Arrow Air

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Arrow Air
Arrow Cargo logo
A McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (F) from Arrow Cargo
IATA code : JW
ICAO code : APW
Call sign : BIG A
Founding: 1947
as California Arrow Airways
Operation stopped: 2010
Seat: Miami , Florida , United States
United StatesUnited States 
Home airport : Miami airport
Number of employees: 420
Fleet size: 11
Aims: National and international
Arrow Air ceased operations in 2010. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation.

Arrow Air (previously Arrow Airways , branding as Arrow Cargo from 2005 ) was an American airline based in Miami , Florida . On July 1, 2010, it ceased operations for economic reasons.

history

1947 to 1979

George Batchelor, who flew a Douglas C-54 as a military pilot during World War II , acquired a Douglas C-47 from the US Forces in Hawaii in 1947 , which he transferred to California and sold for $ 25,000. Batchelor invested the profit in founding California Arrow Airways , which was initially based in Lomita (California). The Authority Civil Aeronautics Board classified the company as a charter airline a ( "Supplemental Airlines"), making it only ad hoc charter flights could perform. In addition to our own flight operations, Douglas DC-3s were temporarily leased to Southern Air Transport and other companies. Although California Arrow Airways did not have a permit for scheduled flights , it offered from August 12, 1949 a scheduled passenger service from Burbank via Oakland to Sacramento . On December 7, 1949, a DC-3 had an accident on this route, killing all nine occupants. Batchelor's wife and two-year-old son were among the victims.

After the accident, the company name was changed to Arrow Airways . Due to the official restrictions that applied to “Supplemental Airlines”, the company ceased its own charter flight operations at the end of 1953 and then concentrated exclusively on leasing aircraft. In 1964 the company moved to Florida . George Batchelor founded Miami- based International Air Leases shortly after , which took over the leasing business. At the same time Arrow Airways ceased its activities, but remained as a shell company .

1980s

The new operation recording was carried out using Boeing 707 used by Singapore Airlines came

After the competitive situation in US aviation had fundamentally changed due to the Airline Deregulation Act , George Batchelor decided to resume flight operations in the late 1970s. The Air Operator Certificate of Arrow Airways was reactivated in March 1980th At the same time, Batchelor acquired the majority stake in Capitol International Airways , which was converted into a scheduled airline, while Arrow Airways should be mainly active in charter traffic. Operations started in May 1981 with a Boeing 707-320C . Initially, the company only operated cargo charter flights under its new name, Arrow Air . In the first year of operation, the company set up scheduled freight connections between New York , Miami and San Juan ( Puerto Rico ) with additional Boeing 707s , which were then expanded to other destinations in the Caribbean . In the winter of 1981/82 the machines were used for the first time in IT charter traffic from Boston , Philadelphia and New York to Mexico , Peru and the Kabribik. In parallel, contract services for the US armed forces were flown. The first scheduled passenger flights began in July 1982 between San Francisco , Los Angeles and Montego Bay ( Jamaica ). At the end of October 1982 another line connection was established from Honolulu via Guam to Pago Pago . Arrow Air used ten Boeing 707s and six Douglas DC-8s at the time . In addition, two Boeing 727s were operated in wet lease for the cargo airline Flying Tigers .

A McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 of Arrow Air on the Gatwick Airport

At the beginning of 1983, the company had its Douglas DC-8-63 retrofitted with modern CFM56 engines. Batchelor sold its holdings in the spring of 1983 Capitol Air , after which Arrow Air whose wide-body aircraft of the type McDonnell Douglas DC-10 took over and those on domestic scheduled flights as well as across the Atlantic from Denver and Tampa to London Gatwick began. After the crash of a Douglas DC-8 in Gander ( Canada ) in December 1985 , the US Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) imposed a flight ban on all identical aircraft of the company. Because Arrow Air had already retired all Boeing 707s, this affected almost the entire fleet. Could result, with the Company's charter contracts no longer meet and had in February 1986 for bankruptcy protection after the Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code apply. The company maintained a severely restricted scheduled flight operation with two DC-10s for a few weeks and then completely stopped its own passenger traffic. After the DC-8 flight ban was lifted, the company focused on freight transportation. In addition, commissioned wet lease services were flown for other companies, including for the Polish LOT , which began using a Douglas DC-8 for one year in passenger traffic between Warsaw and New York from September 1, 1987 . At the beginning of 1989 Arrow Air operated two Douglas DC-8s of the series 62 and 63CF.

1990s

Arrow Air put the first of its three Lockheed L-1011-200Fs into service in early 1996

In the spring of 1990, the destinations New York, Miami, San Juan, Port-au-Prince , Caracas , Buenos Aires , Asunción and Santiago de Chile were flown to as scheduled in freight traffic. The company also operated cargo charter flights around the world, including the transport of materials for the US armed forces during the Second Gulf War . In addition to the cargo flights, Arrow Air resumed IT charter traffic within the USA and to some Caribbean destinations in early 1993 . For this purpose, she leased Boeing 727-200 from her sister company International Air Leases on a long-term basis . At the same time, the company used a Douglas DC-8-62 for Air Marshall Islands in regular service between Honolulu and the Marshall Islands .

The Federal Aviation Administration imposed another flight ban on all eighteen aircraft of the company on April 28, 1995 due to maintenance errors and incomplete documentation. The flight ban was lifted on June 9, 1995, following a fine of US $ 5.1 million. Arrow Air resumed operations in the same month with six Douglas DC-8s, but subsequently stopped operating passenger flights. The first of three Lockheed L-1011-200F cargo aircraft entered service in the spring of 1996. Arrow Air ceded its route to Buenos Aires to Federal Express in the summer of 1997 and at the same time increased the number of its flight frequencies to Ecuador , Paraguay and Peru . A new freight connection to Iquitos was also set up. In April 1999, Miami-based Fine Air Services Corporation bought the company for $ 115 million. A complete merger with the cargo airline Fine Air , which was also owned by this holding company, was considered. The necessary approval for the merger was initially not granted by the US Department of Transportation , so Arrow Air remained as a subsidiary of Fine Air Services and continued its flight operations under its own brand identity.

2000s

A Douglas DC-8-63F in the Arrow Cargo branding introduced in 1995

In the spring of 2000, Arrow Air's fleet consisted of six Douglas DC-62Fs, three Douglas DC-63Fs and three Lockheed L-1011-200Fs. Fine Air Services , which had become heavily indebted through the acquisition of the company, had to apply for bankruptcy protection in September 2000 as a result of falling orders and an increase in kerosene prices . At the same time, their subsidiaries Fine Air and Arrow Air suspended all flights. After a restructuring of the group of companies, in the course of which Fine Air was merged into the sister company Arrow Air on January 1, 2001 , cargo air traffic was resumed in spring 2001. The financial situation remained tense, however, and on January 28, 2004 led to the re-application for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Fine Air Services sold the company in February 2004 to Anthony Romeo, owner of the Charter America group of companies . He sold the company just a month later to a group of investors led by Guillermo "Willy" Cabeza, former CEO of Arrow Air . At the same time, the company initially suspended its flights in June 2004. Flight operations were resumed at the beginning of 2005 under the changed brand identity Arrow Cargo , with the aircraft also receiving a new livery. At that time, the company had 520 employees and had seven Douglas DC-8s and four McDonnell Douglas DC-10s. In the same year, the subsidiary Arrow Panama , based at Panama Airport , was founded, through which cargo flights to Cuba could also be started. The subsidiary temporarily rented a Douglas DC-8 from Arrow Air and was dissolved in 2008.

The New York investment company MatlinPatterson LP , which also owned stakes in World Airways , North American Airlines and Varig Log through Global Aero Logistics , bought Arrow Air Holding in June 2008. The airline posted losses of $ 28 million and $ 26 million in fiscal years 2008 and 2009, respectively. The company sought to cut operating costs by replacing the outdated Douglas DC-8 with rented Boeing 757-200F cargo planes . In early 2010, Arrow Air's total debt was $ 500 million. Due to the financial situation, the company finally ceased operations on July 1, 2010.

fleet

Fleet at the end of operations

At the time of the cessation of operations, the Arrow Air fleet consisted of five Boeing 757-200F, one McDonnell Douglas DC-10F, four McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30F (?) And one McDonnell Douglas MD-11F operated by World Airways .

Previously deployed aircraft

During its history, the company also operated the following types of aircraft:

Incidents

  • On December 7, 1949 accident Douglas DC-3 of the California Arrow Airways on an unauthorized passenger flight from Oakland to Sacramento . The machine hit about ten kilometers (six miles ) east of the town of Vallejo . All nine inmates were killed.
  • On December 12, 1985, the worst aviation accident occurred on Canadian soil: A chartered Douglas DC-8-63PF from Arrow Air with US soldiers from the Sinai Peacekeeping Force landed in Gander (Canada) on its flight from Egypt to the USA . At the start there there was a stall , probably caused by icing . The machine crashed into a forest. All 256 people on board were killed (see also Arrow Air Flight 1285 ) .
  • On December 13, 2002, a Douglas DC-8-62F had an accident while landing at Singapore Airport . The co-pilot making the approach could not establish visual contact with the runway. At low altitude he noticed the captain's rudder deflection. The co-pilot assumed that the captain would take over the aircraft and land. It was only after the machine had hovered over the runway for a long time that they realized that no one was piloting the plane. The DC-8 touched down around 1500 m from the end of the runway, rolled over the end of the runway by 300 meters and was irreparably damaged.
  • On June 4, 2006, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10F rolled over the end of the runway when landing in Managua ( Nicaragua ). Due to the damage to the fuselage, engines , wings and tanks, the machine was written off as a total loss.
  • On March 26, 2009, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 lost several parts of the middle engine after taking off from Manaus Airport . The engine parts, which weigh up to 250 kilograms, damaged twelve houses and a few cars in the city. The crew initially wanted to continue the flight to Bogotá as planned , but then avoided going to Medellín ( Colombia ).

See also

Web links

Commons : Arrow Air  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ airliners.de, Arrow Air ceases operations, July 1, 2010
  2. ↑ California Arrow Airlines DC-3, near Benicia, California, December 7th, 1949
  3. ↑ Best of Airways: Southern Air Transport: An Uncommon Carrier ( Memento from September 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ^ A b Civil Aeronautics Board, Accident Investigation Report, California Arrow Airways, near Vallejo, California, December 7, 1949 , accessed March 31, 2018
  5. ^ Flight International, October 30, 1982, p. 1286
  6. ↑ a b Flight International, October 30, 1982, p. 1288
  7. ^ Flight International, October 16, 1982
  8. ^ Flight International, January 15, 1983
  9. ^ Flight International, July 9, 1983
  10. ^ Flight International, February 15, 1986
  11. ^ Flight International, February 22, 1986
  12. ^ Flight International, March 29, 1986
  13. ^ Flight International, March 26, 1988, p. 52
  14. ^ Flight International, March 26, 1988, p. 6
  15. ↑ Aerolot, LOT leases a DC-8
  16. ^ Flight International April 1, 1989
  17. ^ Flight International, March 14, 1990
  18. ↑ Rense.com, Civilian airline Mobilization Comes With Baggage Legal
  19. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 93/94
  20. ↑ NTSB / AAR-98/02, pages 37 and 38 ( Memento of the original dated December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / asndata.aviation-safety.net
  21. ^ Flight International, May 16, 1995
  22. ^ Flight International, February 7, 1996
  23. ^ Flight International, June 4, 1997
  24. ^ Arrow Air Adds New Jet Cargo Service To Iquitos, Peru; To Boost Frequencies To Peru, Ecuador And Paraguay, September 15, 1997 ( Memento of the original from December 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.prnewswire.com
  25. ^ Fine Air Services Corp. Announces Completion Of Arrow Air Acquisition ( Memento of the original dated December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.prnewswire.com
  26. ^ Flight International, July 7, 1999
  27. ^ Flight International, October 3, 2000
  28. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 2000/01
  29. ^ Sun Sentinel, Fine Air Files For Bankruptcy, Sep. 28, 2000
  30. ^ Flight International, March 12, 2002
  31. ^ Flight International, March 16, 2004
  32. ^ South Florida Business Journal, Arrow Air debt purchased, Feb. 23, 2004
  33. ^ The Miami Herald, Bankrupt Arrow Air gets 2nd buyer for debt, March 5, 2004
  34. ^ Velocity, Arrow Air to auction off assets, August 3, 2010
  35. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 2005/06
  36. ^ Aero Transport Data Bank, Arrow Panama
  37. ^ Reuters, Cargo carrier Arrow Air bankrupt, to liquidate, July 1, 2010
  38. ^ Aerotransport Data Bank, Arrow Air
  39. ↑ Flight Global, Arrow Air shutters operations and files for Chapter 11, July 1st 2010
  40. ↑ ch-aviation.ch: Arrow Cargo fleet ( Memento of the original from December 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. July 1, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ch-aviation.ch
  41. ↑ Flight International, various issues
  42. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, various years
  43. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
  44. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
  45. ^ The Aviation Herald, Accident: Arrow Cargo DC10 at Manaus on Mar 26th 2009, dropped parts of engine on houses