Air Florida
Air Florida was an American low-cost carrier that operated from 1972[2] to 1984, from 1972 to 1978 as an intrastate airline. In 1975 it was headquartered in the Dadeland Towers in what is now Kendall, Florida in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.[3][4]
| Commenced operations | 27 September 1972 |
|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 3 July 1984 |
| Hubs | Miami |
| Fleet size | 58 |
| Destinations | 99 |
| Parent company | Air Florida System, Inc.[1] |
| Headquarters | Miami-Dade County, Florida |
| Key people | Eli Timoner Ed Acker |
Air Florida's former IATA code is now used by Bamboo Airways of Vietnam.
History edit
Intrastate origin edit
Air Florida was based at Miami International Airport. Air Florida was initially organized as an intrastate airline by a group including Miami native Eli Timoner as chairman, Bill Spohrer as president, Jim Woodman as VP, Robert Bussey as Secretary and Reed Cleary as chief pilot. Spohrer came from APSA which may account for the initial focus on a 149-seat Convair 990 as an aircraft, to be leased from Modern Air Transport. The inspiration was Pacific Southwest Airlines, the long-established California intrastate airline.[5] Later the focus changed to an Eastern Air Lines DC-8[6] before settling on a Pan Am Boeing 707,[7] purchased for $1.1mm.[2] The inability to settle on an aircraft delayed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval and thus start of the carrier.
FAA approval was needed for operational authority. As an intrastate airline, Air Florida avoided economic regulation by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the Federal regulator for interstate air travel, then extremely rigid. Prior to 1972, there was no economic regulation of intrastate carriers in Florida. Such regulation started October 1, 1972. Air Florida, having started service on September 27, was grandfathered. Thereafter, for as long as it remained an intrastate airline, Air Florida would be economically regulated by the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) as to matters like route entry and fares.[8]
Ted Griffin, a former marketing director of Eastern Air Lines, became operational head starting from mid 1972,[7] ultimately taking the president title.[9] The airline operated its first flights on September 27, 1972,[2] offering twice-daily service in Florida between Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO) and St. Petersburg (PIE) on "triangle" routings of MIA-MCO-PIE-MIA and MIA-PIE-MCO-MIA with a one way introductory fare of $12.00.[10][2] By May 15, 1973, The airline acquired three Lockheed Electra turboprop aircraft, replacing the Boeing 707.[11]
Acker group investment edit
Air Florida was unprofitable for most of its intrastate existence. In 1972 it attempted a $3.2mm initial public offering,[12] but the market was unfavorable and it had to withdraw.[13] The airline was acquired by a publicly-listed company, Investment Property Builders (IPB) controlled by Timoner as a way to give it a stock price.[14] This became Air Florida System, Inc, explaning why Air Florida's holding company had a 1955 date of formation.[1] In 1975, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused Timoner and a Swiss bank (among others) for having artificially increased the price of IPB in 1971. Timoner did not admit to this, but agreed not to do such things in the future.[15] The airline was chronically underfunded and unable to upgrade from Electras to jets. The issue was widely noted: there were segments of the market that avoided Air Florida because it did not fly jets, which left Timoner constantly scrambling to finance losses.[9]
In December 1976, a group of investors led by Ed Acker, previously a Braniff executive but at that time at an insurance company, made an investment as part of a recapitalization of Air Florida. Acker's group put in $1.5mm, some creditors agreed to take stock in exchange for $2mm in debt, other creditors agreed to a standstill. Better still, Air Florida could now acquire jets, including DC-9s.[16][17] Three of the DC-9s were financed by Carl Lindner's American Financial Corp, which bought them from Air Canada, leased them to Air Florida in exchange for low-priced stock and warrants that, in early 1980, provided Lindner with a huge payoff.[18] In mid 1977, Acker became CEO and chairman, Timoner became president and COO, and Ted Griffin left the company.[19] By February 1978, the turnaround was apparent. High-frequency jet service finally worked to make Air Florida relevant in a way it had not been before. The fleet comprised five DC-9s, with three more on the way. September 1977 passenger traffic was up over 400%, in October up over 600%, for November 1977 thru January 1978, up over 350%. Calls to the call center were up over 100% year over year.[20]
| YE July 31 | YE December 31 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD 000 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1979 | 1980 | |
| Operating revenue | 4,877 | 7,814 | 21,507 | 44,234 | 114,285 | 62,794 | 161,175 | |
| Operating expense | 5,230 | 9,772 | 21,259 | 41,025 | 107,829 | 58,304 | 151,771 | |
| Operating result | (353) | (1,958) | 248 | 3,209 | 6,456 | 4,490 | 9,404 | |
| Operating margin | -7.2% | -25.1% | 1.2% | 7.3% | 5.6% | 7.2% | 5.8% | |
| Net income | (748) | (2,145) | (109) | 2,413 | 5,070 | 3,624 | 5,708 | |
| Net margin | -15.3% | -27.5% | -0.5% | 5.5% | 4.4% | 5.8% | 3.5% | |
Post intrastate edit
In 1978, Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act, which phased out Federal regulation of the airline industry starting in 1979. The act allowed Air Florida to fly outside of Florida starting in 1979, but in fact the CAB used its administrative discretion to allow Air Florida to jump the gun, and by year end 1978, Air Florida was already flying to Washington, DC, and, in the Bahamas, Rock Sound and Nassau.[1][21][22]
Acker-era Air Florida was one of the most aggressive of the small carriers:
- Air Florida grew extremely quickly, both domestically and internationally, including Caribbean, Central America and Europe. European routes required long-haul aircraft, such as DC-8s or DC-10s. By January 1981, the fleet included four DC-9s, 21 737s and a DC-10.[1]
- Air Florida initiated three attempted takeovers of other carriers, two of them materially larger than Air Florida. This was not unusual for the time. Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air was another small carrier that put larger carriers in play in the early years of deregulation.
On August 27, 1981, Ed Acker left Air Florida to take up the CEO position at Pan Am, saying that Cunard told him the position of captain of the Titanic was no longer available, so he was seeking a comparable challenge.[23][24] Timoner once again became chairman and CEO.[25]
| Target | Timeframe | Disposition |
|---|---|---|
| Piedmont Airlines | June 1979-March 1981 | Bought 4.9% of Piedmont, which refused to engage.[26] Sold stake to help finance Air California bid.[27] Piedmont eventually merged with USAir in 1989. |
| Air California | October 1980-May 1981 | Bought investor interests in to-be-reorganized Air California parent company, Westgate-California Corporation (WCC), then operating in bankruptcy, giving Air Florida a 26% stake.[28] Won a bidding war for WCC, only for the other bidder to launch a bid for Air California itself, which Air Florida lost.[27] Air California eventually merged with American Airlines in 1987. |
| Western Airlines | July 1981-November 1982 | Bought stock in Western in part with WCC proceeds.[29] Air Florida sold the stake at a "sizeable loss" in 1982.[30] Western eventually merged with Delta Air Lines in 1987. |
Flight 90 and aftermath edit
On January 13, 1982, Air Florida suffered a devastating fatal crash in Washington DC, with a Boeing 737 aircraft hitting a bridge and ending in the Potomac River. Video of rescue efforts were captured in real time and widely broadcast, as was an iconic image of the broken tail of the Air Florida aircraft being pulled from the river. Air Florida reservations dried up.[31] Even worse, later in the year the National Transportation Safety Board placed the blame squarely on the Air Florida pilots.[32]
Air Florida's fortunes had turned for the worse even before the crash. A substantial financial loss in the fourth quarter of 1981 was driven by fierce fare wars,[33] including by Pan Am now run by Ed Acker.[34] Heavy losses continued into 1982, despite which, Air Florida continued to focus on possible mergers and acquisitions, specifically around the future of Braniff, which was in obvious distress as it headed towards what would be its May 1982 bankruptcy and grounding.[35] It's hard to overstate how bad the environment was, both generally and for airlines.[36] To make matters worse, in July, Timoner suffered a debilitating stroke, leading to the elevation to CEO of David Lloyd-Jones, an American Airlines veteran who lost the heir-apparent competition at American to Bob Crandall and had joined Air Florida as president.[37][38]
Aside from the crash, the economy and its overexpansion, Air Florida competed on Florida routes with, among others, Pan Am and Eastern Air Lines. These two airlines were in decline (both would go out of business in 1991) but were larger, so had more staying power. By December 1982, Air Florida was soliciting merger interest.[39] Losses in 1982 were catastrophic, $93mm on revenue of $282mm.[40] On April 1, 1983, unable to recover from his stroke, Eli Timoner resigned as Chairman, his last remaining position, in favor of Lloyd-Jones.[41] Timoner was 54. Air Florida's accountants also gave a going concern warning in their audit for 1982.[42]
The crash of Flight 90 on January 13, 1982, coupled with Air Florida's high financial leverage and reliance on foreign currency trading for profits, led the company to declare bankruptcy and cease operations on July 3, 1984, despite an effort by new head Donald Lloyd-Jones (an alumnus of American Airlines) to save the company. When operations ceased, Air Florida had over 18 months of unprocessed credit card ticket purchases and dozens of flight crews idle at home because management had failed to renew leases on their DC-10-30 aircraft. Midway Airlines acquired most of the assets of Air Florida for $53 million while the airline was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[43]
Air Florida Commuter edit
Air Florida Commuter was not an airline, but a system of affiliated commuter and regional air carriers that fed traffic into Air Florida's hubs. In an arrangement commonly known as code-sharing, each airline painted their aircraft in Air Florida colors and their flights were listed in reservations systems as Air Florida flights. Air Miami became the first affiliate in 1980 and over a dozen other airlines became part of the system, including: Air Sunshine, Marco Island Airways, Florida Airlines, Key Air, Southern International, Skyway Airlines, North American Airlines, National Commuter Airlines, Gull Air, Pompano, Finair, Slocum, Atlantic Gulf, Skyway of Ocala and others. As Air Florida became financially strapped, the commuter system was dismantled in early 1984.[44]
Sponsorship edit
Air Florida sponsored Southampton Football Club, an English Football League side, during the 1983-84 season, in which Southampton were league runners-up. The deal was cancelled after one season due to Air Florida's insolvency.[citation needed]
Destinations edit
| City | Feb. 1979[45] | Dec. 1981[46] | Sep. 1982[47] | Jan. 1984[48] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bermuda | X | |||
| Boston | X | X | X | |
| Brussels | X | X | ||
| Burlington | X | X | ||
| Chicago O'Hare | X | |||
| Chicago Midway | X | |||
| Cincinnati | X | |||
| Cleveland | X | |||
| Columbus | X | |||
| Daytona Beach | X | |||
| Detroit | X | |||
| Fort Lauderdale | X | X | X | X |
| Fort Myers | X | X | ||
| Freeport | X | X | X | |
| Gainesville | X | X | X | |
| George Town | X | X | ||
| Grand Turk | X | X | ||
| Guatemala City | X | X | ||
| Hyannis | X | |||
| Indianapolis | X | |||
| Jacksonville | X | X | X | X |
| Key West | X | X | X | |
| Kingston | X | X | X | |
| London Gatwick | X | X | X | |
| Marathon | X | |||
| Marco Island | X | |||
| Marsh Harbour | X | X | X | X |
| Miami | X | X | X | X |
| Montego Bay | X | X | X | |
| Nantucket | X | |||
| Newark | X | |||
| New Orleans | X | |||
| New York JFK | X | |||
| New York LaGuardia | X | X | X | |
| North Eleuthera | X | X | X | X |
| Ocala | X | X | X | |
| Orlando | X | X | X | X |
| Oslo | X | |||
| Panama City, FL | X | |||
| Pensacola | X | X | X | X |
| Philadelphia | X | X | ||
| Port-au-Prince | X | X | X | |
| Puerto Plata | X | X | X | |
| Rock Sound | X | X | X | X |
| Saint Croix | X | X | ||
| Saint Thomas | X | |||
| San Jose (C.R.) | X | X | X | |
| San Pedro Sula | X | X | X | |
| San Salvador | X | X | X | |
| Santo Domingo | X | X | ||
| Sarasota | X | X | ||
| Shannon | X | X | ||
| Stockholm | X | |||
| Stuart | X | |||
| Tallahassee | X | X | X | |
| Tampa | X | X | X | X |
| Tegucigalpa | X | X | X | |
| Toledo | X | X | ||
| Treasure Cay | X | X | X | X |
| Washington National | X | X | X | X |
| West Palm Beach | X | X | X | X |
| White Plains | X | X | X |
Some of the above destinations in the U.S. and the Bahamas were served by commuter air carriers operating Air Florida Commuter service with prop and turboprop aircraft via respective code sharing agreements.
Air Florida also served Belize City, Belize; Charleston, South Carolina; Chicago (Midway Airport), Illinois; Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW Airport), Texas; Düsseldorf, Germany; Frankfurt, Germany; Houston (Hobby Airport), Texas; Paris, France; Madrid, Spain; Providence, Rhode Island; Providenciales, Turk and Caicos Islands; St. Petersburg, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Savannah, Georgia; and Zürich, Switzerland with mainline jet service at various times during its existence.[49] In addition, Air Florida Commuter served Lakeland, Florida in early 1983.[50]
Fleet edit
When Air Florida ceased all operations, the airline was operating the following mainline jet aircraft:[51]
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-100 | 2 | — | |
| Boeing 737-200 | 8 | — | |
| Boeing 757-200 | — | 3 | [52] |
| Douglas DC-8-62 | 1 | — | Leased from Rich International Airways |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF | 1 | — | |
| Total | 12 | 3 |
Retired fleet edit
Air Florida also operated the following aircraft in its mainline fleet, but retired these types before the demise of the airline:[53]
- BAC One-Eleven (operated by British Island Airways in Europe to provide passenger feed for Air Florida's transatlantic flights. The aircraft had Air Florida titles in addition to their British Island Airways titles)
- Boeing 707-320
- Boeing 727-100
- Boeing 727-200
- McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15RC
- Lockheed L-188C Electra
Accidents and incidents edit
- On August 10, 1980, Air Florida Flight 4, with 35 people on board, operated by a Boeing 737 from Miami International Airport to Key West International Airport, was taken over by a hijacker, who demanded to be flown to Cuba. He later surrendered in Havana.[54]
- Three days later, on August 13, 1980, Air Florida Flight 707, another Boeing 737, flying the opposite direction of Flight 4, with 74 people on board, was hijacked by seven people. They demanded to be taken to Cuba, but later surrendered.[55]
- On September 22, 1981, Air Florida Flight 2198, operated by a McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 carrying 71 occupants, suffered an uncontained engine failure after departing Miami, the aircraft returned to the airport and made a safe landing, no one was hurt.[56]
- On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed very shortly after takeoff from Washington National Airport due to atmospheric icing and pilot error, killing 74 of the 79 people on board, injuring four of the five survivors, and killing four people on the Interstate 395 14th Street Bridge, which the Boeing 737-200 crashed into before plunging into the ice covered Potomac River.
- On February 2, 1982, Air Florida Flight 710, a Boeing 737-200 with 77 people on board from Miami International to Key West International was hijacked. The hijacker wanted to be taken to Cuba, but he later surrendered.[57]
- On July 7, 1983, Air Florida Flight 8 with 47 people on board was flying from Fort Lauderdale International Airport to Tampa International Airport. One of the passengers handed a note to one of the flight attendants, saying that he had a bomb, and telling them to fly the plane to Havana, Cuba. He revealed a small athletic bag, which he opened, and inside was an apparent explosive device. The airplane was diverted to Havana-José Martí International Airport, and the hijacker was taken into custody by Cuban authorities.[58]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d e Air Florida System, Inc. Form 10-K for five month period ending December 31, 1980
- ^ a b c d First In-State Airlines Begins Flights Today, Miami Herald, September 27, 1972
- ^ World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 20, 1975. "466.
- ^ "Kendall CDP, Florida[permanent dead link]." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on June 17, 2009.
- ^ Miamians Organizing Airline to Capitalize on Disneyworld, Miami Herald, January 19, 1972
- ^ Debut Delayed for Intrastate Airline, Miami Herald, February 22, 1972
- ^ a b Air Florida Buys First Jetliner, Miami Herald, June 1, 1972
- ^ State to Regulate Intrastate Carriers, Miami Herald, October 1, 1972
- ^ a b The Airline that can't Leave Florida, Miami Herald (Tropic Magazine), August 17, 1975
- ^ http://www.sunshineskies.com/, Airlines, Air Florida
- ^ Air Florida Gets Tallahassee Flights, Miami Herald, April 18, 1973
- ^ Air Florida Files Stock with SEC, Miami Herald, June 28, 1972
- ^ Most of State Issues Floated in 1972 Lost Ground, Miami Herald, March 19, 1973
- ^ After a Year, Air Florida Thinks it's 'A Winner' , Miami Herald, September 23, 1973
- ^ "SEC v. Bank vom Linthgebiet, et al". SEC Docket. 7 (1): 91. June 4, 1975. hdl:2027/msu.31293201460619.
- ^ Air Florida Plans Sale of Big Block to Texans, Orlando Sentinel, December 10, 1976
- ^ Air Florida pins hopes on DC-9s, Orlando Sentinel, May 16, 1977
- ^ Firm Cashes-in On Air Florida Gamble, Miami Herald, February 22, 1980
- ^ Of Special Interest in Florida, Miami Herald, July 15, 1977
- ^ Profits Make Air Florida a 'Born Again' Airline, Miami Herald, April 2, 1978
- ^ Air Florida gets Bahamas route, Miami News, October 16, 1978
- ^ New Flights Coming into South Florida, Miami Herald, December 3, 1978
- ^ Air Florida chief to head Pan Am, Miami Herald, August 27, 1981
- ^ Man in the news: At the controls of Pan Am, New York Times, August 28, 1981
- ^ Air Florida founder is flying solo again, Miami Herald, January 11, 1982
- ^ Air Florida buys interest in Piedmont, Miami Herald, Nov 7, 1979
- ^ a b Air Florida loses bidding war, Miami News, May 13, 1981
- ^ Air Florida may raise bid for Air California, Miami Herald, April 3, 1981
- ^ Air Florida makes bid for Western, Miami News, July 7, 1981
- ^ Air Florida sells stake in Western, Miami News, November 9, 1982
- ^ Petzinger, Thomas (1996). Hard Landing: The Epic Contest For Power and Profits That Plunged the Airlines into Chaos. Random House. pp. 179–191. ISBN 9780307774491.
- ^ Safety Board Asserts That Air Florida Pilot Could Have Averted Fatal Crash, New York Times, August 11, 1982
- ^ Air Florida Reports $19.3 million loss in 4th quarter, Miami Herald, March 6, 1982
- ^ Airlines study Pan Am's cut rate fares, Miami Herald, September 9, 1981
- ^ Air Florida weighs offer to Braniff, Miami Herald, April 23, 1982
- ^ The Great Stagnation, New York Times, October 17, 1982
- ^ Anatomy of a stroke: The case of Eli Timoner, Miami Herald, November 8, 1982
- ^ Petzinger 1996, p. 123.
- ^ Air Florida "interested" in merger talks, December 9, 1982
- ^ Air Florida loses $93 million in '82 in its worst performance, Miami Herald, March 19, 1983
- ^ Eli Timoner resigns at Air Florida, Miami Herald, April 2, 1983
- ^ Despite grim warning, Air Florida finds hope, Miami Herald, May 2, 1983
- ^ AP (August 15, 1985). "Midway Jets Sale". New York Times. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
- ^ Air Florida Commuter. Sunshineskies.com (2010-12-07). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
- ^ QH020179intro. Departedflights.com (1979-02-01). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
- ^ QH120181intro. Departedflights.com (1981-12-01). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
- ^ QH090882intro. Departedflights.com (1982-09-08). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
- ^ QH011584intro. Departedflights.com (1984-01-15). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
- ^ "Air Florida January 15, 1984 Route Map".
- ^ departedflights.com, Air Florida route maps
- ^ "Air Florida Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ^ "Air Florida to buy 3 new Boeing 757-200 jets". New York Times. July 21, 1981. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- ^ airliners.net, all Air Florida aircraft photos
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737 registration unknown Havana". Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737 registration unknown Havana". Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF N101TV Miami International Airport, FL (MIA)".
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-200 registration unknown Havana". Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ None, None. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737 registration unknown Havana-José Martí International Airport (HAV)". Retrieved December 16, 2023.
External links edit
- Air Florida System: Air Florida
- Airchive.com: Air Florida 2007-11-30 at the Wayback Machine timetable and route map images
- timetableimages.com: Air Florida timetable and route map images
- Sunshine Skies: Air Florida history, vintage photos and route map