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Air Florida

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Air Florida
IATA ICAO Call sign
QH FLA PALM
Founded4 November 1971;
53 years ago (1971-11-04)[1]
Commenced operations27 September 1972;
52 years ago (1972-09-27)
(as Air Florida)
15 October 1984;
40 years ago (1984-10-15)
(as Air Florida dba Midway Express)
Ceased operations3 July 1984;
40 years ago (1984-07-03)
(as Air Florida)
14 August 1985;
39 years ago (1985-08-14)
(becomes "Midway Airlines (1984)")
HubsMiami
Fleet size29
Destinations99
Parent companyAir Florida System, Inc.[2]
HeadquartersMiami-Dade County, Florida
Key peopleEli Timoner
Ed Acker
Donald Lloyd-Jones
Electra at Miami in 1976

Air Florida was an American low-cost carrier that operated under its own brand from 1972[3] to 1984. During the period from 1972 to 1978 Air Florida was an intrastate airline. Until a high-profile 1982 aircraft crash in Washington DC, Air Florida was considered an early success story of U.S. airline deregulation, having expanded rapidly from its original Florida network, including internationally to Europe and Latin America. After the crash, the airline struggled for over two and a half years before finally succumbing to bankruptcy in 1984.

After being grounded for three months in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Air Florida flew again for 10 months in 1984 and 1985 under contract to Midway Airlines using the brand "Midway Express", with Midway selling the tickets and doing the marketing. In 1985 it was sold to Midway.

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. The inspiration was Pacific Southwest Airlines, the long-established California intrastate airline.[4] Spohrer came from Convair 990 operator APSA, which may account for Air Florida's initial focus on a 149-seat Convair 990 as an aircraft, to be leased from Modern Air Transport. Later the focus changed to an Eastern Air Lines DC-8[5] before settling on a Pan Am Boeing 707 purchased for $1.1mm. The inability to settle on an aircraft delayed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval and thus start of the carrier.[6][3]

FAA approval was needed for operational authority. As an intrastate airline, Air Florida had no need to obtain the approval of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now-defunct federal agency that then tightly economically regulated almost all US air transportation (e.g. as to where an airline could fly, how much it could charge, etc). Prior to 1972, there was no economic regulation of intrastate carriers in Florida. Such regulation started October 1, 1972. Air Florida, by first flying September 27, was grandfathered, but thereafter, so long as it remained an intrastate airline, Air Florida would be regulated by the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) as to matters like route entry and fares.[7]

Ted Griffin, a former marketing director of Eastern Air Lines, became operational head from mid 1972,[6] eventually taking the president title.[8] The airline operated its first flights on September 27, 1972,[3] 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.[9][3] By May 15, 1973, the airline acquired three Lockheed Electra turboprop aircraft, replacing the Boeing 707.[10]

Acker group investment

[edit]
DC-9-15RC December 1980

Air Florida was unprofitable for most of its intrastate existence. In 1972 it attempted a $3.2mm initial public offering,[11] but the market was unfavorable and it had to withdraw.[12] The airline was acquired by a Timoner-controlled publicly listed company, Investment Property Builders (IPB) as a way to give it a stock price.[13] IPB became Air Florida System, Inc, explaining why Air Florida's holding company had a 1955 date of formation.[2] In 1975, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused Timoner and a Swiss bank (among others) of manipulating the IPB stock price in 1971.[14] The airline was chronically underfunded and unable to upgrade to jets, which caused some travelers to avoid Air Florida, leaving Timoner scrambling for funds.[8]

In December 1976, an investor group led by Ed Acker, previously a Braniff executive but at that time at an insurance company, led 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, allowing Air Florida to acquire DC-9 jets.[15][16] Three DC-9s were financed by Carl Lindner's American Financial Corp, which bought them from Air Canada and leased them to Air Florida in exchange for low-priced stock and warrants that, in early 1980, provided Lindner with a substantial payoff.[17] In mid-1977, Acker became CEO and chairman, Timoner became president and COO, and Ted Griffin left the company.[18] By February 1978, a turnaround was evident. The fleet comprised five DC-9s, with three more on the way. A company tag-line emphasized the change: "All jet. All the time."[19] September 1977 passenger traffic was up 400+%, in October up 600+%, for November 1977 thru January 1978, up over 350%. Year over year call center volume increased over 100%.[20]

Air Florida System, Inc. Financial Results, 1976 thru 1980[2]
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]
DC-10-30 in 1981
Boeing 737-200 in 1980

In 1978, Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act, which phased out Federal economic regulation of the airline industry starting in 1979. The CAB relaxed its stance in advance of the effective date and allowed Air Florida to fly to Washington, DC, and, in the Bahamas, Rock Sound and Nassau by year-end 1978.[2][21][22]

No longer confined to its home state, Air Florida under Ed Acker was aggressive:

  • Air Florida grew quickly, to the Northeast US, 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.[2] The financial turnaround continued, with 1979 and 1980 showing solid profits. 1980 revenues were over five times those of 1978 (see nearby table).
  • 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 made bids for much larger airlines in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

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 again became chairman and CEO.[25]

Air Florida attempted acquisitions
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]
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, but the other bidder launched a bid for Air California itself, which Air Florida lost[27]
Western Airlines July 1981-November 1982 Bought stock in Western in part with WCC proceeds.[29] Air Florida sold the stake at a $10mm loss in 1982.[30]

Flight 90 and aftermath

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Main article: Air Florida Flight 90
A severed airplane tail section hangs from a crane just above the water, guyed by crew on barges. A low, steel beam bridge with granite block piers stands behind, it's railing lined with onlookers.
The tail section of Flight 90 being hoisted from the Potomac River

On January 13, 1982, Air Florida suffered a fatal crash in Washington DC, with a Boeing 737 aircraft hitting a bridge and ending in the Potomac River. Video of rescue efforts were 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] Later in the year the National Transportation Safety Board investigation blamed the crash on the Air Florida pilots.[32]

Air Florida's fortunes 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, but even after the crash, Air Florida management continued to consider mergers, this time with Braniff, in distress as it headed towards a May 1982 bankruptcy and grounding.[35] The economy was in trouble and airlines particularly so.[36] In July, Timoner suffered a debilitating stroke, with Donald Lloyd-Jones becoming CEO. Lloyd-Jones was an American Airlines veteran who lost the heir-apparent competition at American to Bob Crandall and had joined Air Florida as president.[37][38]

Air Florida(1) Financial Results, 1979 thru YE3Q83(2)
(USD mm) 1979[39] 1980[40] 1981[41] 1982[42] YE3Q83[43]
Op revenue 60,047 161,262 302,962 281,770 214,433
Op profit (loss) 3,965 9,495 (12,070) (33,480) (16,309)
Net profit (loss) 3,383 5,631 (4,122) (78,507) (50,941)
Op margin 6.6% 5.9% -4.0% -11.9% -7.6%
Net margin 5.6% 3.5% -1.4% -27.9% -23.8%
(1) Solely the airline, as filed with the CAB (2) Air Florida did not file with CAB 4Q83 and after

Two years of struggle

[edit]

Central to Lloyd-Jones's recovery strategy was shrinking Air Florida. From June 1982 to May 1984 the fleet dropped from 29 to 11.[44][45]

  • Air Florida shrank but did not simplify. It continued to fly to Europe, despite financials that showed Europe to be the worst of the three Air Florida geographies: US, Europe and Latin America (Latin American operations were consistently close-to-break-even or better).[41][43] Indeed, even after it collapsed, the first operation Air Florida sought to resuscitate was its London route,[46] yet it was the domestic 737 operation that survived the bankruptcy.
  • It continued to fly Northeast to Florida routes in the face of brutal competition from Eastern and Pan Am – Eastern because New York to Miami was its marquee route since before WWII, a source of profits for decades.[47] Pan Am for its part had bought National Airlines in 1979, which for decades shared that New York to Miami route with Eastern.[48] Therefore that market was also important to Pan Am. But as much as Eastern and Pan Am lost on such routes, it did not have the proportionate impact on them as it did on Air Florida. As Eastern CEO Frank Borman noted in 1982, "we bled seriously, but only from a vein, [Air Florida] bled from an artery".[49]

High 1982 losses led Air Florida's outside accountants to qualify that year's financials with a going concern warning; they had reason to doubt Air Florida's survival.[50][51] Interest expense ballooned to $35mm in 1982[41] from $10mm in 1980,[39] a serious problem for a shrinking company that had never generated an operating profit of more than $10mm. From 4Q83, the company did not meet its obligation of filing CAB reports and when it collapsed Air Florida had $27mm in accounts receivable – amounts uncollected from travel agencies, credit card processors, other airlines and so forth. This was a source of post-bankruptcy funding.[52][53] Air Florida main lender declared a default on loans in July 1983, almost a year before the carrier Florida ceased operation. Headlines remained negative, as Air Florida tried increasingly creative ways to remain funded.[54] Towards the end, the company funded itself in part by not making required payments to the employee credit union, payroll taxes and medical insurance.[55]

Chapter 11, Midway Express and sale

[edit]
737-200 at Miami, October 1984

In May 1984, Lloyd-Jones resigned abruptly after losing the confidence of the board. He was replaced by board chair, J.R.K. Tinkle. On July 3, the airline ceased operations and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[30] The airline said it would fly again, but made little progress. Then, a week before a court deadline of late August, Tinkle approached Midway and a deal came together quickly, despite Midway's then tight-focus on business travelers (including 100% first-class seating), a different target market from Air Florida's clientele. Midway wasn't in the best shape either. It made a substantial loss in 1983[56] and would make an even bigger loss in 1984.[57] Tinkle said he picked Midway for its "experienced personnel", "$40mm in cash" and "a route system that has been very well run". It certainly had the cash to get Air Florida operating again.[58] Attractions for Midway included Air Florida's slots at New York LaGuardia and Washington National airports, and winter demand to offset the winter lull in Midway's primarily east-west system.[59]

Air Florida would fly 737s under contract to Midway under the brand-name "Midway Express" until the CAB gave permanent approval (it initially provided temporary approval) for a Midway acquisition, with Midway selling the seats. The deal was nominally $53mm, $35mm of which paid the FAA for three 737s (the FAA administered a federal aircraft loan guarantee program that had financed the aircraft). Many parties objected to the bankruptcy court, but Midway had the only offer so the judge approved it, putting 300 Air Florida employees back to work.[60][61] In the end, Midway didn't need to pay for the aircraft, instead a lessor bought them and leased them back to Midway.[62] Midway supervised Air Florida under the eye of the court and provided it with working capital. On October 15, 1984, Air Florida dba Midway Express was back in the sky.[63] Eastern sued to stop the deal. It had a prior deal with the Air Florida bankruptcy estate for the airport slots, but the FAA rejected it saying the slots weren't airline property. Eastern said Midway Express was just a workaround to allow Midway to buy the slots, but the court noted the fact that Air Florida was back in operation was a pretty big difference.[64]

In July 1985, Midway committed the cash and preferred stock it promised for the deal[65][66] and on August 14, 1985, the bankruptcy court gave final approval to the sale of Air Florida to Midway, which Midway initially constituted as a subsidiary called "Midway Airlines (1984)", painting the aircraft in Midway livery.[62][67] In its 1985 annual report, Midway disclosed that Midway Express made a profit of $1.4mm in the period prior to acquisition.[66]

Legacy

[edit]

Air Florida was viewed as kind of cautionary story in how deregulation could go wrong. It was the "little airline that could"[68] and a "skyrocket" of an airline that outgrew its management, had a terrible accident and was punished for it.[69] Thomas Petzinger in the classic book Hard Landing about the airline industry of the era, leaves a similar impression, telescoping the period from Flight 90 to collapse in just a paragraph, making it sound like collapse occurred only months later.[70]

Main article: Midway Airlines (1976–1991)

Air Florida, in the form of Midway Express, had a material impact on Midway. After poor 1983 and 1984 results, Midway's management changed in 1985 and new management restructured the airline. The new Midway was more like Midway Express than the all-business class airline it had been in 1984. In fact, the airline would eventually become all economy class, like Midway Express. Midway added more leisure destinations (like Phoenix and Las Vegas) to accompany Florida and by 1987 the 737 fleet increased to 12.[71] The old Air Florida maintenance base in Miami became Midway's maintenance base. This version of Midway did better than the old. Midway broke even on an operating basis in 1985[72] and made a solid profit in 1986,[73] 1987[74] and 1988.[75]

Air Florida Commuter

[edit]
Main article: Air Florida Commuter

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.[76]

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[77] Dec 1981[78] Sep 1982[79] Jan 1984[80]
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.[81] In addition, Air Florida Commuter served Lakeland, Florida in early 1983.[82]

Fleet

[edit]

When Air Florida ceased operations in July 1984, it was operating the following aircraft:[83]

Aircraft Total Orders Notes
Boeing 737-100 2 —
Boeing 737-200 8 —
Boeing 757-200 — 3[84]
Douglas DC-8-62 1 — Leased from Rich International Airways
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF 1 —
Total 12 3

Retired fleet

[edit]

Air Florida operated the following aircraft prior to its demise:[85]

Accidents and incidents

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Florida SunBiz corporate record accessed 19 April 2024
  2. ^ a b c d e Air Florida System, Inc. Form 10-K for five month period ending December 31, 1980
  3. ^ a b c d First In-State Airlines Begins Flights Today, Miami Herald, September 27, 1972
  4. ^ Miamians Organizing Airline to Capitalize on Disney World, Miami Herald, January 19, 1972
  5. ^ Debut Delayed for Intrastate Airline, Miami Herald, February 22, 1972
  6. ^ a b Air Florida Buys First Jetliner, Miami Herald, June 1, 1972
  7. ^ State to Regulate Intrastate Carriers, Miami Herald, October 1, 1972
  8. ^ a b The Airline that can't Leave Florida, Miami Herald (Tropic Magazine), August 17, 1975
  9. ^ http://www.sunshineskies.com/, Airlines, Air Florida
  10. ^ Air Florida Gets Tallahassee Flights, Miami Herald, April 18, 1973
  11. ^ Air Florida Files Stock with SEC, Miami Herald, June 28, 1972
  12. ^ Most of State Issues Floated in 1972 Lost Ground, Miami Herald, March 19, 1973
  13. ^ After a Year, Air Florida Thinks it's 'A Winner' , Miami Herald, September 23, 1973
  14. ^ "SEC v. Bank vom Linthgebiet, et al". SEC Docket. 7 (1): 91. June 4, 1975.
  15. ^ Air Florida Plans Sale of Big Block to Texans, Orlando Sentinel, December 10, 1976
  16. ^ Air Florida pins hopes on DC-9s, Orlando Sentinel, May 16, 1977
  17. ^ Firm Cashes-in On Air Florida Gamble, Miami Herald, February 22, 1980
  18. ^ Of Special Interest in Florida, Miami Herald, July 15, 1977
  19. ^ Endres, Günter G. World Airline Fleets 1979. Hounslow (UK): Airline Publications and Sales. p. 194. ISBN 0905117530.
  20. ^ Profits Make Air Florida a 'Born Again' Airline, Miami Herald, April 2, 1978
  21. ^ Air Florida gets Bahamas route, Miami News, October 16, 1978
  22. ^ New Flights Coming into South Florida, Miami Herald, December 3, 1978
  23. ^ Air Florida chief to head Pan Am, Miami Herald, August 27, 1981
  24. ^ Man in the news: At the controls of Pan Am, New York Times, August 28, 1981
  25. ^ Air Florida founder is flying solo again, Miami Herald, January 11, 1982
  26. ^ Air Florida buys interest in Piedmont, Miami Herald, Nov 7, 1979
  27. ^ a b Air Florida loses bidding war, Miami News, May 13, 1981
  28. ^ Air Florida may raise bid for Air California, Miami Herald, April 3, 1981
  29. ^ Air Florida makes bid for Western, Miami News, July 7, 1981
  30. ^ a b 12 years of turbulence grounds 'pioneer' , Miami Herald, July 3, 1984
  31. ^ 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.
  32. ^ Safety Board Asserts That Air Florida Pilot Could Have Averted Fatal Crash, New York Times, August 11, 1982
  33. ^ Air Florida Reports $19.3 million loss in 4th quarter, Miami Herald, March 6, 1982
  34. ^ Airlines study Pan Am's cut rate fares, Miami Herald, September 9, 1981
  35. ^ Air Florida weighs offer to Braniff, Miami Herald, April 23, 1982
  36. ^ The Great Stagnation, New York Times, October 17, 1982
  37. ^ Anatomy of a stroke: The case of Eli Timoner, Miami Herald, November 8, 1982
  38. ^ Petzinger 1996, p. 123.
  39. ^ a b "Table 1: Income Statement Data". Air Carrier Financial Statistics. 28 (4). Civil Aeronautics Board: 36. December 1980.
  40. ^ Air Carrier Financial Statistics (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. December 1981. pp. 30–32.
  41. ^ a b c Air Carrier Financial Statistics (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. December 1982. pp. 29–31.
  42. ^ Air Carrier Financial Statistics (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. December 1983. pp. 30–32.
  43. ^ a b Air Carrier Financial Statistics (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. September 1983. pp. 30–32.
  44. ^ Air Florida plans to lay off hundreds, Miami Herald, June 30, 1982
  45. ^ Air Florida puts its crisis on hold, Miami Herald, May 27, 1984
  46. ^ Air Florida pilots agree to pay cut, Miami Herald, July 14, 1984
  47. ^ Serling, Robert J. (1980). From the Captain to the Colonel. Dial Press. ISBN 9780803746107.
  48. ^ Williams, Brad (1970). The Anatomy of an Airline. Doubleday. LCCN 77100044.
  49. ^ Pay Plan Keeping EAL Intact, Miami Herald, Jul 18, 1982
  50. ^ Despite grim warning, Air Florida finds hope, Miami Herald, May 2, 1983
  51. ^ Air Florida loses $93 million in '82 in its worst performance, Miami Herald, March 19, 1983
  52. ^ Air Florida to ask access to its accounts receivable, Columbia, SC State, July 7, 1984
  53. ^ Air Florida continues to face cash shortage, Fort Lauderdale News, July 20, 1984
  54. ^ History of a struggling airline, Miami Herald, May 27, 1984
  55. ^ Ironies flow with champagne at Jet Florida, Miami Herald, August 11, 1986
  56. ^ Air Transport Association 1984 Annual Report
  57. ^ Air Transport Association 1985 Annual Report
  58. ^ New suitor pursuing Air Florida, Miami Herald, August 28, 1984
  59. ^ Air Florida, pilots ordered back to the negotiating table, February 6, 1985
  60. ^ Objections Flood Air Florida-Midway deal, Miami Herald, September 26, 1986
  61. ^ Air Fla.-Midway Pact OK'd, Miami Herald, September 26, 1986
  62. ^ a b Air Florida name and logo now just a thing of the past, Miami News, August 15, 1985
  63. ^ Champagne, coffee toast first flights of Midway Express, Miami News, October 15, 1984
  64. ^ Eastern Air Lines, Inc. v. F.A.A, F.2d 1508 (11th Cir. 1985)
  65. ^ Midway near finishing Air Florida takeover, Miami Herald, July 25, 1984
  66. ^ a b Midway Airlines 1985 Annual Report, pg. 2
  67. ^ Midway Airlines 1985 Annual Report, pg. 5
  68. ^ Air Florida down, but for how long?, Miami News, July 9, 1985
  69. ^ Air Florida: Small Skyrocket Airline Already Had Hit Bumpy Weather, Washington Post, January 14, 1982
  70. ^ Petzinger 1996, p. 185.
  71. ^ Gunter G. Endres (1987). 1987-88 World Airline Fleets. Feltham, Middlesex, UK: Browcom Publishing. pp. 180–181. ISBN 0946141304.
  72. ^ Air Transport Association 1986 Annual Report
  73. ^ Air Transport Association 1987 Annual Report
  74. ^ Air Transport Association 1988 Annual Report
  75. ^ Air Transport Association 1989 Annual Report
  76. ^ Air Florida Commuter. Sunshineskies.com (2010-12-07). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  77. ^ QH020179intro. Departedflights.com (1979-02-01). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  78. ^ QH120181intro. Departedflights.com (1981-12-01). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  79. ^ QH090882intro. Departedflights.com (1982-09-08). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  80. ^ QH011584intro. Departedflights.com (1984-01-15). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
  81. ^ "Air Florida January 15, 1984 Route Map".
  82. ^ departedflights.com, Air Florida route maps
  83. ^ "Air Florida Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  84. ^ "Air Florida to buy 3 new Boeing 757-200 jets". New York Times. July 21, 1981. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  85. ^ airliners.net, all Air Florida aircraft photos
  86. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737 registration unknown Havana". Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  87. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737 registration unknown Havana". Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  88. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF N101TV Miami International Airport, FL (MIA)".
  89. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-200 registration unknown Havana". Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  90. ^ None, None. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737 registration unknown Havana-José Martí International Airport (HAV)". Retrieved December 16, 2023.
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