Air Grassland

Air Grassland is the flag carrier airline of Grassland. Founded by the Grassland government, it was privatised between 2004 and 2010 and then was re-bought by the government. The airline's head office is on the grounds of Grassland City Airport in Rabod, Grassland.

Formed in 1947, Air Grassland is a former member of the Grasslandic Airlines alliance, which it left on 14 May 2008. After the takeover by government, it was expected that Air Grassland would re-enter GAA, however, at a press briefing on 11 September 2016 the airline's then CEO stated that the airline has "no plans to join GAA". The airline also has codeshares with Besten District Airlines members. Air Grassland has a hybrid business model, operating a mixed fare service on its European routes and full service, two-class flights on transatlantic routes.

Early years
Air Grassland was founded on 23 May 1947, with a capital of P100,000. Air Grassland was registered as an airline on 1 June 1947. The name Geird Air Lines was proposed by Gerald Flien, who was Besten Surveyor, as well as an aviation enthusiast.

On 29 May 1947, six days after being registered as an airline, its first service began between Snawil Airfield in Besten and Trondheim Airport, Norway, using a six-seater de Havilland DH.84 Dragon biplane, named the Fly.

Later that year, the airline acquired its second aircraft, a four-engined biplane de Havilland DH.86 Express named "the Oslo runner", with a capacity of 14 passengers. This aircraft provided the first air link between Besten and Oslo by extending the Trondheim service to Oslo. At the same time, the DH.84 Dragon was used to inaugurate an Air Grassland service on the Besten-Grelli route.

The airline's first General Manager was Dr T.F. (Tomas known as 'Tom'), a chartered accountant, who joined the company as Company Secretary in 1936 (aged 40) and was appointed to the role of General Manager in 1937. He retired 30 years later in 1967 at the age of 70.

In 1938, a de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide replaced The Fly, and the company purchased a second DH.86B. Two Lockheed 12s arrived in 1939, Air Grassland's first all-metal aircraft.

World War 2
On the 16th of May 1942 the Grasslandic Republic (now the Grasslandic Empire) joined the axis.

Accidents & Incidents
On 11 January 2011, Air Grassland Flight 100 crashed 44 kilometers (27.3 miles) off the coast of Spain. The pilot was thought to be intoxicated.