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North American Airlines

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North American Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
NA NAO NORTH AMERICAN
Founded1989
Fleet size10
DestinationsCharters
Parent companyGlobal Aero Logistics, Inc.
HeadquartersNew York City, New York
Key peopleJeff Wehrenberg (COO)
Websitehttp://www.flynaa.com

North American Airlines, Inc. is an American airline based in New York City, USA. Prior to May 2008, it operated scheduled international services from the USA to Africa and Guyana. Today, it operates domestic and international charter services and wet lease services. Its main base is John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York.[1].

History

North American Airlines is a subsidiary of Global Aero Logistics, Inc.. Unlike the other airlines that are a part of GAL, ATA Airlines (now defunct) 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 and Oakland, CA at that time. In addition to their original 757s, North American also operates Boeing 767s for long-range, high-density charter flights. [citation needed]

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, although they still maintain financial interests at it's former cargo subisidiary VarigLog (LC). Two 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 Charlie McDonald serves as President. Rob Binns is the CEO for Global Aero Logistics.

Scheduled destinations

North American Boeing 767

North American Airlines discontinued all scheduled operations in May 2008. At the time of this shut down, the airline operated scheduled passenger flights to the following destinations: [2]

Africa

North America

South America

Announced on February 19, 2008, North American Airlines planned on discontinuing all scheduled service in May 2008 in favor of concentrating on charter operations. [3] According to a news release on northamericanair.com, "What makes NAA's scheduled service operations untenable is the rising cost of fuel, with jet fuel costs increasing 60 percent since 2005. This was a difficult decision, especially in light of the continuing support we have received from the governments and the traveling public in these markets. NAA's modern Boeing 757/767 fleet is in high demand and NAA will redeploy these aircraft profitably in the charter market".

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. [citation needed].

Charter destinations

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. Since discontinuing all scheduled service in May 2008, North American Airlines continues to operate today as solely a charter airline.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama has leased a North American Airlines plane for use during the 2008 United States Presidential Election.

Fleet

As of September 2008, the North American Airlines fleet includes 10 aircraft: [4] :

North American Airlines 757-200 at the Redmond airport USFS aerial firefighting ramp. This aircraft was chartered to carry Sen. Barack Obama and members of his staff and press, during his 2008 presidential bid and gained a reputation of being offensively "smelly"[1].
North American Airlines Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers
(Business/Coach) 		Notes
Boeing 757-200 5 199 (16/183) One Boeing 757-200 was operated for Barack Obama's U.S. presidential election campaign.
Boeing 767-300 5 206 (30/176)
247 (247)

As of September 2008, the average fleet age of North American Airlines was 11.0 years. [5]

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 and other locations. [citation needed]

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.[6]

North American Airlines also operated charter cargo service to Gibraltar in co-operation with the Odyssey Marine Exploration.[7]

Incidents and accidents

References

  1. ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-10. p. 56.
  2. ^ "North America Airlines Route Map," [sic] North American Airlines
  3. ^ NAA to discontinue all scheduled service
  4. ^ North American Airlines Fleet Info
  5. ^ North American Airlines Fleet Age
  6. ^ Gordon, Susan (2007-08-10). "Air Jamaica spends millions on 'wet leasing' - Airline struggles to cope with summer traffic". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  7. ^ "US Flight arrives in Gibraltar". Gibfocus.gi. Retrieved 2007-08-20. {{cite news}}: Text "date=2007-05-16" ignored (help)
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