Pride Air
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Commenced operations | August 1, 1985 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | November 15, 1985 | ||||||
| Operating bases | Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | See Fleet below | ||||||
| Destinations | See Destinations below | ||||||
| Headquarters | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | ||||||
| Key people | Paul Eckel (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer) Fred Gardner | ||||||
Pride Air was a United States airline that operated for three months during 1985. Pride Air was based out of New Orleans International Airport (MSY).
History
[edit]
Pride Air was managed by several people who participated in an unsuccessful attempt to acquire Continental Airlines. Many of the investors were former Continental pilots who left the airline after Continental's first bankruptcy. They chose New Orleans (MSY) as a hub because there was no one dominant airline operating from the airport at that time. Pride Air management had previously considered Kansas City as possible hub but then reconsidered when Eastern Airlines began building up their service at Kansas City.
Operations began on August 1, 1985. Pride Air did not initially offer service as a low-cost carrier and was instead structured more as a full service airline. However, due to increased competition from Continental Airlines in the New Orleans market in tandem with cash flow problems, Pride Air suspended operations on November 15, 1985, only three months after it began flying. The business plan for the airline centered on a hub operation in New Orleans which would link cities in California and Florida with Denver, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City also being served. Northeastern International Airways had previously tried this approach in New Orleans in 1984.[2]
Paul Eckel was the chairman and chief executive of Pride Air.[3]
Fleet
[edit]- 3 Boeing 727-200 Ex Braniff aircraft
- 6 Boeing 727-100
Destinations
[edit]- New Orleans - Hub (MSY)
- Denver (DEN)
- Ft. Lauderdale (FLL)
- Jacksonville (JAX)
- Las Vegas (LAS)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Miami (MIA)
- Orlando (MCO)
- Sacramento (SMF)
- Salt Lake City (SLC)
- San Diego (SAN)
- San Francisco (SFO)
- San Jose (SJC)
- Sarasota (SRQ)
- Tampa (TPA)
- West Palm Beach (PBI)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Pride Air advertisement, 1985
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, May 1, 1984 Northeastern International Airways system timetable
- ^ Staff writer(s) (June 25, 1985). "Pride Air Begins Flights on Aug. 1". New York Times.
External links
[edit]- "Timetables.com Home Page". Timetables.com. March 15, 2015. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015. (click on Pride Air for timetable and route map.)
- Cheshire, John R. "Pride Air".
 | This article relating to a United States airline is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Defunct airlines of the United States
- Airlines established in 1985
- Airlines disestablished in 1985
- Defunct companies based in Louisiana
- Companies based in New Orleans
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
- 1985 establishments in Louisiana
- 1985 disestablishments in Louisiana
- United States airline stubs