Harbor Airlines

Not to be confused with Bar Harbor Airlines or Harbour Air Seaplanes.
Harbor Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
HB HAR HARBOR
Founded 1971
Ceased operations 2001
Operating bases
Headquarters

Oak Harbor (1971–1996)
Gig Harbor (1996–2001)

Key people
  • Wes Lupien (founder, owner, 1971–1996)
  • Richard Boehlke (owner, 1996–2001)

Harbor Airlines (also known as Harbor Air) was a commuter airline from the United States, which existed from 1971 to 2001. Based at Oak Harbor, Washington, it operated regional passenger flights in the Puget Sound area.[1]

History

The company was founded by Wes Lupien (the owner of Oak Harbor Airport) in March 1971, originally named Oak Harbor Airlines.[1] In 1974, it had its name changed and was simply known as "Harbor Airlines" henceforth.[1] In the early 1980s, its aircraft fleet comprised five Britten-Norman Islander and one Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante.[1] By 2001, these had been replaced with five Cessna Grand Caravan.[2]

In 1996, the company was bought by Richard Boehlke and subsequently moved its headquarters from Oak Harbor to Gig Harbor.[3] Over the following years, Harbor Airlines entered a series of financial problems, which culminated in being evicted from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (the most important destination in its route network) in March 2001 due to unpaid bills worth $100,000.[4][5] The airline reacted by relocating its flights to nearby Boeing Field.[4] In early May 2001, Harbor Airlines suspended all flight activities and its then 100 employees were dismissed.[4] The company's bankruptcy also affected Oak Harbor Airport, of which Harbor Airlines was still the owner.[4]

Route network

Upon closure, Harbor Airlines offered scheduled flights from Seattle to Oak Harbor, Orcas Island, Port Angeles and San Juan Island,[4] and maintained codeshare agreements with Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air.[2]

Destinations served earlier in its history include Bellingham, Hoquiam and Mount Vernon in Washington, as well as Astoria and Portland in Oregon.[1][6] An international route to Canada, linking Seattle with Vancouver, had been inaugurated on June 12, 1981.[1]

Accidents and incidents

Harbor Airlines suffered one fatal accident, which occurred on December 26, 1974 in snowy weather conditions. Flight 308, a Britten-Norman Islander (registered N66HA) en route from Seattle to Oak Harbor crashed in Riverton, Washington shortly after take-off, killing the five people (the pilot and four passengers) on board. During the subsequent investigation, an unknown substance was found inside the pitot tubes of the aircraft, which had caused unreliable airspeed readings.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Commuter airlines directory: Harbor Airlines". Flight International: 1402. 7 November 1981. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Articles about Harbor Airlines". San Juan Islander. March–May 2001. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Information about Harbor Airlines". The News Tribune. August 11, 1999. Retrieved December 4, 2013.(subscription required)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Leff, Marni (June 15, 2001), "Harbor Air halts San Juan flights", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved December 3, 2013
  5. ↑ "Harbor Air Evicted from Sea-Tac Airport", Yakima Herald-Republic  – via HighBeam (subscription required) , March 26, 2001
  6. ↑ "Third-level airlines: Harbor Airlines". Flight International: 258. 13 February 1975. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Accident description: Harbor Airlines Flight 308". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
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