Paninternational was a West German leisure airline headquartered in Munich with bases at Munich-Riem Airport and Düsseldorf Airport.
History
The airline was established as Germania Fluganlage GmbH in early 1969 but quickly changed its corporate name to Panair. It was the flying arm of Munich-based tour operator Paneuropa and started operations on 15 June of that same year with brand new BAC 1-11-515FB jetliners with a 109-seat single-class configuration. The favorite destinations were those of the Mediterranean basin and the Canary Islands.
On 1 January 1970, the corporate name was changed to Paninternational and two more BAC 1-11s were ordered. In November it also acquired two second-hand Boeing 707-120B to expand into long-haul markets, but these programs were not crowned with success.
The company's reputation was damaged by a nasty accident on September 6, 1971, when a BAC 1-11 crash-landed on a highway shortly after takeoff from Hamburg Airport. The accident gained large media attention and negative publicity. Exactly one month later, on 6 October, the airline ceased operations.
Fleet Paninternational operated the following aircraft:
Aircraft typeTotalIntroducedRetiredRemarksBoeing 707-120B219701971BAC 1-11-515FB419691971One written off as Flight 112Sud Aviation Caravelle III119691969Leased from Trans-Union
Accident Paninternational Flight 112: On September 6, 1971, a BAC 1-11-515FB (registered D-ALAR) was lost when it crash-landed on a highway shortly after takeoff from Hamburg Airport on its way to Málaga. 22 passengers and crew were killed in the incident, caused by an unintentional filling of the aircraft's engine water injection system with jet fuel, which led to a failure of both engines.
See also List of defunct airlines of Germany
References
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