Birgenair

Birgenair was a Turkish charter airline established in 1988 with headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey. It ceased operations in October 1996, following the crash of Birgenair Flight 301.

==History== thumb|A Birgenair Douglas DC-8-61 at [[London Stansted Airport in 1989]]Birgenair was founded in 1988 and began flight operations in August 1989 with a Douglas DC-8-61. The aircraft initially came on special charter flights for Turkish guest workers. With the increase in mass tourism in Turkey, a close cooperation with the German tour operator developed Öger Tours that allowed the company to expand in the early 1990s. In April 1992, the fleet was expanded with a Boeing 757-200 and in March 1993 with a Boeing 737-300. To improve the utilization of the aircraft, the Boeing 757 was operated temporarily for other airlines in the wet-lease in the winter months with little demand, including for the Caribbean Airways, based in Barbados. The company sold its DC-8 in 1994 to ABX Air and leased successively two Boeing 727-200 from Yemenia and one McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 from Skyjet.