Air Florida

 ( 1971 Establishments In Florida ) 

In December 1976, an investor group led by Ed Acker, previously a Braniff executive but at that time at an insurance company, led a recapitalization of Air Florida. Acker's group put in $1.5mm, some creditors agreed to take stock in exchange for $2mm in debt, other creditors agreed to a standstill, allowing Air Florida to acquire DC-9 jets. "Air Florida Plans Sale of Big Block to Texans," Orlando Sentinel, December 10, 1976 - Clipping. "Air Florida pins hopes on DC-9s," Orlando Sentinel, May 16, 1977 - Clipping. Three DC-9s were financed by Carl Lindner's American Financial Corp, which bought them from Air Canada and leased them to Air Florida in exchange for low-priced stock and warrants that, in early 1980, provided Lindner with a substantial payoff. "Firm Cashes-in On Air Florida Gamble," Miami Herald, February 22, 1980 - Clipping at Newspapers.com. In mid-1977, Acker became CEO and chairman, Timoner became president and COO, and Ted Griffin left the company. "Of Special Interest in Florida," Miami Herald, July 15, 1977 - Clipping By February 1978, a turnaround was evident. The fleet comprised five DC-9s, with three more on the way. A company tag-line emphasized the change: "All jet. All the time."

No longer confined to its home state, Air Florida under Ed Acker was aggressive:

• Air Florida grew quickly, to the Northeast US, Caribbean, Central America and Europe. European routes required long-haul aircraft, such as DC-8s or DC-10s. By January 1981, the fleet included four DC-9s, 21 737s and a DC-10. The financial turnaround continued, with 1979 and 1980 showing solid profits. 1980 revenues were over five times those of 1978 (see nearby table).
• Air Florida initiated three attempted takeovers of other carriers, two of them materially larger than Air Florida. This was not unusual for the time. Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air was another small carrier that made bids for much larger airlines in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

On August 27, 1981, Ed Acker left Air Florida to take up the CEO position at Pan Am, saying that Cunard told him the position of captain of the Titanic was no longer available, so he was seeking a comparable challenge. Air Florida chief to head Pan Am, Miami Herald, August 27, 1981 - Clipping of first and of second page at Newspapers.com. Man in the news: At the controls of Pan Am, New York Times, August 28, 1981 Timoner again became chairman and CEO. Air Florida founder is flying solo again, Miami Herald, January 11, 1982 - Clipping at Newspapers.com.

Air Florida's fortunes turned for the worse even before the crash. A substantial financial loss in the fourth quarter of 1981 was driven by fierce fare wars, Air Florida Reports $19.3 million loss in 4th quarter, Miami Herald, March 6, 1982 - Clipping at Newspapers.com. including by Pan Am now run by Ed Acker. Airlines study Pan Am's cut rate fares, Miami Herald, September 9, 1981 - Clipping of first and of second page at Newspapers.com. Heavy losses continued into 1982, but even after the crash, Air Florida management continued to consider mergers, this time with Braniff, in distress as it headed towards a May 1982 bankruptcy and grounding. Air Florida weighs offer to Braniff, Miami Herald, April 23, 1982 - Clipping of first and of second page at Newspapers.com. The economy was in trouble and airlines particularly so. The Great Stagnation, New York Times, October 17, 1982 In July, Timoner suffered a debilitating stroke, with Donald Lloyd-Jones becoming CEO. Lloyd-Jones was an American Airlines veteran who lost the heir-apparent competition at American to Robert Crandall and had joined Air Florida as president. Anatomy of a stroke: The case of Eli Timoner, Miami Herald, November 8, 1982 - Clipping at Newspapers.com.

• Air Florida shrank but did not simplify. It continued to fly to Europe, despite financials that showed Europe to be the worst of the three Air Florida geographies: US, Europe and Latin America (Latin American operations were consistently close-to-break-even or better). Indeed, even after it collapsed, the first operation Air Florida sought to resuscitate was its London route, Air Florida pilots agree to pay cut, Miami Herald, July 14, 1984 - Clipping of first and of second page at Newspapers.com. yet it was the domestic 737 operation that survived the bankruptcy.
• It continued to fly Northeast to Florida routes in the face of brutal competition from Eastern and Pan Am – Eastern because New York to Miami was its marquee route since before WWII, a source of profits for decades.
  Robert J. Serling (1980). 9780803746107, Dial Press. ISBN 9780803746107
  Pan Am for its part had bought National Airlines in 1979, which for decades shared that New York to Miami route with Eastern. Therefore that market was also important to Pan Am. But as much as Eastern and Pan Am lost on such routes, it did not have the proportionate impact on them as it did on Air Florida. As Eastern CEO Frank Borman noted in 1982, "we bled seriously, but only from a vein, Air bled from an artery". Pay Plan Keeping EAL Intact, Miami Herald, Jul 18, 1982 - Clipping of first and of second page at Newspapers.com.

High 1982 losses led Air Florida's outside accountants to qualify that year's financials with a going concern warning; they had reason to doubt Air Florida's survival. Despite grim warning, Air Florida finds hope, Miami Herald, May 2, 1983 - Clipping at Newspapers.com. Air Florida loses $93 million in '82 in its worst performance, Miami Herald, March 19, 1983 - Clipping at Newspapers.com. Interest expense ballooned to $35mm in 1982 from $10mm in 1980, a serious problem for a shrinking company that had never generated an operating profit of more than $10mm. From 4Q83, the company did not meet its obligation of filing CAB reports and when it collapsed Air Florida had $27mm in accounts receivable – amounts uncollected from travel agencies, credit card processors, other airlines and so forth. This was a source of post-bankruptcy funding. Air Florida to ask access to its accounts receivable, Columbia, SC State, July 7, 1984 - Clipping at Newspapers.com. Air Florida continues to face cash shortage, Fort Lauderdale News, July 20, 1984 - Clipping at Newspapers.com. Air Florida main lender declared a default on loans in July 1983, almost a year before the carrier Florida ceased operation. Headlines remained negative, as Air Florida tried increasingly creative ways to remain funded. History of a struggling airline, Miami Herald, May 27, 1984 - Clipping of first and of second page at Newspapers.com. Towards the end, the company funded itself in part by not making required payments to the employee credit union, payroll taxes and medical insurance. Ironies flow with champagne at Jet Florida, Miami Herald, August 11, 1986 - Clipping at Newspapers.com.

Some of the above destinations in the U.S. and the Bahamas were served by commuter air carriers operating Air Florida Commuter service with prop and turboprop aircraft via respective code sharing agreements.

Air Florida also served Belize City, Belize; Charleston, South Carolina; Chicago (Midway Airport), Illinois; Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW Airport), Texas; Düsseldorf, Germany; Frankfurt, Germany; Houston (Hobby Airport), Texas; Paris, France; Madrid, Spain; Providence, Rhode Island; Providenciales, Turk and Caicos Islands; St. Petersburg, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Savannah, Georgia; and Zürich, Switzerland with mainline jet service at various times during its existence. In addition, Air Florida Commuter served Lakeland, Florida in early 1983.departedflights.com, Air Florida route maps

• BAC One-Eleven (operated by British Island Airways in Europe to provide passenger feed for Air Florida's transatlantic flights. The aircraft had Air Florida titles in addition to their British Island Airways titles)
• Boeing 707-320
• Boeing 727-100
• Boeing 727-200
• McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15RC
• Lockheed L-188C Electra

• On August 10, 1980, Air Florida Flight 4, with 35 people on board, operated by a Boeing 737 from Miami International Airport to Key West International Airport, was taken over by a hijacker, who demanded to be flown to Cuba. He later surrendered in Havana.
• Three days later, on August 13, 1980, Air Florida Flight 707, another Boeing 737, flying the opposite direction of Flight 4, with 74 people on board, was hijacked by seven people. They demanded to be taken to Cuba, but later surrendered.
• On September 22, 1981, Air Florida Flight 2198, operated by a McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 carrying 71 occupants, suffered an uncontained engine failure after departing Miami, the aircraft returned to the airport and made a safe landing, no one was hurt.
• On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed very shortly after takeoff from Washington National Airport due to atmospheric icing and pilot error, killing 74 of the 79 people on board, injuring four of the five survivors, and killing four people on the Interstate 395 14th Street Bridge, which the Boeing 737-200 crashed into before plunging into the ice covered Potomac River.
• On February 2, 1982, Air Florida Flight 710, a Boeing 737-200 with 77 people on board from Miami International to Key West International was hijacked. The hijacker wanted to be taken to Cuba, but he later surrendered.
• On July 7, 1983, Air Florida Flight 8 with 47 people on board was flying from Fort Lauderdale International Airport to Tampa International Airport. One of the passengers handed a note to one of the flight attendants, saying that he had a bomb, and telling them to fly the plane to Havana, Cuba. He revealed a small athletic bag, which he opened, and inside was an apparent explosive device. The airplane was diverted to Havana-José Martí International Airport, and the hijacker was taken into custody by Cuban authorities.

• List of defunct airlines of the United States

• Airchive.com: Air Florida timetable and route map images
• timetableimages.com: Air Florida timetable and route map images
• Sunshine Skies: Air Florida history, vintage photos and route map