http://www.airlinerworld.com 55transport an aircraft’s engine if we
needed to.” A former pilot later
confirmed this only
happened once.
During the winter
season, jets were leased out
or reconfigured for cargo
operations, seeing service
all over the world. “We left Schiphol
fully loaded and on the way back were
told where to find loads to transport,” a
former pilot reminisced. “That’s how
we went to places, always with a stack
of dollars to buy fuel or anything else
we needed. We felt like cowboys in the
sky and it was a marvellous time.”“We flew anything from Formula 1
racing cars, whales, elephants, 2,850
goats – you name it, we probably flew
it! On one flight we carried 168 cows,
right on the maximum payload for the
747.”
By 1986 the importance of freight
led the management to set up a sepa-
rate company, Martinair Cargo, operat-
ing dedicated 747 freighters specifically
tailored for the role.A defining year
The aftermath of an accident involv-
ing DC-10-30 PH-MBN (c/n 46924),
which crashed on landing during
treacherous weather at Faro, Portugal,
on December 21, 1992, had a pro-Martinair Holland intro-
duced Douglas DC-8s on
its long-haul passenger
services in 1967.
AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/
BOB O’BRIEN COLLECTIONSpeed and comfort were
the driving forces for
Martinair as the 1960s
ended and it began to
retire many of its piston
and turboprop types in
favour of jet transports.
The first of the latter to
enter service with the
carrier was the Douglas
DC-9. AIRTEAMIMAGES.
COM/KEITH BLINCOWMartinair had a
43-year love affair with
Douglas'trijet family
which included exam-
ples of the last variant,
the MD-11. AVIATION
IMAGE NETWORK/BAOLUOFlexibility was an even
stronger company trait.
You recognise it in the
fleet’s composition,
with most types
purchased for their
built-in flexibility.