Air Florida

Air Florida

IATA ICAO Callsign QH FLA PALM
Founded	1971
Ceased operations	July 3, 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

McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in 1981

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. 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.

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]

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.^[8]

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.

Mainline Fleet

Boeing 737-200

The airline operated the following mainline aircraft:^[3]

• Boeing 707 (B707-331 model)
• Boeing 727-100
• Boeing 727-200
• Boeing 737-100
• Boeing 737-200
• British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven (operated by British Island Airways in Europe to provide passenger feed for Air Florida's transatlantic flights. The BAC One-Eleven series 400 jet aircraft had Air Florida titles in addition to their British Island Airways titles)
• Douglas DC-9-10
• McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30
• Lockheed L-188 Electra (only mainline turboprop aircraft type operated by Air Florida)

Air Florida Commuter Fleet

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

• Beechcraft 99
• CASA 212-200
• Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
• Cessna 340
• Cessna 402
• Convair 580
• Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante
• Martin 4-0-4
• Mohawk 298 (enhanced version of the Nord 262)
• Nord 262

Destinations

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.^[13]

Accidents and incidents

• On August 10, 1980, Air Florida Flight 4, with 35 people on board, operated by a Boeing 737 from Miami International Airport to Key West International Airport, was taken over by a hijacker, who demanded to be flown to Cuba. He later surrendered in Havana.^[14]
• 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.^[15]
• On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed on takeoff from Washington National Airport due to atmospheric icing and pilot error, killing 74 of the 79 people on board, injuring four of the five survivors, and killing and injuring four people on the 14th Street Bridge, which the plane plowed into.
• 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.^[16]
• On July 7, 1983, Air Florida Flight 8 with 47 people on board was flying from Fort Lauderdale International Airport to Tampa International Airport. One of the passengers handed a note to one of the flight attendants, saying that he had a bomb, and telling them to fly the plane to Havana, Cuba. He revealed a small athletic bag, which he opened, and inside was an apparent explosive device. The airplane was diverted to Havana-José Martí International Airport, and the hijacker was taken into custody by Cuban authorities.^[17]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Air Florida.

• Air Florida Systems: Air Florida
• Airchive.com: Air Florida timetable and route map images
• timetableimages.com: Air Florida timetable and route map images
• RoadstotheFuture.com: 14th Street Bridge, the Air Florida Crash, and Subway Disaster
• Sunshine Skies: Air Florida history, vintage photos and route map