There's another new airline on the horizon, one that's set to offer service to and from Tenerife. Presented to the world at a press conference held on February 10th, the airline brand is an offshoot of a Spanish wet leasing company by the name of One Airways. Looking to serve destinations such as Madrid and Glasgow, the airline will start with a single Airbus A319.

Airline background

Canarian Airways is being put forward by several Tenerife hoteliers in conjunction with an existing wet lease  carrier. To be more specific, the airline will involve the following groups:

  • 14 tourism entrepreneurs from Tenerife,
  • ACMI firm One Airways
  • The Hotel and Extra-hotel Association of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro (Ashotel)

A man by the name of Jorge Marichal will head up the new carrier. At the press conference, Aviation24.be notes Marichal as saying,

“We are very happy because this idea that has been forged for years is now a reality, not only as a business idea, but also as a philosophical one, because a greater social connection is beneficial.

We are at a time when it is more necessary than ever for us to be independent and begin to influence the value chain globally from the time the client decides to travel until he returns home.“

A key driver of the airline's establishment is for the region to have its own local airline, independent from outside carriers. This business model for leisure travel will be vertically integrated as the airline will be closely tied to Canarian hotels. Thus, travelers can expect flight packages that include accommodations.

A319
OY-RCG will be single aircraft flying for Canarian Airways at its launch. Photo: Norebbo.com

Stay informed: Sign up for our daily aviation news digest.

Routes and airline fleet

The essential advantage of having One Airways as a core contributor to the new startup is that it already has an Air Operators Certificate as well as other certifications necessary to run an airline. It was revealed at the press conference that a single Airbus A319 will be used for the launch of the new carrier.

According to Planespotters.net data, the A319-100 has already been selected. First registered as OY-RCG, the jet is nearly nine years old and was first flying with Atlantic Airways. With its move to One Airways/Canarian Airways, the jet will be re-registered as EC-NMO. At this time, the jet is configured to accommodate 144 passengers in an all-economy layout.

canarian routes
A look at the destinations planned for Canarian. Photo: GCMap.com

Out of its home airport at Tenerife South, the airline will serve four cities on the Iberian peninsula (Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, and Vigo in Spain) and three other European cities further north: Cardiff, Glasgow, and Berlin.

Marketing and commercialization of the airline is set to begin in March, with June 2021 as the target for the start of operations. Hopefully, by then, travel restrictions will have eased further, allowing the new carrier to capture pent-up travel demand.

What do you think of Canarian Airways' business model? Is it smart to be so closely tied to local hotels? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment.