Air Sunshine

Last updated
Air Sunshine
AirSunshireFinal Logo2.png
IATA ICAO Call sign
YIRSIAIR SUNSHINE [1]
Founded1982
AOC # RSHA311A [2]
Hubs Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Fleet size8
Destinations12
Headquarters Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Website www.airsunshine.com [ dead link ]
Embraer EMB-110 formerly operated by Air Sunshine N123HY EMB.110P1 Air Sunshine FLL 28APR00 (6852018399).jpg
Embraer EMB-110 formerly operated by Air Sunshine

Air Sunshine is an airline based in the United States and in Puerto Rico. It operates scheduled service to and from San Juan and Vieques, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Anguilla, Dominica, Sint Maarten, Nevis, St. Kitts, Tortola and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands and Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands. [3] Its main base is Fort Lauderdale, with a Caribbean hub located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Contents

As of 1982 the airline considered Fort Lauderdale to be its corporate headquarters; however, the main base of operations is located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. [4] Air Sunshine's website lists two separate post office boxes for contacts, one in Fort Lauderdale and another in San Juan.

Air Sunshine is reportedly out of business as of Sept. 25, 2024. No other information is known.

Destinations

Air Sunshine operates a series of short routes between its destinations.

Former Destinations

Fleet

As of July 2019 the Air Sunshine fleet included: [5]

Air Sunshine Fleet
AircraftIn FleetPassengersNotes
Beechcraft 1900 219
Cessna 402 46
Saab 340A 230 to 36
Total8

In August 2006, the fleet consisted of 1 Beechcraft 1900C and 2 Saab 340A aircraft. [6]

Other previously operated aircraft:

Accidents and incidents

Air Sunshine had a better-than-average safety record between 1997 and 2004, per the NTSB. In that same period, there were a few incidents. [7]

On July 13, 2003, Air Sunshine flight 527, operating FAR Part 135 scheduled commuter service from Fort Lauderdale (ICAO: KFLL) to Treasure Cay Airport (ICAO: MYAT), Great Abaco Island in The Bahamas using a Cessna 402C with registration N314AB, crashed in an at-sea ditching about 8 miles short of the airport. Inadequate maintenance was found to be the probable cause for the single engine failure. The resulting crash was blamed on the pilot's "failure to adequately manage the airplane's performance after the engine failed" and he was considered to have contributed to the deaths of two passengers who died after evacuation by not having provided an adequate emergency briefing. [8]

On January 7, 2007, an Air Sunshine Cessna 402 had hydraulic problems with the landing gear during a flight from Virgin Gorda to San Juan (SJU). There were no injuries and the pilot managed to land the plane safely. The airport was closed for approximately 30 minutes until the emergency ceased.

On February 11, 2017, an Air Sunshine Cessna 402 overran the runway at Virgin Gorda following a brake failure. The UK Air Accidents Investigation board has reported 'shortfalls' in procedure and recommended that the FAA review Air Sunshine's operations and maintenance. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport</span> Airport near San Juan, Puerto Rico

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (LMM), previously known as the Isla Verde International Airport, is the primary international airport of Puerto Rico serving the capital municipality of San Juan and its metropolitan area. Covering 1,600 acres, SJU is located in the beach-front district of Isla Verde in the municipality of Carolina. Named after Luis Muñoz Marín, the first elected governor of the archipelago and island, it is, as of 2023, the 39th busiest airport by passenger boarding, 28th by international passenger traffic, and 24th by cargo throughput in the United States. With 12,197,553 million passengers in 2023, SJU is the busiest airport in the Caribbean, where it serves as a major gateway into the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prinair</span> Puerto Rican airline company

Prinair is a Puerto Rican charter operator airline. It was Puerto Rico's domestic and international flag carrier airline for almost two decades from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. Despite previously ceasing scheduled commercial operations twice, it restarted charter flights in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vieques Air Link</span> Puerto Rican airline

Vieques Air Link is a small VFR(Visual Flight Rules) Puerto Rico-based airline that operates under FAR Part 135, that links Vieques and Culebra with mainland Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rafael Hernández Airport</span> Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Rafael Hernández Airport, also referred to as the Rafael International Hernández Airport, is an airport located in the municipality of Aguadilla in northwestern Puerto Rico. Named after the composer Rafael Hernández Marín, it is the second-largest airport of the archipelago and island in terms of passenger traffic after the main airport of Luis Muñoz Marín International. It is also home to Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations. Set to be modernized, the 11,702 ft long runway of the airport is the longest in the Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport</span> Airport on the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico

Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport is a public airport on the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico. Because a large amount of Vieques's yearly revenue comes from the tourism industry, this airport plays an important part in the Vieques economy. For decades, the airport has been the hub of Vieques Air Link, and also a destination for a number of small airlines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Air</span> Regional airline of the United States

Hyannis Air Service Inc., operating as Cape Air, is an airline headquartered at Cape Cod Gateway Airport in Hyannis, Massachusetts, United States. It operates scheduled passenger services in the Northeast, the Caribbean, Midwest, and Eastern Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Gorda</span> Island of the British Virgin Islands

Virgin Gorda is the third-largest island and second-most populous of the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

Dorado Wings was a small commuter airline that operated from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Dorado Airport in the tourist center of Dorado, Puerto Rico. Dorado Wings was the only commercial operator at Dorado Airport. Dorado Wings existed under that name from 1964 to 1981. In early 1981, the airline was purchased and its name was changed to Crown Air which operated until 1988.

Air St. Thomas was an airline based on the island of St. Thomas, in the United States Virgin Islands. It operated regular and charter passenger services. Its main base was Cyril E. King Airport, St Thomas. It ceased operations in December 2005. The company, founded in 1975, was banned in March 2004 on the French airports and is since then blacklisted. This commuter air carrier had a very small fleet and did not operate long haul routes.

Seaborne Virgin Island Inc, operating as Seaborne Airlines, is a FAR Part 121 airline headquartered in Carolina, Puerto Rico, near the territory's capital of San Juan. It operates a seaplane shuttle service between St. Croix and St. Thomas. Originally headquartered on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, the company relocated to Puerto Rico in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive Airlines</span> Former regional airline headquartered in Carolina, Puerto Rico

Executive Airlines, Inc. was a Puerto Rican-based regional airline headquartered at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the main airport for the United States territory, near the capitol of San Juan. The airline was a wholly owned subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and it was paid by fellow AMR member American Airlines to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on American Eagle flights that were scheduled, marketed and sold by American Airlines. Executive Airlines operated an extensive inter-island network in the Caribbean and the Bahamas from its hub in San Juan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Star Air Cargo</span> Former cargo airline based in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Four Star Air Cargo was a cargo airline based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It operated cargo services within the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and to Puerto Rico. Its main base was Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport</span> Airport in British Virgin Islands

Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, previously known as Beef Island Airport, is the main airport serving the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. The airport serves as the gateway to just about all of the islands within the BVI. The airport is also a gateway for inter-Caribbean travelers headed to the nearby U.S. Virgin Islands. Many travellers fly into Beef Island, with the intention of taking a ferry to the other smaller British Virgin Islands. The airport is located on Beef Island, a small island off the main island of Tortola, to which it is connected by the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Gorda Airport</span> Airport in British Virgin Islands

Virgin Gorda Airport is an airport on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom.

Lynx Air International was a United States airline based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Servant Air</span> Commuter airline based out of Kodiak, Alaska

Servant Air, Inc. is an American regional airline with operations throughout The United States and Alaska, USA. It operates domestic scheduled passenger and international charter services. Its main hub is Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (PANC) and its main scheduled airline service base is Kodiak Airport (PADQ) with regional operations bases in Boston, MA, White Plains, NY, Fort Lauderdale, FL and San Juan, PR. Servant Air Also provides critical care Air Ambulance services throughout its operating area.

Florida Coastal Airlines (FCA) was an airline based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. It operated services between Florida and the Bahamas, Cuba, and Haiti.

Air BVI was an airline which operated and was based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Founded in 1971, by 1975 it had significantly added capacity to its fleet with the introduction of two Douglas DC-3 aircraft. Air BVI primarily flew between the Beef Island Airport (EIS) on Tortola and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, providing connecting flights to and from major air carriers serving San Juan in order to enable tourists to visit the British Virgin Islands as well as providing transportation for local BVI residents and also served other destinations in the BVI such as Anegada and Virgin Gorda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VI Airlink</span> Airline of the British Virgin Islands

VI Airlink is an airline from the British Virgin Islands, with its license issued under the British Overseas Territory's air requirements. It is the only airline with airplanes registered in the B.V.I. It operates mostly chartered short-haul flights throughout the Caribbean from its base at Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport on Beef Island, using a fleet of three aircraft.

Aviation in Puerto Rico has a complex and long history, almost as long as the history of aviation itself. Puerto Rican aviation history has been filled with events, well-known characters and airline companies which have shaped the country's transportation services and the way people travel between cities and to other countries.

References

  1. "IATA / ICAO Airline Codes". The Airline Codes Web Site. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  2. "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  3. Moe. "Flights/Fares". www.airsunshine.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-23. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  4. "Air Sunshine: It's Small But It's Right On Time." KNT News Service at Lakeland Ledger . Sunday April 15, 1985. 15D. Retrieved from Google News (59 of 99) on March 5, 2010.
  5. Flightradar24. "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map". Flightradar24. Retrieved 2019-07-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. Flight International, 3–9 October 2006
  7. Leung, Rebecca (16 Dec 2003). "Air Sunshine: Flying Into Danger". CBS News. Retrieved 21 July 2019. Note that it apparently incorrectly says it was flight 502, disagreeing with the NTSB.
  8. National Transportation Safety Board (October 13, 2004). "In-Flight Engine Failure and Subsequent Ditching Air Sunshine, Inc., Flight 527 Cessna 402C, N314AB About 7.35 Nautical Miles West-Northwest of Treasure Cay Airport, Great Abaco Island, Bahamas July 13, 2003" (PDF). Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  9. Accident report AAIB Bulletin: 3/2018 Retrieved April 5, 2023