>> Midway Airlines returns to the skies after filing for bankruptcy protection and then shutting down service in September after the terrorist attacks. Thanks to the US Government's airline rescue program, Midway launched non-stop services from its base in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina to six destinations (Boston, New York La Guardia, Newark, Orlando, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale). (12/19/01)
>> A new South American airline launches service, Universal Airlines. The new airline will service the country of Guyana and replace Guyana Airways 2000 which suspended operations indefinitely. (12/13/01)
>> Sun Country Airlines suspends scheduled flights and is returning to its charter origins. The move follows the shift of TransGlobal Vacations, Funjet Vacations and Mark Travel to other carriers. Prior to this move Sun Country had reduced schedule service from its Minneapolis/St. Paul hub to Washington Dulles, New York JFK, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego in order to stay strong financially. (12/10/01)
>> After seventy years of flying, TWA, the well known international airline icon, made it's last flight and landed for good. Earlier this year American Airlines took over TWA after it filed for bankruptcy in January. (12/03/01)
>> Aegean Airlines and Cronus Airlines, two Greek airline companies, have decided to join forces and merge. Aegean Cronus Airlines as it will be know will operate a schedule of 120 daily flights. The new network will cover 19 destinations, 11 in Greece and 8 in Europe. Currently, the two companies account for nearly 40% of the Greek domestic air travel market. (12/03/01)
>> Greece based, Axon Airlines announced that it would cease operations due to the slump in the airline industry after terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. At the same time, the airline did not rule out a resumption of operations in the future if conditions in the industry improved. (11/30/01)
>> Flight 3597 from Berlin, a Crossair Avro RJ100 crashes while on approach to Zurich Airport, killing 24 of 33 people onboard including 21 of 28 passengers and 3 of the 5 crew members Visibility at the time of the accident was described as poor, with rain mixed with falling snow. (11/27/01)
>> Belgium's national airline, Sabena, has filed for bankruptcy at a court in Brussels. The airline's problems started after its part-owner Swissair, which has also collapsed, reneged on a promised of cash. The Belgian government is Sabena's majority shareholder, holding a 50.5% stake. This is the first time a European national carrier has sought full bankruptcy in the courts. Sabena had approximately 12,000 employees. Sabena was Europe's second oldest airline, it started flying in 1923. (11/06/01)
>> LanChile is launching a new regional carrier called LanExpress. The new airline will use 6 new A320's to fly domestically and within the region. (11/06/01)
>> Tango, the no-frills, low fare airline from Air Canada commences services. Tango will operate a fleet of 13 Airbus A320's aircraft on existing Air Canada routes. It will initially offer service to 8 cities in Canada (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax) and 3 cities in Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa) from Toronto. (11/01/01)
>> Air Europa announced that it will reduce it's schedule and cease the operation of Air Europa Express effective October 30th, 2001. In connections with this reductions, it will be forced to layoff between 400-500 employees. The company says the actions are a direct result of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. which have adversely affected the demand for Air Travel. (10/31/01)
>> Cambodia's national airline, Royal Air Cambodge, suspends domestic and international flight operations. (10/16/01)
>> Shuttle America to become a USAirways Express carrier effective October 24, 2001. Shuttle America will offer 5 daily roundtrip's between Boston’s Hanscom Airfield and Philadelphia International Airport, a major hub for US Airways. (10/10/01)
>> A Scandinavian Airlines passenger jet crashed killing more than 114 people at Milan's Linate Airport. The plane slid off the runway and crashed into a luggage handling building after trying to avoid a Cessna that was in its way on the runway. (10/08/01)
>> Swissair will resume limited flight operations after Swiss government made a credit available to Swissair. Swissair will operate around 50 per cent of its global scheduled services. (10/04/01)
>> United Airlines announced that it would discontinue the United Shuttle brand and incorporate all Shuttle flights into its mainline and United Express service, effective October 31, 2001. United Shuttle operated in the Western United States, and had approximately 468 daily flights. The move is part of United's continued response to customer needs since the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States. (10/03/01)
>> Swissair ceases flight operations as it looks for financing. (10/02/01)
>> In response to the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, US Airways announced that it would reduce capacity across its system by 23 percent. As part of its response to the sharp decline in demand, US Airways has decided to retire three types of aircraft from its fleet B-737-200's, MD-80's and F-100's. The B-737-200 is the primary aircraft for the MetroJet airline, and its retirement will lead to the cessation of MetroJet and it's service by December of 2001. (09/25/01)
>> Australia's second-largest airline, Ansett Australia was forced to suspend operations after it could not secure funding to keep it a float. (09/14/01)
>> Midway Airlines, which has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, is going out of business instead of returning to the skies after the terrorists attacks on America. It will lay off its remaining 1,700 employees effective immediately. (09/13/01)
>> The Federal Aviation Administration issues a ground stop order, effectively grounding all commercial flights over the United States. All aircraft in-flight were ordered to land at the nearest airport. (09/11/01)
>> Tragedy in the skies, terrorist hijack four airplanes and then crash two of them into the World Trade Center buildings in New York and another one into the Pentagon in Washing D.C.. The fourth plane crashed near Johnstown, PA. American Airlines lost two aircraft in the tragic events, Flight 11, a Boeing 767 en route from Boston to Los Angeles with 81 passengers and a crew of 11. Flight 77, a Boeing 757 en route from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles with 58 passengers and 6 crew members. United Airlines also lost two aircraft, Flight 175, a Boeing 767, en route from Boston to Los Angeles with 56 passengers and a crew of 9. Flight 93, a Boeing 757 aircraft, en route from Newark to San Francisco with 38 passengers and a crew of 5. (09/11/01)
>> U.S. DOT' has fined Northwest Airlines $3 million dollars. The DOT says Northwest discriminated against passengers with disabilities. (09/10/01)
>> Qantas Airways announces plans of a new low-fare, no-frills international airline, the new airline would be called Australian Airlines. Australian Airlines is expected to begin flying in the second half of 2002, initially flying routes into Asia. (08/31/01)
>> South Africa's brand new domestic discount, no-frills airline, Kulula.com takes flight. It will initially serve Cape Town and Johannesburg with 3 daily flights and had plans to expand it's network. "Kulula" means "Easy" in Zulu - the perfect name for a frills-free airline that is easy to afford, easy to book and easy to fly. ".com" means that at any time, anyone, anywhere can access us on the world wide web.(08/24/01)
>> Air Afrique agrees to Air France bailout which in turn will keep the airline aloft. Air Afrique officials have agreed to relinquish control of the beleaguered carrier to major shareholder Air France in return for a $60 million bailout. (08/16/01)
>> Midway Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, it sited the fall in business travel, and higher fuel prices, as the cause of the airline's growing financial problems. (08/15/01)
>> SriLankan Airlines fleet was severely damaged by a terrorist attack. The attack by Tamil rebels at Bandaranaike International Airport destroyed two of the airline's A330's and one A340 and damaged two A320's and one A340. No passengers or staff members were injured in the attack. The airline operated a fleet of 12 aircraft, mainly Airbus jets. (07/24/01)
>> European carrier Iberia Airlines suspends all flight operations after a mass resignation of 99 of it's pilots. The airline said it was suspending service in the best interest of passenger and crew safety and would not resume flights until safety can be fully assured. (07/12/01)
>> ALM Antillean Airlines will be renamed to Dutch Caribbean Express. (07/07/01)
>> Northwest Airlines signed an agreement with Bombardier Aerospace to acquire 75 44-seat CRJ440's in a transaction valued at $1.68 billion. The deal ends a dirty battle between Bombardier and Embraer to win the Northwest order, which saw the countries of Canada and Brazil get entailed to help in financial incentives.
>> Another airline has fallen victim to high fuel prices and intense competition in the Australian outback. Flight West Airlines based in Australia has stopped flying and put itself into voluntary liquidation. Flight West was Australia's largest privately owned regional airline, it served 34 Queensland and Northern Territory cities. (06/19/01)
>> Guyana Airways 2000 suspends all flights operations due to failing finances. (05/15/01)
>> A new transatlantic all-business-class airline takes shape and announces a launch date. Blue Fox Airlines plans a March 2002 launch date of twice-daily flights to New York JFK from London Stansted Airport. Flights to Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco and Washington DC will follow. The airline plans on using Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, each will be configured with 138 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration with a seat pitch of 50 inches. (05/09/01)
>> Skyservice, the parent company of the fledgling new Canadian airline, Roots Air, announced that Roots Air will cease flying barely a month after starting service. Skyservice also announces that competitor Air Canada will be making a big investment in Skyservice and form a Strategic Partnership. (05/04/01)
>> Impulse Airlines decides to end regularly scheduled service in Australia under its own name and at the same time announces that it had entered into a long term commercial relationship with Qantas Airways. The agreement means that Impulse will continue to operate it's fleet of Boeing 717 and Beechcraft 1900D but under the Qantas brand and livery. (05/01/01)
>> The Canadian Transport Minister approves the takeover of CanJet Airlines by Canada 3000. Canada 3000 plans to combine its fleet with Royal and CanJet on May 1, 2001. (04/24/01)
>> Canada 3000 and CanJet Airlines announce plans to merge. CanJet is the pioneer of low-cost air services in eastern Canada. Canada 3000 is Canada's second largest scheduled airline and serves over 100 destinations worldwide. Earlier this year, Canada 3000 acquired Royal Airlines. (03/28/01)
>> Canada's newest airline, Roots Air, takes-off. It will focus on business-orientated destinations, it's initial destinations are Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. (03/26/01)
>> Comair pilots decide to walk out on strike. (03/26/01)
>> Great Plains Airline Holding Co. closed on the purchase of Ozark Air Lines. The move comes as Great Plains, a Tulsa-based start-up, plans to begin flights later in the year from Tulsa and Oklahoma City to New York and Washington. Ozark Air Lines will get to keep its name and run as a subsidiary of Great Plains. (03/22/01)
>> A US Bankruptcy judge approved American Airlines $742 million bid for bankrupt Trans World Airlines. (03/12/01)
>> The legend is over for Legend Airlines. The carrier turned over it's operating certificate to the FAA. The airline had been trying to make a come back after filling for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in December. (03/05/01)
>> United Airlines' parent company UAL agreed to sell three regional airlines (Allegheny, Piedmont and PSA) to Atlantic Coast Airlines. It hope this will clear the way for its planned acquisition of US Airways.(03/02/01)
>> AccessAir stops flying again. The airline cited administrative and financial problems, stemming from the former AccessAir, and the subsequent lack of funding from public and private sectors as contributory factors in the decision to shut down. (02/28/01)
>> Balkan Bulgarian Airlines has suspended flights after reportedly plummeting into more than $100 million in debt. (02/15/01)
>> Virgin Atlantic has been named the OAG Airline of the Year. (02/07/01)
>> Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines have reportedly begun talks about a possible merger. (02/04/01)
>> AccessAir will switch to smaller jet planes to reduce operating costs. It plans to contract with a regional airline to provide service while it moves to smaller aircraft and said service will continue without interruption through the transition. (02/01/01)
>> American Trans Air announced that it will eliminate all advance purchase restrictions on its fares, effective January 31st, 2001. All fares will be free of both advance purchase and minimum stay requirements. (01/31/01)
>> Canada 3000 announces plans to acquire Royal Airlines. The combined companies would create Canada's second largest passenger airline. Royal Airlines started in 1992 and became one of Canada's largest providers of scheduled and leisure flights for domestic and international business and leisure travelers. (01/29/01)
>> Air Transport World Magazine has selected Houston based Continental Airlines as its Airline of the Year for 2001. Lufthansa CityLine of Cologne, Germany, was selected as the Regional Airline of the Year. (01/26/01)
>> Northwest Airlines announced that it will acquire 52 new jets, 24 Airbus A330-300's, 6 Airbus A319's, 20 Boeing B757-300's and 2 B747-400's. Northwest will retire its DC10-40 fleet beginning in 2002 and continuing through 2004. Delivery of the new jets will begin in 2002 and continue through 2006. (01/16/01)
>> Gol Transportes Aéreoes, Brazil's first low-fare, no-frills regional airline takes flight. The airline is fashioning itself after Southwest Airlines business model. It's inaugural flight was from Brasilia to Sao Paolo. (01/15/01)