PALESTINIAN AIRLINES: P. O. Box 4043, Gaza, Palestine; Phone 972 5 034 3603; Fax 972 7 821 309; Http://www. palestinianair. com; Code PF; Year Founded 1996. Having been created by the Palestinian government in July 1994, this new carrier is physically established at Gaza in late 1996 in accordance with agreements reached in talks between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators. A pair of Boeing 727-100s and two Fokker 50s are acquired by Palestinian Civil Aviation Authority Director Fayez Zaiddan, who is also the carrier’s chairman, as a gift from The Netherlands and plans are made to inaugurate scheduled services from a new airport at Rafah in southern Gaza.
For security reasons, Israel refuses to allow the company to commence operations from Gaza. Consequently, the carrier launches operations from Port Said, Egypt, in January 1997. The initial services, operated with the Fokker 50s, are chartered pilgrim flights to Jeddah.
The premier pilgrim flight, on January 25, is delayed for two days by bureaucratic wrangling over procurement of the proper Saudi landing permits. Then, on the day of takeoff, the service is held back for three hours because of fog. The first of 24 Hadj flights between Port Said and Jeddah commence on March 1.
Having been put off, the inauguration of scheduled services is finally announced for June 1, with a flight from Amman, Jordan, to El Arish, Egypt. Unhappily, this start-up is also delayed.
A month later, on July 23, twice-weekly Fokker 50 return revenue frequencies are finally initiated over a network from El Arish to Amman and the Gulf States. Delayed by technical difficulties, the inaugural flight, with 35 passengers, arrives 3 hours late.
By August 8, the company has operated 24 Hadj services to Jeddah. In total, $386,000 is generated, leaving the company with a large deficit.
Flights continue during the remainder of the year and in 1998. On November 24, the new Gaza facility at Dahaniyeh, Yasser Arafat International Airport, is finally opened. Commercial aircraft and airline representatives from Jordan, Egypt, Spain, Austria, Morocco, Israel, and other nations participate in ceremonies marking the occasion. The emotional highlight of the day is the arrival from Egypt of the first PA Fokker 50, which is met by President Arafat himself.
The carrier transfers its operations to the new Gaza facility on November 27. Revenue flights commence on December 1 with daily return services to Cairo, Amman, and Jeddah. Another ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new airport is attended by U. S. President Clinton on December 14.
The company completes its first Hadj pilgrim flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on February 25, 1999. A contract is signed with Canada’s Bombardier Aerospace in March for two each DHC-8-Q300s and CRJ200LR regional jets.
With Palestinian Aviation Authority Director/Chairman Zaidan as passenger, a B-727-100 flies from Gaza to Abu Dhabi on April 10. The first commercial service to a Gulf Arab state is followed on April 16 with scheduled twice-weekly return flights to Dubai.
On April 20, it is announced that Palestinian Airlines will begin flying during the summer to Istanbul, Larnaca, and Tripoli. Regularly scheduled twice-weekly frequencies to Abu Dhabi commence on May 13.
The Bombardier order is confirmed on June 27. The turboprops are expected by July 2000 and the Canadairs by the second quarter of 2001.
With the objective of assuming a larger role in the regional air transport picture, Palestinian, during the summer, concludes commercial agreements with Royal Air Maroc, EgyptAir, S. A.E., Royal Jordanian Airlines, Qatar Airways, TunisAir, Yemen Airways, and Tarom Romanian Airlines, S. A.
A total of 376 workers are employed by the airline at the beginning of 2000.
A commercial arrangement is inked with Alitalia, S. p.A. on January 6; plans are made for joint operation of a route from Gaza to Rome. A week later, Chairman Capt. Zeidan announces that the airline is seeking a financier from the private sector to help it begin the privatization process.
During the spring, plans are announced for the acquisition of three Boeing 737-300s; orders for two each Dash-8 turboprops and Canadair CRJ200LRs also remain outstanding. In May, the carrier’s chairman travels to Seattle for discussions with Boeing. The company joins IATA on May 23.
Twice-weekly B-727-230A return service from Gaza to Istanbul begins on June 1. The first of two DHC - 8-Q311s is delivered on July 21 and is christened Hebron.
The political disturbances in the West Bank of Palestine causes the Israelis to close Gaza Airport on October 8. Consequently, the airline is grounded. The airport is reopened on October 19 and Palestinian is able to get flights away to Cairo and Amman. Flights from the facility are irregular thereafter through the end of the year. The two delivered DHC-8-Q311s are placed in storage in Austria while the unaccepted CRJ200LRs remain in Canada.
PALM AIR CHARTER: 2432 Winchester Road, Hangar 15, Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee, 38116, United States; Phone (901) 398-6900; Fax (901) 398-6860; Year Founded
1997. PAC is set up at Memphis in 1997 to offer worldwide passenger charters. With a workforce of 6 full-time and s7 part-time staff, the FAR
Part 135 operator inaugurates revenue services with a fleet of 1 each Cessna 650 Citation III, Learjet 35A, and Beech King Air 100.
PALM SPRINGS AIRLINES: United States (1936-1937). Palm Springs is organized at Los Angeles in the fall of 1936 to offer unsubsidized passenger flights to the resort community of Palm Springs. Revenue flights commence in December; however, traffic is insufficient to justify operations beyond July 1937.
PALMAIR FLIGHTLINE, LTD. See FLIGHTLINE, LTD.
PALMAS AIR CORPORATION: United States (1975-1977). Palmas Air Corporation, based at Santurce, Puerto Rico, establishes a scheduled air taxi division in 1975. Employing a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander, daily roundtrips are duly inaugurated from San Juan to Hu-macao and are maintained for two years.
PAN AERO INTERNATIONAL: United States (1981-1984). Established at Tampa, Florida, in 1981 as Aero Exchange, this all-cargo charter operator is renamed Pan Aero International shortly thereafter. A Boeing 707-321C freighter is acquired and employed to undertake freight charter and contract service flights along the U. S. East Coast.
In 1984, the enterprise, while seeking additional authority, is renamed Florida West Airlines.
PAN AFRICAN AIRLINES, LTD.: PMB 21054, Ikeja, Nigeria; Phone 234 (1) 496-3607; Fax 235 (1) 496-3972; Year Founded 1961. In 1961, PAA is set up at Ikeja, with minority ownership held by Miami-based Africair (Dispatch Services, Inc.), to operate domestic and regional international charter and contract service flights, as well aircraft maintenance. B. J. Finan is managing director and he is allowed to recruit a workforce that will reach 110 within 7 years.
Much of the flight activity is undertaken in support of the nation’s oil industry. Flights commence with Cessna lightplanes and Bell 47G helicopters.
The fleet is significantly increased during 1962 when two Curtiss C-46 Commandos and a Douglas DC-4 are placed into service.
Another C-46 will be operated during 1964-1966. During these years, the fleet grows to include 1 DC-6A (which replaces the DC-4) and C-46s, plus 4 Beech 18s, 3 Cessna 206s, 2 each C-185s and C-310s, 1C-150, 1 Grumman G-73 Widgeon, and 5 Bell Model 47 helicopters.
During the civil unrest of 1967, the company’s aircraft are called upon to airlift refugees out of the eastern part of the country.
Arriving at Port Harcourt on the night of September 28, 1968, a C-54B with 2 crew and 55 passengers, plus a cargo of munitions, strikes a tree and crashes into a village; all aboard are killed as is 1 person on the ground.
A DC-4 is destroyed during a rocket attack on Port Harcourt on May 24, 1969. A second DC-4 is also destroyed on the ground at Port Har-court on November 10, this one as the result of a Biafran air raid.
Service continues during the 1970s. As the company comes to more and more to rely upon helicopters for the accomplishment of its energy industry support mission, most of the heavy aircraft will be withdrawn in the early 1980s.
By 1985, the fleet includes 4 Cessna 402s, 2 C-404s, 7 Bell 206B JetRangers, 4 Bell 206L LongRangers, and 3 Bell 47Gs.
A decade later in 1995-2000, Chairman Chief Chris Ogunbanjo and Managing Director S. Ravai continue to operate domestic flights with 150 employees and a mixed fleet. Equipment now includes 6 JetRangers, 5 LongRangers, 1 Cessna 425, and 2 Cessna 208 Caravan Is.
PAN AIR LINEAS AEREAS, S. A.: Jose Silva 9, Madrid, E-28043, Spain; Phone 34 (1) 519-6342; Fax 34 (1) 416-7208; Code PV; Year Founded 1988. Pan Air is formed at Madrid in summer 1988 to offer all-cargo charter and contract service flights to destinations in Europe, the Mideast, and North Africa. Ownership is divided between Spanish private interests and TNT International Aviation Services
(25%), with Nicholas Valero named as director general. A fleet is assembled comprising 2 British Aerospace BAe 146-200QTs and 1 Fokker F.27-600QC. Flights are undertaken on behalf of TNT beginning in December.
In 1991, the Fokker is replaced by a 146-300QT and the TNT stake is increased (to 49%). Director General Valero is named president in 1992 and is succeeded as managing director by David Robinson. Airline employment in 1993 stands at 73 and in 1994 the TNT-dedicated fleet includes 4 BAe 146-200QTs and 1 BAe 146-300QT.
During the first quarter of 1995, A. Paulkner, S. A., a Madrid-based travel industry concern (78%) joins with the Melillian Council (2%) and private investors (20%) to set up a passenger and charter operation, PauknAir, S. A., based at Melilla Airport. Pan Air employs a pair of newly acquired BAe 146-100QCs to inaugurate services on behalf of PauknAir during the third quarter to the holiday destinations of Almeria, Malaga, and Milan.
Flights continue in 1996-1997. Destinations visited include Almeria, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Melilla, Valencia, and Zaragoza. A total of 248,778 passengers are flown during the latter year.
While on final approach to Melilla Airport following a September 25,
1998, service from Pablo Picasso Airport at Malaga, a PauknAir, S. A. BAe 146-100QC with 4 crew and 34 passengers, crashes into mountainous terrain near Cap des Trois Fourches, about 5 mi. N of its destination; there are no survivors.
The company’s principals decide to exit the passenger airline business and the service from Malaga to Melilla is turned over to British World Airlines, Ltd.
Nightly cargo and express flights throughout Europe and North Africa continue to be offered on behalf of TNT Express Worldwide during
1999. Another BAe 146-200 QT enters service during May.
A total of 160 workers are employed at the beginning of 2000 to operate and coordinate the BAe 146-300QT and seven BAe 146-200QTs chartered from TNT. All are repainted during the year in TNT’s new color scheme. An Airbus Industrie A300B4-103F is also operated in TNT livery.
In late December, the company’s aircraft begin flying a new route from Liege to Pescara via Bologna on behalf of TNT.
PAN AM (PAN AMERICAN AIRWAYS): Pease International Tradeport, 14 Aviation Avenue, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03801, United States; Phone (603) 436-1626; Fax (603) 436-1198; http:// Www. flypanam. com; Code PN; Year Founded 1998. Unable to maintain economic viability, Pan American World Airways (2) declares bankruptcy on February 26, 1998. A desparate effort is made to secure additional financing and to prepare a reorganization plan acceptable to the carrier’ s creditors, as well as the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida (Miami), Judge A. Jay Cristol presiding. Chairman Charles Cobb and President/CEO David A. Banmiller both resign before the end of April, leaving the carrier in the hands of new General Manager Robert Mencel, former operations director at Carnival Air Lines.
During the last week of April, Timothy Mellon, of the famous Pittsburgh family and himself a pilot, and David Fink, principal owners of New England-based Guilford Transport Industries, which operates 3 railroads and 1,600 miles of freight lines in the Northeast, offer $24.5 million for PAWA-2’s remaining assets. It also agrees to provide the airline with $5 million to fund creation of a reorganization plan that will be submitted to the U. S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida, on May 20.
With 125 employees, Pan Am continues to operate charters to Aruba and Mexico from Fort Lauderdale with two chartered B-727-200As and a B-737-200. Meanwhile, lead bankruptcy counsel John Kozyak contacts all voting classes of the airline’s creditors, each of whom overwhelming votes approval of the new plan.
Having been duly submitted to Judge Cristol on May 20, the reorganization plan is taken under study for a month. On the afternoon of Monday, June 29, the judge, having heard from all the parties and wishing to keep the Pan Am name flying, confirms the plan. Under its terms, Guilford, in return for its investment, will acquire the three aircraft, a stock of spare parts, route authorities, and intellectual property associated with the Pan Am name. Optimists suggest that this will be the last time PAWA-2 will return to bankruptcy court and that it will soon be flying scheduled services again.
Indeed, plans are made to launch limited scheduled flights from Orlando to the northeast and Puerto Rico but, by June 10, two days before launch date, the necessary paperwork required by the DOT had yet to be filed. Needless to say, these flights are delayed.
David Fink becomes president on July 1. Instead of becoming the third Pan American World Airways, the airline is renamed Pan Am (Pan American Airways). Having now emerged from bankruptcy, the company continues to offer charter flights, both passenger and freight, throughout the summer and into the fall. The B-737-200 is sold and replaced with another B-727-200A; ancillary maintenance inventories are also sold. Orders are placed for four more used B-727-200As.
On October 1, a fourth B-727-200 is placed into service. In November and into December, Pan Am, using its own capital (i. e., that of Guilford Transportation Industries) renovates a 200,000-sq.-ft. hangar at Pease International Tradeport, the former Pease AFB at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On December 17, it is announced that this new facility will become headquarters for the airline, which by now has also added the four other Boeing trijets. In making this statement, President Fink notes that Guilford’s railroad and real estate businesses will also be moved to the Tradeport from Nashua, New Hampshire.
Enplanements during the 12 months total 19,000. Revenues plunge 65.9% to $46.75 million, while expenses drop 68.1%, but still total $66.89 million. The operating loss falls to $20.14 million and the net loss “improves” to $20.39 million.
At the beginning of 1999, Pan Am acquires a pair of CASA C-212-Aviocars that will be employed to shuttle spare parts and other supplies back and forth between Nashua and the airline’s operating base at Miami. Painted in full Pan Am colors and titles and christened as Clipper Casablanca and Clipper Casanova, the two operate under the historic secondary title of Boston-Maine Airways (2).
Beginning with the B-727-225A Clipper A. Jay Cristol, five of the seven Boeings (two each Dash-225As, Dash-221As, and 2J0As), all retrofitted to meet Stage III noise regulations, have been christened. The other names are Clipper Omagh, Clipper Deschapeller, Clipper PathBnder; and, in honor of president Fink’s first flight instructor, Clipper Walt Helmer. Together, these ships offer 65 weekly charters to vacation destinations.
At the beginning of March, the fiscally troubled discount operator Kiwi International Air Lines, owned by Dr. Charles Edwards and based at Newark, undertakes discussions with Guilford Transportation owners Timothy Mellon and David Fink, PAA-2 owners, concerning a rescue arrangement. Pan Am has wet-leased replacement aircraft to Kiwi since February.
Just 58-years-old, company founder Martin R. Shugrue Jr. dies at home in Houston on March 7. Depressed over the failure of his efforts with Pan Am, he will miss seeing, by just three months, the carrier’s return to the sky.
Kiwi Holdings, which has a 15% stake in the company, is reorganized on March 15. New officers and offices are selected and, as Kiwi’s financial picture continues to darken, the pursuit of a bailout is intensified.
On the morning of March 23, Secretary Rodney Slater holds a press conference to announce possible DOT actions concerning Kiwi. The government, according to Slater, has taken the unusual step of trying to ground the discount carrier, filing a show-cause order that claims Kiwi lacks the financial stability—and management sufficiently competent— to operate the airline safely. Unless Kiwi can successfully respond with a new management plan, it’s operating certificate may be withdrawn within three weeks.
In a separate announcement, the FAA reports that for the last several months it has been operating stepped-up surveillance and monitoring of the airline, in light of the situation with its finances and high-ranking personnel. The agency maintains that it has determined that Kiwi may be able to operate safely despite its financial problems, but that the agency will need to continue to devote significantly more resources than it possesses in any monitoring effort.
Kiwi is not caught unaware by Slater’s announcement in Washington, D. C. Later in the day, having completed fiscal arrangements, Kiwi files for Capter XI bankruptcy protection, owing $750,000 in airport fees. Simultaneously, Kiwi names consultant Gillespie president and receives $3 million in debtor-in-financing from Guilford Transportation. A hearing in bankruptcy court on the Pan Am arrangement will be held on March 29.
Guilford indicates that it is seeking a stronger scheduled division to complement Pan Am’s charter operations. As soon as the bankruptcy court sets a price, Guilford will purchase Kiwi’s assets. Meanwhile, the airline named for the wingless bird will maintain its current six-city schedule, charter Pan Am aircraft, and continue its upgraded service to Puerto Rico.
Citing safety concerns at bankrupt Kiwi, the FAA grounds the once-innovative discount carrier on March 24. Of particular concern are aircraft in less-than-airworthy condition and failure by the company to perform adequate maintenance on its four B-737s. Kiwi is given 10 days to appeal the ruling, but if it loses, the airline is informed that it will have to reapply for FAA certification. That process, if restarted, will be lengthy, requiring at least several months.
The shutdown comes as a surprise and strands thousands of travelers who have booked tickets for spring break, Easter, and Passover. It also throws 450 of the company’s 500 employees out of work.
On March 25, Kiwi and FAA officials meet for two hours at New York (JFK) with executives of the former attempting to convince the FAA to reverse its grounding order. Kiwi indicates that the expected Pan Am money and seven wet-leased aircraft will satisfy agency demands, as well as those of the DOT expressed earlier in the week.
When the regulators refuse to relent, Kiwi appeals the FAA decision to the NTSB, which must rule within 60 days of its receipt of the FAA response. The board cannot rule until the FAA counters Kiwi’s appeal. A spokesman for Guilford Industries owner Mellon in Connecticut indicates that Pan Am’s ownership is waiting to see what happens next and will then determine whether or not to proceed with the takeover.
Continental Airlines offers to honor some Kiwi tickets on a standby basis and to provide reduced-rate tickets to other Kiwi passengers. American Trans Air and Midway Airlines (2) come forward with similar proposals.
On March 26, Kiwi President Gillespie informs reporters that the proposed arrangement under which Kiwi is to be purchased by Pan Am will fail if the FAA revokes his airline’s operating license. “Without a valid, even severely restricted Air Carrier Certificate,” Gillespie reports, “Kiwi has no hope of completing the Pan Am or any other transaction.”
Pan Am legal representative Jack Sherwood agrees, informing Gillespie and the press that he will withdraw the Guilford Transportation offer of support on Monday when representatives of the two companies appear before U. S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Rosemary Gambardella in Newark. Sherwood indicates that the original Pan Am offer had been made on the assumption that Kiwi could continue operations, an assup-tion the FAA grounding ruins. In short, there is nothing to finance unless the airline is able to get up and running again. If it can, Pan Am may reconsider the financing proposal.
Kiwi Chairman Edwards, contacted by the news media, indicates that he is not surprised by the Pan Am development. If, however, the airline is able to win reinstatement and Pan Am chooses not to participate, three other investors have been found who are each willing to invest several millions of dollars. No one, however, is interested in financing a grounded airline. Not only do all of its employees stand to lose their jobs, Edwards notes, but he will personally be out $21 million as well.
Late in the day, Kiwi President Gillespie again urges the FAA to reconsider, this time requesting permission to fly only one of the company’s three working jetliners outfitted with safety personnel, and that only after FAA-supervised pre-and post-flight inspections. Again, the FAA rejects the petition.
Louis Lavelle, a staff writer for the Bergen County (N. J.) Record, reviews the situation in the March 27 issue of his newspaper. All of the analysts contacted in conjunction with the preparation of the article suggest that it is unlikely that any investors will step forward, even if the FAA revocation order is lifted.
On March 29, Judge Gambardella holds off appointing a bankruptcy trustee until April 1, giving Kiwi three days to get the grounding order lifted. Pan Am General Counsel John Naldolny indicates that, should the order be reversed, “we certainly stand ready to assist them.” An FAA spokesman contacted during the day indicates that the revocation edict still stands.
In early April, Kiwi is able to convince the FAA to modify its order from revocation to suspension. Work begins on regaining certification. Meanwhile, Pan Am seeks to obtain the scheduled certificate of Nations Air Express, another small Eastern carrier that had declared bankruptcy the previous October and is preparing to file its reorganization papers with the U. S. courts.
The documents are duly filed on April 19 and declare that a deal is in the works under which Nations Air Express will be rescued by a group of investors, led by David Fink and his Guilford Transportation Industries, which had rescued Pan American World Airways (2) the previous year.
Ten days later, Pan American announces plans to acquire Nations Air and use its aircraft to undertake its own forthcoming scheduled services. The arrangement is never consummated.
Having by now relocated several of its jetliners to Pease International Tradeport, Pan Am, on April 28, announces its first new services since its acquisition by Guilford Transportation Industries the previous June. In addition to five new frequencies, the company plans to add two more scheduled flights from Pease by year’s end, possibly to Atlanta and Philadelphia.
Beginning on June 8, Pan Am inaugurates daily charters from Pease to Sanford, Florida (serving Orlando), with continuing service to San Juan. Flights from Sanford, Philadelphia, San Juan, and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, are simultaneously initiated. DOT approval to resume scheduled passenger services is received on August 18; authority from the FAA is expected shortly.
After spending the summer vainly seeking a buyer for Kiwi, now devoid of market value, Kiwi bankruptcy trustee Charles Stanziale gives up on September 1; the next day, papers are filed with the U. S. Bankruptcy Court seeking to convert the carrier’s Chapter XI status to Chapter VII, liquidation. Nations Air Express, another possible partner, will stop all activities within a month as well.
On September 2, Pan Am receives FAA approval to operate scheduled service for the first time under this reincarnation. In a special media event held at Pease International Tradeport on September 28, the carrier’s newest remodeled B-727-200A is christened Clipper Portsmouth by former Portsmouth mayor Eileen Foley.
Fully-scheduled Clipper Class flights are resumed on October 7 with the inauguration of a daily B-727-200A route from Pease International Tradeport to Sanford. Daily (except Tuesdays) B-727-200A roundtrips commence on November 19 from Portsmouth, New Hampshire (serving Boston) to Gary, Indiana (serving Chicago) and Sanford, Florida (serving Orlando).
Enplanements for the year total 104,000.
Company officials arrive at Pittsburgh on January 18,2000 aboard the Clipper Portsmouth. The Boeing is made available for public viewing at a news conference where new service for Portsmouth is announced. A special nonstop roundtrip charter is operated on January 25 from Manchester, New Hampshire, to Des Moines for media personnel, campaign professionals, and others involved in the Iowa presidential caucus. During January and February, a company B-727-200A is chartered as the presidential campaign aircraft of U. S. Senator John McCain.
In February, Pan Am purchases seven Stage 3 Heavy Weight Systems from Raisbeck Commercial Air Group, which will be installed on the carrier’s B-727-200As at the manufacturer’s Portsmouth facility at the rate of one per month through August. In reporting the story on March 13, Aviation Week and Space Technology reveals that these hush kits will cost Pan Am between $695,000 each plus 30 installation man-hours to $1,295,000 each plus 215 installation man-hours.
Scheduled daily return flights begin on March 1 from Bangor to Sanford via Portsmouth on March 1. Weekend B-727-200A charters for the Boston-based package tour operator TNT Vacations are inaugurated on March 4 from Portsmouth via Florida to either St. Kitts or St. Martin. Flights from Portsmouth to Pittsburgh commence on March 20, with flights to Gary, Indiana, serving Chicago.
Not originally scheduled to start for several weeks yet, the new daily B-727-200A return service from Pittsburgh to Sanford is actually introduced on March 27 in anticipation of a strike (which does not occur) at USAirways.
Nonstop B-727-200A roundtrips are started on May 1 from Bangor to Pittsburgh.
While en route from Sanford to Pittsburgh on July 28, Flight 164, a B-727-200A with 4 crew and 52 passengers, encounters severe turbulence 60 mi S of Columbia, South Carolina. The series of jolts knocks one flight attendant unconscious and 12 passengers are tossed about the cabin. The aircraft, which had dropped almost 1,000 ft., makes a successful emergency landing at Yeager International Airport, Charleston, South Carolina. Sixteen injured people (including one flight attendant and a seriously hurt passenger) are taken to local hospitals.
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, 24-mi. E of St. Louis at Belleville/ Mascoutah, Illinois, becomes a company destination on August 16 when the carrier’s B-727-200As launch twice-daily return services to it from Gary, Indiana (serving Chicago), and daily roundtrips from Sanford, Florida (serving Orlando).
On August 19, one daily B-727-200A roundtrip is launched from MidAmerica St. Louis to Pittsburgh, with continuation to Portsmouth. (serving Boston). In September, the carrier petitions the DOT for authority to service Washington, D. C. (DCA) from several of the underused airports it currently serves.
Daily B-727-200A daily return flights begin on November 13 from Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton in the Lehigh Valley (serving Philadelphia) to MidAmerica St. Louis, Portsmouth (serving Boston), and Gary, Indiana (serving Chicago).
It is announced on December 5 that daily B-727-200A roundtrips will begin from LeHigh Valley (serving Philadelphia) to Sanford, Florida (serving Orlando) on January 8. On December 12, word is published that daily nonstop B-727-200A roundtrips will begin on February 1 between Worcester, Massachusetts, and Sanford, Florida (serving Orlando).
PAN AM AIR BRIDGE: United States (1996-1999). In early 1996, a number of investors become interested in a possible feeder link with the new Pan American World Airways (2). Among the investors are Craig Robbins, Chuck Slagle, and Charles Cobb, who had purchased the rights to the original Pan Am name and logo. Calling themselves the Pan Am Air Bridge Partnership Group, they acquire Chalk’s International Airlines (1) and transform it into Pan Am Air Bridge.
From its base at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the company’s 3 Grumman G-73 Turbo Mallards, repainted in new titles and livery, are readied to continue their provision of seaplane services and the Chalk’s name is not immediately painted off the carrier’s terminals. The Mallards are christened Clipper Cuba Libre, Clipper Bahamas, and Clipper Key West.
The first service, on March 1, is a charter from Watson Island (downtown Miami) to Key West and Fort Jefferson. It follows a celebratory 9 a. m. continental breakfast and press conference.
The next day, the Clipper Cuba Libre flies to the site of the previous week’s tragic events off the coast of Cuba. Flowers of sympathy are scattered over the site in memory of several flyers for the “Brothers to the Rescue” exile organization shot down by Cuban military aircraft on February 24. Members of the public had been invited to bring a single flower or small bouquet to the company facility this Saturday morning and to record their names and messages in a logbook, which is given to the family of the slain flyers.
Regularly scheduled frequencies resume on April 26 from Fort Lauderdale to Watson Island, Bimini, and Paradise Island.
In the wake of the Valujet Airlines disaster in May, the U. S. DOT slows its approval of new airlines. On September 4, the new Pan American World Airways (2) is officially formed and takes a 30% interest in PAAB; it is certified by DOT and the FAA on September 18 to begin operations. When PAA-2 launches scheduled Airbus A300B4-203 service on September 26, it does so having borrowed PAAB’s “OP” designator.
Enplanements total 43,636.
The “OP” designator is returned to PAAB by PAWA-2 on March 27, 1997, when the latter is able to take over the “PA” symbol of its historic predecessor, Pan American World Airways (1).
At the end of the year, negotiations begin for the sale of the company and Air Alaska demonstrates interest. At the same time, a Turbo Mallard is painted in the white-and-yellow corporate colors of the Mexican beer Corona.
Customer bookings fall 17.7% to 35,925.
On February 2, 1998, Fort Worth, Texas-based Air Alaska, an aircraft leasing company, acquires the 70% controlling interest held by Air Bridge, Inc., whose principal shareholder is Mr. Robbins, president of Dacra Development Corporation, the Miami Beach real estate developer. As part of the $10-million price, $350,000 is designated to retire a note to Pan American World Airways (2) and, later, its parent, Pan Am Corporation, which maintains its one-third stake. The five Turbo Mallards are purchased and leased back to the carrier by its new owner. Air Bridge management remains in place.
Plans are announced by PAA-2 President David A. Banmiller and Air Alaska Chairman Patricia Long to strengthen and broaden the unique South Florida seaplane service. These hopes will survive even as Ban-miller’s airline fails and he withdraws on April 30 in favor general manager Robert Mencel.
Pan American World Airways (2) is purchased out of bankruptcy by Guilford Transportation Industries on June 29 and although its operations continue in Florida, its headquarters are moved to the Pease Trade-port at Nashua, New Hampshire, in December.
The relationship between the large carrier and the small is maintained, with Pan Am Air Bridge continuing to offer its Turbo Mallard flights into early 1999.
On Wednesday, February 10, 1999, Pan Am Air Bridge files for Chapter XII bankruptcy protection with the U. S. Bankruptcy Court at Dallas, Texas, and suspends service the next day. On February 12, the court reaches an agreement with Gulfstream International Airlines to resume service to Bimini on a temporary basis, effective February 26, as the historic carrier attempts to reorganize under the protection of the bankruptcy laws.
The U. S. Bankruptcy Court at Dallas, on February 24, requests that Gulfstream also continue to operate Paradise Island Airways as it, too, reorganizes under the protection of the bankruptcy laws.
GIA’s President Cooper indicates that the historic airlines will be preserved and that they will resume 12 daily Grumman amphibian roundtrips on February 26 from Miami to Bimini and Paradise Island and from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini, Paradise Island, and Walker’s Cay. While a final decision on the future of Pan Am Air Bridge is made, its planes, like those of Paradise Islands Airways, are repainted in the colors of Chalk’s International Airlines (2).
As Chalk’s International Airlines (2), PIA and PAAB continue and expand daily services as of February 26. In April, PIA is merged into Gulfstream International.
In August, the seaplane operation is purchased out of bankruptcy by south Florida businessman and former Eastern Air Lines pilot James Confalone for $925,000. A holding company, Flying Boat, Inc., is established under Chairperson Patricia Long to provide management and recapitalization and William “Bill” Jones is named airline president. Reclaiming for the carrier the title of world’s oldest continuously operated scheduled air carrier, Confalone renames the venture Chalk’s Ocean Airways in honor of founder Arthur B. Chalk and financier Ocean Bank.
PAN AM EXPRESS: United States (1986-1991). Philadelphia-based Ransome Airlines, a Delta Airlines “Delta Connection” partner, is purchased by Pan American World Airways (1) in the spring of 1986 to
Feed the major’s international services as the subsidiary Pan Am Ransome Express. John F. Leonard is appointed president. Revenue flights begin on June 1, employing a fleet of 8 de Havilland Canada DHC-7-102s and 4 Mohawk 298s. Delivery of 6 SAAB SF340s begins in August.
Enplanements for the year total 555,100, a decline of 8.9% in a year.
The fleet in 1987 is increased by the addition of two more DHC-7-102s. All of the Mohawks are sold as orders are placed for 12 Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-320s. On April 10, an SF340 must make an abrupt 60-degree turn and descend 3,000 feet to avoid hitting a USAF C-130 near McGuire AFB, New York; a passenger and a flight attendant are injured.
During the fourth quarter, a new Pan Am Express of Berlin is established to operate turboprop services from West Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport to various European destinations.
Passenger boardings jump 37.3% to 761,954.
In January 1988, the first six ATR42-320s are delivered; half this number are sent to West Berlin to inaugurate the subsidiary’s services. Late in the first quarter, service is started from New York (JFK) to the Ontario city of Hamilton.
Overall customer bookings accelerate by 22.8% to 936,070, including 88,621 flown in Germany.
The 412-employee, 2-continent feeder has an outstanding 1989. From a base at Los Angeles (LAX) on June 1, the company begins West Coast services. Dash-7 flights are inaugurated linking that base with San Diego and Santa Barbara.
Flying 8 ATR42-320s (6 in Germany) and 12 DHC-7-102s in the U. S., the large regional transports a total of 1,214,762 passengers for a 29.8% increase. These figures include an almost unbelievable 188.9% increase to 258,729 in Germany.
Although the employee population remains unchanged in 1990, the fleet is upgraded by the addition of 3 ATR42-320s and 10 British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31s. Orders are placed for three ATR72-200s. In May, Pan Am Express inaugurates service to Miami, feeding the parent’s new hub with the first five Jetstreams. Daily roundtrip flights also begin linking Miami with Fort Myers, Key West, Melbourne, and Sara-sota/Bradenton.
Following Iraq’s August invasion of Kuwait, difficulties of travel in the fourth period leaves the large regional with no growth. At this point, the California operation is shut down. Indeed, customer bookings decline a slight 0.1% to 1,213,286.
In March 1991, the company begins twice-daily Jetstream 31 services from Miami to Rock Sound/Governors Harbour and Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas. When the parent ceases trading in December, Pan Am Express is purchased by Trans World Airlines (TWA) to operate its feeder services in the colors of “TWExpress.”
PAN AM EXPRESS OF BERLIN: United States (1986-1991). During the summer of 1987, Pan Am officials determine that most jetliners are largely unsuitable on the West Germany corridors leading to West Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport. Facing stiff competition from British Airways, Ltd. (2), they approach Knut Kramer, president of Tempelhof Airways USA, regarding a possible takeover of the small regional turboprop operator already based at the West Berlin facility.
Although 51% majority ownership is purchased, in November it is instead decided to allow Pan Am Ransome Express President Leonard to establish an overseas subsidiary operation, Pan Am Express of Berlin, which will operate under the same ex-Ransome Airlines certificate. Thirty-year Pan American World Airways (1) veteran Julius Succhi is sent out as general manager to establish the Berlin branch line, which will complement the major’s services out of West Berlin’s Tegel Airport.
Operations to Tempelhof commence in January 1988 with 3 Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-320s delivered from among the first 6 acquired by the parent at Philadelphia. They are employed to open routes from Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Syldt, Hamburg, Bremen, Hanover, Dortmund/Strasbourg, Basel/Mulhouse, Zurich, Innsbruck, and Salzburg. Every six months, one of the aircraft is returned to the Pennsylvania base for maintenance. Enplanements for the year total 88,621.
A fourth ATR42-320 arrives in May 1989. Passenger boardings skyrocket 188.9% to 258,729. Separate traffic figures are not revealed in 1990. Upon the failure of Pan American World Airways (1) in December 1991, assets of this operation are purchased by Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G.
World History
