Air South

Air South, Inc.
IATA code :
ICAO code :	NJ KQ FE
Call sign :
Founding:	1967
Operation stopped:	1980
Seat:	St. Simons Island , Georgia , United States
Home airport :	Atlanta
Company form:	Inc.
Passenger volume:	89,678 (1974)
Fleet size:
Aims:	regional
Air South, Inc. ceased operations in 1980. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation.

Air Southwest (formerly Nationwide Airlines South East ) was a US regional and commuter airline with headquarters in St. Simons Iceland and based on the Atlanta airport .

history

Air South was founded in August 1967 by David Starr, Jr. under the name Nationwide Airlines Southeast . Starr had previously worked in forestry, car rental and real estate development in his role as a businessman. The airline started operations with Beechcraft Model 65 machines with connections in the Atlanta area , with Starr leaving the company after just under a year. He was followed by FE "Pete" Howe and with him extensive restructuring measures: Howe not only exchanged the Beechcraft Model 65 for an inexpensive Model 99 , he also focused the company's connections on vacation islands and coastal destinations along Georgia and South Carolina . He also changed the airline's name to Air South .

Since the interstate highway system was not yet complete at this point and the journeys from southern Georgia or South Carolina to Atlanta via back roads often took a full day, the company had on the routes from Atlanta to St. Simons Iceland and Hilton Head Island found lucrative and secure sources of income that allowed her to experiment with the routes flown in the period that followed. Gradually, the aforementioned connections were expanded to include stopovers in smaller cities in Georgia.

When the owners of Air South expressed their wish in July 1971 to want to use larger aircraft with Martin 4-0-4 , Howe left the company in a dispute on the grounds that he "did not want to dig his own grave." Two years later , 1973, the Air South fleet, which at that time consisted of Beechcraft Model 99, was initially supplemented by a Grumman Gulfstream I as part of a six-month trial period . With its pressurized cabin, sanitary facilities and the now possible in-flight service for passengers of a regional and commuter airline, the machine brought extensive innovations and was subsequently used on the Atlanta - St. Simons route. At the same time, however, Air South was faced with sharply increased costs with the use of this aircraft, not least because the machine was overdimensioned in terms of performance for the short connections - in relation to the size of the Dash 7 it even exceeded it - and thus not operated economically could be. Six months after its introduction, the Gulfstream I was then retired and returned to Grumman, who sought to sell in the business jet market. However, Air South pursued the fleet expansion project and, after receiving a Civil Aeronautics Board special permit in November 1973, added a Fairchild F-27 , which was taken over from Allegheny Airlines - later US Airways. By mid-1974 there were three machines of this type, which for the time had similar amenities as the Gulfstream I. Air South was satisfied with the F-27 and retired the remaining Beech 99 by early 1975.

However, the introduction of the Fairchild F-27 resulted in renewed financial difficulties in the long run: In addition to the introduction of the aircraft itself, which had made corresponding financial demands on Air South, it was difficult to find the 40-seat aircraft compared to the Beech 99 significantly larger F-27 to use in the winter season. In the same year Air South was taken over by the Sarasota- based Florida Airlines , which after the takeover also included the Orlando- based Shawnee Airlines in its own portfolio. Florida Air Lines was operating well-utilized Douglas DC-3 aircraft at the time of the takeover , but, unlike Air South, struggled with the load factor in the summer months. The three airlines subsequently formed the The Connection Alliance, with Air South maintaining its own brand identity after the takeover by Florida Airlines. Again there were extensive restructuring measures: Except for the routes from Atlanta to St. Simons and Hilton Head Island, Air South suspended all other flight connections and decommissioned the Fairchild F-27 in April 1975. As a replacement, DC-3s from Florida Airlines were used, which represented a step backwards in terms of amenities and comfort functions on board, as the machines were slower and, despite the southern summer weather, had neither a pressurized cabin nor air conditioning. It was not uncommon for the machines to be transferred to the three companies at short notice, so that the external appearance did not match the actual operator.

Florida Airlines Martin 4-0-4 at Miami Airport, October 1982

After Shawnee Airlines ceased operations in 1977, only Florida Airlines and Air South remained; the former concentrated, like its name, on Florida, while Air South continued to operate in Georgia and South Carolina. Beginning this year, Air South also used Martin 4-0-4 machines, which had already been mentioned in 1971 - mainly on the connection to St. Simons Island and temporarily on the one to Hilton Head Island. The latter could not be operated economically with the Martin 4-0-4, whereupon Air South stopped the connection and also retired all Douglas DC-3s.

The initiated deregulation of the US air traffic market and the dismantling of the voice of the Civil Aeronautics Board ensured that some of the larger airlines left the smaller airports, as these could only be served uneconomically with jet aircraft; in Georgia, for example, this affected the cities of Macon and Columbus , from which Eastern Air Lines withdrew. Air South took over the connections - but nonetheless faced competition from Delta Air Lines , which continued to operate these routes with Douglas DC-9 . In addition, the newly founded Atlantic Southeast Airlines also entered air traffic on the named routes. Their de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter proved to be significantly more flexible compared to Air South's Martin 4-0-4 and allowed a denser frequency. The advanced expansion of the interstate highway system, rising fuel prices and the rapidly increasing utilization of the airport in Atlanta also made the general conditions difficult. Price and time advantages, which are so important for a commuter and regional airline, were no longer available. The same thing happened to the parent company Florida Airlines, which finally applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 1980 and ceased operations. Air South was sold to Ocean Airways , but ceased operations itself after just a few months. The shutdown of Air South also marked the end of the only commercial line connection in their history for some cities in Georgia.

Destinations

The company operated passenger, cargo and mail flights in Georgia and the neighboring states throughout its history. In addition to St. Simons Island, Birmingham, Nashville , Atlanta and many smaller airports in Georgia, Hilton Head Island and Greenville in South Carolina were also served in the commuter and feeder traffic .

fleet

The Air South fleet consisted of the following aircraft over the period of its existence:

Aircraft type	number	Aircraft registration serial number	Remarks
Beechcraft Model 99	6th	N844NS U-16	destroyed by crash in 1969
		N845NS U-17
		N846NS U-49
		N847NS U-52
		N848NS U-77	destroyed by fire in 1974
		N849NS U-6
Fairchild F-27	3	N2704J 115	taken over by Allegheny Airlines
		N2705J 116
		N2706J 117
Grumman Gulfstream I.	1	?	Test operation for six months

In addition to the machines listed in the table here, Air South used Douglas DC-3 and Martin 4-0-4 aircraft, especially in the last few years of its operation , which it shared with its parent company Florida Airlines for a short time and temporarily provided with appropriate stickers.

Incidents

• On July 6, 1969, on Air South Flight 168, a Beechcraft Model 99 (aircraft registration number N844NS ) crashed ten kilometers northwest of Monroe, Georgia . About eleven minutes after the aircraft had reached its cruising altitude of 7,000 ft, the elevator trim began to trim the elevator up to the stop ( full nose down position). Despite the remedial measures introduced six seconds later, the strength of both pilots was insufficient to overcome the extremely trimmed position of the elevator with the control horn and to intercept the machine. As a result, the plane went into a nosedive; the resulting high speed meant that both wings exceeded their load limits and broke off a few hundred feet above the ground before the aircraft finally hit the ground almost vertically. The NTSB was unable to determine the cause of the malfunction of the trim, but attributed the design of the entire control system to a beneficial role in causing the loss of control. All 12 passengers and the two crew members were killed in this incident (see also Air South flight 168 ) .

• On March 31, 1974, a Beechcraft Model 99 (registration number N848NS ) caught fire of unknown cause while taxiing at Malcolm McKinnon Airport in Brunswick, Georgia . The two-man crew and their two passengers, who were on their way to Atlanta, were able to leave the plane; the Beech, however, was destroyed and had to be written off.

See also

• List of former airlines

literature

• David P. Henderson: Sunshine Skies. Historic Commuter Airlines of Florida & Georgia. 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Zeus Press, Atlanta 2008, ISBN 1-4404-2474-8 (American English).
• Ronald EG Davies, Imre E. Quastler: Commuter Airlines of the United States . Foreword by George Haddaway. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington 1995, ISBN 1-56098-404-X (American English).

Web links

• Photos of Air South on Airliners.net

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Henderson, 2008, p. 65.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Davies, Quastler, 1995, p. 407.
3. ↑ Henderson, 2008, p. 66.
4. ↑ Davies, Quastler, 1995, p. 255.
5. ↑ Henderson, 2008, p. 67.
6. ↑ Davies, Quastler, 1995, p. 106.
7. ↑ Henderson, 2008, p. 69.
8. ↑ Henderson, 2008, pp. 69-70.
9. ↑ Henderson, 2008, p. 70.
10. ^ Third Level Airlines . Air South Inc. In: Flight International . tape 107 , no. 3440 . IPC Transport Tress, February 13, 1975, ISSN  0015-3710 , p. 249 (English, flightglobal.com [accessed March 11, 2019]).
11. ↑ Henderson, 2008, p. 72.
12. ↑ accident report Beechcraft 99 airliner N844NS . In: Aviation Safety Network . Accessed March 10, 2019.
13. ^ Aircraft Accident Report Air South, Inc. Beechcraft B-99, N844NS Near Monroe, Georgia July 6, 1969. Adopted: August 26, 1970 . SA-416, File No. 3-1593. National Transportation Safety Board , Washington 1970, NTSB-AAR-70-18 (English, erau.edu [PDF; accessed March 10, 2019]).
14. ↑ Accident report Beechcraft 99 Airliner N848NS . In: Aviation Safety Network . Accessed March 10, 2019.