TRANS JAMAICAN AIRWAYS, LTD.: Jamaica (1975-1996). Jamaica Air Taxi, Ltd. is formed in early 1975 to assume the assets and routes of Jamaica Air Services, Ltd., which ceases operations in late 1974. Based at Sangster Airport, Montego Bay, the carrier’s initial fleet comprises the JAS de Havilland DH 114 Herons. Scheduled services are undertaken from Montego Bay to Grand Turk, Port Antonio, Mandev-ille, Ocho Rios, and Kingston.
On October 11, 1976, TJA acquires 35% shareholding in the new Air Turks and Caicos. Late in the decade, services are started to the Turks and Caicos Islands. Two Britten-Norman BN-2A Trislanders are acquired in 1980.
The fleet in 1981 comprises 2 Britten-Norman BN-2 Islanders, 2 Trislanders, and 2 Cessna 206s. Another Islander and a Douglas DC-3 are acquired in 1982. Passenger enplanements in 1983 are 39,000, while two Cessna 402s are delivered. During the remainder of the decade, the company’s regional and international services and routes are maintained.
The 1989 fleet includes 2 Cessna 402s, 2 Cessna 206s, 2 Pilatus-Britten-Norman PBN-2A Trislanders, and 1 PBN-2 Islander.
Enplanements total 73,925. Profits of $172,000 (operating) and $66,000 (net) are generated.
In 1990 , one of the two Trislanders is temporarily withdrawn and replaced with another Islander.
Passenger boardings jump 11.4% to 83,436 and revenues shoot up 54.3% to $2.9 million. Operating income rises to $476,000 and net profit is $377,000.
The payroll is increased by 2.6% in 1991 to 117. Customer bookings entirely reverse their previous year’s gain, falling 12.4% to 73,103. Revenues decline 14.4% to $2.48 million, but costs rise. As a result, the operating surplus is cut to $351,000 and net gain falls to $183,898.
A significant fleet alteration occurs at General Manager Robert E. Cranston’s carrier in 1992, as all previous equipment is replaced by three leased Dornier 228-202s. An Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-320 arrives in 1993, and the three Dornier 228-202s are returned in 1994, along with the Islanders, Trislanders, and two Cessna 206s. Late in 1995, the majority interest in the company is taken by Air Jamaica, Ltd., which will relaunch it in 1996 as Air Jamaica Express, Ltd.
TRANS LATIN AIR, S. A.: Panama (1990-1994). Trans Latin is established at Panama City in the spring of 1990 to offer charter passenger, cargo, and express flights around the nation and to other Central American republics. Revenue operations commence with a single Fairchild Metro III.
International services are introduced in 1992 by a leased Boeing 727-191 first flown by Frontier Airlines in the U. S. The big jet service is not successful and the trimotor is withdrawn in 1993. Unable to continue, the company shuts its doors in 1994.
TRANS MAGIC AIRLINES: United States (1969-1973). Trans Magic is set up at Twin Falls/Jerome, Idaho, in 1969 to provide scheduled passenger and commuter services to regional destinations. Employing a Piper PA-31-31 Navajo and a de Havilland DH 104 Dove, revenue flights commence, linking the company’s base with Boise, Mountain Home AFB, Sun Valley, Burley, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Jackpot, and Salt Lake City. Operations continue until the great energy crisis of 1973 forces the company out of business.
TRANS MALDIVIAN AIRWAYS, LTD.: Pvt Ltd., P. O. Box 6, Male, Maldives; Phone 960 (32) 5706; Fax 960 (32) 3161; Http://www. tma. com. mv; Year Founded 1999. On May 27, 1999, Hummingbird Island Airways, Ltd. is renamed Trans Maldivian Airways, Ltd. Having begun in 1989 as a helicopter carrier, TMA, owned by the UB Group and Air Beach Resorts, now operates only fixed-wing floatplane charters.
Under the direction of Flight Operations Manager Capt. Garth Duncan, the company operates from Male, employing 1 float-equipped Cessna 208B Caravan, and 2 float-equipped de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300s. Two more Twin Otters arrive during the year.
Distracted by reprogramming his GPS unit after takeoff from Male International Airport on February 3, 2000, the captain of the float-equipped Caravan forgets to raise his landing gear. The aircraft is landed on the water at Filitheyo Seaplane Base with the gear still extended and consequently turns over and sinks. There are no fatalities.
TRANS MEDITERRANEAN AIRWAYS, S. A.L. (TMA): P. O. Box 11-3018, Beirut International Airport, Beirut, Lebanon; Phone 961 (1) 831 433; Fax 961 (1) 386 669; Http://www. tma. com. lb; Code TL; Year Founded 1953. Organized in 1953 to provide support services for oil companies and for six years a nonscheduled carrier flying a pair of Avro 685 York C.1s, TMA becomes a joint-stock company controlled by its Chairman/President Munir I. Abu Haidar in October 1959. Certified as an all-cargo airline, TMA purchases its first Douglas DC-4 and undertakes an international network of scheduled freight services linking Beirut with destinations in the Mideast (including Tehran), Europe (including Frankfurt), Africa, and Asia.
Operations continue apace in 1960-1962, during which years the fleet grows to include seven DC-4s. There are also losses.
An Avro 685 York C.1 crashes during its May 24, 1961, takeoff from Azaiba, Oman; although the aircraft must be written off, there are no fatalities.
A DC-4 is lost at Azaiba, Oman, on January 21,1962; no other details are available. Another DC-4 freighter with six crew fails its takeoff and plunges into the sea off Brindisi, Italy, on July 9; there are no survivors.
The first DC-6B enters service in 1963. A DC-4 freighter with three crew crashes in the Koh-i-Safid Mountains in Afghanistan on December 12; there are no survivors.
By 1964, the workforce totals 525 and a total of 18 million freight ton-miles are flown. Revenues are $5.17 million.
The fleet in 1965 comprises 5 Douglas DC-4s and 4 DC-6As. New offices are opened during the year in Doha and Dusseldorf. A new cargo terminal is occupied at Beirut, along with a new engine overhaul shop. A Lockheed L-1632F is placed into service at year’s end.
A number of new offices are opened in 1966 and the first jet freighter, a B-707-331C Stratoliner, leased from World Airways, is acquired.
While en route from Beirut to Frankfurt, a DC-6A freighter with five crew crashes into Mount Parnon, Greece, on March 10; there are no survivors.
In October, an L-1649A Starliner, once owned by Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G., is leased for the winter from the U. S.-based travel club Air Venturers.
The last L-1649 flight is completed in January 1967 and the Starliner is replaced by a sixth DC-6A, which is placed into service on a new route to Jeddah. During the summer, new DC-6A service is inaugurated to Tokyo. New offices are opened at Hong Kong, Osaka, Tokyo, Bangkok, Taipei, and Copenhagen. In the fall, a pair of Canadair CL-44Ds is leased.
A total of 35.9 million revenue ton-miles of freight is flown during the year.
The workforce in 1968 stands at 932. The world’s longest air freight route is now provided, directly linking Europe, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, and the Far East.
Israeli commandos hit Beirut IAP on December 28 destroying or damaging beyond repair a Douglas C-54B and a Douglas DC-6A/B.
The fleet now comprises 5 DC-6As, 1 DC-4, and 3 Boeing 707-327C freighters, the latter previously flown by Braniff International Airways.
Revenue freight ton-miles flown are now 52,361,000 and revenues are up to $16.82 million.
In 1969, flights begin to Athens, Stockholm, Zurich, Istanbul, Benghazi, Tripoli, Singapore, Paris, and Milan.
Airline employment stands at 820 and freight ton-miles flown total 51,216,464.
Atotal of 205 employees are hired in 1970. Revenue freight ton-miles flown increases by 32.4% to 75,764,000.
On April 14, 1971, the company launches the first round-the-world jet cargo route, flying from Beirut to Tokyo via Southeast Asia and on to Anchorage, New York, Europe, and back to Lebanon.
The workforce in 1972 is up to 1,529. New services are opened to Muscat and Lagos. One of the four remaining DC-6As is sold as two newly reconditioned, ex-American Airlines B-707-323Cs join the fleet, for a total of five.
Freight traffic jumps 41%, with real growth occurring toward year’s end.
The employee population is increased during 1973 to 1,798 and two more B-707 Stratoliners are added, one each B-707-321C and B-707-331C. New routes are opened to Hong Kong and N’Djamena. Frequencies are increased on other services.
As a result of all this activity, freight traffic doubles to 349.86 million FTKs.
In 1974, airline employment stands at 5,256. Shafik Fakhoury is named vice president of a new international affairs division created in February. Orders are placed for two B-747Fs and the carrier’s seven B-707Cs receive new liveries consisting of green fuselages and yellow tails. Service is inaugurated to Kuala Lumpur and Muscat.
FTKs increase 5% to 387.37 million and construction is started on a new freight terminal at Beirut.
Two leased B-747-123Fs, formerly flown by American Airlines and converted into freighters, are placed into service between Beirut and New York via Amsterdam in May and June 1975. Civil war breaks out during the summer and will bring a series of airport shutdowns over the next decade and a half. En route from Beirut to Athens on December 3, a Jumbojet freighter is badly damaged when its overruns a wet runway on landing in Greece; the fuselage, engine, and landing gear are repaired by Boeing and other engineers.
The company’s new freight terminal at Beirut is occupied in 1976. With a capacity of 800 tons per day, it doubles the airlines previous capacity. During the first major blockade, Beirut International Airport is shut down for a total of 168 days.
As if the carrier did not have enough problems at home, clerical, office, and passenger service employees, members of the Teamsters, refuse to arbitrate differences at New York (JFK). Instead, they walk out on October 25. In no position to resist, TMA grants the union’s requests three days later.
As a result of the civil war in Lebanon, the leased Jumbojet freighters are withdrawn in June 1977. At the same time, four more Stratoliners are acquired to help make up for the capacity lost with the Jumbojets.
By 1978, airline employment stands at 2,174 and the fleet holds 11 Boeing freighters. Atotal of 490,198,000 FTKs are operated.
A B-707F crashes during a July 23, 1979 training flight at Beirut, killing all six of its crewmen.
Cargo traffic for the year leaps 17% to 590.6 million FTKs.
Flight operations are severely disrupted by the nation’s civil strife of the early 1980s.
The workforce is reduced by 7.1% in 1980 to 1,955. The company’s 11 B-707-320Cs haul 514.06 million FTKs, a reduction of 13%.
An explosion near a B-707-327C parked on the ramp at Beirut on July 5,1981 causes substantial damage to the freighter.
As a typhoon is passing 160 km. S of Tokyo on October 23, a B-707-331C with three crew that has departed, develops engine trouble and returns to Narita Airport. Although it lands heavily and is badly damaged, there are no fatalities.
On June 16, 1982, Israeli commandos strike Beirut International Airport, destroying two DC-6As and a B-707-323C. The company, which has been now been reduced by war and hard usage to a fleet of 8 707-320Cs, transfers its headquarters to Sharjah in the UAE. The capital’s airport is shut down for 115 days during the Israeli invasion. Freight hauled in 1983 totals 420.26 million FTKs.
Late in 1984, the Lebanese government approves a merger of TMA with Middle East Airlines, S. A.L. (MEA) (2) and establishes a holding company to split ownership between the state carrier (75%) and the independent (25%). The arrangement is not consummated.
Cargo for the year climbs 13% to 483.06 million FTKs.
In response to the Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 847 hijacking ordeal of June, President Reagan orders an end to TMA landing rights in the U. S. as of July 1, 1985.
Operations continue, with some disruptions, between 1986-1988. In 1987, Beirut International Airport is blockaded for 107 days.
Airline employment in 1989 stands at 960 and the fleet includes 7 B-707-320Cs. Following a March to September blockade by forces of Christian militia Gen. Michel Aoun, Beirut International Airport is reopened; a company B-707-320C cargo service is the first airline service into the facility in six months.
A total of 274 million FTKs are operated on the year. Expenses exceed income and there are losses: $7.7 million (operating) and $14.9 million (net).
Company employment is cut by 5.1% in 1990 to 824. Cargo declines by 42.6%, due largely to the Gulf crisis, to 182.87 million FTKs. Revenues are also off, by 24.5%, to $43.3 million. The operating loss increases to $12.2 million and net loss reaches $17.7 million.
With 850 employees, Chairman Chafi Moharram’s airline continues to fly its network during 1991-1993 with two each B-707-323Cs and B-707-327Cs (lately leased to Kuwait Airways, Ltd.) and one each B-707-321C and B-707-331C.
While taxiing out for takeoff from Amsterdam on an all-cargo service to Beirut on July 26 of the latter year, a beam in the right wing of Flight 172, a B-707-327C with three crew, fails. The aircraft is driven back to its platform where major damage is found in the wing structure. No injuries are reported, but the aircraft must be written off.
Last operated almost 15 years earlier, the B-747-123F, withdrawn in 1977, returns to the fleet at the beginning of 1994.
In 1995, airline employment stands at 519 and a total of 137.8 million FTKs are operated. The company suffers a very bad 1996 and is shut down for a period and the Jumbojet freighter is withdrawn.
In November, following introduction of the government’s “Horizon 2000” reconstruction program, company management begins to modernize TMA. It also pledges to increase capital to $40 million. For the year as a whole just 35.62 million FTKs are operated.
Modernization of the carrier’s operations continues in 1997-1999. Capitalization is increased to some $40 million. The company’s six Stratofreighters regularly visit Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Bahrain, Bangkok, Bombay, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, London (STN), Muscat, Paris (CDG), Sharjah, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo (NRT).
In April 2000, the Lebanese Pilots’ Union holds a conference at the Commodore Alhambra Hotel in Beirut, during which it reviews updated reports on the airline’s progress. Later in the month, the marketing name TMA Cargo is introduced, as is a new black and yellow color scheme for the carrier’s Stratofreighters.
Weekly all-cargo roundtrips are inaugurated by Jamahiriya Libyan Arab Airlines during June, from Ostend, Belgium, to Tripoli and Benghazi. The flights are reportedly handled by European Cargo Services, S. A. and operated by a wet-leased Trans Mediterranean B-707F.
A B-707F launches weekly return freight service to Bergamo, Italy, in September.
Allowed under the UN approved “oil-for-food” program, a company B-707F begins transporting goods from Beirut to Baghdad on November 8. Flights to Iraq by the airline have been suspended for 15 years.
TRANS MICHIGAN AIRLINES: United States (1969-1970). Trans Michigan is established at Traverse City in June 1969 as successor to Peninsula Air. Employing one each Piper PA-31-310 Navajo and de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, the new commuter inaugurates daily scheduled multistop services linking its base with Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Marquette, Kalamazoo, and other Wolverine State destinations.
Unable to maintain economic viability, the company shuts its doors in March 1970 and its assets are sold to the start-up Great Lakes Airlines.
TRANS MIDWEST AIRLINES: United States (1983-1985). Trans Midwest is set up by Tom Koehler at Columbus, Ohio, in the summer of 1983 to offer scheduled third-level services to destinations in Ohio and West Virginia. Employing a fleet of 3 Piper PA-31-310 Navajos, the airline undertakes frequencies, beginning on August 1, to Toledo, Lima, Dayton, Cincinnati, Parkersburg, and Charleston.
Operations cease in April 1985.
World History
