Created to serve the Spanish autonomous community of the Canary Islands, Binter Canarias was originally a subsidiary of the Spanish national flag carrier Iberia. Formed on February 18, 1988, and operational a year later, Binter Canarias began flights to link all of the eight main islands.
The airline’s first flight, NT 104, took off from Tenerife North Airport (TFN) and headed for Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) on the island of Gran Canaria. The aircraft used for the first flight was a Spanish-built Casa CN 235. During its first few months of operations, Binter Canarias offered 36 scheduled daily flights between Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and La Palma.
Binter Canarias receives its first ATR
A year later, in 1999, Binter Canarias received its first Franco/Italian-built ATR twin-engine turboprop, an aircraft that would become a central player in the Binter Canarias fleet. A turning point in the airline’s history occurred in 2002 when a group of local investors purchased the airline from Iberia. In 2016 Binter Canarias ordered six ATR-600s to replace some of its ATR-500s.
In 2005 Binter Canarias expanded by offering international flights to Marrakesh, Morocco, El Aaiún, Western Sahara, and the Portuguese resort island of Madeira. To improve efficiency and make the airline more competitive in 2009, Binter Canarias restructured all of its operations. By 2012 Binter Canarias had one of Europe’s largest ATR fleets and began flying from the Canary Islands to Agadir and Casablanca in Morocco, Cape Verde, and Lisbon.
Binter Canarias begins flights linking the Cape Verde Islands
Binter Canarias expanded its reach further a year later when it commenced flights to Banjul in the Gambia and Dakar in Senegal. In 2016 Binter Canarias expanded its footprint in the Cape Verde Islands linking Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) with all the other airports in the archipelago. A year later, in 2007, Binter Canarias received the first of three Bombardier CRJ1000 jets and started a new route linking the Canaries with the Moroccan administrative region of Dakhla.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2019, Binter Canarias became the first Spanish airline to operate the Brazilian-built Embraer E195-E2.
In 2021 Binter Canarias was flying to nearly all of mainland Spain’s major cities and Mallorca in the Balearic Islands. The same year Binter Canarias expanded further, flying its Embraer E195s to the following Airports in France and Italy:
- Toulouse–Blagnac Airport (TLS)
- Marseille Provence Airport (MRS)
- Lille Airport (LIL)
- Turin-Caselle Airport (TRN)
- Venice Airport Marco Polo (VCE)
The Binter Canarias fleet past and present
The Binter Canarias fleet previously included the CASA 235, the ATR72-200, four McDonnell Douglas DC-9s, and a single Boeing 737-400. Bombardier CRJ-100s, Bombardier CRJ-1000s, Bombardier CRJ-900s, and newer ATR 72s were leased from Valencia Manises Airport (VLC)-based Air Nostrum.
Currently, according to the aviation statistics and data website ch-aviation, the Binter Canarias fleet is made up of the following aircraft:
- 5 x ATR72-500s
- 22 x ATR72-600s
- 5 x Embraer ERJ E195s
From its main bases at Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) in Telde, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife North Airport (TFN) in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Binter Canarias flies to 20 cities in Spain. Internationally, Binter Canarias flies to seven European destinations, five in Morocco and Mauritania, two in Western Sahara, and two in West Africa.