ABELAG AVIATION, S. A.: Building 28, Brussels National Airport B-1930, Belgium; Phone 32 2720; Fax 32 2721; Code AAB; Year Founded 1964. Originally established at Brussels as an FBO and light charter operation in 1964, Abelag becomes a member of the J. E.T. Europe air taxi marketing group in 1982. Andre Ganshof van der Meersch is named chairman-president. With an initial fleet comprising 2 Gates Learjet 35A Century 3s, 1 Gates Learjet 24D, 1 Cessna 441 Conquest, 1 Cessna 421, 1 Cessna 310, and 1 Cessna 210, the company undertakes passenger charters from the capital’s National Airport and other airfields throughout the country.
The fleet is enhanced in 1983-1986 with the addition of 1 more Cessna 441, 1 Cessna 206, 1 Cessna 182, and 4 Cessna 150s.
Services continue throughout the remainder of the decade and, by 1999, the Brussels-based fleet includes 2 Cessna 500 Citation Is, 1 Cessna 441,1 Dassault Falcon 50, 3 Learjet 35As, and 1 Learjet 24D.
A newly opened base (1996) with several transit executive jets is also maintained at Luxembourg.
ABERDEEN AIRWAYS, LTD. (1): United Kingdom (19341937). While building an airport to service Aberdeen, Scotland, Eric L. Gandar-Dower elects to built an airline as well; with ?29,000 capital, he registers Aberdeen Airways, Ltd. at Edinburgh on January 2, 1934. Two de Havilland DH 84 Dragons are purchased; the one christened Aberdonian is lost in a Dyce crash on July 13.
On July 28, Gandar-Dower’s Dyce Airport is opened and on September 10 his airline, employing a Short Scion purchased in July, launches its inaugural (demonstration) flight to Glasgow (Renfrew Airport). Beginning next day, daily Aberdeen-Glasgow (Renfrew) Scion service is offered and the fleet is improved by the addition of a DH 84 Dragon; winter forces a service cut to twice weekly.
During the year, Gandar-Dower publishes his recollections of a flight from London to Madras, India, in a single-engine DH Puss Moth, Amateur Adventure (London: Rivch & Cowan).
Orkney Island Dragon flights are launched from Aberdeen on May 27, 1935, via Wick and Thurso to Orkney. Connecting with North Eastern Airways, Ltd. at the Scottish capital, Aberdeen Airways starts Aberdeen-Edinburgh service on June 11. The Orkney service is suspended on November 8. Gandar-Dower must invest considerable time and resources to offset determined new opposition to his carrier from the railroads, which temporarily force North Eastern Airways, Ltd. to stand down.
Thurso-Orkney operations are resumed on December 16. The Orkney service is extended to Shetland with a DH 89A Dragon Rapide flown by Capt. Eric Starling on June 2, 1936 and on November 2, the connection with North Eastern is reestablished when that carrier returns to service.
In March 1937, the carrier changes its name to Allied Airways (Gan-dar Dower), Ltd.
ABERDEEN AIRWAYS, LTD. (2): United Kingdom (19891992). Employing the name of Eric Gandar-Dower’s historic airline of the 1930s, Scottish investors, using the assets of recently failed Air Ecosse, Ltd., establish AAL-2 at Dyce in 1989. Managing Director Jim Bicker obtains a fleet comprising 2 Cessna 404 Titans, 4 Grumman G-159 Gulfstream Is, and 2 British Aerospace (HS) BAe 748-2As, the latter chartered from Dan Air/Dan Air Services, Ltd. Flights are inaugurated linking Edinburgh, Manchester, and the East Midlands. A total of 24,000 passengers are flown by year’s end.
Airline employment in 1990 stands at 457, but economic difficulties cause a downturn that leads to bankruptcy. Through the year’s first half, 21,495 passengers are transported.
In early January 1991, former Royal Jordanian Airways CEO Ali Ghandour and Jean Pierre Rozan, chairman of Air Provence, S. A., combine to acquire the airline, which is then moved to East Midlands under the chairmanship of John Callaghan. Aberdeen emerges from bankruptcy in September. The fleet of the 75-employee carrier now includes 3 Gulfstream Is, 1 BAe (HS) 748-1A, and 2 BAe (HS) 748-2As. Passenger boardings increase to 24,356.
Scheduled service is inaugurated in May 1992 linking East Midlands with Edinburgh and Aberdeen. However, with its finances in shambles, Chairman Callaghan resigns in June when he is unable to reestablish the airline’s profitability in hard economic circumstances. The second Aberdeen Airways is forced to close in November.
ABILENE AERO-LUBBOCK AERO: 2850 Airport Blvd., Abilene, Texas 79602, United States, Phone (915) 677-2601; Fax (915) 6755432; Http://www. abileneaero. com; Year Founded 1968. Abilene Aero is started by Ollie Higgins and Kent Waddell as a four-person FBO partnership at Butterfield Trail Airport near Abiline, Texas, in 1968. Almost immediately, the concern establishes an Abilene Aero Charter division and begins operating lightplane executive and small group passenger and express services. After three years of negotiations, the city of Abilene allows the concern to construct new facilities at Municipal Airport; these open for business on March 1, 1971. The company also becomes a Cessna sales and service center.
Chaparral Airlines is organized in August 1975 as the scheduled airline division; John Stevens is named president and is assigned to oversee 11 employees. The new commuter inaugurates scheduled Piper PA-31310 Navajo (with two aircraft) service to Austin on September 15, 1976.
Also during the year, Abilene leases facilities at Sweetwater Airport where it operates a subsidiary FBO, Sweetwater Aero, for three years.
The Abilene facility is significantly increased during the early 1980s and, in 1985, the company reports $5 million in sales.
Chaparral Airlines is purchased for $5.7 million in cash by Dallas (DFW)-based Metro Airlines in August 1987. Abilene returns to charter and flight training air services.
The Texas Air Center facility is purchased in 1990 and, after extensive remodeling, begins operating as Lubbock Aero. In May 1992, the two FBOs are linked under their present name.
Joe Crawford is in charge of flight activities for the concern in 19982000 and oversees the on-demand operations of 1 each Beech Super King Air 200, King Air 100, Beech 58 Baron, Cessna 414A, and Beech A36 Bonanza.
ABITIBI HELICOPTERS, LTD.: P. O. Box 188, 341 Route 111, La Sarre, Quebec J9Z 2X5, Canada; Phone (819) 333-4047; Fax (819) 333-9894; Year Founded 1980. Abitibi is set up at La Sarre in 1980 to provide passenger and cargo charter flights and air ambulance services. By 2000, President Bertrand Perron employs and workforce of 80 and has revenues of C$10 million per year. His fleet comprises 13 Eurocopter Astars, 1 each Bell 205 and Bell 207, 3 Bell 206B Jet-Rangers, and 4 Bell 206L LongRangers.
ABLE AMERICAN JETS: 15707 Fairchild Drive, Hangar 6, St. Pe-tersburg-Clearwater International Airport, Clearwater, Florida 34622, United States; Phone (813) 530-0091; Fax (813) 530-7787; Http://members. aol. com/ablejet/index. html; Http://www. tenncom. com/ablejet; Year Founded 1987. AA is set up at Clearwater, Florida, in 1987 to offer executive passenger charters; certification is received for flights throughout the U. S. and to Canada, Mexico, Europe, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.
Over the next decade, hubs are also established at Fort Pierce and Orlando in Florida, Nashville, Tennessee, and Manassas, Virginia. The workforce in 2000 includes 11 full-time and 4 part-time pilots.
The company flies 1 Learjet 25 from St. Petersburg/Clearwater and
1 each Learjet 25, Beech Super King Air 300, Piper PA-23 Aztec, and PA-31-310 Navajo from St. Lucie County International Airport at Fort Pierce. At Orlando, the company stations 1 each Beech Super King Air 200, Cessna 414 Chancellor, and Rockwell Aero Commander 500 while a Learjet 25 is based at Nashville and a Learjet 24 stands by at Manassas, Virginia.
ABOITIZ AIR: General Aviation Area, Manila Domestic Airport, Pasay City, Metro Manila, 1300, Philippines; Phone 63 (2) 831-1803; Fax 63 (2) 831-3978; Code BOI; Year Founded 1988. A subsidiary of the Manila-based Aboitiz Transport System, Aboitiz Air is formed on January 28, 1988 to provide all-cargo, scheduled services from the General Aviation Area of Manila Domestic Airport. Chairman Jon Ramon Aboitiz’s carrier comes to possess a fleet comprising 2 Beech Twin Bonanzas, 1 Beech Super King Air 200, 2 Nihon YS-11Fs, and
2 Lockheed C-130A Hercules freighters.
Scheduled services are initiated late in the year to these destinations: Bacolod, Bukidnon, Butuan, Cebu, Cagayen de Oro, Cotabato, Davao, Dumaguete, Iligan, Iloilo, Ormoc, Ozamis, Roxas, Tacloban, Tagbila-ran, and Zamboanga. Ad hoc regional charters are also undertaken. Over the next five years, two more Hercules are acquired; however, one is placed out of service in 1992, when two NAMC YS-11A-600s become available.
In 1993-1994, President Endika M. Aboitiz oversees a workforce of 353. The fleet in 1995 includes 2 Hercules cargo planes (1 out of service) and 6 YS-11As. The latter are employed on 24-hour Aboitiz Express services. One of the latter is withdrawn in 1996. Instead, the company leases all of the cargo space available in the bellies of the DC-9s operated by new entrant Cebu Pacific Air.
In August 1997, a joint-marketing agreement is signed with Cebu Pacific Air for domestic cargo operations. Flights continue apace in 1998.
Early in 1999, the company leases its YS-11As to Asian Spirit, which will employ them to open a new hub at Cebu on July 1. Although Aboitiz continues to utilize the cargo spaces, the Japanese-made turboprops now offer Asian Spirit passenger flights from Cebu to Naga, Cagayan de Oro, Tagbilaran, Butuan, Dipolog, Bacolod, and Caticlan.
ABSIL AIR SERVICES (PTY.), LTD.: South Africa (19931996). Absil is established at Johannesburg in 1993 to provide domestic and regional charter passenger and executive services. Revenue flights commence with 1 de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter and 1 Grumman G-159 Gulfstream I. Neither traffic or financial reports are available and the carrier escapes international notice after 1996.
World History
