Islas Afortunadas Air (Gran Canaria) is planning to launch operations in late Q3/early Q4 of this year using a fleet of ten BAe146s and two A320-200s. With an initial staff of 400, the airline intends to use a low cost model to connect the Canary Islands with Madrid, Barcelona and Galicia in Spain and Morocco and Mauritania in Africa. Thereafter, services to Paris, London and Berlin will commence. Local operations will include flights between Gran Canaria and Tenerife Norte. Founded and financed exclusively by Canarian entrepreneurs in the tourism and construction sectors, Islas Afortunadas Air is aiming for an initial passenger throughput of 3.5 million passengers in its first year of its operations.