SPORTS AIR TRAVEL: United States (1995-1998). Daniel McFee sets up Sports Air Travel at Troutdale, Oregon, in 1995 to operate FAR Part 135 all-cargo charters throughout the Northwest. Revenue flights commence with a fleet of 19 Cessna 402Cs and 2 C-310s.
Flights continue in 1996 and in July 1997 the concern is purchased by Burbank, California-based Ameriflight. Amalgamation is completed by the beginning of 1998.
SPORTSFLIGHT AIRWAYS: 156 Depot Rd., Huntingdon Station, New York 11746, New York; Phone 516 549-4965; Fax 516 271 1149; Year Founded 1994. SportsFlight is established at Tucson in 1994 to offer charter and inclusive-tour flights. Danny S. Wright is named president and revenue operations commence in April with a single leased Boeing 727-2J7A. The first professional sports franchise to sign up with the carrier is the New York Yankees baseball team.
Enplanements for the year total 20,000 and revenues are $202,000. Expenses, however, are $357,000 and cause losses: $155,000 (operating) and $154,000 (net).
Two more chartered jetliners are placed into service in 1995, a B-727-2M7A and B-727-224A. During the spring, the latter is leased by the presidential campaign of U. S. Senator Robert Dole. Passenger boardings skyrocket to 241,000. In early April 1996, the company is renamed Pacific International Airlines. Customer bookings for the first four months are up 83.1% to 119,000.
Unable to maintain the economic viability of his expanded Pacific International Airline, Danny S. Wright, in November 1997, elects to close that operation and to resume operations as the smaller Sportsflight Airways. Employing the PIA Boeing 737-233A based at Newark International Airport, the reborn airline flies winter one-plane charters to Mexico, Colorado, and the Caribbean. Sports team charters are operated in the summer.
These niche services continue in 1998-1999, during which years a hush-kitted DC-9-15 is acquired. Airline employment at the beginning of 2000 totals 16, including 6 flight crew and 4 cabin attendants.
SPRINGDALE AIR SERVICE: P. O. Box 811, Springdale, Arkansas 72764, United States; Phone (501) 751-4462; Fax (501) 751-2646; Year Founded 1986. SAS is set up by Randy Shirley at Springdale, Arkansas, during the early summer of 1986 to provide daily passenger and cargo services over the routes abandoned by Skyways and Air Midwest following their 1985 merger.
Employing Cessna 402s and Beech 18s, the carrier inaugurates these roundtrip flights in July.
A decade later, SAS is largely providing freight flights on behalf of larger carriers. Its fleet now includes 3 Beech 18s, 2 Cessna 402s, and 1 C-310.
Flights continue in 1997-1998. During the latter year, enplanements of 2,560 are recorded. Passenger boardings fall by 25.3% in 1999 to 2,000.
SRI LANKA AIRWAYS, LTD.: Sri Lanka (1978-1979). Formed to replace the domestic division of Air Ceylon, Ltd., Sri Lanka Airways, Ltd. is established at Ratmalana Airport in January 1978. Ownership is divided between the government (51%) and private interests. Two Hawker Siddeley HS 748s comprise the initial fleet and scheduled operations are begun on April 1 linking Colombo, Jaffna, and Trincomalee with Tirucharapalli, Madras, and Male, Maldives Islands.
On January 10, 1979, this new entrant is merged with Sri Lanka International Airways, Ltd. to form Air Lanka, Ltd.
SRI LANKA INTERNATIONAL AIRWAYS, LTD.: Sri Lanka (1978-1979). Formed to replace the international division of Air Ceylon, Ltd., Sri Lanka International Airways, Ltd. is established at Colombo in January 1978. Ownership is divided between the government (51%) and private interests. A single Hawker Siddeley Trident 1E makes up the initial fleet. Revenue operations over previous routes to Cairo, Rome, Zurich, Paris, and London are resumed on April 1.
On January 10, 1979, this new entrant is merged with Sri Lanka Airways, Ltd. to form Air Lanka, Ltd.
SRI LANKAN AIRLINES, LTD.: 37 York Street, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka; Phone 94 (1) 735 555; Fax 94 (1) 735 122; Http://www. airlanka. com; Code UL; Year Founded 1999. Following its 1998 sale of a 40% stake to Emirates Airlines, Ltd., Air Lanka, Ltd. is renamed on July 13, 1999. Simultaneously, the first of two leased Airbus Industrie A340-312s is received, wearing the company’s new flying peacock logo. CEO Peter Hill, in marking the day, indicates that nine A330-243s remain on order for delivery between October and late 2000.
Plans are also announced for the inauguration of new services to Beirut in October and to Sydney and Stockholm in November.
In an effort to cut its 4,000-man workforce, the company, on August 16, offers a voluntary retirement program with generous severance to those willing to accept it.
At the end of October, Emirates Airlines, Ltd. adds its first service to Scandinavia when it code-shares on the Dubai to Stockholm segment of a new thrice-weekly service from Colombo to Stockholm offered by Sri Lankan Airlines.
Thrice-weekly A340-311 roundtrips are introduced on November 12 from London (LHR) to Sydney via Colombo. The flight, one of the fastest to and from Australia, requires 21 hrs. flight time, plus 90 min. on the ground. The third A330-243 delivered since October 26 is accepted on December 10.
Overall enplanements total 1,422,000, while 179.18 million FTKs are operated. The workforce totals 4,688 at the beginning of 2000. The first of three A330-243s to arrive this year is delivered on January 12.
On February 22, permission is received for the initiation of five additional return frequencies to India.
It is announced on April 10 that the company will inaugurate twice-weekly service to Dhaka in July and thrice-weekly flights to Berlin in November. During the spring and summer, the company’s three A340-311s and single A340-312 are all upgraded to the same standard as the new A330-243s, the last of which is delivered on June 15.
On July 1, two weekly roundtrips are added on the route from Colombo to London via Dubai and Milan. An A330-243 is placed on the twice-weekly return service from Colombo to New Delhi, while A320-231 flights from Colombo to Bombay are increased from two to three every week. Frequencies are also boosted to Tiruchirapally.
It is reported in early July that Emirates Airlines, Ltd. will increase its stake in Sri Lankan from 26% to 40% by the end of the year.
It is revealed at the end of August that two L-1011-500s have been sold to Air Transat, Ltd. One has been delivered and the other arrives in Canada during September. The work of the company’s “Delay Committee,” which has been meeting for six months to find ways to improve punctuality, begins to pay off in September as the company boosts its on-time figure to 78%, up 10 points from the same period a year earlier. Including its existence under several names, the carrier’s twenty-first birthday is celebrated on September 21.
A code-sharing agreement is signed with Swissair, A. G. on October
24. On October 29, weekly A340-312 return service is initiated from
Colombo to Berlin (Schoenfeld Airport) via Dubai. Punctuality rises to 81% during October, up from 70% in October 1999. At the same time, weekly roundtrip frequencies from Colombo to Sydney grow to 5 and to the U. K. to 14.
Under terms of their new alliance, Swissair, A. G. starts selling tickets on the Sri Lankan line’s twice-weekly A340-312 roundtrips between Colombo and Zurich beginning on December 1. “New Look” business class A340-312 return service is introduced between Colombo and Sydney on December 17.
On December 18, twice-weekly A340-312 return flights are started from Colombo to Jakarta via Singapore.
STA (SOCIEDAD DE TRANSPORTES AEREOS, S. A.): Argentina (1934-1937). Dr. Miguel Figueroa Roman forms STA at the northern Argentine city of Tucuman in the summer of 1934 to restart a service formerly flown sporadically—at the end in 1931 with government as-sistance—by the Aero Club of Tucuman. The Aero Club had flown between Tafi del Valle-Valles del Oeste-Valles Calchaquies in 1925-1928.
Using the club’s Fairchild 71, Roman begins a three-year service on September 5 from Tucuman to Tafi del Valle and Santa Maria. In 1936, the government loans the operation a Ryan Brougham. Unable to continue for lack of traffic, the commitment is ended in 1937.
STAB (SOCIETE DE TRANSPORTS AERIENS DU BURUNDI, S. A.): Burundi (1970-1975). Organized at Bujumbura in October 1970, STAB initiates scheduled passenger and cargo services to Kalemie, Zaire, and Kigoma, Tanzania with a pair of Douglas DC-3s, beginning in April 1971. These flights are maintained until June 1975 when the carrier is reorganized and renamed Air Burundi, S. A.
STABO AIR CHARTERS, LTD.: Astonia House, P. O. Box 32152, Kabelenge Road, Lusaka, Zambia; Phone 260 (1) 235976; Fax 260 (1) 233481; Http://www. africa-insites. com/zambia/stabo. htm; Year Founded 1997. Stabo is established at Lusaka in 1997 to offer executive and small group passenger charters throughout the country and region. Much of the service will operate on behalf the country’s main lodges and safari companies in the transport of Western tourists.
Revenue flights begin and continue with a mixed fleet that includes 1 each Cessna 206, C-210, C-401, Beech 58 Baron, Beech King Air 90, Beech 1900, Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain, Let 410UVP, and Canadair CL-600 Challenger bizjet.
STAF CARGO AIRLINES (SERVICIOS DE TRANSPORTES AEREOS FUENGINOS, S. A.): Carlos Pelegrini 1063-1B, Buenos Aires, 1699, Argentina; Phone 54 11 4328-2598; Fax 54 11 4327-2164; Http://www. staf-airlines. com; Code FS; Year Founded 1985. Privately owned STAF is established at Rio de Janeiro on September 11, 1985 to offer international and regional all-cargo charters and contract service flights, primarily to southern Argentina. Operations commence with 1 each Douglas DC-8-53F, DC-8-54F, and Lockheed L-188CF Electra.
The carrier is unable to maintain viability and by 1990 its fleet has been reduced to just the Electra, which is leased to Air Bridge Carriers, Ltd. in the U. K. A second L-188CF is briefly owned in 1991, but it, too, is chartered to the British operator.
The original Electra is retained by Air Bridge Carriers, Ltd. in 1992, even as that freighter changes its name to Hunting Air Cargo, Ltd. With nothing to fly and no business since the beginning of the decade, STAF suspends operations in early 1993.
The company is subsequently revitalized and its main base is situated at Miami (MIA). By 1996, the company is wet-leasing sufficient Douglas DC-10F and Boeing 747F capacity to provide seven weekly roundtrip flights from Florida to Buenos Aires via Santiago de Chile. Although 75% of the cargo shipments made are general in nature, the company also specializes in the transport north of polo horses from Argentina and perishable goods from Chile. A total of 17 million tons of freight are transported.
Ad hoc passenger charters from the U. S. to South America and back commence in 1997; however, the principal service between Miami and South America remains cargo.
It is reported on January 4, 1998, that the Canadian carrier Royal Airlines, Ltd. has joined with a local Chilean investor to establish the new charter operator Chileinter, S. A. The new company leases one of Royal’s L-1011-100s, with a second scheduled to join the new entrant at Santiago within three months.
During April, Chileinter, S. A. begins to operate TriStar passenger charters to Caribbean destinations on behalf of STAF.
On April 29, effective in mid-May, STAF wet-leases a McDonnell Douglas MD-11CF from World Airways for a three-year period. Painted in STAF colors, the jet freighter will be placed on the Argentine line’s services to the U. S.
When Chileinter, S. A. stands down during late summer, arrangements are made in November to lease its Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 1. The wide-body is employed to operate passenger charters from Buenos Aires to Varadero, Cuba, St. Martin, Punta Cana, and Porlamar, Venezuela.
Chileinter, S. A. is purchased outright by STAF Airlines on September 20.
Flights continue during the remainder of the year and in 1999.
World History
