Hummingbird Air

Last updated
Hummingbird Air
Hummingbird Air.jpg
IATA ICAO Callsign
 ? ? ?
Founded31 August 2013
Commenced operations2013
Ceased operations2017
Operating bases Henry E. Rohlsen Airport
Fleet size3
Destinations5
Key peopleSam Raphael, president
Website hum-air.com

Hummingbird Air was an airline offering scheduled and chartered air taxi services as well as cargo flights in the Caribbean. It was based at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on the island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. [1] [2] The airline was founded in late 2013 by Sam Raphael, a Dominican hotelier who wanted to improve air service to Dominica. As of April 1, 2017, Hummingbird Air ceased operations. It served five destinations in the Caribbean with a fleet of three Beechcraft Model 99 aircraft. The company slogan was Connecting the hidden Caribbean.

Contents

History

The owner of Hummingbird Air, Sam Raphael, had expressed issues with air service to Dominica as early as 2010. [3] As the owner of the Jungle Bay Resort on the island, he claimed the lack of direct flights had turned potential customers away from his resort. [4] On 31 August 2013, Raphael announced his intent to start the airline, claiming it would be important to the Dominican tourism industry. [5]

Hummingbird Air commenced operations in late 2013 with charter flights. [2] It inaugurated flights to Dominica on 27 July 2014, from St. Thomas. [4] In October 2015, the airline obtained Part 135 certification from the U.S. Department of Transportation, allowing it to operate scheduled flights. [6]

On 17 August 2015, a Hummingbird Air aircraft crash-landed in Barbuda. [7] Another crash-landing occurred in St. Lucia on 8 November. The airline responded by immediately suspending all passenger operations and launching an internal investigation. The Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority also started an investigation of the incident. [8] [9] Following a period of reorganization and retraining of its pilots, Hummingbird Air resumed operations on 3 May 2016, in time for the summer travel season. [10]

Destinations

As of May 2016, Hummingbird Air serviced the following destinations:

Country/TerritoryIslandAirportNotesRefs
Dominica — Douglas–Charles Airport
Saint Kitts and Nevis Nevis Vance W. Amory International Airport
Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport [11]
U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Croix Henry E. Rohlsen Airport Hub
U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Thomas Cyril E. King Airport

Fleet

As of May 2016, Hummingbird Air operated a fleet of three Beechcraft Model 99 aircraft. [2]

Hummingbird Air fleet
AircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotes
Beechcraft Model 99 3—9passenger capacity reduced from 15 to accommodate for cargo [12]

Accidents and incidents

See also

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 is a joint civil-military international airport located in suburban Carolina, Puerto Rico, three miles (5 km) southeast of San Juan. It is named for Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rico's first democratically elected governor, and was known as Isla Verde International Airport until it was renamed in February 1985. It is the busiest airport in the Caribbean region by passenger traffic. Over 4 million passengers board a plane at the airport per year according to the Federal Aviation Administration, making it the 48th busiest airport overseen by said federal agency.

<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">Hewanorra International Airport</span> International airport serving Saint Lucia

Hewanorra International Airport, located near Vieux Fort Quarter, Saint Lucia, in the Caribbean, is the larger of Saint Lucia's two airports and is managed by the Saint Lucia Air and Seaports Authority (SLASPA). It is on the southern cape of the island, about 53.4 km (33.2 mi) from the capital city, Castries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George F. L. Charles Airport</span> Airport in Saint Lucia

George F. L. Charles Airport is the smaller of the two airports in Saint Lucia, the other being Hewanorra International Airport. It is located 2 km (1.2 mi) north of Castries, the capital city. George F. L. Charles Airport is managed by the Saint Lucia Air and Seaports Authority (SLASPA). Its runway runs parallel to a pristine beach, Vigie Beach, which is a popular tourist attraction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V. C. Bird International Airport</span> Airport

V. C. Bird International Airport is an international airport located on the island of Antigua, 8 km (5.0 mi) northeast of St. John's, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LIAT</span> Airline in Antigua and Barbuda

LIAT (1974) Ltd, also known as Leeward Islands Air Transport Services and operating as LIAT, was a regional airline headquartered in Antigua and Barbuda that operated high-frequency inter-island scheduled services to 15 destinations in the Caribbean. The airline's main base was V.C. Bird International Airport, Antigua and Barbuda, with a secondary base at Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados.

Caribbean Star Airlines was an airline based in Antigua and Barbuda. It operated scheduled passenger services in conjunction with Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) to destinations in the eastern Caribbean. Its main base was VC Bird International Airport, St John's. The company slogan was A Whole New Altitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyril E. King Airport</span> Airport in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Cyril E. King Airport is a public airport located two miles (3 km) west of the central business district of Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. It is currently the busiest airport in the United States Virgin Islands, and one of the busiest in the eastern Caribbean, servicing 1,403,000 passengers from July 2015 through June 2016. The airport also serves the island of St. John and is additionally often used by those travelling to the nearby British Virgin Islands.

Carib Aviation was an airline based in Antigua and Barbuda.

<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">Air Sunshine</span> Airline of the United States

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. Its main base is Fort Lauderdale, with a Caribbean hub located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beechcraft 1900</span> Commuter airliner and light transport aircraft

The Beechcraft 1900 is a twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With customers favoring larger regional jets, Raytheon ended production in October 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beechcraft Model 99</span> Airplane

The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by Beechcraft. It is also known as the Beech 99 Airliner and the Commuter 99. The 99 is a twin-engine, unpressurized, 15 to 17 passenger seat turboprop aircraft, derived from the earlier Beechcraft King Air and Queen Air. It uses the wings of the Queen Air, the engines and nacelles of the King Air, and sub-systems from both, with a specifically designed nose structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas–Charles Airport</span> Airport in Dominica

Douglas–Charles Airport, formerly known as Melville Hall Airport, is an airport located on the northeast coast of Dominica, 2 mi (3.2 km) northwest of Marigot. It is about one hour away from the second largest city Portsmouth. It is one of only two airports in the island nation of Dominica, the other being Canefield Airport located three miles (5 km) northeast of Roseau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caribbean Airlines</span> Flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Guyana

Caribbean Airlines Limited is the state-owned airline and flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago. It is also the flag carrier of Jamaica and Guyana, with the Government of Jamaica having approximately 11.9% ownership. Headquartered in Iere House in Piarco, the airline operates flights to the Caribbean, North America and South America from its base at Piarco International Airport, Trinidad. Presently Caribbean Airlines employs more than 1,700 people and is the largest airline in the Caribbean. The company slogan is The Warmth of the Islands.

Air Guadeloupe was a small French international airline with its head office in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, France. At one time, it was on the property of Le Raizet Airport. Later it was located in the Immeuble Le Caducet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Martinique</span>

Air Martinique was an airline based in the island of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. Its head office was on the grounds of Fort-de-France Airport, now Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport, in Le Lamentin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FlyMontserrat</span> Montserratian airline

Montserrat Airways Ltd, trading as FlyMontserrat, is an airline with its headquarters at John A. Osborne Airport in Gerald's, Montserrat, British West Indies. The airline flies from Montserrat to and from Antigua as well as from and to Nevis, with their Britten Norman BN-2 aircraft.

Sky High Aviation Services S.A. is an airline based in Dominican Republic and operates scheduled flights in the Caribbean.

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. ↑ "Airline Information: Hummingbird Air". Ch-aviation. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Profile on Hummingbird Air". CAPA - Centre for Aviation. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "Hotelier Sam Raphael bemoans accessibility issues with tourism here". Dominica News Online. 4 July 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Hummingbird Air begins charter flights into Canefield Airport in Dominica". TheDominican.net. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "Dominican hotelier announces aviation venture". Da Vibes via Repeating Islands. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "US Virgin Islands' Hummingbird Air now Part 135 compliant". Ch-aviation. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  7. 1 2 Gilbert, Ernice (18 August 2015). "Hummingbird Air Crash-Lands In Barbuda; No One Injured". The Virgin Islands Consortium. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  8. 1 2 Malone, Tameika (9 November 2015). "Hummingbird Air cancels all flights after another crash landing". Antigua Observer. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "Hummingbird Air cancels passenger flights following incident in St. Lucia". Dominica News Online. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  10. ↑ "Hummingbird Air resumes flights to Dominica" (Press release). Hummingbird Air. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016– via Dominica News Online.
  11. ↑ "New Flights From St Kitts to St Thomas and St Croix". Caribbean Journal. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "Hummingbird Air to start regular service between Dominica & VI". Virgin Islands News Online. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.