RESORT AIR: United States (1982-1989). Resort Air is founded by B. F. West at St. Louis on November 5, 1982 to provide scheduled third-level passenger and cargo services. An air carrier operating certificate is received from the FAA on April 11, 1983. Employing a fleet of 4 Fairchild-Swearingen Metro IIs, the carrier inaugurates feeder flights, largely in the tour market, to the Missouri communities of Columbia, Joplin, Lake of the Ozarks, and Springfield, plus Carbondale in Illinois.
On April 25, 1985, the company signs a code-sharing agreement with Trans World Airlines (TWA) and agrees to become a “TWExpress” commuter partner.
Three additional Metro IIs arrive at the company’s St. Louis hub during the summer wearing the modified red and white livery of the major. On August 5, Resort Air begins to feed St. Louis from seven cities in Missouri and Illinois. While working for a Chicago bank owed much money by the carrier, Hulas Kanodia begins to invest, becoming a silent partner.
Traffic figures are released for the first time and show enplanements of 85,214.
Airline employment rises 60% in 1986 to 200 and the first of 12 ordered Metro Ills arrive in the spring. After purchasing the carrier from Koppler Enterprises on September 22, majority shareholders Jim Sle-mens and William Bell ask fellow investor Hulas Kanodia to serve as president. The Trans World Airlines (TWA) affiliate operator is now reorganized into two divisions: TWExpress and Resort Commuter. Reclassified as a large regional, the company enjoys significant success as its enplanements skyrocket 147.1% to 210,000.
The payroll is increased another 15.2% in 1987 to 228. By spring, the fleet has been enlarged by the addition of all 12 Metro Ills. Orders are placed for three (later five) Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-300s. Four more new Metroliners will be received later in the year to replace the last four Metro IIs. Also during the spring, scheduled service is inaugurated to Chicago (ORD) from Terre Haute and Springfield.
Passenger boardings increase again, rising 53.9% to 316,882.
By early 1988 the Metro fleet has been increased to 16 machines. In June, the carrier receives a DOT 401 operating certificate and in September is awarded Part 121 certification by the FAA, authority that is needed to operate ATRs.
The “TWExpress” division flies a total of 332,940 passengers on the year, a 5.2% increase.
The first two of five ordered ATR42-300s are received in spring 1989 and one Metro is replaced. To better reflect its growth and to support the long-term goals of TWA, the company is renamed Trans-States Airlines in June. At this point, the Resort Commuter division is folded into the newly renamed carrier.
RESORT AIRLINES (1): United States (1945-1961). Clinton Davidson incorporates Resort Airlines (1) in September 1945 to promote the idea of inclusive air tours to New York’s Adirondack vacation areas. This concept becomes the forerunner of today’s package tours. Initially, air transport, connecting ground carriage and hotel accommodations are included for places such as Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.
Service is opened between Westchester County Airport and Saranac Lake on June 29, 1946. The first U. S. package tour is offered on June 17, with a 15-day national tour from Westchester County Airport. Additional Adirondack services are opened on June 22, 1947 and special tours are offered from New York City to the Great Lakes and Rocky Mountains beginning on June 13, 1948.
The carrier also seeks permission to operate to the Caribbean and applies to the CAB for a permit. That body initially rejects the company’s petition, but is forced, by decision of President Truman, to grant certification in June 1949. Resort will be allowed to operate its tours from a New York City base to Miami, Chicago, Washington, D. C. and points in
Canada and the Caribbean. In 1950, as Resort’s war-surplus, passenger-appointed Curtiss C-46s fly their new routes, the irregular carrier Nationwide Air Transport Service is purchased.
During a May 22, 1953 ferry flight, a C-46F with two crew is lost at Des Moines; there are no survivors.
A C-46F with 3 crew and 38 passengers en route from Camp Kilmer to Fort Knox under charter to the USAF, crash-lands at Stan-diford Field, Kentucky, on September 28 (24 dead). The fleet is upgraded in October when three Douglas DC-4s are acquired. The carrier withdraws from its other routes on November 12 to concentrate on Caribbean cruises.
A C-46F is lost in an accident at Chattanooga on January 22, 1954; although the plane must be written off, there are no fatalities. Resort Airlines (1) is ahead of its time and its tour packages, while somewhat popular, are not overwhelmingly so. As a result of financial reversals, Davidson’s company ceases operations in September 1955.
Nonscheduled charter flights are resumed, primarily for the U. S. military, in 1956 with two Lockheed L-1049H Constellations purchased under a DOD contract and in February 1957, the CAB renews the supplemental’s certificate. On March 15, it is named a codefendant in a $19- million lawsuit on behalf of the 1953 Standiford Field victims; Resort accepts its share of the liability and settles out of court.
Tours are flown to the Caribbean once again between June and September 1959, but are unsuccessful. On November 24, an L-1049H is lost in a nonfatal accident. It is now decided to cease operations and the carrier is gradually closed down during the first half of 1960.
Through carefully planned and managed equipment sales and leases, including that of the last L-1049H to World Airways, investors do not go bankrupt; indeed, they are able to depart the scene on July 1, 1961 with some $3 million when the books are finally closed.
RESORT AIRLINES (2): United States (1982-1986). The second Resort Airlines is established at Martin State Airport at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1982 to provide weekday passenger services to Dover in Delaware, Atlantic City, Ocean City, and Washington, D. C. (DCA). Daily roundtrips are duly inaugurated with a pair of Piper PA-31-310 Navajos and are sustained until 1986.
World History
