Aviaco

thumb|Former head office of Aviaco Aviación y Comercio, S.A., doing business as Aviaco, was a Spanish airline headquartered in the Edificio Minister in Madrid.

==History== thumb|Aviaco Convair 440 at Barcelona Airport in 1970 The carrier was formed by Bilbao businessmen as a freight company on . A group of local bankers provided the necessary funds for the acquisition of six Bristol 170s. Given that Iberia had exploited the most profitable domestic and international routes since the early 1940s, Aviaco restricted its operations to secondary routes. Scheduled passenger services started between Bilbao and Barcelona and Madrid. The first international route was Algiers–Palma–Marseille, while Canary Islands-based flights were launched shortly afterwards. In 1954, the airline won the contract for operating an airmail service between Madrid and Barcelona. In 1955, the airline's headquarters were transferred from Bilbao to Madrid, and the Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI) took over a majority interest in the company.