The airline was founded on May 24, 1958 as Martin's Air Charter (MAC), by J. Martin Schröder, with one plane and 5 employees. In 1963 Mr. Schröder sold 49% of the company to four equal shipping company shareholders (12.25% each, Nedlloyd would wind up one of them). KLM would later purchase the 50+% that Mr. Schröder owned, buying him out. The name was changed to Martinair Holland, from MAC in 1966. A healthy boost came in 1967 with the opening of business to the United States. Martinair became all jet-powered in 1971. [2]
In 1991, the first aircraft with the "Martinair Cargo" name was introduced, and "Holland" was dropped from all aircraft. In 1996, Martinair bought a 40% stake in Colombian cargo carrier TAMPA Cargo, based in Medellín. Martinair President & CEO Martin Schröder retired from day-to-day activities in 1998. Also that year, the European Commission in Brussels refused KLM's offer to purchase Nedlloyd's shares, which would have made KLM the sole-owner. In 2003 the company increased its stake in TAMPA Cargo to 58%, becoming Tampa's majority shareholder.
On June 22, 2007, Martinair announced that it wanted one shareholder, preferably KLM. An announcement was also made that Martinair would drop its European destinations beginning November 1, 2007 and will strengthen its cargo activities and intercontinental flights. As of November 2007, Martinair ceased their short haul operations.
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