Before the aviation industry was dominated by giant airlines like United, Delta and American Airlines, a plethora of smaller, regional companies flew the great blue yonder. Deregulation of the industry, competition, fuel price increases, and recessions made it hard for airlines to survive.
Here are some now extinct airline companies you might have
never heard of.
Carnival Airlines
In business from 1988-1998
The company didn’t have the same success with airlines as it did with its cruise ships. Carnival had a fleet of 25 planes and a network across the Eastern Seaboard and the Bahamas, Haiti, and Puerto Rico. It was then taken over by Pan American.
THEN, the airlines’ parent company had some financial
troubles and were bought by Boston-Maine Airways. This Massachusetts-based
company then met its demise in 2008, just as the American recession began.
Turns out that cruise ships worked for Carnival but not airplanes.
PeoplExpress Airlines
In business from 1981-1987
When you think of low-cost airlines today, Frontier Airlines or Spirit come to mind. PeoplExpress was somewhat of a forerunner. Business was good for a few years. PeoplExpress even offered transatlantic flights to London in 1983. Things outside of the company’s control caused its demise.
Several things contributed to PeoplExpress going out of
business. These include diminishing returns from a broadening network and cheap
airfare. Continental Airlines bought up PeoplExpress in 1987. Continental was
then bought itself by UAL Corporation in 2012.
ValuJet
In business from 1992-1997
This company wasn’t in business for very long. It had a network of 28 U.S. destinations while in existence, says Yahoo. The tragic crash that led to ValuJet’s end was Flight 592 in 1996. All 110 passengers on board were killed during the crash.
Bound for Atlanta, the plane had not even gone 100 miles
from Miami International when it crashed, says the Miami Herald. ValuJet ended
up merging with Airways company and became AirTrans Airways.
Aloha Airlines
In business from 1946 to 2008
Rising fuel prices and competition are what led Aloha Airlines to go out of business. It had been Hawaii’s second largest carrier until its demise.
Customers might have lost faith in Aloha after Flight 243 —
part of its roof flew off taking one flight attendant with it. The pilot was
able to land the plane safely, however.
Central Airlines
In business from 1949-1967
Like its name indicates, the airline serviced the heartland of the U.S. — states like Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas. This focus ultimately didn’t help the company succeed as the heartland is sparsely populated (some cities no bigger than 20,000). Sparse population means less airline passengers.
Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, Central Airlines was
bought up by Frontier Airlines (not the one that operates today, a different
one). If we were to take a lesson learned by Central’s downfall, it might be to
diversify your client base.
Eastern Airlines
In business from 1926-1991
This business had some help from the government in getting it started up. The government divided up mail subsidies among airlines. Curtailing of aviation regulations by the federal government was what contributed to Eastern kicking the bucket in 1991. Airline Pan Am also ceased operations in 1991.
Eastern had been struggling for two years to rebuild with
protection from bankruptcy court, says the New York Times. Five thousand of
Eastern’s 18,000 employees were expected to be dismissed immediately with some
staying on to maintain planes until buyers swept them up.
MGM Grand Air
In business from 1987- 1994
Resort and entertainment company MGM Resorts International (formerly MGM Mirage) operated MGM Grand Air until it was sold to Champion Air. Then, Champion Air ceased to exist itself in the early 2000s. MGM Grand Air was a charter air service.
Turns out the Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts didn’t need an
airline to boost its profits. The resorts company went on to continue its
success in the hospitality business. Probably good it decided to shed that
extra weight and trouble that MGM Grand Air was causing it.
Braniff International Airways
In business from 1928-1982
This airline was based in Texas, covering the South, Midwest, and Latin America. There were several factors that led Braniff to go out of business. On this list is the chaotic oil market, the Airline Deregulation Act, and fallout from the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization strike.
Midwest Express
In business from 1984-2010
This was one of our favorite airlines with large seats and fresh cookies baked on-board! This airline operated out of the areas its name suggests — Milwaukee and Kansas City. Its network expanded beyond its base throughout the years and added more and more destinations for travelers to go to. The Midwest-based airline changed after several mergers in the 2000s, morphing into Frontier.
Air California
In business from 1967-1987
You can’t help but think of California sunshine when you see photos of these bright colored planes. Painted in yellow, orange and white, Air California was based out of John Wayne Airport in sunny Orange County, says Yahoo Finance. Air California flew passengers just to 13 destinations.
It was founded by two OC businessmen, William E. Myers and
Bill Perrera. Air California (like many small airlines do) merged with a bigger
airline in 1987 — American Airlines.
Mohawk Airlines
In business from 1945-1972
Mohawk expanded at a steady pace outside of its mid-Atlantic network during its first 20 years of existence. It became one of the top 13 local service airlines in the U.S. after adding new routes during the 1960s, says Yahoo Finance. However, all good things must come to an end…
Two major strikes within the company happened during the
1960s — one lasted 154 days. As you can imagine, there was lots of negative
press around the airlines which contributed to its demise. Mohawk folded into
Allegheny Airlines, which then became U.S. Airways.
Northwest Airlines
In business from 1926-2010
This might be one of the oldest airline companies on our list! Northwest Airlines started out as an airmail carrier in 1926. Passenger airlines were added to their services a few years later. Unlike other airlines, the deregulation act did not affect Northwest Airlines’ success. It even started flying to Asia!
Northwest Airlines’ long run eventually came to an end. Its
failure can be attributed to the 9/11 terrorist attacks (which forced Northwest
to reduce flights 20 percent), Hurricane Katrina making fuel unaffordable and
ticket inflation. Delta absorbed the airline in 2010.
Mid-Continent Airlines
In business from 1928-1952
Like the name suggests, Mid-Continent Airlines operated in the central U.S. Mid-Continent flew important routes for the region. It eventually merged with Braniff Airways, which then ceased operations in 1982. At the time of the merge, it was based in Kansas City, Missouri.
According to a historical website dedicated to Braniff
International, Mid-Continent Airlines was operating a fleet of 23 Douglas
DC-3’s and four Convair 240’s over its 6,241 miles of routes. Its routes in the
1950s stretched from Minnesota to North Dakota to the Louisiana Gulf Coast and
Texas.
Capital Airlines
In business from 1936-1961
Capital originally started as Pennsylvania Central Airlines in 1936 and ended its time in the sky by merging with United Airlines. Capital Airlines serviced eastern, southern, southeastern, and the midwestern U.S. It changed its name from Pennsylvania Central Airlines in 1948. The change came with new colors and logo.
In the 1950s it was the fifth largest domestic carrier in the whole U.S. Other big carriers at the time were TWA, American, United, and Eastern. Capital struggled financially at the end of the 1950s and a merger with United Airlines was announced. Former employees kept the memory alive with the Capital Airlines Association.
Air Midwest
In business from 1967 to 2008
Being a small airline company serving the Midwest isn’t a recipe for success — a ton of these business models are on our list! Headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, Air Midwest was a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group. It operated feeder flights for other airlines, including Braniff and Ozark.
Air Midwest ran into quite a bit of problems. For example,
after merging with Scheduled Skyways, Air Midwest inherited its fleet which was
riddled with maintenance needs. It also had to sell its Nashville hub due to
its continuing money problems. Unlike other airlines, it had a substantial run.
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