Silver Airways

Silver Airways
IATA ICAO Callsign
3M SIL SILVER WINGS
Founded May 21, 2011
Commenced operations December 15, 2011
AOC # 29GA010N
Hubs
Fleet size 23
Destinations 28
Parent company Versa Capital Management LLC
Headquarters Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
Broward County, Florida, U.S.
Key people Sami Teittinen (Chief Executive Officer)[1]
Website silverairways.com

Silver Airways Corp., operating as Silver Airways, is a United States airline with its headquarters in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in unincorporated Broward County, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale. Silver Airways launched as a new regional carrier with assets from former Gulfstream International Airlines.[2]

The airline operates around 170 daily scheduled flights. Silver Airways operates to 20 cities in the United States and seven destinations in The Bahamas with hubs at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Tampa International Airport.

As of November 2013 Silver Airways received $20,515,042 in annual Federal subsidies for Essential Air Services that it provided to rural airports in the United States.[3]

History

On November 4, 2010, Gulfstream International Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[4] In May 2011, Victory Park Capital bought the assets of Gulfstream International Group, including 21 of Gulfstream's Beechcraft 1900D aircraft from Raytheon Aircraft Credit Corporation.[5]

Saab 340B at Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport.

On December 15, 2011, the airline was rebranded as Silver Airways. That same day, they took delivery of one of six recently purchased Saab 340B+ aircraft.[5]

In the first half of 2012, Silver Airways made several moves to turn the company around. Its maintenance facilities were moved from Fort Lauderdale to Gainesville Regional Airport, taking over the former Eclipse Aviation facility that had remained vacant since 2009.[6] It purchased six more Saab 340B+ aircraft bringing the Saab fleet to 12.[7]

Scheduled service on the Saabs started on the Florida and Bahamas routes. Shortly after, routes from Gainesville Regional Airport to Orlando International Airport and Tampa International Airport began.[8]

Silver Airways expanded their network numerous times in the second half of 2012. First, Washington Dulles International Airport started scheduled service to destinations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia. Its Florida route network expanded to Jacksonville.[9] And service began from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to destinations in Mississippi and Alabama.[10]

On August 7, 2012, Silver Airways made national news headlines when one of its flights landed at the wrong airport.[11]

On February 11, 2013, Victory Park Capital announced it had hired industry veteran Dave Pflieger to strengthen and grow the airline. [12]

On June 28, 2013 Silver Airways announced that it would cease Montana operations over the next few months.[13] The announcement came on the heels of the Department of Transportation's (DOT) decision to eliminate subsidized service in two key Montana communities, Lewistown and Miles City. Service ended after the last flights on July 15, 2013 for Lewistown and Miles City.[13] To ensure no interruption of service and a smooth transition for the flying public in the remaining Montana markets serviced by Silver Airways, Silver continued its operations in those communities until such time as the DOT awarded the routes to another airline and the new carrier started service to those communities.[13]

In September 2013, Silver Airways announced an expansion of its intra-Florida and Florida-Bahamas network. [14]

In 2013, Silver Airways was named one of the Top 10 Best U.S. Airlines in the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler's 26th annual Readers’ Choice Awards.[15]

In the first half of 2014, Silver Airways made several network changes. It ended Beech 1900 operations in Cleveland's EAS network.[16] Then, Silver Airways closed much of its Atlanta network and redeployed its aircraft to other markets.[17]

In February, 2014, the airline and its owners, Victory Park Capital, announced they had obtained up to $73 million in additional financing from GB Credit Partners, LLC, the investment management affiliate of Gordon Brothers Group and Crystal Financial LLC. [18]

In February, 2014, Silver Airways announced it planned to exit its Cleveland Network, retire its Beech 1900Ds, and strengthen its core network and Saab 340B Plus fleet. [19]

In March, 2014, Silver Airways completed its first ever IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) [20]

In May, 2014, Silver announced a new partnership with JetBlue. [21]

In May 2014, Silver Airways announced it was a new stand-alone airline after the launch of its own independent reservations system, CEO Dave Pflieger described the airline as a hybrid carrier, part start-up, part turnaround, both independent and a partner to a larger airline (United). He also noted that it was “rationalizing” its fleet and network and “only flying where it makes sense”, so the airline could not only meet but exceed guests’ expectations and continue to grow the airline. [22]

In January 2015, Silver Airways added Panama City, Florida to its list of destinations, by starting services to Orlando and Tampa from the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. It also announced the launch of a direct service between Jacksonville and Tampa.[23]

On February 27, 2015 Silver Airways previewed its new maintenance headquarters at Orlando International Airport. The project is a complete renovation that will be home to a 38,000 square-foot maintenance, repair and overhaul facility that includes two large aircraft hangars each capable of housing three to four aircraft, as well as office space. Silver Airways has committed to a long-term 30-year lease from the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority to headquarter its new maintenance facility in Orlando.[24]

In August 2015, Silver Airways ended its Gainesville service, several months after missing and restructuring payments on its Gainesville maintenance hangar.[25]

On March 2, 2016 Silver Airways filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide service from five Florida cities to ten Cuban cities.[26][27] However, later, Silver Airways was only granted nine Cuban cities, being denied the Havana route.[28][29][30]

On September 13, 2016 it was announced that a majority stake of Silver Airways has been acquired by a private equity firm Versa Capital Management LLC in Philadelphia.[31]

Facilities

The airline headquarters are located in Suite 201 of the 1100 Lee Wagener Boulevard building on the property of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in unincorporated Broward County, Florida,[2][32][33] near Fort Lauderdale. Previously its headquarters were in Dania Beach, Florida,[32][34] also near Fort Lauderdale.[35] The airline also maintains a maintenance facility based at Orlando International Airport.[36]

Destinations

Silver Airways is the largest U.S. carrier to the Bahamas, operating more daily flights to more points throughout the multi-island country than any other airline. In its home state of Florida, Silver Airways serves more gateways with more daily flights than any other airline.

Silver Airways currently operates Essential Air Service routes out of Washington-Dulles International Airport.

Domestic

Florida

International

Bahamas

Cuba

Silver Airways also operates public bonded charter flights that are not under the United Express code.

Interline and codeshare agreements

Silver Airways does not participate in any major global airline alliances, but the airline has interline and codeshare agreements with several airlines. Many of these airlines are members of global airline alliances.

Fleet

The Silver Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft:[39]

Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
Y Total
Saab 340B 23 — 34 34
Total 23 0  

References

  1. ↑ "Silver Airways Names Sami Teittinen as CEO" (Press release). Silver Airways. 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2014-09-05.
  2. 1 2 Pike, Joe (December 15, 2011). "Caribbean, The Bahamas, flights, 987654 | Travel Agent Central". www.travelagentcentral.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  3. ↑ "Subsidized EAS web report for non-Alaska communities" (PDF). www.dot.gov. November 2013. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  4. ↑ Yu, Roger (November 5, 2010). "Gulfstream International files for bankruptcy protection". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  5. 1 2 "Gulfstream International Airlines Rebrands as Silver Airways". www.victoryparkcapitaladvisors.com. December 15, 2011. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  6. ↑ Clark, Anthony (February 29, 2012). "Silver Airways will offer flights connecting Gainesville to Orlando and Tampa starting April 15". Gainesville.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  7. ↑ Satchell, Arlene (March 12, 2012). "Silver Airways to acquire six more Saab340 aircraft – Travel – Sun-Sentinel". blogs.sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  8. ↑ Murphy, David. "Silver Airways brings cheap Tampa, Orlando flights from Gainesville". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  9. ↑ "Regional carrier Silver Airways adds new routes in select Florida and national markets". tribunedigital-sunsentinel. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  10. ↑ "Silver Airways expands service at Hartsfield-Jackson". Aviation.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  11. ↑ Cooper, Aaron. "Plane lands at wrong airport in West Virginia, FAA investigating - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  12. ↑ Cooper, Aaron. "Air Transport World". atwonline. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
  13. 1 2 3 Falstad, Jan. "Silver Airways won't bid on Montana EAS contract". The Billings Gazette. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  14. ↑ "Top Florida Airline adds new nonstop service in West Palm Beach". http://www.travelandtourworld.com/. Retrieved September 6, 2013. External link in |website= (help)
  15. ↑ "Silver Airways named one of top 10 airlines by Conde Nast Traveler". Biz Buzz. 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  16. ↑ Suttell, Scott (2014-02-14). "Silver Airways to exit Cleveland market". Crain's Cleveland Business. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  17. ↑ Bevan, Shaun (April 15, 2014). "Silver Airways to launch new route from Key West to Orlando - South Florida Business Journal". South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  18. ↑ "Silver Airways completes recapitalization". http://www.thebahamasinvestor.com. Retrieved September 19, 2016. External link in |website= (help)
  19. ↑ "Silver Airways to drop the Cleveland hub, will retire the Beech 1900Ds". https://worldairlinenews.com/2014/02/15/silver-airways-to-drop-the-cleveland-hub-will-retire-the-beech-1900ds/. Retrieved May 15, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  20. ↑ "Silver Airways successfully completes IATA Operational Safety Audit". http://www.eturbonews.com/43562/silver-airways-successfully-completes-iata-operational-safety-au. Retrieved March 11, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  21. ↑ "Flights on Silver Airways Now Eligible for TrueBlue Frequent-Flyer Points". http://www.airlinesanddestinations.com/airlines/flights-on-silver-airways-now-eligible-for-trueblue-frequent-flyer-points/. Retrieved May 6, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  22. ↑ "The Growing Pains of 3-Year Old Niche Carrier Silver Airlways". https://skift.com. Retrieved May 6, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  23. ↑ Drum, Bruce (2015-01-19). "Silver Airways to add Panama City, Florida as its newest destination, will also add Charleston, SC". World Airline News. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  24. ↑ "Photo Release -- Silver Airways Previews New Maintenance Headquarters at Orlando International Airport". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  25. ↑ Clark, Anthony (2015-07-08). "Silver Airways to end Gainesville service next month". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  26. ↑ "Silver Airways Applies For Service From Florida To Cuba". Miami CBS. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  27. ↑ Reiser, Emon (March 2, 2016). "Cuba flights: Silver Airways applies for commercial routes to Cuba - South Florida Business Journal". South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  28. ↑ Werley, Jensen (July 8, 2016). "Silver Airways snubbed from Havana flights - Jacksonville Business Journal". Jacksonville Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  29. ↑ Perez, Maria (July 7, 2016). "Florida cities selected for commercial flights to Havana, but not Fort Myers". Napes Daily News. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  30. ↑ "USA to Havana Flights Approved for 8 Airlines". Havana Times.org. July 8, 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  31. ↑ Satchell, Arlene (September 13, 2016). "Silver Airways gets new majority owner". SunSentinel. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  32. 1 2 "Contact Us". www.gulfstreamair.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  33. ↑ "Tenant Directory - Silver Airways". www.broward.org. Archived from the original on December 27, 2011. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  34. ↑ "Dania Beach city, Florida." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 21, 2009.
  35. ↑ Pasztor, Andy; Carey, Susan (2009-05-25). "FAA Probes Trainer of Commuter Pilots". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  36. ↑ Dineen, Caitlin (March 4, 2015). "Silver Airways maintenance headquarters to open in Orlando soon". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  37. ↑ "Silver Airways opens second US commercial route to Cuba". Caribbean News Now. September 6, 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  38. ↑ Tribune, Aviation (July 16, 2016). "Silver Airways Launches First International Codeshare with Avianca". Aviation Tribune. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
  39. ↑ "Silver Airways Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2016-06-20.

External links

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