Air Florida

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Air Florida
Logoairflorida.svg
IATA ICAO Callsign
QH FLA PALM
Founded 1971
Ceased operations 1984
Hubs Miami International Airport
Fleet size 33
Destinations Airchive.com
Parent company Air Florida, Inc.
Headquarters Miami-Dade County, Florida
Key people Eli Timoner (President)
Ed Acker CEO

Air Florida was an American low-cost carrier that operated from 1971 to 1984. In 1975 it was headquartered in the Dadeland Towers in what is now Kendall, Florida in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.[1][2]

History

Lockheed L-188 Electra of Air Florida landing at Miami International Airport in 1976

Air Florida was based at Miami International Airport. It was formed in 1971 by a Miami native, Eli Timoner and was organized by company president Ted Griffin, a former marketing director of Eastern Airlines. It started operations in 1972.[citation needed] Initial aircraft included the Boeing 707 jetliner and later transitioning to the Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop. The airline began operations as an intrastate air carrier flying wholly within Florida but subsequently began service to domestic and international destinations outside of the state. With this expansion, Air Florida's fleet grew to include Boeing 727, Boeing 737, Douglas DC-9 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 jetliners.[3]

Ed Acker, formerly CEO of Braniff International Airways, led an acquisition of Air Florida in 1975 and expanded the airline into the interstate market following the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978.[4] In addition to Air Florida having a large presence in the Northeast-to-Florida market during the 1970s and 1980s, the airline also expanded internationally and served various points in the Caribbean and Central America, as well as a number of European destinations including Amsterdam, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Shannon and Zurich.[5] The European services were primarily flown with McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 aircraft, although British Island Airways provided connecting passenger service with their British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets for Air Florida on some intra-European route segments with an example being London-Amsterdam .[6] Air Florida was well known for its attractive flight attendants and, on international flights, four-star cuisine. In 1981, shortly before the crash of Air Florida Flight 90, Acker left Air Florida to become the Chairman, CEO and President of Pan American World Airways.

Air Florida tried to buy out Western Airlines during the 1980s, to increase its presence in the West and begin flights to Mexico and western Canada. The negotiations with Western ended up with Air Florida owning 16 percent of the California-based company. Western was later absorbed by Delta Air Lines.

On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into Washington, DC's 14th Street Bridge and fell into the Potomac River shortly after taking off. A total of 70 passengers, 4 crew and 4 motorists on the bridge were killed. The crash of the Boeing 737-200 was due to an anti-icing system being left off, which caused an inaccurately high engine pressure ratio (EPR) indication at an extremely low power setting and the crew's failure to either abort the takeoff or apply maximum engine power. The crash prompted modifications to Air Florida's pilot training regarding anti-ice systems. The FAA also required revised aircraft de-icing procedures at airports.[citation needed]

The crash of Flight 90, coupled with Air Florida's high financial leverage and reliance on foreign currency trading for profits, led the company to declare bankruptcy and cease operations on July 3, 1984, despite an effort by new head Donald Lloyd-Jones (an alumnus of American Airlines) to save the company.[4] When operations ceased, Air Florida had over 18 months of unprocessed credit card ticket purchases and dozens of flight crews idle at home because management had failed to renew leases on all DC-10-30 aircraft. Midway Airlines acquired most of the assets of Air Florida for $53 million while Air Florida was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[7]

Today

Incorporated in 2014, Air Florida Systems is a re-launch of the iconic original airline which connected Florida with the world from 1971-1984. The re-launch intends to launch in 2016 [8]

Air Florida Commuter

Air Florida Commuter was not an airline, but a system of affiliated commuter and regional air carriers that fed traffic into Air Florida's hubs. In an arrangement commonly known as code-sharing, each airline painted their aircraft in Air Florida colors and their flights were listed in reservations systems as Air Florida flights. Air Miami became the first affiliate in 1980 and over a dozen other airlines became part of the system, including: Marco Island Airways, Florida Airlines, Key Air, Southern International, Skyway Airlines, North American Airlines, National Commuter Airlines, Gull Air, Pompano, Finair, Slocum, Atlantic Gulf and others. As Air Florida became financially strapped, the commuter system was dismantled in early 1984.[9]

Sponsorship

Air Florida sponsored Southampton Football Club, an English Football League side, during the 1983-84 season, in which Southampton were league runners-up. The deal was cancelled after one season due to Air Florida's insolvency.[citation needed]

Mainline Fleet

Boeing 737-200

The airline operated the following mainline aircraft:[3]

Air Florida Commuter Fleet

The commuter and regional affiliates of Air Florida operated the following aircraft:[3]

Destinations

City Feb. 1979[10] Dec. 1981[11] Sep. 1982[12] Jan. 1984[13]
Amsterdam X X
Belize City X X X
Bermuda X
Boston X X X
Brussels X X
Burlington X X
Chicago O'Hare X X
Cincinnati X
Cleveland X
Columbus X
Daytona Beach X
Detroit X
Fort Lauderdale X X X X
Fort Myers X X
Freeport X X X
Gainesville X X X
George Town X X
Grand Turk X X
Guatemala City X X
Hyannis X
Indianapolis X
Jacksonville X X X X
Key West X X X
Kingston X X X
London Gatwick X X X
Marathon X
Marco Island X
Marsh Harbour X X X X
Miami X X X X
Montego Bay X X X
Nantucket X
Newark X
New Orleans X
New York JFK X
New York LaGuardia X X X
North Eleuthera X X X X
Ocala X X X
Orlando X X X X
Oslo X
Panama City, FL X
Pensacola X X X X
Philadelphia X X
Port-au-Prince X X X
Puerto Plata X X X
Rock Sound X X X X
Saint Croix X X
Saint Thomas X
San Jose (C.R.) X X X
San Pedro Sula X X X
San Salvador X X X
Santo Domingo X X
Sarasota X X
Shannon X X
Stockholm X
Stuart X
Tallahassee X X X
Tampa X X X X
Tegucigalpa X X X
Toledo X X
Treasure Cay X X X X
Washington National X X X X
West Palm Beach X X X X
White Plains X X X

Air Florida also served Chicago (Midway Airport), Illinois; Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW Airport), Texas; Düsseldorf, Germany; Frankfurt, Germany; Houston (Hobby Airport), Texas; Madrid, Spain; Providence, Rhode Island; and Zurich, Switzerland at various times during its existence.[14]

Accidents and incidents

  • Three days later, on August 13, 1980, Air Florida Flight 707, another 737, flying the opposite direction of Flight 4, with 74 people on board, was hijacked by seven people. They demanded to be taken to Cuba, but later surrendered.[16]
  • On February 2, 1982, Air Florida Flight 710, a Boeing 737-200 with 77 people on board from Miami International to Key West International was hijacked. The hijacker wanted to be taken to Cuba, but he later surrendered.[17]

References

  1. World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 20, 1975. "466.
  2. "Kendall CDP, Florida." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on June 17, 2009.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 airliners.net, all Air Florida aircraft photos
  4. 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. departedflights.com; Air Florida route maps
  6. departedflights.com, Air Florida system timetables
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. [http.airflorida.us]
  9. Air Florida Commuter. Sunshineskies.com (2010-12-07). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  10. QH020179intro. Departedflights.com (1979-02-01). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  11. QH120181intro. Departedflights.com (1981-12-01). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  12. QH090882intro. Departedflights.com (1982-09-08). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  13. QH011584intro. Departedflights.com (1984-01-15). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  14. departedflights.com, Air Florida route maps
  15. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19800810-0
  16. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19800813-1
  17. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19820202-0
  18. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19830707-0

External links