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Omni Air International

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Omni Air International
IATA ICAO Call sign
OY OAE OMNI-EXPRESS
Founded1993; 31 years ago (1993)
AOC #CNMA334B[1]
Fleet size14
DestinationsWorldwide
Parent companyAir Transport Services Group (ATSG)
HeadquartersTulsa International Airport
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Key peopleDavid Ray (President)
Websitewww.oai.aero

Omni Air International, LLC. is a United States charter airline headquartered in Hangar 19 on the grounds of Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States.[2] It specializes in passenger charter flights and Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) wet leasing.[3] Omni Air International is a member of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet as a long-range international carrier.[4] Omni Air International is a FAA Part 121 certificated airline with IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registration.

Omni Air International cooperates with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in controversial (sometimes termed "high-risk") deportations.[5] Omni Air International has been characterized as engaging in price gouging over its role in deportation flights.[5] The US Government paid Omni Air $1.8 million for its role in deporting 163 people on 18 November 2019.[5]

History

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A former Omni Air International McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in 2005
Credits:https://www.flickr.com/people/22147358@N04
A former Omni Air International Boeing 757-200 in 2008.

The airline was established under the name Omni Air Express and started operations in March 1993 with a Boeing 727 freighter aircraft. In 1993, Omni started its Part 121 air carrier operations with Boeing 727F equipment in the narrow-body cargo market. Customers include integrated shipping companies such as BAX Global, DHL, Emery Worldwide, and UPS.[6]

In 1997, the company changed its name to Omni Air International and launched passenger operations with DC-10s (including N270AX, the last DC-10 ever built).

In 1998, the company sold its Boeing 727f fleet to focus exclusively on its growing passenger business. From 1998 to 2000, the company acquired three second-hand long-range McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30s and began providing international charter service to wholesale companies and cruise lines as well as wet lease Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) for other airlines and the US Department of Defense.

In April 2003, the Boeing 757-200 passenger aircraft was added to its fleet. The 757-200 fleet was approved for extended range over water operations (ETOPS). Boeing 757s were flown on vacation routes between Las Vegas (LAS) and Honolulu (HNL) year-round. They also flew between Minneapolis/St.Paul (MSP) and Cancun (CUN), Cozumel (CZM), Mazatlan (MZT) and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo (ZIH), Mexico and to Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ) year round and between Boston (BOS) and Aruba (AUA), Netherlands Antilles seasonally.

Boeing 767-300ER aircraft were added starting in August 2009, and Boeing 777-200ER aircraft began operating in April 2011. That same year, the Boeing 767-200ER was added to the fleet. The B-767s and DC-10s were operated on Department of Defense flights between the US and Kuwait (KWI) and between the US and overseas bases in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East and Central Asia. Omni also occasionally operates sub-service/wet-lease flights for foreign airlines from Canada, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, and Bolivia.

In 2011, Omni retired the McDonnell Douglas DC-10s from the fleet and received its IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registration. In 2012, Omni retired the Boeing 757-200.

On October 2, 2018, Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) announced it would acquire Omni subject to regulatory approval.[7] On November 9, 2018 Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) completed its $845 million acquisition of Omni.[8]

In September 2019, Omni aided in the repatriation of British citizens after the collapse of the UK's Thomas Cook Airlines. The airline was contracted by the Civil Aviation Authority under the instruction of the British government to operate rescue flights returning stranded Thomas Cook passengers to the UK.[9]

In 2020, Omni Air obtained $67 million in coronavirus relief aid, as well as a $77.65 million contract with the Trump administration's Department of Defense for "international charter airlift services."[10]

In August 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, utilizing 18 aircraft from six commercial airlines to ferry evacuees of Afghanistan from interim waystations throughout the Middle East and Europe. According to the Pentagon, the activation involves four aircraft from United Airlines; three aircraft each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, and Omni Air; and two from Hawaiian Airlines.[11]

Fleet

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Omni Air International Boeing 767-300ER
Omni Air International Boeing 777-200ER

As of June 2024, the Omni Air International fleet consists of the following aircraft:[12][better source needed]

Aircraft Total Orders Passenger Configurations[12] Notes
B Y Total
Boeing 767-200ER[13] 3 — 18 195 213
Boeing 767-300ER 9 — 12 193 205 Two aircraft leased primarily for the New England Patriots.[14]
24 224 248
19 222 241
44 203 247
88 0 88
Boeing 777-200ER 3 — 0 381 381
Total 15 —

Accidents and incidents

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On 28 August 2020, an Omni Air International Boeing 767 (registered N423AX) operated a flight between Kabul, Afghanistan and Washington, United States with a scheduled refueling stop at Bucharest, Romania. During landing at the Romanian capital, the aircraft's left main landing gear collapsed. The aircraft skidded along the runway and evacuation slides were used by the 80 passengers to escape without injury.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  2. ^ "Contact as of October 15, 2018, Omni Air International, LLC., 3303 N Sheridan Rd, Hangar 19 Tulsa, OK 74115."
  3. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-10. pp. 58–59.
  4. ^ "Civil Reserve Air Fleet". Air Force. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Rohrlich, Justin (5 December 2019). "The sole airline willing to fly "high-risk" deportations is price-gouging ICE". Quartz. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  6. ^ "History" in Omni Air International Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  7. ^ "ATSG Press Release"
  8. ^ "ATSG Completes Omni Air Acquisition". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  9. ^ "Thomas Cook has ceased trading | UK Civil Aviation Authority". www.caa.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  10. ^ "Deportation airline secures $67 million in coronavirus bailout". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  11. ^ "Commercial Airlines to Aid Afghanistan Evacuation". Retrieved Aug 24, 2021.
  12. ^ a b oia.aero - Fleet retrieved 21 January 2023
  13. ^ "Air Canada Responds to Transport Canada's Closure of Canadian Airspace to the Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft". www.aircanada.com. Retrieved Aug 24, 2021.
  14. ^ "Omni Air International Partners with New England Patriots".
  15. ^ Noëth, Bart (2020-08-28). "Omni Air International Boeing 767 suffers main landing gear collapse during landing at Bucharest Airport". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
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Media related to Omni Air International at Wikimedia Commons

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