| North American Airlines | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| IATA NA | ICAO NAO | Callsign NORTH AMERICAN |
| Founded | 1989 | |
| Hubs | John F. Kennedy International Airport | |
| Focus cities | Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport | |
| Member lounge | President's Club | |
| Fleet size | 10 | |
| Destinations | 6 | |
| Parent company | Global Aero Logistics, Inc. | |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York | |
| Key people | Jeff Wehrenberg (COO) | |
| Website: http://www.flynaa.com | ||
North American Airlines is an American airline based in New York City, USA. It operates scheduled international services from the USA to Africa and Guyana, as well as domestic and international charter services and wet lease services. Its main base is John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York.[1].
Contents |
History
Unlike ATA Airlines and World Airways, North American is truly a product of airline deregulation and does not share a common history of governmental constraints, which precluded its fellow carriers' rapid early growth--unlike its own. North American was established in 1989 and began operations on 20 January 1990. It was founded by Dan McKinnon, former head of the then Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), mainly to provide feeder services to El Al gateways in North America, and to provide services for Club Med. El Al held a 24.9% stake in the airline until it sold it back to McKinnon in July 2003. It was acquired by World Air Holdings in April 2005.[1] It began by flying charter flights on Boeing 757 aircraft. The company grew during the 1990s, adding flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico, various spots in Mexico and other destinations. North American also started a scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport to JFK to complement El Al's existing Tel Aviv-JFK-LAX run and provide the Israeli airline with more passengers. North American also opened operations in Newark, New Jersey at that time. In addition to their original 757s, North American also operates Boeing 767s for long-range, high-density charter flights. On April 5, 2007, New ATA Holdings, Inc., bought out North American Airlines parent company World Air Holdings, Inc. and promptly changed the name of the holding company to Global Aero Logistics, Inc. to reflect the worldwide desires of the latest owners. The same firm, Matlin Patterson recently divested themselves of Varig at the end of March 2006. Many of Global Aero Logistics Senior Vice President executives also serve as Chief Operating Officers (COO) at the certificated airlines of which Global Aero Logistics is a composition and Subodh Karnik serves as President.
Destinations
As of January 2008 [2], North American Airlines operates scheduled passenger flights to the following destinations:
Africa
North America
South America
North American's charter operations make up the bulk of its business: resorts such as Club Med and tour operators in Hawaii and the Caribbean charter North American's aircraft on a regular basis. North American also supplied the 757 used by George W. Bush during his 2000 presidential campaign. North American Airlines discontinued service to Hawaii as of September 1, 2005. Prior to Delta Air Lines establishing service between New York City and Accra, Ghana, on December 11, 2006, NAA's JFK-ACC and BWI-BJL services were the only scheduled non-stop service between the U.S. and West Africa operated by a U.S. airline for several years. North American will also be facing much tougher competition on its JFK-Lagos flights in 2008 with Delta launching a daily JFK-LOS flight. This compares with North American's 3 weekly flights to Lagos.
Services
As a certified United States Department of Defense air carrier, NAA provides military personnel and their dependents air transportation to destinations not served by commercial airlines. North American was the first airline to provide the capability of the B767 aircraft to the United States Military in 2002. NAA operates military transport flights out of Dallas/Ft.Worth Airport. The carrier maintains a long-standing wet lease relationship with Air Jamaica, providing wet-leased 767 aircraft and crew for the airline's Kingston-New York service. In the summer of 2007, Air Jamaica increased its dependence on North American Airlines' services as the Jamaican company struggled to cope with higher-than-expected demand.[3] North American Airlines also operated charter cargo service to Gibraltar in co-operation with the Odyssey Marine Exploration.[4]
Incidents and accidents
- A Boeing 757-200 en route Cheddi Jagan International Airport (Georgetown, Guyana)–New York JFK (flight NA092) was forced to make an emergency landing at Port of Spain's Piarco International (Trinidad) on June 4, 2006 after the crew reported a problem with the aircraft's air-conditioning system. There were no fatalities.
Fleet
As of November 2007, the North American Airlines fleet includes 10 aircraft: [5] :
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Business/Coach) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 757-200 | 5 | 199 (16/183) | One Boeing 757-200 is operated for JetX Airlines |
| Boeing 767-300 | 5 | 206 (30/176) 247 (247) |
As of November 2007, the average fleet age of North American Airlines was 10.3 years. [6]
External links
References
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International, 2007-04-10, p. 56.
- ^ "North America Airlines Route Map," [sic] North American Airlines
- ^ Gordon, Susan. "Air Jamaica spends millions on 'wet leasing' - Airline struggles to cope with summer traffic", Jamaica Gleaner, 2007-08-10. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
- ^ "US Flight arrives in Gibraltar", Gibfocus.gi. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
- ^ North American Airlines Fleet Info
- ^ North American Airlines Fleet Age
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