2004 Hall of Fame Recipient

J. Martin Schröder - Founder 
Martinair Holland  

J. Martin Schröder, founder and former President/CEO of Martinair Holland, is the recipient of the 2004 Hall of Fame Award of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA). He was selected for his outstanding leadership in the air cargo industry, and for his part in expanding world trade through air cargo to markets between Europe and the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. The award also acknowledges the potential recognized by Schröder in the use of combination aircraft and his insight in identifying the importance that inter-modal services could provide to the industry.

In 1958 Martin Schröder founded Amsterdam-based Martin’s Air Charter which operated scenic charter flights over Amsterdam and nearby tulip fields. The company supplemented its revenues by pulling commercial advertising banners and carrying small cargo shipments. Two years later, Martin’s Air Charter bought its own DC-3 with which it operated passenger flights from The Netherlands to Palma de Mallorca, a popular vacation spot.

In 1966 Martin’s Air Charter was renamed Martinair Holland, and in a short time became a dynamic airline operating flights to destinations worldwide and employing 3,000 people. The airline developed a three-pronged strategy which included servicing the leisure passenger market, the cargo market and providing sub-service for other carriers, thus providing high utilization of the company’s aircraft. Schröder recognized the advantages of the combination passenger-cargo configuration of aircraft as well as quick-change conversion from cargo to passenger configuration and back again. Initially charters were flown with DC 7’s, Convair 440’s and Convair 600 turboprops. Jet operations began in 1967 with a leased DC8-33 and DC9-30s a year later. In 1973 a DC-10-30 was purchased followed in the 80’s by the MD-11s and Boeing 747-200. In 1995 the airline’s name was shortened to the current Martinair.

Schröder was a true innovator in the air cargo industry. He learned how to build profitable operations and provide excellent service when many competitors failed. “He was nicknamed “De Lange” (“The Tall One”) by his staff because of his height of 6 feet 5 ½ inches (1.97 meters)” said Larry Coyne, Chairman, President’s Council. “Martin Schröder will always stand tall in the history of air cargo.”

Martin Schröder retired from Martinair Holland in 1998 after 40 years of successfully meeting the multitude of challenges of the air cargo industry. The principal shareholders of Martinair today are KLM and Nedlloyd Shipping.