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 department expanded in 1969 to form K-C Aviation, which was created to carry out the maintenance for Kimberly-Clark’s corporate aircraft. When the U.S. government enacted…
Founded in 1995, Eastwind Airlines was short-lived and maintained a small fleet of only five airplanes. Known by their call sign, "Stinger," the bee-themed airline experienced several major events that shaped the course of their history, alongside the multitude of problems that ultimately led to their bitter end. In August…
In 1968, with the Airline Deregulation Act in its tenth year, small local carriers across the United States were feeling the pressure of larger carriers that were rapidly invading their markets. In an effort to combat the intense pressure from the large carriers, Airwest was born. The carrier was formed…
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…
From its official start in 1947 to its tragic downfall in 2000, and for years beyond, Reeve Aleutian Airways has always had a unique legacy. Known for buying its aircraft from other airlines, rather than purchasing new airplanes, Reeve Aleutian maintained a small fleet, often consisting of rugged turboprops. The…
Prior to Caribbean Airlines's dominance of the Caribbean market in recent years, another Trinidad and Tobago carrier used to own the title of being one of the biggest island fliers. Its name was British West Indian Airways, or BWIA for short. BWIA dates back to 1939, when New Zealander and…
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…
Aloha Airlines survived for nearly 62 years, and had a long history of success and downfalls before collapsing in 2008. Founded in 1946 as Trans-Pacific Air, its inaugural flight occurred on July 26 using a DC 3. The name was changed to Aloha Airlines in 1958. With the change came…
Iceland Express was a discounted carrier that was based in Keflavik, Iceland with the purpose of giving Icelanders an alternate low-cost carrier besides the nation’s flag carrier Icelandair. Formed by the parent company Northern Travel Holdings in 2002, the airline started flights in February 2003 with flights from Keflavik to…
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…
