Destinations N/A Website N/A Fleet size 0 | Parent company Heartland Airlines LLC Founded 1998 | |
Hubs Dayton International Airport Key people John Weikle (President) Headquarters Dayton, Ohio, United States Hub Dayton International Airport | ||
Heartland Airlines is a defunct airline that planned to fly out of Dayton International Airport. While the airline existed for 3 years, no flights ever took place and no planes were ever purchased.
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History
The airline was created in 1998 by John Weikle, a 20-year veteran at Airborne Express. Plans were to cater to business travelers, offering amenities such as plush leather seating and dinner served on real china. The airline would travel to other business centers in the midwest region. Heartland announced they would cease operations on February 9, 2001, however, after failing to raise enough funds from investors.
Funding problems
The first round of fund-raising started in 1999, and collected $6 million in about one year. A second round of funding began shortly thereafter, with the goal of $55 million. This proved problematic for Heartland, though, which was only able to raise $35 million from local investors. Last-minute efforts to raise enough capital included securing a $10 million loan from the Ohio state legislature, but all measures failed. With no way to continue operations, Heartland Airlines returned all $35 million to their investors.