Once again, the Martinair fami-
ly gathered at Schiphol-Oost to mark
the occasion – the end of a 56-year
relationship between the airline and
Douglas (later McDonnell Douglas).
An uncertain future
Retiring the MD-11s was –
industry observers agree – probably
the right decision as they were get-
ting old, unreliable and uneconomical.
There was even a proposal to sell off
Martinair Cargo altogether.
But in 2014 the carrier’s works
council suggested ordering between
six and eight 777 freighters, hoping
Martinair could roll back the years and
operate as before. It said customers
and transport organisations wanted
it, and missed the flexibility that had
always been at the core of the business.
“We used to go where the cargo was,
but within Air France-KLM
bureaucracy rules you have to plan
your flights three weeks in advance. It
just doesn’t work that way,” one former
pilot explained. “KLM should never
have integrated Martinair the way it
did. All its unique capabilities have
been lost.”Neither the proposed 777F
order nor the sell-off happened – both
being deemed too unrealistic.
Current Managing Director Marcel
de Nooijer acknowledges he had to
make some painful decisions. He
Martinair’s Historical fleet
(By year of entry into fleet. Includes leased aircraft)
Type No Service Period
de Havilland DH 104 Dove 3 1958-1969
Douglas DC-3/C-47A Dakota 6 1960-1970
de Havilland DH 114 Heron 1 1962-1963
Douglas C-54 Skymaster 1 1962-1967
Douglas DC-7C 5 1962-1968
Convair 340 1 1964-1971
Douglas DC-6A 1 1966-2972
Convair 440 1 1967-1971
Douglas DC-8-33 2 1967-1975
Lockheed L-188C Electra 1 1968
Douglas DC-8-55CF 3 1968-1978
Douglas DC-9-33RC 4 1968-1983
Fokker F28-1000 Fellowship 3 1969-1980
Douglas DC-9-32 1 1971-1981
Douglas DC-10-30CF 5 1973-1995
Douglas DC-8-32 1 1974
McDonnell Douglas MD-81 1 1981-1983
Douglas DC-8-63CF 1 1981
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 2 1983-1992
Airbus A310-203 1 1983-1995
Airbus A310-203C 1 1984-1994
Boeing 747-21ACM 2 1987-20 08
Boeing 767-31AER 7 1989-2011
Boeing 747-228FSCD 1 1991-2008
McDonnell Douglas MD-11CF 4 1994-2016
McDonnell Douglas MD-11F 3 1996-2016
Boeing 757-27B 2 1999-2004
Boeing 747-306M 1 2000
B oeing 747-2 0 6 B S F 1 2003-2006
Airbus A320-232 3 2003-2007
Boeing 737-81Q 1 2003-2005
Boeing 767-33AER 1 2005-2011
Airbus A320-214 4 2005-2008
B oeing 747- 412B C F 4 2006-to date
Boeing 737-8Q8 2 200758 AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2017
With 80% of freight
now carried as belly
cargo on passenger
aircraft, the need for
specialist freighter
types, such as the
Boeing 747, has
declined significantly.
This result edin the
Air France KLM Group
reducing its reliance
on the jumbo freighter.
AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/
MARTIN BOSCHHUIZENMartinair also operates
three 747-400
freighters on behalf of
owner Air France-KLM,
all of which are
painted in the KLM
livery. AVIATION IMAGE
NETWORK/SIMON GREGORYjoined from KLM in 2013 and since last
December has shared responsibilities
as Executive Vice President Air France-
KLM-Martinair Cargo.
“Reducing the freighter fleet had been
absolutely necessary and the right thing
to do”, he told Airliner World. “A 2015
report confirmed that a maximum of 5
to 10% of cargo requires main deck/full
freighter/combi capacity – the remain-
ing can be carried as belly cargo.We fly flowers,
pharmaceutical
products, perishable
goods, cattle and
sometimes F1 cars,
although not as often
as in the past.