Private company

Air Comet

Logo: ZZeBaH Punk at en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Spanish airline

Air Comet was an airline based in Madrid, Spain. It operated scheduled long-haul services from Madrid to 13 destinations in Central and South America, as well as services in Europe. Its main base was Terminal 1 at Madrid–Barajas Airport.2 It is part of Grupo Marsans.1 It ceased to exist in 2009.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1996Founded1
Air Comet Airbus A320-211 AN1451165
Photo: Rui Miguel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Air Comet was an airline based in Madrid, Spain. It operated scheduled long-haul services from Madrid to 13 destinations in Central and South America, as well as services in Europe. Its main base was Terminal 1 at Madrid–Barajas Airport. The airline cooperated with airlines such as AeroSur through codeshare agreements.2

Corporate structure

Air Comet is part of a group headed by Grupo Marsans. 3 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

The airline was established on 23 December 1996 as Air Plus Comet and started operations on 1 March 1997, based at Madrid-Barajas Airport. On 11 December 1996 Oasis Airlines ceased operations, and their only aircraft, an Airbus A310, and many of their pilots and staff became the foundation of Air Plus Comet. In the post-takeover haste, the airline lacked a commercial name and its ICAO code was MPD, which stood for the last names of its three main executives (Mata, Pascual and Díaz).

It mainly operated long-haul charter services from Madrid and Palma de Mallorca to destinations in America and the Caribbean. It relaunched as a full-service carrier under the Air Comet name in January 2007. It was wholly owned by Grupo Marsans.

In January 2007, the airline took over some of now-defunct Air Madrid's Latin American routes and was renamed Air Comet and changed its livery.

On 11 February 2009, Air Comet was suspended from the IATA Clearing House due to non-payment of its January balance. On 21 December 2009, a High Court in London emitted a verdict favoring the German bank HSH Nordbank, which had sued Air Comet for not meeting the terms of payment for their leased aircraft. Therefore, the airline became legally unable to either operate their four A330-200s or sell any fare tickets. Air Comet's directors announced the airline was ceasing operations owing to bankruptcy. Air Comet's several women flight attendants posed for a nude calendar to cover lost wages. 1200 copies were printed, priced at €15 each.

From Wikipedia’s article on Air Comet, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

Destinations

Air Comet flew to the following destinations:

Europe

Spain

Madrid - Madrid Barajas Airport base

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Italy

Fiumicino - Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport

United Kingdom

London - Gatwick Airport

The Caribbean

Cuba

Havana - José Martí International Airport

South America

Argentina

Buenos Aires - Ministro Pistarini International Airport

Bolivia

Santa Cruz de la Sierra - Viru Viru International Airport

Colombia

Bogotá - El Dorado International Airport

Medellín - José María Córdova International Airport

Ecuador

Guayaquil - José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport

Quito - Mariscal Sucre International Airport

Peru

Lima - Jorge Chávez International Airport

Fleet

The Air Comet fleet consisted of the following aircraft:

From Wikipedia’s article on Air Comet, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Dec 21, 2009Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1996Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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