National Airlines (1998)
| National Airlines | |
|---|---|
|
|
| IATA code : | N7 |
| ICAO code : | ROK |
| Call sign : | RED ROCK |
| Founding: | 1998 |
| Operation stopped: | 2002 |
| Seat: |
Las Vegas , United States
|
| Home airport : | McCarran International Airport |
| Fleet size: | 16 |
| Aims: | national |
| National Airlines ceased operations in 2002. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation. | |
National Airlines was an American airline based at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas that ceased operations in November 2002.
history
In the late 1990s, forecasts showed that the number of guests in Las Vegas would increase by 20 percent by the year 2000. At the same time, however, numerous airlines, including Southwest Airlines and America West Airlines , reduced their passenger capacities on the routes to Las Vegas. Several casino operators feared that the number of daily flights would not be sufficient to guarantee future hotel occupancy rates.
In the summer of 1998, the hotel groups Harrah's Entertainment and Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino jointly invested 30 million US dollars in the establishment of an airline that would initially offer low-cost direct connections between the east coast of the United States and Las Vegas. For this purpose, the right to use the name National Airlines was acquired from Pan Am Liquidating Corporation . The holding company Wexford Capital Management , owner of the regional airline Chautauqua Airlines , also invested seven million US dollars in the company. Michael J. Conway, who had co-founded America West Airlines in 1981 , was entrusted with the management of the new company. Flight operations began in the spring of 1999 with two leased Boeing 757s . In the following year National Airlines operated thirteen aircraft of this type and offered scheduled connections from Chicago Midway , Dallas / Fort Worth , Los Angeles , Philadelphia , San Francisco and from New York's John F. Kennedy and Newark airports to Las Vegas.
The company flew an average loss of two million dollars a month and applied in December 2000 for bankruptcy protection after the Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code . The company was instructed by the bankruptcy court to submit a long-term financing plan by June 22, 2001 or to cease flight operations. In search of investors, negotiations started in May 2001 with the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) and with Carl Icahn , the former main shareholder of Trans World Airlines ( TWA ), but they were unsuccessful. The bankruptcy could be averted in the short term because the lessors were ready to reduce the rates for the leased aircraft. However, flight operations remained in serious deficit. Between December 2000 and September 2001 alone, the losses amounted to 23 million US dollars. As a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 , the US government set up the Air Transportation Stabilization Board , through which National Airlines and other airlines received financial support in the form of loans from autumn 2001. These public funds prevented the bankruptcy and continued operations.
National Airlines received a total of $ 50.5 million in government loans until the aid program expired in August 2002. Because the company was still under bankruptcy protection, it had to show the bankruptcy court a financing plan of 112 million US dollars in order to be allowed to continue operations in the long term. After it became clear at the end of October 2002 that National Airlines could not meet the guaranteed financing measures, it had to cease operations on November 6, 2002 and file for bankruptcy.
fleet
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ A b The New York Times, 2 Casino Operators Plan To Start Las Vegas Airline, July 30, 1998
- ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 1999/2000
- ^ National Airlines, January 2000 timetable
- ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 2000/01
- ^ Flight International, June 19, 2001
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, ILFC to Bid on Bankrupt National Airlines, June 27, 2001
- ^ Flight International, September 4, 2001
- ^ Flight International, November 20, 2001
- ^ Flight International, September 10, 2002
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, National Airlines Back in Bankruptcy Court, September 9, 2002
- ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 2003/04