| |||||||
Founded | 1997 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | 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 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 ]
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 ]
Over the course of its operations, WinAir operated a total of 10 aircraft:
Western Airlines was a major airline in the United States based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mexico City, London and Nassau. Western had hubs at Los Angeles International Airport, Salt Lake City International Airport, and the former Stapleton International Airport in Denver. Before it merged with Delta Air Lines in 1987 it was headquartered at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Throughout the company's history, its slogan was "Western Airlines...The Only Way to Fly!"
ATA Airlines, Inc., formerly known as American Trans Air and commonly referred to as ATA, was an American low-cost and charter airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana. ATA operated scheduled passenger flights throughout the U.S. mainland and Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Portugal as well as military and commercial charter flights around the world.
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Avelo Airlines is an American ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Houston, Texas. It previously operated charter flights as Casino Express Airlines and Xtra Airways before transitioning to scheduled operations and rebranding as Avelo Airlines on April 8, 2021. The airline's first scheduled flight under the Avelo name was on April 28, 2021, from Hollywood Burbank Airport to Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport.
Palm Springs International Airport, formerly Palm Springs Municipal Airport, is an airport two miles east of downtown Palm Springs, California, United States. The airport covers 940 acres and has two runways. The facility operates year-round, with most flights occurring in the fall, winter, and spring.
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Vanguard Airlines was a low-cost airline based in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, where it operated a hub from 1994 through 2002. For a time, Vanguard also had significant operations at Chicago Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, until late 2000. Vanguard began operations on November 15, 1994 with a route from Kansas City to Denver and on to Salt Lake City. It ceased operations on July 29, 2002, after filing for bankruptcy. The airline flew leased Boeing 727-200, 737-200, 737-300 as well as McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series and MD-87 jetliners to a number of destinations from its main hub in Kansas City at the time of its demise.
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Frontier Airlines was a United States local service carrier, a scheduled airline that was formed by the merger of Arizona Airways, Challenger Airlines, and Monarch Air Lines on June 1, 1950. Headquartered at the now-closed Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, the airline ceased operations on August 24, 1986. A new airline using the same name was founded eight years later in 1994.
Morris Air was a low-fare airline in the western United States, based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It began scheduled operations in 1992, and was sold to Southwest Airlines in December 1993 for over $120 million in stock. The airline officially became part of Southwest in the autumn of 1994. Morris Air was the first airline in the world to invent e-ticket (ticketless) travel based on the suggestion of Stuart Thatcher, an employee at the time. Although Southwest Airlines is often credited with offering the first e-ticketing system, it was in fact created and implemented by Morris Air and later integrated into Southwest Airlines after it purchased Morris Air.
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