The Wandering Disciple

Breeze Airways, a relatively new entrant in the US aviation industry, has quickly established itself as a reliable and affordable option for travelers. Founded by David Neeleman, a seasoned airline entrepreneur with a track record of successful ventures (including JetBlue and Azul), Breeze focuses on providing efficient and convenient service to underserved markets.  Beginning operations in May 2021, Breeze aims to fill the gaps left by larger airlines in smaller markets. The airline's initial focus was on point-to-point routes, connecting smaller cities with limited or no existing direct air service. This strategy allowed Breeze to avoid direct competition with major carriers and cater to a niche market with unmet demand.  Breeze Airways operates a mixed fleet of Embraer and Airbus aircraft, catering to both short- and medium-haul routes. The Embraer E190 and E195 jets, known for their fuel efficiency and comfortable cabins, are primarily used for shorter flights. For longer ...

Dublin, Ireland: Aer Lingus is the flag carrier airline of the country of Ireland. They provide service to over eighty destinations on four continents. Based at Dublin Airport in Ireland, Aer Lingus was founded in 1936 as a passenger airline to serve Ireland. They remained a small, two plane operation until following World War II when the airline expanded. Aer Lingus began Trans-Atlantic routes in 1958. Today the Aer Lingus fleet has grown to over forty aircraft. Airbus is the sole provider of aircraft to the fleet, ranging from the Airbus A319 to the Airbus A330. Aer Lingus services eighty destinations worldwide. They include 70 airports in Europe, 5 in Africa, 4 in North America an 1 in Asia. While their main headquarters are based at Dublin Airport, Aer Lingus maintains operating bases at George Best Belfast City Airport, Cork Airport, Gatwick Airport and Shannon Airport. Aer Lingus was once a member of the Oneworld Alliance, however their partnership ended in 2007....

Lakeland, Florida: Sky King is a charter airline service that provides service throughout North America. They offer charter service to Cuba, Atlantic City as well as private charters for businesses and sports teams. Sky King was founded in 1990 by Gregg Lukenbill, the owner of the Sacramento Kings of the NBA. The airline primary customer through the first fifteen years was professional hockey teams. But following the NHL lockout, they were forced to branch out into other markets. During its reorganization in 2005, Sky King began provided charter flights for other airlines. They provided service for Scanderbeg Air, Direct Air and Fly Guam under the new business model. They also began flying Atlantic City charters for Gold Transportation Services and Cuban charters. As the charter service becomes more and more successful, they are taking steps to enter into the scheduled service market. Sky King operates a fleet of 10 Boeing 737 aircraft. Seven of the aircraft are alloca...

Tampa, Florida: North American Airlines is a charter airline service based at New York's JFK Airport and operated from Tampa International Airport. Their fleet of Boeing aircraft are available for lease for numerous functions including commercial and private flights. North American Airlines began operation in 1990 as a feeder service of El Al Airlines. They later expanded into Caribbean routes and a JFK/LAX route. During the peak of their passenger service, they provided flights throughout North America, South America and Africa. In 2008, North American ceased scheduled service and began to focus on charter air service. They now provide service for Club Med resorts as well as operate flights for Air Jamaica. In addition to the commercial service leases, North American Airlines has a contract with the Department of Defense for troop transport for destinations without commercial carriers. North American recently provided jet transportation for Barrak Obama's 2008 pres...

Berlin, Germany: Air Berlin is a passenger airline from Germany. It is the second largest German airline and provides flights to over 160 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Because of Cold War era sanctions, Air Berlin was actually formed in the United States. In 1978, Air Berlin USA was established in Miami to provide charter flights to and from Germany. Following the German reunification in 1990, the airline dropped the USA from its title and relocated its headquarters to Berlin. It was during this time that Air Berlin began to transition from a charter service into scheduled service. This transition has led to Air Berlin becoming the second largest carrier in Germany. The Air Berlin fleet consists of 147 aircraft currently and orders for 96 more. The active aircraft include the Airbus A319, Airbus A320, Airbus A321, Airbus A330, Boeing 737, Boeing 787 and Bombardier Dash 8. In addition to their regular fleet, Air Berlin also code shares with sev...

Indianapolis Indiana: Shuttle American is a regional airline that serves as connection service for Delta and United Airlines. Based in Indianapolis, Shuttle America is part of the Republic Airways group.  The airline was founded in 1995 as a local carrier service, offering low cost flights between Hartford and Buffalo. The airline grew as a regional carrier, offering low rates to popular business destinations in the northeast. During this time, they were flying over 3,000 passengers a day without a major airline partnership. Like most smaller airlines, Shuttle America fell into bankruptcy following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. After filing bankruptcy, they were purchased by Wexford Holdings. After the purchase by Wexford, Shuttle American began a codeshare agreement with US Airways and later United Airlines. Shuttle America was purchased again in 2005, this time by Republic Airways. They later began a codeshare partnership with Delta. Today, Shuttle Ame...

Boise, Idaho: For over twenty years, Xtra Airways has served its customers with both charter and commercial flight services. Their small fleet serves the Eastern and Central United States and goes “Beyond what is expected”. The airline was founded in 1987 as Casino Express Airlines to provide charter service to the Nevada casinos. In 2005, the company changed names to their current name Xtra Airways following a partnership with XL Airways UK. That partnership continued until 2008 when XL UK ended operations. By then, Xtra was an independent airline and was able to continue operations unaffected. The Xtra Airways headquarters is located in Boise, Idaho. They currently operate a fleet of four active aircraft and one seasonal aircraft. The four primary aircraft are Boeing 737-400 series. The seasonal aircraft is a Boeing 737-800 series. The aircraft are based at Charlotte County Airport, Myrtle Beach International Airport, Miami International Airport and San Antonio Internation...

Appleton, Wisconsin: Air Wisconsin is a regional airline that provides flight service for US Airways and ground services for United Express. They provide service to over six million passengers in seventy destinations throughout the United States and Canada. Founded in 1965, Air Wisconsin is the pioneer in the regional airline service and code sharing. They first entered a code share agreement with United Airlines followed by mergers with Mississippi Valley Airlines in 1985 and Aspen Airways in 1991 to make them the largest regional airline in the United States. Today Air Wisconsin provides code share/flight services to US Airways while maintaining ground services for United Express at Dulles International Airport and 22 airports nationwide. The Air Wisconsin fleet is comprised of 71 Canadair CRJ-200 jets flying under the US Airways Express brand. The CRJ-200 can accommodate 50 passengers. They fly to 70 destinations in North America with hubs based at Philadelphia International Ai...

Suwanee, Georgia: Vision Airlines is commercial/charter airline that operates primarily in the southern United States. Based out of Louisville International Airport, Vision services sixteen destinations in the United States and the Bahamas. Vision Airlines was founded in 1994 and focused primarily on chartered flights and tours. They provided white water rafting and Grand Canyon charters as well as aerial tours of sites like the Hoover Dam and Monument Valley. In 2011, Vision expanded into the commercial market by adding commercial passenger routes in the Southern United States. The Vision fleet is comprised sixteen active aircraft and ten reserve aircraft. The fleet includes a Boeing 737-300, two Boeing 737-400, two Boeing 767-200, eleven Dornier 228, four Dornier 328 and two Dornier 328JET. The Boeings are used for their commercial passenger service while the Dorniers are for their tour operations. Vision’s only hub is located at Louisville International Airport. They also us...

Las Vegas, Nevada: Connecting cities that do not have regular commercial service is a model that has proven successful for Allegiant Air. They help ease the commute by flying directly into popular warm weather destinations that are otherwise neglected by the larger airlines all without compromising the convenience of flying in a large jet. Allegiant Air began offering flights in 1999. Their original operations were based in Fresno. The early years were rough for Allegiant as they were forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2000. The bankruptcy forced Allegiant to change their business model to focus on providing service to smaller airports that were not served by large airlines. The change in focus combined with a contract to charter casino trips for Harrah’s led to Allegiant coming out of bankruptcy in 2002. Since then, the airline has expanded considerably. They now have now expanded into seven base cities that provide service to 70 destinations in the United Sta...

Phoenix, Arizona: Mesa Airlines is a regional airline that serves as a code share partner for US Airways Express and United Airlines Express while also operating go! Mokulele, an airline that services island hopping in Hawaii. The airline operates over 600 flights daily to 120 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Mesa Airlines was formed in 1982 as a scheduled service route between Farmington and Albuquerque. The airline grew through its first ten years, earning a code share agreement with Midwest Express and United Airlines while acquiring Aspen Airways and Air Midwest. The airline continued to grow throughout the 90’s with additional code share agreements with US Airways and America West while acquire additional airlines along the way. Following 9/11, the airline restructured to adapt to the changing travel climate. They reduced budget by eliminating aircraft that were unprofitable and focusing more on code share agreements. This restructuring led to them earning the Regi...

Tempe, Arizona: The sixth largest airline in the United States, US Airways is a major player in travel aviation. Together with their code share partners, US Airways performs 3,000 flights a day to over 200 destinations worldwide. US Air was technically born in 1979, however its beginning goes back several decades before then. The timeline leading up to US Air actually begins with the DuPont family in 1939. They founded All American Aviation in 1939 to service the Ohio River valley. The company grew and later became All American Airways in 1949. Then as the airline began to focus solely on passenger traffic, it changed names to Alleghany Airlines in 1953. Alleghany Airlines grew by leaps and bounds through the 60’s and 70’s. They merged with Lake Central Airlines and Mohawk Airlines to become one of the largest airlines in the Unites States. It was then that the front office changed the name of the airline to US Air.  The airline continued to grow through the 80’s, ...

Orlando, Florida: AirTran Airways is a low-cost airline based in Orlando, Florida. Its fleet of 140 aircraft operate over 700 daily flights to 70 destinations in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. The history of AirTran actually begins several years before the name AirTran. In 1992, the low-cost airline ValuJet was formed. ValuJet suffered scores of safety setbacks, culminating in the FAA to seek removal of their flight certification in ealy 1996. However the process was lost in the government bureaucracy and ValuJet suffered its largest accident in May 1996 when ValuJet Flight 592 crashed in the Florida Everglades, killing 110. The crash combined with the substandard safety records forced ValuJet into financial ruins and they were purchased by Airways Corporation in 1997. The airline was rebranded as AirTran Airways and the company headquarters was relocated to Orlando in November 1997. The original model for AirTran was to provide low cost flights to Orlando...

Cincinnati, Ohio: Comair is a subsidiary airline operated by Delta Airlines as a Delta Connections service. Based in Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, they provide over 400 flights a day to over 70 destinations. Comair started in 1977 as a small airline, operating two Piper Navajo aircraft. They went public in 1981 and became a Delta Connection in 1984. Delta purchased almost a quarter of Comair stock in 1986 before purchasing the entire operation in 1999. Comair operates a fleet of 74 aircraft. They include the Bombardier CRJ-100ER, Bombardier CRJ-200ER, Bombardier CRJ-700ER and the Bombardier CRJ-900ER. Their fleet is anticipated to reduce in the coming months as they retire the aging CRJ-100 ER’s. Comair flies to 70 destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas. In addition to their main base at Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, Comair also operates a hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Click on the photo a...

Atlanta, Georgia: With over 4,000 flights a day to six of the seven continents in the world, Delta Air Lines is the second largest airline in the world. Their fleet of 716 aircraft deliver passengers to 247 destinations worldwide. Delta got its start in 1924 as Huff Daland Duster, a crop dusting service in Macon, Georgia. In 1925, they became the largest privately owned airline fleet and relocated their headquarters to Monroe, Louisiana. The in the late 1920’s Huff Daland expanded operations into the passenger market and was renamed Delta Air Service. Delta Air Service continued to grow through the 1930’s, expanding both passenger and mail delivery services. The 1940’s saw major changes for Delta. They relocated their headquarters to their current location in Atlanta. They began to offer cargo service and they welcomed their one millionth passenger onboard. They also helped U.S. war efforts by training pilots and assisting in maintenance of aircraft for the allied forces...