Top 10 Defunct Airlines

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Aviation is a very new industry. In fact, it was only born and began to flourish in the past century. However, during its short history, many airlines have attempted to get a piece of this new market. A lot of them were successful and still exist today. Others were not so successful. Many airline companies shut down after just a few decades. In some cases, some of them shut down after only a few years of business. Check out below for the top 10 defunct airlines in aviation history.

#10: AccessAir

AccessAir was an American airline that was in operation from 1998 to 2001. It was based in Des Moines, Iowa. The company’s fleet included four aircraft Boeings 737.^[1]AccessAir^[2]The Colorado Springs Business Journal – AccessAir plans hindered again^[3]Desert News – AccessAir files for bankruptcy^[4]RadioIowa – AccessAir grounds planes, files bankruptcy^[5]Radio Iowa – AccessAir hits the ground again

While the founders started the company in 1998, they faced a lot of delays. In fact, they were not able to have the first commercial flight until February 1999. The airline industry is extremely harsh and competitive. In order to survive, AccessAir offered extremely discounted rates. However, they still had a hard time filling the planes. In fact, most of the planes were flying half-empty. Naturally, after only 9 months of operation, the company filed for bankruptcy in November 1999. They had a staggering estimated loss of around $30 million.

In an effort to keep the company alive, John Ruan III invested additional money in the Spring of 2000. In November of the same year, the company resumed flights. However, the passenger numbers still remained low. This ultimately resulted in the defunct airlines permanently shutting down in February of 2001.

#9: Aeroamerica

In 1973, Arthur Joel Eisenbergy founded Aeroamerica Inc. as a U.S. Supplemental carrier. The airline’s headquarters were at Seattle Boeing Field, Washington.

Aeroamerica started offering public flights in 1974. Its fleet consisted of 6 second-hand Boeing 720 jetliners. Each of these planes could hold 149 passenger. The now defunct airlines attempted to distinguish itself by having its female flight attendants wear hot, short pants during the flight.

On October 23,1974, Aeroamerica acquired traffic rights to the airport in West Berlin. In addition, by the summer of 1975, the company also had charter flights to the Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands. As a result of the company’s rapid expansion, it increased the size of its fleet in Berlin. By 1976, they had 6 airplanes including 4 Boeings 720s, 1 Boeing 707-720B, and 1 BAC One-Eleven 400.

However, Aeroamerica started to face problems. On July of 1977, the company had staffing issues, specifically with its flight attendants in Germany who were going on strike. Despite this, the company continued normal operations. In addition, in January 1979, Berliner Flugring announced that they would not renew the contract with Aeroamerica due to reliability issues. This was due mainly to the fleet’s advanced age and small size. Finally, in 1982, the FAA shut down the airline for a non-airworthy aircraft violation.^[6]Flight Global Archives

#8: Aero Union

Aero Union Corporation was an aircraft operating and maintenance company. It was based in Chico, California. They operated firefighting aircraft as well as trained crews in aerial firefighting.

Dale Newton and Dick Foy officially founded Aero Union Corporation in 1960. However, the original name of the company was Western Air Industries. In 1961, they changed the name to Aero Union. For many years, the company was very successful. However on July 29 of 2011, the US Forest Service announced that they would cancel their 6-plane contract due to their planes failing safety inspections. As a result, Aerco Union officially shut down all operations in September of 2011.^[7]Neptune – Aero Union

#7: Aero Virgin Islands

Aero Virgin Islands began operating in the Carribean in 1977. However, from the very beginning, the company faced very tough competition from other airlines in the area. Their main competition was Prinair. Fortunetly for Aero Virigin, Pinair filed for bankruptcy in 1984. This meant that Aero Virgin Islands was the dominant airline in the region.

However, despite having almost zero competition from other airlines, by 1989 the company still had many problems. The main problem was that its fleet was mostly non-operational. In addition, natural disasters completely destroyed the company’s fleet. As a result, the Aero Virgin Islands had to stop operations. Not including the total destruction of its fleet due to hurricanes, the company had no recorded accidents.^[8]Aviation Safety Network – Accident description^[9]National Transport Safety Board – NTSB Identification: MIA78FA027

#6: Air21

Air21 Airlines was one of the most shortlived defunct airlines companies in the history of aviation. The name of the company comes  their motto “Your Low-Cost Carrier and Low-Cost airline for the 21st century”. Davide Mlles and David J. VanderLugt founded the company in January 1994. However, they did not begin operations until December 1995. It was based in Fresno, California. Air21 consisted of a fleet of 5 Fokker F28 Fellowship aircraft.

Their timing was very poor because just a few months after the beginning operations, another airline,  ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 crashed. As such, the public quickly started having negative opinions against low-cost carriers. Air21, immediately saw a sharp decline in the number of passengers. By january 1977, it closed completely.^[10]departed wings – Air21 Airlines

#5: Air Atlanta

Another defunct airlines that functioned for a pretty short time, is the Air Atlanta. Michael Hollis and Daniel Kolbes founded the airline in February 1984. The company’s first flight was on February 1, 1984 with a Boeing 727-100. For the first 5 months of operation, Air Atlanta had a very hot streak. One of the reasons for this was that from the very beginning Air Atlanta treated every seat as first class. For example, they served meals on white linen cloth, elegant china, and crystals.

However, this business model ended up not being sustainable. By April 2, 1987, Air Atlanta filed for bankruptcy. During its lifetime, Air Atlanta had served over 3 million passengers. Additionally, it boasted a perfect safety record, and brought many innovations to the airline industry as a whole.^[11]Air Times – Air Atlanta^[12]airline timetable images – Air Atlanta

#4: Air Bahia

Air Bahia is one of the most short lived defunct airlines. It had its first commercial flight on August 18, 1979. Its headquarters were in San Diego. The company had flights to Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego, Palm Springs, Carlsbad, El Centro and many other points in Baja California. However, the company shut down permanently on December 14, 1980, a little over a year after starting service.^[13]departed wings – Air Bahia Airlines

#3: Air Carribean

Air Caribbean started in 1975. It flew out of Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Traditionally, the Caribbean was a really lucrative aviation market. As such, the bosses of Air Caribbean wanted a piece of the pie. Air Caribbean primarily used Douglas DC-3 aircraft. They flew mostly to Caribbean islands and Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla. The defunct airlines was prosperous for some time since it provided easier access to nearby Quebradillas. Unfortunately for Air Caribbean, the competition from Aero Virgin Islands was too much. As such, Air Caribbean had to shut down. Its last flight was in 1979.^[14]time table images – Air Caribbean

#2: Air Chaparral

Air Chaparral was a regional American aviation company. This now defunct airlines was active betwenn 1980 and 1982. Its main offices were in Reno, Nevada and its maintenance base were in a former military hangar at Spokane, Washington.

In 1981 the company acquired the assets to operate from Inland Empire Airlines. This gave it access to schedule services mainly to California, Arizona, and Nevada. However, the company did not have a very good safety record. In fact, it had 2 accidents. One happened on 2 March 1981, and the other happened on 28 December of the same year.^[15]Aviation Enterprises, Inc. v. the Honorable Vern Orr, As Secretary of the United States Air Force,huff Leasing Company, Appellant,air Chaparral, Inc., Intervenor, 716 F.2d 1403 (D.C. Cir. 1983) Air Chaparral quickly had to close its doors. In fact, on September 2, 1983, the company filed for bankruptcy.

#1: Air Cortez

Air Cortez was one of the more successful of the now defunct airlines. It was based at Ontario, California and operated between 1977 and 1986. Air Cortez provided flight to many states US. In addition, it also had flights to Mexico, Jamaica, Panama, Guatemala, Grand Bahama, Cuba, Honduras, Belize, and to the Channel Islands.The fleet of the company had a wide variety of aircraft including Beechcraft D-18, E18S and H-18S, Cessna 401, 402, 404, 411, 414, and 412, and Fairchild F-27.^[16]wikipedia – Air Cortez However, despite its success, it eventually had to close its doors.