AAXICO AIRLINES: United States (1945-1965). Howard Korth founds the irregular carrier American Air Export and Import Company at Miami in late 1945 to undertake all-cargo service, initially with a pair of Douglas C-47s (military DC-3s). Flights are undertaken throughout south Florida, the Caribbean, and Central America. The company, beginning in 1946, also serves as a parts and maintenance broker for Douglas aircraft under the name Aaxico Sales.
With help to the pilot via radio instructions from the USN base, a baby is born aboard an AAXICO aircraft on January 12, 1947; two days later, the child is named Aaxico and is given a lifetime pass.
No more life-or-death events occur during the first decade of operation; however, on at least one occasion, a single DC-3 is chartered to carry the entire group of Miss America Pageant contestants to Atlantic City. Fittingly, the plane employed is temporarily named The Miss America Special. Following the acquisition of three Curtiss C-46 Commandos, the two Douglas transports are withdrawn.
Following the 1955 revocation of the permit of U. S. Airlines, Korth elects to take over the failed carrier’s scheduled business.
A DC-3 freighter with two crew is lost at Pensacola on April 2; there are no survivors.
Employing Curtiss C-46s, the carrier undertakes scheduled services from New York to Atlanta, beginning on November 15, 1956 and changes its name on December 31.
All manner of common haulage is accomplished in 1957. A 12-year-old C-46F is purchased from Slick Airways on September 9.
The fleet in 1958 comprises a total of 37 aircraft, including 1 Douglas DC-4, 1 DC-6A, and 35 C-46s. In February, one of the latter is leased to California Airfreight.
While en route from San Francisco to Los Angeles on January 13,1959, the California Airfreight C-46F with two crew crashes into 9,046-ft. high Panther Peak in Sequoia National Park. There are no survivors.
On July 1, the company gives up scheduled operations, which are not really paying off, after the CAB refuses to grant it a scheduled operating certificate as a result of a finding in the Irregular Air Carrier case.
A C-46A freighter with two crew is lost at Abiline’s Dyess AFB on September 2; both pilots are killed.
Nonscheduled flights, too, prove an uncertain economic burden. Still, AAXICO successfully undertakes numerous MATS contract flights between domestic U. S. military facilities.
A C-46 crashes at Mobile, Alabama, on March 23, 1960, with both crewmen injured. On June 30, company officials sign the papers necessary to become a Logair contractor, servicing the U. S. military with its two dozen Curtiss freighters. It also begins to add over the next year a total of eight more DC-6As; as these arrive, upwards of 15 Commandoes are leased to Capitol Airways, later Capitol International Airways. Pending a fitness examination, the FAA suspends Aaxico’s operating certificate on December 20, 1961.
After finding the company no longer offers civilian service, the CAB terminates its civil freighting permit on October 9, 1962. On the other hand, the company is granted interim authority as a Supplemental Carrier. This will be followed by interim authorization for overseas charter work, awarded on April 1, 1963.
While taxiing at Sheppard AFB, Texas, on July 30-31, a C-46F hits an unmarked obstruction in a poorly lit ramp area and crashes.
A C-46F with two crew loses an engine near Great Falls, Montana, on August 14 and crashes 35 mi. ENE of Malmstrom AFB, Montana, while attempting to land (one dead).
Another C-46 is lost while attempting to make a single-engine landing at Las Vegas at September 23.
Chairman Korth soldiers on for the military in 1964. Another Commando is lost on January 1 when its landing gear collapses following the plane’s touchdown at Hill AFB, Utah; injuries are slight. On May 1, the
DOD announces that, beginning in 1966, it will not contract with carriers that do not earn at least 30% of their income from certified commercial operations. As a direct result of this declaration, merger discussions begin in November with Saturn Airways.
While on a military contract cargo flight on April 23, 1965, Flight 1422A, a DC-6A with five crew, crashes into Mt. Rainier; there are no survivors.
Completing an all-cargo service from Tinker AFB at Oklahoma City on May 10, Flight 1416B, a DC-6A with three crew, hits trees while on final approach to Whiteman AFB, Missouri, and crashes; there are no survivors.
On November 1, following negotiations, founder Korth takes control of Saturn Airways, merging his operation into that supplemental while retaining its name in order to meet the DOD requirement. Aaxico Sales continues.
AB AIRLINES, LTD.: United Kingdom, (1993-1999) . The new charter carrier Air Bristol, Ltd. is established at Filton Airport, Bristol, on February 8, 1993, but does not receive its operator’s license until October 23. Chairman/CEO Brian Beal appoints cofounder Tony Auld as managing director, with Capt. Michael Bridge as chief pilot.
While the carrier awaits the outcome of a public enquiry, required as part of the licensing process, a workforce of 16 is assembled and the new entrant acquires two British Aerospace (BAC) 1-11-510EDs.
The jetliners are employed on licensing day to inaugurate a daily “Airbridge” shuttle service, on behalf of British Airways, Ltd. (2), between Bristol and Toulouse. Passengers are primarily British Aerospace personnel en route to the Airbus Industrie headquarters.
Plans are made to launch scheduled services before the end of 1994 and, during the year, the company acquires two more 111s. Due to delay, charters only are flown through year’s end, together with the Bristol-Toulouse shuttle. Over 70 European cities are visited as the company transports orchestras, football (soccer) teams, corporate customers, and rock bands.
Ownership is reformed in early 1995 as the Air Bristol Group is created, which permits continuation of Air Bristol as a trade name and formation of the new AB Airlines, Ltd. A new route is stretched from London (STN) to Belfast.
On December 7, under the trade name AB Shannon, the company inaugurates scheduled return services from London (LGW) to Shannon. The company’s four BACs haul 81,258 passengers.
The workforce stands at 65 in 1996. As the result of increased competition on the Belfast route, it is discontinued in April. Passenger boardings for AB Airlines nearly double, surging to 144,884; group figures approach 250,000. Although operating revenues reach $17.3 million, there is a $1.3-million loss.
The airline population climbs to 90 in 1997. Daily roundtrips from London (LGW) to Lisbon commence on May 1. Orders are placed in December for eight Boeing Next Generation 737-700s. The request is valued at ?250 million ($400 million).
Service is inaugurated in December from London (LGW) to Berlin (Schoenfeld Airport), the latter route taken over from Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. and British Airways, Ltd. (2) who had both dropped it earlier. At the end of the year, AB is the fifth largest operator of international flights from Gatwick Airport.
Customer bookings increase 43.4% to 177,000 and revenues jump 9.2% to $18.8 million. A ?2.2-million ($3.5-million) loss is suffered.
Arrangements are completed during the first quarter of 1998 to replace one BAC with a pair of chartered B-737-300s. On April 23, an IPO of 35.6% of equity is floated on the London Stock Exchange. When the company goes public, ?8.3 million ($14 million) is raised to help fund the development of new and existing routes and to purchase aircraft. The company is now valued at ?25 million.
On May 1, a new code-sharing agreement begins with Aer Lingus Irish Airlines, Ltd. The two partners link their frequent flyer programs and offer dual-designator service over two new AB Airlines return routes from Birmingham and London (LGW) to Shannon.
The first chartered B-737-33A arrives at London (LGW) on May 24. On May 27, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group confirms AB’s order for six Next Generation B-737-700s, the first ordered by any U. K. airline.
In mid-June, a code-sharing agreement is signed with Debonair Airways, Ltd. Beginning on July 9, the two will share designators on AB’s services from London (LGW) to Berlin, Lisbon, and Nice.
Delay is experienced during the summer when Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services is unable to deliver a pair of chartered B-737-300s on schedule. The service alterations involved will cost the carrier ?1.9 million and forces AB to take legal action against the lessor.
It is reported on September 18 that the company, in anticipation of the Gatwick Airport slot selection committee meeting in October, has applied for slots to operate twice-daily B-767 service to New York (JFK) and Chicago (ORD) beginning the following March. If the goal is accomplished, the small regional will have taken a quantum leap into the major leagues of air transport. The company is also seeking to partner with a large European airline on routes to the Continent.
From this highpoint, things begin to slip later in the month. On September 25, Virgin Express, Ltd. announces creation of a Shannon-based subsidiary to be known as Virgin Express (Ireland), Ltd.
Tickets go on sale for the new operator at the introductory one-way price of ?17 for twice-daily service between Shannon and London (STN).
On October 15, Chairman Beal accuses Richard Branson, Virgin Group chairman, of “doing a British Airways.” Beal, who appeals the Virgin move to the European Commission, is concerned that it may be forced to pull out of services between the West of Ireland Airport and Stansted, and accuses his fellow airline boss of doing “exactly what Virgin accuses British Airways of.”
As the result of new route startup costs and the aircraft delay, the carrier, for its first six months, suffers an operating loss of ?2.6 million, against a ?744,000 deficit in the same period a year earlier. Figures reported on October 30 show that the company has plunged ?4.5 million into the red and by November 20, the carrier will show a ?10.8-million operating loss on sales of ?17.2 million.
The new Virgin Express (Ireland), Ltd. base is commissioned at Shannon on December 15, with B-737-300 services starting the next day.
Passenger boardings increase 72.3% to 305,000, while 11 million FTKs are also operated. Despite these positive traffic figures, the company suffers an operating loss of ?10.6 million ($17.4 million).
At the beginning of January 1999, AB launches U. S.-style Internet ticket auctions, the first of their kind in Europe. Bargains are to be held by passengers who have two days to spend at their destination. Among the first winners are an elderly who bid ?12 and win two tickets to Shannon.
Also during the month, flights from London (STN) to Lisbon are terminated and the B-737-300 displaced is wet-leased to Debonair Airways, Ltd. for the next nine months. Although the thrice-daily roundtrips between London (LGW) and Shannon are maintained, the frequencies to Shannon from London (STN) and Birmingham are scrubbed.
A third B-737-300 is accepted at London (STN) from lessor Boullion Aviation on May 7. In severe financial distress, AB is now forced to streamline its operation or begin insolvency proceedings.
After securing a ?500,000 down payment, AB, on May 21, concludes the sale to Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. for ?2 million of its seven weekly takeoff and seven weekly London (LGW) landing slots previously employed for services to Shannon (Ireland) and Nice (France).
The funding is a stopgap and is insufficient to resolve AB’s upcoming capital problems. As a result, negotiations are begun with a third unnamed party concerning the airline’s order for six Next Generation B-737-700s. The carrier’s executives would be pleased to either sell the planes to the partner and lease them back or to sell to it its right to purchase and take delivery of the Boeings. If the talks fail, AB will cancel the request and attempt to obtain a refund on a portion of its deposits. As the press puts it when the matter is reported on May 25, the company is now in “very difficult trading conditions.”
Over the next two months, AB plans a rights issue, designed to raise ?2.2 million and suffers a setback when it must be cancelled. Pending
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