Binter Canarias facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Binter Canarias

Founded	1989; 36 years ago (1989)
Hubs	Gran Canaria Airport Tenerife North Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Bintermás
Fleet size	37
Destinations	38
Headquarters	Gran Canaria Airport Telde, Gran Canaria and Tenerife North Airport, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
Key people	Pedro Agustín del Castillo Machado (CEO)
Website	bintercanarias.com

Binter Canarias S.A. is a major airline in the Canary Islands, Spain. It is based at Gran Canaria Airport in Telde and Tenerife North Airport in San Cristóbal de La Laguna.

Binter Canarias is a regional airline. This means it mostly flies shorter routes. It connects all eight airports within the Canary Islands. The airline also flies to other islands in the Atlantic Ocean. You can also fly with Binter to mainland Spain and some cities in Europe, mainly in France and Italy. Other airlines work with Binter to offer flights to Morocco, mainland Spain, Portugal, and Western Sahara.

History of Binter Canarias

A former Binter Canarias Douglas DC-9 airplane.

A former Binter Canarias Boeing 737-400 with a special paint job.

Binter Canarias was started on February 18, 1988. Flights began on March 26, 1989. It was first a part of a bigger Spanish airline called Iberia. Binter Canarias became a regional airline, flying between the Canary Islands. Today, it is the only airline that flies to all eight airports in the Canaries.

Binter also connects the Canary Islands with other places. These include Marrakech, Dakar, and Aaiun in Africa. It also flies to Madeira and Lisbon in Portugal, and Sal in Cape Verde. In Spain, it flies to Vigo and Mallorca. The airline also has regular flights to Marrakech and Casablanca in Morocco. It also flies to Laayoune in Western Sahara. Sometimes, it has charter flights to Nouadibou and Nouakchott in Mauritania.

Changes in Ownership

In late 1999, the Spanish government decided to sell Binter Canarias. However, they kept a "golden share." This allowed them to approve any big ownership changes. By July 2002, a company called Hesperia Inversiones Aéreas bought the airline. In 2003, Hesperia Inversiones Aéreas changed its name to Binter Canarias, SA.

Today, Binter Canarias is owned by several different companies. It has about 406 employees. Binter has its own sales offices at airports, called Binter Vende. Since 2005, another company called Atlántica Handling has helped with ground services. Since 2008, BinterTechnic has taken care of maintaining Binter's airplanes.

Growth and New Airlines

Some of Binter Canarias' owners decided to buy another airline called Navegacion y Servicios Aéreos Canarios (NAYSA). They moved some planes from Binter to NAYSA to save money and earn more. Binter also started a low-cost airline called Canarias Airlines in 2011.

In 2016, Binter ordered six more ATR 72-600 airplanes. This brought their total order for this type of plane to 18. These new planes would replace older ATR 72-500 aircraft. In 2018, Binter decided to bring NAYSA's operations back into Binter. So, NAYSA stopped being a separate airline.

From late 2017, Binter Cabo Verde started flying between islands in Cape Verde. This happened after another airline, TACV, stopped its flights there. Binter Cabo Verde worked with TACV to connect international flights with local ones. In 2019, Binter Cabo Verde changed its name to Transportes Interilhas de Cabo Verde (TICV). In 2021, Binter sold its share in this airline.

In June 2018, Binter also started flying between the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo in Portugal. In December 2019, Binter became the first European airline to use the new Embraer E195-E2 aircraft. They ordered ten of these planes.

In June 2023, Binter launched another new airline called Naysa Servicios Aéreos. This new airline uses the name of the old NAYSA.

Where Binter Canarias Flies

As of July 2022, Binter Canarias flies to many places. Here is a list of its destinations:

Binter Canarias Airplanes

Current Airplanes

A Binter Canarias ATR 72-600 airplane.

A Binter Canarias Embraer 195 E2 airplane.

As of January 2024, Binter Canarias uses these airplanes:

Past Airplanes

Binter Canarias has used these airplanes in the past:

• 26 ATR 72-202
• 1 Boeing 737-400 (rented from Futura International Airways)
• 8 Bombardier CRJ200 (rented from Air Nostrum)
• 3 Bombardier CRJ900 (rented from Air Nostrum)
• 3 Bombardier CRJ1000 (rented from Air Nostrum)
• 4 Douglas DC-9-30

Accidents and Incidents

On October 18, 2016, an ATR 72-600 plane operated by NAYSA had a problem with its landing gear. It was on a training flight. The pilots decided to land at Gran Canaria Airport. They flew over the runway twice to check the landing gear. The plane landed safely.

Awards and Recognitions

Binter Canarias has won several awards. In 2005, it was named Europe's best regional airline. They even painted one of their Boeing 737-400 planes to celebrate this award!

In September 2010, Binter won the Gold Award for "Airline of the Year 2010/2011" from the European Regions Airline Association (ERA). In October 2016, the airline won the ERA "Airline of the Year" award again. They were praised for growing and flying to new places.

See also

In Spanish: Binter Canarias para niños

• Binter Mediterraneo, an airline that used to be related to Binter Canarias.
• Navegacion y Servicios Aéreos Canarios, an airline that used to be part of Binter Canarias.