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A Look at Air France’s Sizable Caribbean Operations
France has always played a large role in the Caribbean. In 1625, the French colonized the island of St. Kitts. Later, they moved to other Caribbean islands such as Martinique, St. Barts, Haiti, and Grenada. As time went on, some islands have lost French control, either through independence or other European countries taking control. Today, […]
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Aer Lingus Moves One Step Closer to IAG Takeover
Aer Lingus appears to be moving closer to a full takeover by the IAG group. On May 26th, the Irish government agreed to sell their 25% stake in the airline. The government believes the sale to IAG, which also owns British Airways and Iberia, will benefit Aer Lingus in the long run. The transport minister […]
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#TBT (Throwback Thursday) in Aviation History: Midwest Airlines
Similar to Michael Scott and the rest of the cast from the hit television show The Office, Midwest Airlines started from a paper company. In 1948 the Kimberly-Clark Corporation opened a corporate flight department to transport employees and executives between the company’s headquarters in Eastern Wisconsin and the company’s paper mills across the country. The […]
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TBT (Throwback Thursday) in Aviation History: A Look Back at Skybus, The U.S.’s First Ultra Low-Cost Carrier
The success of Ryanair in Europe has lead many groups around the world to attempt to copy their business style, with most having lackluster results. One of these airlines was Skybus Airlines in the United States. Founded in 2004, the airline attempted to use low fares and no frills to fly routes that other airlines […]
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TBT (Throwback Thursday) in Aviation History: AirUK
AirUK began with a merger of four British regional airlines. British Island Airways, Air Anglia, Air Wales, and Air Westward merged together beginning in March of 1979 to form AirUK. The airline was officially incorporated on January 1st, 1980 and commenced operations on January 16th. Following this merger AirUK became the largest regional carrier in […]
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Austrian Airlines Receives New Brand Identity
Austria’s flag carrier, Austrian Airlines, announced major brand changes today, March 26th. The airline will fuse the Austrian brand with subsidiary Tyrolean Airways to form myAustrian. The new brand represents the airlines emergence from a period of financial restructuring and a new fare structure designed to give each passenger and individual experience. Starting March 26th, […]
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TBT (Throwback Thursday) in Aviation History: The Airline With a Smile
Pacific Southwest Airlines had humble beginnings in 1949. Kenny Freidkin founded the airline using a single DC-3. With knowledge from a previous attempt to start an airline and help from local travel agents, Freidkin began service between Oakland and San Diego with a stop in Burbank. The airline used war surplus buildings as a ticket […]
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Flashback Friday: A History of Continental Airlines (Part 2)
EXTRA: Read part one of our look back at Continental The 90s brought major changes to Continental. Frank Lorenzo resigned as president, in 1990, after 18 years in charge. He also sold his controlling share to Scandinavian Air System (SAS). Shortly after, Continental filed for bankruptcy for the second time in their history. This was […]
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TBT (Throwback Thursday) in Aviation History: A Look Back at Continental Airlines (Part 1)
Continental, originally Varney Speed Services, started out like many airlines from the 1930s, carrying mail for the United States Postal service. With a focus on the Southwestern United States and new mail routes, Robert Six bought the Southwest division of Varney. In 1937, he moved the airline’s headquarters to Denver Stapleton Airport and changed the […]
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TBT (Throwback Thursday) In Aviation History: Champion Air
Charter airlines are often overlooked in the aviation world. They operate irregular schedules on unusual routes. One of the more successful charter operators was Champion Air. Til their demise in early 2008 the airline provided service for sports teams, tour operators, and the United States government. The airline began was originally a part of the […]