T3 ? Destinations 2 Motto The better choice Number of employees 160 (June 1996) Date of operation 17 July 1995 | Commenced operations July 17, 1995 Company slogan The better choice Founded 1995 Ceased operations January 1997 Fleet size 1 | |
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Operating bases Key people Donald Martin, CEOGary Dumas, CFO Headquarters | ||
TriStar Airlines was an airline based at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. It launched operations in July 1995 with scheduled flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco and added more destinations later in the year. TriStar utilized British Aerospace BAe 146 jet aircraft on its routes. In late 1996, the airline began to suffer financial difficulties, deciding to reduce its scheduled operations in favor of the charter industry. Although it settled a lessor dispute in November 1996, TriStar ended all flights not long after in January 1997.
Contents
History
TriStar Airlines began operations on July 17, 1995, with flights to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the Grand Canyon. It had a marketing agreement with Japan Airlines and was connected to the airline's computer reservations system. Under this arrangement, TriStar Airlines transported Japan Airlines passengers on package tours to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. TriStar served Grand Canyon National Park Airport and was one of the few airlines ever to operate scheduled jet service to this airfield located adjacent to the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park. TriStar operated leased British Aerospace 146 (BAe 146) jet aircraft on all its routes. In November 1995, the airline introduced flights to Reno and Eugene, Oregon; flights to Aspen, Colorado, started the following month.
TriStar Airlines signed a marketing agreement with Eagle Canyon Airlines in June 1996, thereby ending flights to the Grand Canyon. Faced with financial troubles and low passenger numbers, TriStar decided to shift its focus to the more lucrative charter industry in September 1996. It ended flights to Reno and Eugene and reduced operations to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In October 1996, British Aerospace terminated its lease to TriStar and sued for its aircraft's return, claiming TriStar owned the company US$3 million. As a result, all four of the airline's aircraft were grounded on October 28. TriStar and British Aerospace negotiated for the return of three aircraft, allowing TriStar to resume operations nine days later with a single BAe 146. At this point, TriStar only offered twice weekly Las Vegas–San Francisco flights, with charter operations reserved for the rest of the week.
The airline ended operations in January 1997.
Corporate affairs
TriStar Airlines was headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, It used the slogan The better choice; and its logo, consisting of three stars and a color scheme of red, gray, black, and white, won the Award of Excellence For Logo Design in a 1996 American Corporate Identity competition. Donald P. Martin served as the president and CEO, and Gary Dumas was the chief financial officer. The airline had 160 employees in June 1996.
Destinations
At the time it ceased operations, TriStar Airlines offered scheduled flights to the following destinations:
The destinations below were terminated earlier:
Fleet
TriStar Airlines fleet included the BAe 146-100 and the larger BAe 146-200. The airline was operating a total of four British Aerospace 146 aircraft in June 1996, configured with 86 to 100 seats in an all–economy class six abreast seating configuration. Following the settlement of a dispute with lessor British Aerospace, TriStar was allowed to retain a single BAe 146.
Services
TriStar Airlines offered only one class of service, economy class. It offered assigned seating and complimentary snacks and beverages.