The Canary Islands – The national airline One Airways S.A.U. has created a branch within the framework of the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC). With this new project, it takes a step forward in its expansion strategy by contributing to boosting regional economic activity, committing itself to a key sector in order to advance towards the economic diversification of the regional productive fabric, as well as creating employment and strengthening the connectivity of the islands.
The company’s CEO, Óscar Trujillo, stated that the current situation requires establishing synergies and generating channels of cooperation between the different companies to boost economic activity. “We intend to participate in the market based more on principles of integration, collaboration and exchange,” he added. In this regard, he pointed out that what is done now will be decisive for the future in all areas. Trujillo remarked that this is a crucial moment for the regional economy, given the situation generated by the paralysis of business activity in accordance with the protection measures in the face of the state of alarm decreed by the Spanish Government.
“The circumstances are complicated because of the destruction of employment and the employment situation generated. It is therefore a priority to join efforts in order to launch business projects in strategic sectors of activity or to redirect or convert business models to give a boost to job creation and move towards a diversification of the economy, while tourism, which is the main engine of the gross domestic product of the islands, recovers from this blow. There are many challenges to overcome: some are ours and others are collective,” he said.
The branch of One Airways, which is constituted with 100% Canarian capital, will operate from its new base in the airport of Tenerife Sur. The airline will be dedicated to both passenger and freight air transport, with flights to and from the Canary Islands. In addition, One Airways will provide air medical and organ transport services in cooperation with the National Transplant Organization (ONT), the Catalan Transplant Organization (OCATT) and other hospitals.
The airline plans to create 60 jobs in the islands
The company will have a fleet of Airbus A319 aircraft, with a capacity of up to 156 passengers and a range of 6,900 km, for both commercial passenger and cargo flights. In addition, another fleet of jet aircraft, the Cessna Citation, will be used for medical and organ flights operated by the airline. With regard to employment, the entity forecasts that a total of 60 jobs will be created in the Canary Islands. Likewise, One Airways will set up its own maintenance center (EASA PART 145), which will enable it to efficiently meet the needs of its fleet of aircraft on the islands.
It should be noted that One Airways has had a Spanish AOC with a new legal structure for the last 3 years, granted by the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) and in accordance with European Regulation 965/2012. Last year, the entity based one of its jets in Las Palmas to operate medicalized flights of the Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC), both inter-island and domestic (Madrid, Barcelona and Santiago de Compostela). One Airways S.A.U. is a Spanish aviation company, based in Madrid, founded in 2009.