JET - Founded September 1980 | Commenced operations November 16, 1981 Fleet size 10 | |
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Ceased operations October 1, 1987 (merged into Alaska Airlines) Destinations 11 (at the time of its acquisition by Alaska Airlines) Key people J. Thomas TalbotAlan KenisonTed ShownGeorge CheliusDon RhodesTim Collins Hubs Long Beach Airport, McCarran International Airport | ||
Jet America Airlines was an airline that operated domestic flights in the United States between 1981 and 1987. It was headquartered in Signal Hill, California, near Long Beach.
Contents
History
Headed by executives from AirCal and Air Florida, the airline began operating on November 16, 1981, with a flight from its home base at Long Beach Airport (LGB) to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD). The airline later added service to five other destinations. The airline operated a fleet of eight McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft, plus two Boeing 707 aircraft in Philadelphia during the summer of 1984 for charter work.
In 1985 Jet America joined with Disney to advertise a direct route from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Long Beach Airport for people to visit Disneyland in its 30th anniversary year. Many of these ads were played during Texas Rangers baseball games or were placed in the team's programs and calendar.
In the summer of 1986, Jet America was operating a small hub at the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) with nonstop jet service to Burbank (BUR), Chicago (ORD), Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW), Long Beach (LGB), Milwaukee (MKE), Ontario (ONT), Orange County (SNA) and St. Louis (STL) as well as direct one stop flights to Detroit (DTW) and Washington, D.C. (DCA).
Late in 1986, the airline received buyout offers from Delta Air Lines and Alaska Air Group. The airline accepted Alaska Airlines' bid and by the end of the year the acquisition had been completed. After initially attempting to operate the two airlines separately but finding it costly to do so, Jet America was merged into Alaska Airlines on October 1, 1987.
Destinations
In June 1987 shortly before it was acquired by Alaska Airlines, Jet America was serving eleven destinations in the United States:
Jet America also previously served the following destinations during its existence:
Fleet
Jet America operated a total of ten aircraft: