoting Mortyman (Reply 9):
Fred. Olsen & Co and Fred. Olsen Flyselskap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Olsen

Color Line (ferry operator) and Color Air:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Line_(ferry_operator)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Air

....and let's not forget about Braathens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...f_Braathens_SAFE_(1946%E2%80%9393)

Scooter01

EY460 · Fri Jun 07, 2013 7:39 am

And Pullmantour Air too.

Azure · Fri Jun 07, 2013 9:01 am

The defunct UTA was a subsidiary of "Groupe Chargeurs", a French shipping company.
UTA merged with AF in 1990. It had an extensive network around the globe (and an "around the world route").

ghYHZ · Fri Jun 07, 2013 9:49 am

Quoting eta unknown (Reply 4):
Canadian Pacific- railroads/hotels/ships/CP Air

Canadian Pacific was knows as the “Worlds Most Complete Travel System” with Trains, Planes, Ships, Hotels, Trucks…..

[Edited 2013-06-07 02:52:59]

[Edited 2013-06-07 02:56:23]

Mortyman · Fri Jun 07, 2013 4:02 pm

Quoting Scooter01 (Reply 11):
....and let's not forget about Braathens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...9393)

How could I forget !

Thank you for reminding me

MHG · Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:22 pm

Well, Minoan Air operates Fokker 50´s on various routes (domestic in Greece and some independent routes throughout Europe).
And you guessed it: Minoan Lines is a shipping company (mainly large passenger ferries around the mediterranean sea)

jrn216 · Fri Jun 07, 2013 8:36 pm

I believe Air Corsica (formerly CCM) is part owned by SNCM, which is a French ferry company operating from mainland France to Corsica, Sardinia and North Africa. Stake is only around 6% I recall.

[Edited 2013-06-07 13:37:03]

soon7x7 · Fri Jun 07, 2013 9:05 pm

Quoting EY460 (Reply 10):
Don't forget Carnival Airlines!

After 2 encounters with them I was convinced they would either experience a major crash resulting in major fatalities or they would shut down,...fortunately the later...good riddens!

2travel2know2 · Fri Jun 07, 2013 9:22 pm

Quoting EY460 (Reply 12):
And Pullmantour Air too.

If I recall Pullmantour the cruise line is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises but Royal Caribbean doesn't own Pullmantour airline.

atct · Fri Jun 07, 2013 9:28 pm

Lynden Companies.

ATCT

rg787 · Sat Jun 08, 2013 1:05 am

Quoting 2travel2know2 (Reply 19):
If I recall Pullmantour the cruise line is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises but Royal Caribbean doesn't own Pullmantour airline.

According to wikipedia (not a reliable source, I know), it was once owned by Grupo Marsans, but was sold to Royal Caribbean.

HNLPointShoot · Sat Jun 08, 2013 1:40 am

Hawaiian Airlines was originally founded as a subsidiary of Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co., which was an interisland shipping company (hence HA's original name, Inter-Island Airways.) The company eventually shut down its ship service in 1947 and continued solely as an airline.

BOACCunard · Sat Jun 08, 2013 7:00 am

Quoting MHG (Reply 16):
Well, Minoan Air operates Fokker 50´s on various routes (domestic in Greece and some independent routes throughout Europe).
And you guessed it: Minoan Lines is a shipping company (mainly large passenger ferries around the mediterranean sea)

While they do share the name "Minoan," I am not aware of any connection between the two, other than the name and being from Crete (though I would be happy to be corrected if someone knows differently). Presumably they are both named after the ancient Minoan civilization of Crete.

Quoting 2travel2know2 (Reply 19):
If I recall Pullmantour the cruise line is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises but Royal Caribbean doesn't own Pullmantour airline.

Pullmantur Air is owned by RCCL along with the rest of Pullmantur.

vfw614 · Sat Jun 08, 2013 8:36 am

Often smaller local shipping comapnies that serve off-shore islands have a combined ship / aircraft operation. Isle of Scilly Skybus from the UK or FLN Frisia from Germany come to my mind, but there are certainly others.

In Germany, traditionally a lot of Hamburg-based airlines have had links with shipping companies and were owned or part-owned by them. Hadag Air comes to my mind (HADAG) or Hamburg International (NSC)

Quoting BOACCunard (Reply 23):
While they do share the name "Minoan," I am not aware of any connection between the two, other than the name and being from Crete (though I would be happy to be corrected if someone knows differently). Presumably they are both named after the ancient Minoan civilization of Crete.

Minoan Air is backed by Greek venture capitalists.

fn1001 · Sun Jun 09, 2013 8:42 am

In Germany there was a company Hapag Loyd, which became famous for landing an aircraft as a glider in Vienna.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hapag-Lloyd_Flight_3378

Scooter01 · Sun Jun 09, 2013 10:07 am

Quoting fn1001 (Reply 25):
In Germany there was a company Hapag Loyd, which became famous for landing an aircraft as a glider in Vienna.

Did you read the first half of the Original Post?

Scooter01

PHX787 · Sun Jun 09, 2013 10:33 am

Quoting lutfi (Reply 5):
NYK and Nippon Cargo Airlines

Nippon Yusen was originally not much of a part of KZ but they "bought" NH's most important stakes in KZ, which is why some of KZ's 744Fs carry a Boeing customer code of 81 when they are actually 744-Fs, not converted, and others, including the 748, have a customer code of KZ.

My friend works for Nippon Yusen but they based her out of Narita for her initial training. Eventually they'll give her a choice of if she wants to stay at NRT or move to the Port of Tokyo.....given her odd obsession with containers, I think she'll move back to Tokyo haha

I'll ask her later about NYK's involvement with KZ

bobnwa · Sun Jun 09, 2013 3:05 pm

Quoting NDWDCPGUY (Thread starter):
I know Matson lines operated DC-4 aircraft to and from Hawaii with a mid flight rendezvous with one of their ocean liners.

Please explain the "mid flight rendezvous with one of their ships" Can't quite picture that.!!!!

bennett123 · Sun Jun 09, 2013 3:09 pm

Thinking back to Hapag Lloyd 3378, it was a dreadful waste of a perfectly good A310.

But as PO Prune would say, "Any landing that you can walk away from is a good landing".

Viscount724 · Sun Jun 09, 2013 11:16 pm

Quoting NDWDCPGUY (Thread starter):
Quite a few maritime shipping companies have ventured into the airline business. I am thinking of Matson Lines, American Export Lines, Cunard, Maersk, Hapag Lloyd, and Dan Air. Any more to add?

A British company called British & Commonwealth Shipping operated the Clan Line and Union-Castle lines. They also had an investment in an airline operation known as Hunting-Clan Air Transport, which merged with another independent British carrier known as Airwork in 1960 to form British United Airways, in which British & Commonwealth Shipping was the major shareholder. BUA was acquired by Caledonian Airways in 1970 to form British Caledonian Airways (for the first year or so they operated under the name "Caledonian/BUA"). B.Cal was acquired by British Airways in 1987.

Interesting 1959 video of a Hunting-Clan Bristol Britannia (in British & Commonwealth Shipping livery) carrying a ship's crew from LHR to Tokyo to pick up a new ship being built in Japan, and returning via HKG to pick up another crew that had delivered an old Union-Castle passenger ship to HKG for scrapping.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p9feJUh_iE

There's a brief shot just before the end (after the rather long segment on HKG) showing the old LHR control tower that was torn down a few months ago.

NDWDCPGUY · Mon Jun 10, 2013 12:35 am

Quoting bobnwa (Reply 28):

While enroute between the west coast and Hawaii, the DC-4 would descend and "rendezvous" with a Matson passenger liner also travelling between the west coast and Hawaii. Passengers had the option of flying in one direction and travelling via ship the other direction. A short lived service, but how cool would it be to be travelling by ship to Hawaii being straffed by a DC-4?

fn1001 · Mon Jun 10, 2013 5:38 am

Quoting Scooter01 (Reply 26):
Did you read the first half of the Original Post?

You mean this original post?

Quoting NDWDCPGUY (Thread starter):

Quite a few maritime shipping companies have ventured into the airline business. (...) Any more to add? (...) Any other interesting stories about maritime and airlines?

Yes, i read it. And I added one more. With a story about it.

Scooter01, what was your question?

PanHAM · Mon Jun 10, 2013 5:42 am

31 posts and no one mentioned that Olympic Air ways once belonged to Onassis? I mean, if we go back into history this important shipping magante has to be mentioned and while he owned it, the company was a top, well managed airline.

diesel1 · Mon Jun 10, 2013 8:54 am

A few additional airlines....

Invicta Airlines, a British charter carrier from the 1960s-1980s was majority owned by European Ferries (Townsend Thoresen) for a period of time in the 1970s.

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Photo © Wolfgang Mendorf

Much more recently, easyJet has some ancestry relating back to the Stelmar Shipping and Troodos Shipping companies, but afaik, there was no direct ownership.

Viscount724 mentions British & Commonwealth in his post above

Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 30):

As well as the various airlines mentioned, they were also the majority shareholder in Air UK for a period - were they still operating as a shipping company at this point though?

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Photo © Howard Chaloner

B&C were also shareholders of Bristow Helicopters

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Kiwirob · Mon Jun 10, 2013 10:26 am

Deep in the bowls of NZ's history it's predessor TEAL was part owned by the Union Steam Ship Company subsidary Union Airways on NZ Ltd. Union Steam Ship Company also helped set up Australian National Airways which ended up being bought by ANSETT, which going full circle was bought by ANZ which was once TEAL and partially owned by Union Steam Ship Company.

mozart · Mon Jun 10, 2013 12:45 pm

Quoting NDWDCPGUY (Thread starter):
Cunard, ...., and Dan Air.

Which airline has/had links to Cunard?

Which shipping company has links to Dan Air?

Kiwirob · Mon Jun 10, 2013 7:19 pm

Quoting mozart (Reply 36):
Which airline has/had links to Cunard?

Oh Oh Oh I know this one British Eagle. Makes interesting reading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Eagle

edina · Mon Jun 10, 2013 7:30 pm

Quoting mozart (Reply 36):

The Dan in Dan-Air came from its parent company, Davies and Newman, a long established ship borking firm in London.

Viscount724 · Tue Jun 11, 2013 12:35 am

Quoting kiwirob (Reply 37):
Quoting mozart (Reply 36):
Which airline has/had links to Cunard?

Oh Oh Oh I know this one British Eagle.

And BOAC. Remember BOAC-Cunard (1962-1966).

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Excerpt from Wikipedia article on BOAC:

In 1962, BOAC and Cunard formed BOAC-Cunard Ltd to operate scheduled services to North America, the Caribbean and South America. BOAC provided 70% of the new company's capital and eight Boeing 707s. The independent Cunard Eagle Airways, of which Cunard held a 60% shareholding, provided two more 707s.

BOAC-Cunard leased any spare capacity to BOAC which could use it to supplement the main BOAC fleet at peak demand, and in a reciprocal arrangement BOAC would provide capacity to BOAC-Cunard on some operations when it had a shortfall.

The effect of this arrangement was to remove competition on western routes. The operation was dissolved in 1966.

BOACCunard · Tue Jun 11, 2013 1:26 am

Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 39):
And BOAC. Remember BOAC-Cunard (1962-1966).

Aw, you beat me to it.

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