ViaAir

Not to be confused with Air VIA, Viva Air, or Viva Air Dominicana.
ViaAir
IATA ICAO Callsign
VC SRY STINGRAY
Founded 2014
Operating bases
Fleet size 11
Destinations
Company slogan Above and Beyond
Headquarters Maitland, Florida
Key people
  • Irit Vizer (President & COO)
  • Keri Harris (Executive Vice President of Operations)
  • Mitch Pizik (Executive Vice President of B2B Sales)
Website www.flyviaair.com

ViaAir is an airline which offers scheduled Essential Air Service from Raleigh County Memorial Airport in Beckley, West Virginia to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. Service operates seven days per week with two round trips taking place Mondays through Fridays, and one round trip taking place Saturdays and Sundays. After a successful trial from mid-December 2014 through mid-January 2015, ViaAir began offering regular scheduled service to Northeast Florida Regional Airport in St. Augustine, Florida on February 26. The regular scheduled service to St. Augustine continues on a seasonal basis.

History

Ribbon cutting at the Raleigh County Memorial Airport prior to ViaAir's departure on its inaugural flight to Charlotte, NC on December 3, 2014.

ViaAir's flight service is operated by Charter Air Transport d.b.a. Via Airlines. The Charter Air Transport fleet has been in service since 1997 operating public and private charter flights for corporations, sports teams, casinos, and air travel functions before expanding to scheduled flight service with ViaAir, giving the company more than fifteen years of continued flight service experience.[1]

ViaAir began their EAS scheduled flights in December 2014, with the inaugural flight taking place on December 3. Prior to ViaAir taking over the route, it was flown by United Express.[2]

The same day as the inaugural Beckley flight, ViaAir announced it would be operating seasonal unsubsidized nonstop service from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to Northeast Florida Regional Airport in St. Augustine, Florida, with its inaugural flight taking place on December 19, 2014.[3] In addition to flying to Charlotte, ViaAir offered seasonal direct flights to Beckley, West Virginia from St. Augustine, stopping in Charlotte en route.

After the success of the seasonal trial route, an agreement was reached to continue service to St. Augustine from Charlotte and Beckley. Continued service is scheduled to begin February 13 through the 23rd for various days. Regular service to and from St. Augustine will then be offered on Thursdays and Sundays beginning February 26 through the end of 2015.[4] In early November 2015, ViaAir announced they would extend their St. Augustine service into 2016.[5]

ViaAir, with flights operated by the Charter Air Transport fleet, offers additional air travel options with its AirCruise and Air Tours products, originally known as Mauiva AirCruise and Air Tours. ViaAir's Mauiva products began in 2009 with its Air Tours, and introduced AirCruise in 2011. ViaAir's Air Tours offer packages for plane aerial tours over the Orlando attractions and vicinity, as well as a package to fly the plane.[6] AirCruise introduced a concept similar to naval cruises, but which transports passengers by plane instead of by boat.[7] While naval cruising is limited to ports, AirCruise is able to reach landlocked destinations.

On May 9, 2015, ViaAir will begin seasonal scheduled service between Republic Airport on Long Island and Niagara Falls International Airport, one of its popular AirCruise destinations.

With an announcement made on July 14, 2015, ViaAir began a trial of flight service to Myrtle Beach International Airport in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from both Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina and Raleigh County Memorial Airport in Beckley, West Virginia. The trial will run from July 31, 2015 to August 21, 2015.[8] In mid November 2015, ViaAir announced the resumption of their seasonal service into Myrtle Beach, continuing through September 30, 2016.[9]

On September 1, 2016 it was announced that ViaAir and similar carrier Elite Air had been merged under a single holding company known as AirX America, an affiliate of Air X Aviation. In the announcement they stated that they intend to add larger mainline and potentially widebody jet aircraft onto the ViaAir certificate as well as expand the EMB-145 fleet.[10]

Charter Air Transport d.b.a Via Airlines has maintained a 98% dispatch rate, meaning consistent on-time flights for the fleet. The company earned an ARG/US Gold rating and continues to maintain its reliability dispatch rate.[11]

Destinations

Regular scheduled flights are operated from Beckley to Charlotte seven days each week, while flights to St. Augustine only operate on Thursdays and Sundays.

State City Airport served Notes
Florida St. Augustine Northeast Florida Regional Airport Seasonal Service
Florida Orlando/Sanford Orlando Sanford International Airport (begins December 11, 2016)[12]
Maryland Baltimore Baltimore–Washington International Airport Seasonal Service
New York Farmingdale Republic Airport Seasonal Service
New York Niagara Falls Niagara Falls International Airport Seasonal Service
North Carolina Charlotte Charlotte Douglas International Airport Hub
South Carolina Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach International Airport Seasonal Service
Virginia Staunton Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport EAS Service to CLT (begins November 30, 2016)[13]
West Virginia Beckley Raleigh County Memorial Airport EAS Service to CLT
West Virginia Clarksburg North Central West Virginia Airport EAS Service to CLT
West Virginia Lewisburg Greenbrier Valley Airport EAS Service to CLT
West Virginia Parkersburg/Marietta, Ohio Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport EAS Service to CLT

Fleet

All aircraft used for ViaAir flights are operated by their subsidiary, Charter Air Transport d.b.a Via Airlines.

ViaAir's EMB-120 Brasilias
Charter Air Transport Fleet:
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Notes
Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia 4 0
Embraer ERJ 145EP/LR 6 0
Cessna Citation 560XL 1 0

References

  1. ↑ "Private Air Charter Company | Charter Air Transport". www.charterairtransport.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  2. ↑ Pritt, Pamela. "ViaAir takes off from Raleigh Memorial (W/ VIDEO)". Beckley Register-Herald. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  3. ↑ "First ViaAir flight lands in St. Augustine". StAugustine.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  4. ↑ "ViaAir says it will continue its service between St. Augustine and Charlotte through 2015". StAugustine.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  5. ↑ "ViaAir Extends Flight Service to/from St. Augustine, FL into 2016".
  6. ↑ "ViaAir Tours | A Flight Above the Rest". www.mauivaairtours.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  7. ↑ "ViaAircruise". ViaAircruise. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  8. ↑ "ViaAir is Going to Myrtle Beach". ViaAir Travel Blog. 2015-07-14. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  9. ↑ "ViaAir Returns to Myrtle Beach, SC in 2016 with Seasonal Flights".
  10. ↑ Air X Aviation launches strategic operations in USA and introduces to aviation industry Chris Chapman and Carol Norman as brand ambassadors, Charter Broker, September 2, 2016, Retrieved 2016-09-10
  11. ↑ "Our Company | ViaAir". www.flyviaair.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  12. ↑ http://blog.flyviaair.com/viaair-announces-new-flight-service-and-special-99-introductory-fares/
  13. ↑ https://www.regulations.gov/contentStreamer?documentId=DOT-OST-2002-11378-0098&attachmentNumber=1&disposition=attachment&contentType=pdf
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