Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. referred to as Delta, is a major American airline, with its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along with its subsidiaries and regional affiliates, operates over 5,400 flights daily and serves an extensive domestic and international network that includes 304 destinations in 52 countries on six continents, as of October 2018. Delta is a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. Regional service is operated under the brand name Delta Connection. One of the five remaining legacy carriers, Delta is the sixth-oldest operating airline by foundation date, the oldest airline still operating in the United States. Among predecessors of today's Delta Air Lines, Western Airlines and Northwest Airlines began flying passengers in 1926 and 1927, respectively. Delta has eight hubs, with Atlanta being its largest in terms of total passengers and number of departures, it is the world's second largest airline in terms of scheduled passengers carried, revenue passenger-kilometers flown and fleet size.
In 2018, Delta ranked No. 75 in the Fortune 500 list of the largest American corporations by total revenue. Delta Air Lines began as a crop dusting operation called Incorporated; the company was founded on May 30, 1924, in Macon and moved to Monroe, Louisiana, in 1925. They flew a Huff-Daland Duster, the first true crop duster, designed to combat the boll weevil infestation of cotton crops. Collett E. Woolman, one of the original directors, purchased the company on September 13, 1928, renamed it Delta Air Service. Service began on June 17, 1929, with the inaugural flight between Dallas and Jackson, Mississippi; the company recognizes four founders: the principal founder Collett E. Woolman, C. H. McHenery, Travis Oliver, Malcolm S. Biedenharn. Delta moved its headquarters to its current location in Atlanta in 1941, continued to grow through the addition of routes and the acquisition of other airlines, it replaced propeller planes with jets in the 1960s and entered international competition to Europe in the 1970s and across the Pacific in the 1980s.
Delta's more recent history is marked by its emergence from bankruptcy on April 25, 2007, the subsequent merger with Northwest Airlines. The merger was announced April 14, 2008, was set to create the world's largest airline. After approval of the merger on October 29, 2008, Northwest continued to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta until December 31, 2009, when both carriers' operating certificates were merged. Delta completed integration with Northwest on January 31, 2010, when their reservation systems and websites were combined, the Northwest Airlines brand was retired; as of October 2018, Delta and its worldwide alliance partners operated more than 15,000 flights per day. Delta is the only U. S. carrier that flies to Accra, Dakar, Düsseldorf, Lagos, Ponta Delgada, Stuttgart. It is the only U. S. carrier that has scheduled service to Africa, thereby the only U. S. carrier to serve all six inhabited continents. Delta has eight hubs. Atlanta – In addition to its corporate headquarters, Delta operates its primary hub in Atlanta as well as Delta TechOps, Delta's primary maintenance base.
It is Delta's main gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean, a secondary transatlantic gateway. Detroit – Inherited through the merger with Northwest, Detroit serves as one of Delta's two Midwest hubs, it is the primary Asian gateway for the northeastern United States and it provides service to many destinations in the Americas and Europe. Los Angeles – Delta inherited its LAX hub from Western Airlines, but dismantled it in the mid-1990s, opting to relocate most of those aircraft to the U. S. East Coast. Since it has re-opened the hub, offering service to Latin America, Asia and Europe, as well as major domestic bases and West Coast regional destinations. Minneapolis–Saint Paul – Inherited through the merger with Northwest, Minneapolis–Saint Paul serves as one of Delta's two Midwest hubs. Service includes most major Canadian and American metropolitan areas, a number of regional destinations in the upper Midwest as well as many destinations in Latin America and Asia. New York–JFK, New York City – A major international gateway to Europe.
Inherited from its partnership with Pan Am after Pan Am's collapse in 1991. Offers service on many transcontinental "prestige routes" to west coast destinations Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. New York–LaGuardia, New York City – An important domestic hub created as a result of a slot swap with US Airways. Delta service at LaGuardia covers numerous east coast US cities, a number of regional destinations in the US and Canada. Salt Lake City – Delta inherited Salt Lake City during the Western Airlines merger. Service covers most major US destinations as well as a number of regional destinations in the US and Canada, select cities in Europe and Hawaii. Seattle–Tacoma – Delta announced Seattle's hub status in 2014; the hub serves as an important gateway to Asia. Delta started aggressively building its presence in Seattle in 2011, sparking tensions with Seattle-based Alaska Airlines. Since 2017, due to airport space restrictions, Delta's growth in Seattle has slowed, Delta has been upgauging existing flights rather than adding new ones.
In addition to their eight hubs, Delta operates three smaller focus cities. Boston – Boston was a hub for Delta in the second half of the 20th century through the early 2000s; the present Terminal A was built for Delta's sole use, but following the 2005 bankruptcy, they scaled back operations and leased 11 gates in the terminal. Delta has since regained all the Terminal A gates and
Airline hub
Airline hubs or hub airports are used by one or more airlines to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations at a given airport. They serve, it is part of the hub-and-spoke system. An airline operates flights from several non-hub cities to the hub airport, passengers traveling between spoke cities need to connect through the hub; this paradigm creates economies of scale that allow an airline to serve city-pairs that could otherwise not be economically served on a non-stop basis. This system contrasts with the point-to-point model, in which there are no hubs and nonstop flights are instead offered between spoke cities. Hub airports serve origin and destination traffic. In the airline industry, a focus city is a destination from which an airline operates limited point-to-point routes. Ergo, a focus city caters to the local market rather than to connecting passengers. However, with the term's expanded usage, a focus city may function as a small-scale or total hub. Allegiant Air, JetBlue and Southwest Airlines are examples of US-based airlines that consider some of their focus cities run like a hub.
The hub-and-spoke system allows an airline to serve fewer routes, so fewer aircraft are needed. The system increases passenger loads. However, the system is costly. Additional employees and facilities are needed to cater to connecting passengers. To serve spoke cities of varying populations and demand, an airline requires several aircraft types, specific training and equipment are necessary for each type. In addition, airlines may experience capacity constraints. For the passenger, the hub-and-spoke system offers one-stop air service to a wide array of destinations. However, it requires having to make connections en route to their final destination, which increases travel time. Additionally, airlines can come to monopolise their hubs, allowing them to increase fares as passengers have no alternative. Airlines may operate banks of flights at their hubs, in which several flights arrive and depart within short periods of time; the banks may be known as "peaks" of activity at the hubs and the non-banks as "valleys".
Banking allows for short connection times for passengers. However, an airline must assemble a large number of resources to cater to the influx of flights during a bank, having several aircraft on the ground at the same time can lead to congestion and delays. In addition, banking could result in inefficient aircraft utilisation, with aircraft waiting at spoke cities for the next bank. Instead, some airlines have debanked their hubs, introducing a "rolling hub" in which flight arrivals and departures are spread throughout the day; this phenomenon is known as "depeaking". While costs may decrease, connection times are longer at a rolling hub. American Airlines was the first to depeak its hubs, trying to improve profitability following the September 11 attacks, it rebanked its hubs in 2015, feeling the gain in connecting passengers would outweigh the rise in costs. The hub-and-spoke system is used by some cargo airlines. FedEx Express established its main hub in Memphis in 1973, prior to the deregulation of the air cargo industry in the United States.
The system has created an efficient delivery system for the airline. Other airlines that use this system include UPS Airlines, TNT Airways, Cargolux and DHL Aviation, which operate their primary hubs at Louisville, Liège, Luxembourg and Leipzig respectively. Although the term focus city is used to refer to an airport from which an airline operates limited point-to-point routes, its usage has loosely expanded to refer to a small-scale hub as well. For example, JetBlue's New York–JFK focus city runs like a hub, although in reality it is still deemed as a focus city. A fortress hub exists when an airline controls a significant majority of the market at one of its hubs. Competition is difficult at fortress hubs. Examples include Delta hubs at Atlanta, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Flag carriers have enjoyed similar dominance at the main international airport of their countries and some still do. Examples include Lufthansa at Frankfurt Airport, Air Canada at Toronto Pearson Airport, Alitalia at Rome Fiumicino Airport, KLM at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Garuda Indonesia at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, British Airways at London Heathrow, Air China at Beijing Capital Airport, Iberia at Madrid-Barajas Airport and Air France at Paris Orly and Charles de Gaulle Airports.
A primary hub is the main hub for an airline. However, as an airline expands operations at its primary hub to the point that it experiences capacity limitations, it may elect to open secondary hubs. Examples of such hubs are Turkish Airlines' Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen hub, British Airways' hub at London-Gatwick, Air India's hub at Mumbai and Lufthansa's hub at Munich. By operating multiple hubs, airlines can expand their geographic reach, they can better serve spoke–spoke markets, providing more itineraries with connections at different hubs. A given hub's capacity may become exhausted or capacity shortages may occur during peak periods of the day, at which point airlines may be compelled to shift traffic to a reliever hub. A reliever hub has the potential to serve several functions for an airline: it can bypass the congested hub, it can absorb
Cessna 402
The Cessna 401 and 402 are series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin, piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under Businessliner. All seats are removable so that the aircraft can be used in an all-cargo configuration. Neither the Cessna 401 nor the 402 were pressurized, nor were they fast for the installed horsepower. Instead, Cessna intended them to be inexpensive to operate; the Cessna 401 and 402 were developed to be non-pressurized twin engine piston aircraft. Their goal was to be a workhorse, useful to cargo and small commuter airlines among other users; the Cessna 401 and 402 were developments of the Cessna 411. One goal for the Cessna 401/402 was to improve upon the bad single engine handling of the Cessna 411. Another goal was to avoid using the somewhat expensive and maintenance prone geared engines of the Cessna 411. Cessna 401s and 402s are powered by 300 hp turbocharged Continental engines with three-bladed, constant speed feathering propellers. On models cruise power was limited to 75% to reduce cabin noise.
Some aircraft have a propeller synchrophaser to reduce cabin vibration. The FAA granted certification to the Cessna 401 in October 1968 and the 402 in January 1969; the original Cessna 402 was introduced in 1967. A version without the large cargo door called. In 1969, the 402's nose was stretched for added baggage space; this model was renamed the 402A. The 401 kept the original nose. In 1970, various minor changes were made. Optional larger fuel tanks became available; this model was called the 402B. By 1971, sales of the 401 had slowed to only 21 planes, so the model was discontinued. Between 1971 and 1977, many changes were made to the airframe, including an optional engine fire extinguisher, simpler exhaust system, enlarged passenger windows, equipment for flight into known icing conditions, an optional flushing toilet. In 1976, the similar Cessna 421 was produced with a new wing, no tip tanks, a simpler fuel system; the Cessna 414 was given a clean wing in 1978. In 1979, the 402s received a new wing, with a five foot greater span.
The landing gear was replaced, using the simpler system from the Cessna 414. The landing gear track was increased by four feet; the engines’ output was boosted to 325 hp each and max gross weight increased to 6,850 pounds, creating a much more useful airplane. Fuel capacity was increased to 213 gallons. With the weight increase, single-engine performance went up and the stall speed went down by a couple of knots. After this change, the plane was named the Cessna 402C. Production stopped after the 1985 model year. In 1969, American Jet Industries began work on a turboprop-powered conversion of the Cessna 402, named the Turbo Star 402, using Allison 250-B17 engines; the prototype flew on 10 June 1970. Further modifications providing increased fuel capacity, higher gross weight, lower minimum control speed were carried out in 1974 and the modification was re-certified. Scenic Airlines of Las Vegas purchased rights to the design in 1977; the Cessna 402C may be outfitted with vortex generators to increase maximum allowable takeoff weight to 7,210 lb, with a zero-fuel weight of 6,750 lb.
Another modification for the 402C increases the maximum landing weight to 7,200 lb, which allows commercial operators to fly with an increased payload on shorter routes. Hendrik Venter of DMI engineering created the Falcon 402: a converted Cessna 402 fitted with a single Walter M601D turboprop in the nose and replacing the two piston engines in the wings with new fuel tanks; the nose was lengthened in order to correct the centre of gravity. It has an increased payload and top speed and can use shorter runways This family of aircraft was built in several versions: 401 Six to eight seat interior, intended for corporate transport. Produced 1966-1972; the replacement for the 401 in the corporate transport role was the 402 Businessliner variant. Certified 20 September 1966. 401A A 401 with minor changes. Certified 29 October 1968. 401B A 401A with minor changes replaced by the 402B. Certified 12 November 1969. 402 A 401 with either a utility or nine-seat commuter use. Certified 20 September 1966. 402A A 402 with a baggage compartment in lengthened nose and an optional crew entry door.
Certified 3 January 1969. 402B Utiliner/Businessliner 402A with minor changes, from 1972 had increased cabin volume and five windows each side. Certified 12 November 1969. Utiliner version has a ten-seat interior intended for commuter airline operations. Businessliner version has a six to eight-seat interior with executive seating intended for corporate transport.402C Utiliner/Businessliner 402B with 325 hp engines, increased takeoff weight, longer wingspan without main tip tanks and hydraulic instead of electric landing gear. Certified 25 September 1978; the Cessna 402 has proven to be dependable over the years, along with its range and passenger capacity, has made it a popular choice for many small regional airlines worldwide. The aircraft are flown on short, thin routes to hubs where passengers can connect to higher density routes; the largest operator of the type is Cape Air, which as of March 2015 has a fleet of over 83 Cessna 402s operating in the Caribbean and United States. BarbadosBarbados Defence Force BoliviaBolivian Air Force Bolivian Naval Force Colombia ComorosComoros police defence air wing FinlandFinnish Air Force two aircraft, former operator HaitiArmed Forces of Haiti MalaysiaRoyal Malaysian Air Force, MexicoMexican Navy PortugalPortuguese Air Force - One 402B operated 1968–1974.
Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago Defence F
Sun Country Airlines
Sun Country Airlines is a United States-based ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Eagan and based at nearby Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. The airline operates 86 routes between destinations in the United States, Central America and the Caribbean; the airline operates focus cities at Dallas/Fort Worth and Portland. Sun Country began flight operations in January 1983 with a single Boeing 727-200 jetliner; the airline's original staff consisted of sixteen pilots, sixteen flight attendants, three mechanics and one office person. A number of the original employees had worked for Braniff International Airways which ceased operations on May 12, 1981; the company's founder and first President/CEO was Captain Jim Olsen, who acted as Chief Pilot. His wife, Joan Smith-Olsen, acted as Chief Flight Head of Inflight Operations. Olsen retired from Sun Country in 2007. In 1986 the company placed into service its first wide-body aircraft, a 380-seat McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40 leased from future competitor Northwest Airlines.
The aircraft's intercontinental range enabled the company to fly international charters and accommodate high demand on the company's popular Minneapolis to Las Vegas route that the Boeing 727-200 fleet could not handle. In 1988, its headquarters were located on the grounds of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. Sun Country provided ad-hoc charter lift. In 1989 Sun Country became a member of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet and flew many charters to support the Desert Storm operation from 1990 to 1991. After earning profits of $9.7 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1991, the airline acquired additional Boeing 727 and DC-10 aircraft. In the mid 1990s, Mark Travel Group, led by Bill LaMacchia, Jr. acquired Sun Country and began changing the focus of the airline. As the DC-10 aircraft aged and required expensive maintenance, the airline reduced the fleet retiring the final DC-10 in early 2001. In June 1999, the management of Sun Country launched a transformation from a charter carrier into a scheduled airline.
New service from Minneapolis and Milwaukee began to destinations including Los Angeles, Detroit, Washington, D. C. and Phoenix. The airline started a frequent flyer program, Smile Awards. In 2001, Sun Country began to replace its entire fleet with Boeing 737 aircraft; as Sun Country reinvented itself, heavy competition from local incumbent carrier Northwest Airlines and the September 11 attacks caused a sharp decrease of traffic and revenue. The airline was losing large amounts of money by the summer of 2001. After fighting to stay operational by cutting flights and planes, the company closed on December 8, 2001. During bankruptcy, Sun Country lost all of its 727 fleet and four delivered 737 aircraft. Sun Country retained one 737 as well as its operating certificate. In the following months, a local group of investors organized as MN Airlines, LLC purchased the remaining assets in bankruptcy court and restarted the airline; the airline operated combined charter-scheduled services from Minneapolis to casinos in Laughlin and added more charter destinations as finances allowed.
Sun Country acquired new aircraft in 2004 and 2005 and was profitable in 2004. In July 2006, the airline was acquired by Petters Group Whitebox Advisors; the acquisition was complete on October 31, 2006. Following the replacement of interim CEO Jay Salmen by Stan Gadek, former CFO of AirTran Airways, Sun Country was nearly finished by the major recession of 2008 and the revelation of financial fraud on a massive scale; the airline furloughed 45 of its 156 pilots and scaled back its summer schedule due to rising fuel costs. Sun Country indicated it had hoped to get up to $50 million in loans or other financial help from the state of Minnesota and the airports commission. In September 2008 the carrier reduced, in some cases eliminated, flights to San Francisco and Los Angeles, it began charging for the first checked bag. At the end of September 2008, Gadek called for a 50% pay-deferral to all remaining employees. Tom Petters resigned after an FBI probe discovered that the airline had suffered financial fraud on a massive scale.
Following this, the airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time, on October 6, 2008. On Christmas Eve, full pay was restored to all employees. Employees were promised back-pay with interest. In July 2011, Sun Country Airlines was purchased out of bankruptcy for $34 million by the Davis family, owners of Cambria, a Minnesota-based countertop company. Marty Davis, CEO of Cambria, became Chairman of Sun Country Airlines. In 2015, the board hired Zarir Erani as CEO of Sun Country; the airline had a net income of $27 million in 2015, followed by a 41% drop to $16 million in 2016. In July 2017, after more than a year of missed monthly earnings projections, Davis replaced Erani as interim President and CEO, with Erani moving to other duties within the Davis family of companies. Jude Bricker of Allegiant Air, was appointed as CEO one week after Erani stepped down. On December 14, 2017, the Davis brothers announced they would be selling the airline to New York Based Apollo Global Management for an undisclosed amount.
As part of its strategy Sun Country moved towards being a "no frills" airline. As part of their plans to increase service and gain revenue, the airline plans to carry 40% more passengers in 2019 over 2018, they recently completed a three-month venture to re-configure their 737-800 series aircraft into an "all coach" high density configuration with three different economy seating options. These new seats are slimline seats, with about 30% more padding than other american Ultra-low-cost car
Air Wisconsin
Air Wisconsin Airlines is a regional airline based at Appleton International Airport in the town of Greenville, United States, near Appleton. Air Wisconsin operated US Airways Express service on behalf of US Airways prior to becoming an American Eagle regional air carrier; as of March 2018, Air Wisconsin operates as a United Express regional air carrier with primary hubs to located at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. In 1963 investors from the Fox Cities raised $110,000 to start a new airline; the airline was established as an independent commuter air carrier in 1965 and started operations on August 23, 1965, just one day after the brand new Outagamie County Regional Airport was opened using de Havilland Dove commuter aircraft configured with nine passenger seats. It was founded to connect Appleton with Chicago and had 17 employees and two de Havilland Dove aircraft. According to the August 23, 1965 Air Wisconsin timetable, the airline was flying one route between Appleton and Chicago O'Hare Airport with four round trips on weekdays and two round trips on Saturdays and Sundays operated with the British-manufactured Dove twin prop aircraft.
By the mid 1970s, Air Wisconsin was flying two small commuter turboprop airliner types, being the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and Swearingen Metro, was operating a small hub at Chicago O'Hare Airport with service to destinations in Indiana and Wisconsin as well as to Minneapolis/Saint Paul from several small cities in Wisconsin. In September 1978 the airline was certified by the Civil Aeronautics Board as a regional air carrier. In October 1978 it had over $10 million in assets. Joining Air Wisconsin in 1965 as traffic manager and becoming president, Preston H. Wilbourne's leadership oversaw Air Wisconsin grow to an airline serving 29 cities in an eleven state area with 32 aircraft boarding over 10,000 passengers daily. Air Wisconsin gained the nicknames "Air Willy" and "Rag Tag" and more "Air Wis" and "Air Wisky". By 1985, Air Wisconsin had become large independent regional air carrier operating British Aerospace BAe 146-200 and British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets as well as de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 turboprops with flights as far west as Grand Island and Minneapolis/Saint Paul, as far east as Bridgeport and New Haven, Connecticut with a large connecting hub located at Chicago O'Hare Airport.
By early 1986, the airline was serving sixteen airports with its British-manufactured jets with flights to Appleton, Cedar Rapids, Chicago O'Hare Airport, Michigan, Fort Wayne, Grand Island, Green Bay, Kalamazoo, Lincoln, Moline, Illinois/Quad Cities, New Haven, South Bend, Toledo, Waterloo and Wausau/Stevens Point, Wisconsin with other flights and destinations in its route system being served with the Canadian-manufactured four engine Dash 7 turboprop. Air Wisconsin pioneered the concept of code sharing as a United Express carrier operating on behalf of United Airlines; as an independent air carrier prior to its business agreement with United to provide passenger feed, Air Wisconsin became the nation's largest regional airline in the 1980s. In 1985 it merged with Mississippi Valley Airlines and continued to operate under the Air Wisconsin name. By late 1989 Air Wisconsin was operating United Express code share service from two United hubs: Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.
According to the Official Airline Guide at this time, United Express flights were operated with British Aerospace BAe 146-200 jets and Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops nonstop to Chicago O'Hare from Akron/Canton, Appleton, Cedar Rapids, Illinois, Fort Wayne, Green Bay, Kalamazoo, La Crosse, Lansing, Lexington, Moline/Quad Cities, Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, South Bend and Wausau, with BAe 146-200 jets and Short 360 turboprops nonstop to Washington Dulles from Charleston, West Virginia, Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia, as well as Harrisburg and State College, Pennsylvania. In 1990 Air Wisconsin acquired Denver-based Aspen Airways and was itself bought by United Airlines a year later. At one point, Air Wisconsin operated British Aerospace ATP turboprop aircraft as well as BAe 146-100, BAe 146-200, BAe 146-300 jet aircraft on United Express services; these were all large aircraft types when compared to other regional aircraft in operation at the time. Air Wisconsin was the only U. S. operator of the BAe ATP turboprop and the BAe 146-300, the largest member of the BAe 146 family of jet aircraft.
United Airlines sold Air Wisconsin and the BAe 146 fleet to CJT Holdings in 1993. Air Wisconsin was renamed Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation as UAL retained the rights to the Air Wisconsin name and logo. In April 1995 during the late ski season, Air Wisconsin was operating British Aerospace BAe 146 jet shuttle service as United Express on the former Aspen Airways route between Aspen and Denver with at least fourteen daily nonstop flights in each direction. In February 1998 AWAC acquired the assets of Mountain Air Express including Dornier 328 turboprop aircraft which were used to expand United Express service in the west. In the fall of 2003 AWAC acquired ten Canadair CRJ regional jet aircraft from bankrupt Midway Airlines and became a feeder for AirTran Airways under the name AirTran JetConnect, but this relationship was discontinued in July 2004. Towards the end of the co
Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines is an American ultra low-cost carrier headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The eighth-largest commercial airline in the US, Frontier Airlines operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and six international destinations, employs more than 3,000 air-travel professionals; the carrier is a subsidiary and operating brand of Indigo Partners, LLC, maintains a hub at Denver International Airport with numerous focus cities across the US. In August 2018, Frontier began connecting passengers with Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris under a codeshare agreement. Frontier Airlines was incorporated on February 8, 1994, by a group that included executives of the original incarnation of Frontier Airlines in response to the void left by Continental Airlines' 1993 shutdown of its Denver hub. Scheduled flights began five months in July 1994 using Boeing 737-200 jetliners on routes between Denver and four destinations in North Dakota: Bismarck, Minot and Grand Forks. By January 1995, Frontier had expanded its route network from Denver and was serving Albuquerque, New Mexico.
D.. D.. Like the original airline of the same name, the new Frontier operated a hub at Denver and for the first nine years used the slogan "The Spirit of the West", displayed above the windows and just behind the cursive letters "Frontier" on the fuselage of their aircraft. In 1999, Frontier signed agreements to begin purchasing and leasing Airbus A318 and A319 jet aircraft and had added Boeing 737-300 jetliners to its fleet as well. By September 1999, the airline was serving destinations from coast to coast in the U. S. having expanded its route network to include Atlanta. Paul. Frontier took delivery of its first Airbus aircraft in 2001 and launched with it DirecTV in-flight television along with a new company livery. Frontier Airlines was the launch customer of the Airbus A318 in 2003. In mid-April 2005, Frontier became an all-Airbus fleet, retiring its last Boeing 737; as part of its plan to stay competitive in reaction to the entry of Southwest Airlines into Denver, the company underwent a reorganization early in 2006.
On April 3, 2006, Frontier created Frontier Airlines Holdings, a holding company incorporated in Delaware to take advantage of favorable tax laws in that state. The corporate headquarters did not leave Colorado. On January 11, 2007, Frontier Airlines signed an 11-year service agreement with Republic Airlines. Under the agreement, Republic was to operate 17, 76-seat Embraer 170 aircraft for the former Frontier JetExpress operations. At the time the contract was canceled in April 2008, Republic Airlines operated 11 aircraft for Frontier Airlines, with the remaining six aircraft expected to join the fleet by December 2008. With the integration of Republic aircraft, the'JetExpress' denotation was removed. Subsequent to the cessation of Horizon's services for Frontier in December 2007, all flights operated by Republic were sold and marketed as "Frontier Airlines, operated by Republic Airlines." The first market created for the Embraer 170 was Louisville, which began on April 1, 2007. Service to Louisville was suspended in August 2008 but restarted in April 2010.
On January 24, 2007, Frontier was designated as a major carrier by the United States Department of Transportation. Flights operated by Republic Airlines offered in-flight snack and beverage services similar to Frontier's mainline flights. Unlike Frontier's aircraft and due to the nature of contracting with regional carriers, these Embraer 170 aircraft were not fitted with LiveTV. On April 10, 2008, Frontier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in reaction to the intent of its credit card processor, First Data, to withhold significant proceeds from ticket sales. First Data decided that it would withhold 100% of the carrier's proceeds from ticket sales beginning May 1. According to Frontier's press release, "This change in practice would have represented a material change to our cash forecasts and business plan. Unchecked, it would have put severe restraints on Frontier's liquidity..." Its operation continued uninterrupted, though, as Chapter 11 bankruptcy protected the corporation's assets and allowed restructuring to ensure long-term viability.
After months of losses, Frontier Airlines reported that they made their first profit during the month of November 2008, reporting US$2.9 million in net income for the month. On June 22, 2009, Frontier Airlines announced that pending bankruptcy court approval, Republic Airways Holdings, the Indianapolis-based parent company of Republic Airlines, would acquire all assets of Frontier Airlines for the amount of $108 million. Thus, Frontier Airlines would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic. However, 5 weeks on July 30, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines announced that it would be making a competing bid of $113.6 million for Frontier with intentions to operate Frontier as a wholly owned subsidiary, but that it would fold Frontier resources into current Southwest operating assets. During a bankruptcy auction on August 13, 2009, Republic Airways Holdings acquired Frontier Airlines and its regional airline, Lynx Aviation, as wholly owned subsidiaries. Republic completed the transaction on October 1, 2009
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is a major American airline headquartered in Fort Worth, within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. It is the world's largest airline when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, scheduled passenger-kilometers flown, number of destinations served. American, together with its regional partners, operates an extensive international and domestic network with an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries. American Airlines is a founding member of Oneworld alliance, the third largest airline alliance in the world. Regional service is operated by independent and subsidiary carriers under the brand name American Eagle. American operates out with Dallas/Fort Worth being its largest. American operates its primary maintenance base in Tulsa in addition to the maintenance locations located at its hubs; as of 2017, the company employs over 122,000 people. Through the airline's parent company, American Airlines Group, it is publicly traded under NASDAQ: AAL with a market capitalization of about $25 billion as of 2017, included in the S&P 500 index.
American Airlines was started in 1930 via a union of more than eighty small airlines. The two organizations from which American Airlines was originated were Robertson Aircraft Corporation and Colonial Air Transport; the former was first created in Missouri in 1921, with both being merged in 1929 into holding company The Aviation Corporation. This in turn, was rebranded as American Airways. In 1934, when new laws and attrition of mail contracts forced many airlines to reorganize, the corporation redid its routes into a connected system, was renamed American Airlines. Between 1970 and 2000, the company grew into being an international carrier, purchasing Trans World Airlines in 2001. American had a direct role in the development of the DC-3, which resulted from a marathon telephone call from American Airlines CEO C. R. Smith to Donald Douglas, when Smith persuaded a reluctant Douglas to design a sleeper aircraft based on the DC-2 to replace American's Curtiss Condor II biplanes. Douglas agreed to go ahead with development only after Smith informed him of American's intention to purchase 20 aircraft.
The prototype DST first flew on December 17, 1935. Its cabin was 92 in wide, a version with 21 seats instead of the 14–16 sleeping berths of the DST was given the designation DC-3. There was no prototype DC-3. American Airlines inaugurated passenger service on June 26, 1936, with simultaneous flights from Newark, New Jersey and Chicago, Illinois. In 2011, due to a downturn in the airline industry, American Airlines' parent company AMR Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection. In 2013, American Airlines merged with US Airways but kept the American Airlines name, as it was the better recognized brand internationally; as of December 2018, American Airlines flies to 95 domestic destinations and 95 international destinations in 55 countries in five continents. American operates ten hubs. Charlotte – American's hub for the Southeast. About 42 million passengers fly through CLT on about 115,000 people per day. American has about 91% of the market share at CLT, making it the airport's largest airline.
Chicago–O'Hare – American's hub for the Midwest. About 28 million passengers fly on American through O'Hare every year, or about 77,000 people per day. American has about 35% of the market share at O'Hare making it the airport's second-largest airline after United. Dallas/Fort Worth – American's hub for the South. American has about 84% of the market share and flies 57 million passengers through DFW every year, about 156,000 people per day making it the busiest airline at the airport. American's corporate headquarters are in Fort Worth near the airport. DFW serves as American's primary gateway to Mexico, secondary gateway to Latin America. Los Angeles – American's hub for the West Coast and its transpacific gateway. About 16.5 million passengers fly through LAX on American every year, or about 45,000 people per day. American has about 19 % of the market share at LAX. Miami – American's primary Latin American hub. About 30 million passengers fly through MIA every year on American, about 79,000 people per day.
American has about 68% of the market share at Miami International, making it the largest airline at the airport. New York–JFK – American's secondary transatlantic hub. About 7 million passengers fly through JFK on American every year, or about 19,000 people per day. American has about 12% of the market share at JFK, making it the third-largest carrier at the airport behind Delta and JetBlue. Since 2017, American has been reducing its international operations at JFK, opting to expand its Philadelphia hub instead. JFK serves as a major connecting point for other Oneworld carriers. New York–LaGuardia – American's second New York hub. About 8.5 million passengers fly through LGA on about 23,000 people per day. The airport serves as a base for American Airlines Shuttle. American has about 27% of the market share at LGA, is the second-largest carrier behind Delta. Philadelphia – American's primary transatlantic hub. Americ
