WinAir Airlines

This article is about the former United States charter airline. For the Netherlands Antilles airline, see Winair.

WinAir Airlines

IATA ICAO Call sign none WNA WinAir
Founded	1997;28 years ago (1997)
Ceased operations	1999;26 years ago (1999)
Hubs	Long Beach Municipal Airport
Fleet size	10
Destinations	5
Headquarters	Salt Lake City, Utah
Key people	Richard Winwood
Website	www.flywinair.com (defunct)

WinAir Airlines was a short-lived charter passenger airline in the United States based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and founded by Richard I. Winwood. ^[1] Established in 1997, its first flight was a Super Bowl charter on January 25, 1998. This rapid certification was credited partially to experienced staff, which included personnel from Morris Air, Key Airlines, and Champion Air.^{[ citation needed ]}

In November 1998, the airline launched public scheduled charter flights from a hub at Long Beach Municipal Airport in Long Beach, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, Oakland, California, Sacramento, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah. ^{[2] [3]} The airline applied to the FAA for authority to operate as a scheduled passenger airline, but this was not received by the time the airline shut down.^{[ citation needed ]}

After running into substantial financial difficulties and maintenance concerns caused by the leaseholders and former aircraft owners including Pegasus Airlines of Turkey and Garuda Indonesia regarding some of the airline's leased 737-400 aircraft, the airline shut down on July 6, 1999. ^[4]

The airline was featured in the 1999 film For Love of the Game . The film was released in September 1999, two months after the airline ceased operations.^{[ citation needed ]}

Destinations

• California
  • Long Beach, California (Long Beach Airport) ^[3]
  • Oakland, California (Oakland International Airport)
  • Sacramento, California (Sacramento International Airport)
• Nevada
  • Las Vegas, Nevada (McCarran International Airport)
• Utah
  • Salt Lake City, Utah (Salt Lake City International Airport)

The airline also planned flights to Seattle, Washington. Seattle was dropped the week before the airline was scheduled to fly, as competition from rival carriers including Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines made it impossible to compete without a contract with Boeing to guarantee a minimum number of passengers between Long Beach and Seattle. After failing to finalize a contract in time, WinAir canceled Seattle as a destination.^{[ citation needed ]}

Fleet

WinAir 737-200 on the ramp in Long Beach

Over the course of its operations, WinAir operated a total of 10 aircraft:

• 5 - Boeing 737-200
• 2 - Boeing 737-300
• 3 - Boeing 737-400

See also

• List of defunct airlines of the United States

References

1. Boulton, Guy (1 July 1999). "Winwood Sees High-Flying Venture End". Salt Lake Tribune. ProQuest   288936386.
2. Reynolds, Christopher (1 November 1998). "Travel Insider (WinAir profile)". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest   421314539.
3. Rowe, Jeff (29 August 1998). "Long Beach to Bay area flights planned by Winair". Orange County Register. ProQuest   273070537.
4. Knudson, Max (7 July 1999). "Winair folds amid financial woes". Deseret. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.

Sources

• Norwood, Tom W. (2006). Deregulation Knockouts, Round Two. Sandpoint, Idaho: Airways International. p. 114. OCLC   77065792. ISBN   0-9653993-2-2 .
• Olson, Ralph R (September–October 1999). "Winair Airlines: A "Win-Win" for Southern California Travelers". Airliners: The World's Airline Magazine . World Transport Press. pp. 60–63.