Elite Airways
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Founded | 2006 | ||||||
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Commenced operations | July 28, 2014 | ||||||
Ceased operations | July 2022 | ||||||
AOC # | 19EA891L[1] | ||||||
Operating bases | |||||||
Fleet size | 11 | ||||||
Destinations | 4 | ||||||
Headquarters | Portland, Maine, U.S. | ||||||
Website | res |
Elite Airways was an airline based in the United States that operated charter and scheduled passenger flights. The airline was headquartered in Portland, Maine.[2]
History
Elite Airways LLC was founded in 2006 and received
The airline announced that service from Northern Colorado's
In early 2016, Elite Airways introduced scheduled service from
Beginning April 27, 2017, Elite Airways begins its first international service, flying between Melbourne Orlando International Airport and South Bimini Airport in The Bahamas.
Beginning September 28, 2017, Elite Airways began doing business as
In 2018 the airline refocused its scheduled operations on the core Newark & Portland to Florida flights and has since added flights from Florida to
On August 6, 2019, it was announced that Elite Airways signed an operating agreement to provide the initial aircraft, flight crews, and maintenance service for the revival of the
In 2019, Elite Airways opened a dedicated maintenance facility at Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport.[19] In 2019 Elite Airways also ceased scheduled service to Melbourne-Orlando, which it had served since it began scheduled passenger service.
In 2020, Vero Beach, Florida city council recommended terminating Elite's lease at Vero Beach Regional Airport due to a funding gap from Florida Department of Transportation as Elite's passenger's numbers had exceeded 10,000 but less than 200,000.[20] The city council ultimately extended the lease while trying to work out a longer-term solution.[21]
In 2021, Elite began building its operations at Westchester County Airport by adding new destinations like the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket located south of Cape Cod, and later adding routes to its destinations in Florida and Maine. In Martha's Vineyard it is the first carrier to operate jet service to Westchester County Airport. Nantucket Memorial Airport has had jet service to Westchester County Airport from JetBlue since 2019. Cape Air has also flown to both islands from Westchester County Airport since 2011, but it is using nine seat piston engine aircraft. Beginning November 2021, Elite will operate flights twice weekly between Newark, New Jersey and St. Augustine (Florida) Regional Airport.
According to VeroNews.com as of July 14, 2022, the carrier had cancelled all of its scheduled July service at Vero Beach in addition to 27 of the 35 flights for June, due to the expiration of a TSA waiver.
Elite suspended all scheduled and charter flights in July of 2022.[22] In October 2023, it was reported that the DOT had revoked Elite's operating authority.[23]
Fleet
As of January 2022, Elite Airways fleet was composed of the following aircraft:[24][25]
Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Notes | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bombardier CRJ200ER
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1 | — | In a Corporate 16 seat configuration | ||||||||
Bombardier CRJ200LR
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6 | — | |||||||||
Bombardier CRJ701ER | 3 | — | All CRJ700 were previously owned by Lufthansa CityLine, one aircraft stored, one aircraft leased to Air Wisconsin for fleet familiarization, which was then transferred to GoJet Airlines to be converted to a CRJ550. | ||||||||
Bombardier CRJ900LR
|
1 | — | |||||||||
Total | 11 | — |
Destinations
Elite Airways operated both charter and scheduled operations. Charter operations were primarily NCAA charters, music tours, and other ACMI operations flying throughout North & Central America, and the Caribbean.
Former destinations
City | Airport | IATA Code | Destinations | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | ||||||
Arizona | ||||||
Bullhead City/Laughlin (Nevada) | Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport | IFP | Phoenix | |||
Phoenix | Sky Harbor International Airport
|
PHX | Bullhead City
Rochester |
|||
California | ||||||
Carlsbad | McClellan–Palomar Airport | CRQ | Las Vegas | |||
Colorado | ||||||
Denver | Denver International Airport | DEN | Branson (Seasonal) | |||
Fort Collins | Fort Collins–Loveland Municipal Airport
|
FNL | Chicago-Rockford | |||
Florida | ||||||
Key West
|
Key West International Airport | EYW | Melbourne (Florida) | |||
Melbourne | Melbourne Orlando International Airport | MLB | Bimini
Key West Long Island/Islip Washington-Dulles |
|||
Naples | Naples Municipal Airport
|
APF | Newark
Melbourne-Orlando Portland (Maine) |
|||
Sarasota | Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport | SRQ | Portland (Maine)
Traverse City White Plains |
|||
St. Augustine | Northeast Florida Regional Airport | UST | Newark
Portland |
|||
Vero Beach | Vero Beach Regional Airport | VRB | Newark
Portland |
|||
Illinois | ||||||
Chicago | Midway International Airport | MDW | Branson | |||
Rockford | Chicago Rockford International Airport | RFD | Fort Collins | |||
Louisiana | ||||||
New Orleans | Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport | MSY | Branson
Cancun (Seasonal) |
|||
Maine | ||||||
Bar Harbor | Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport
|
BHB | Newark
Portland (Maine) |
|||
Portland | Portland International Jetport | PWM | St. Augustine
Vero Beach |
|||
Massachusetts | ||||||
New Bedford | New Bedford Regional Airport | EWB | Vero Beach | |||
Martha's Vineyard
|
Martha's Vineyard Airport | MVY | White Plains | |||
Nantucket
|
Nantucket Memorial Airport | ACK | White Plains | |||
Michigan | ||||||
Traverse City | Cherry Capital Airport | TVC | Sarasota | |||
Missouri | ||||||
Branson | Branson Airport | BKG | Cancun (Seasonal)
Cincinnati Denver Houston-Intercontinental New Orleans |
|||
Nevada | ||||||
Las Vegas | McCarran International Airport
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LAS | Carlsbad | |||
New Jersey | ||||||
Newark | Newark Liberty International Airport | EWR | St. Augustine
Vero Beach |
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New York | ||||||
Albany | Albany International Airport | ALB | Myrtle Beach | |||
Long Island/Islip | Long Island MacArthur Airport | ISP | Melbourne-Orlando | |||
Westchester County | Westchester County Airport | HPN | Vero Beach | |||
North Carolina | ||||||
Asheville
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Asheville Regional Airport | AVL | Vero Beach (Seasonal) | |||
Ohio | ||||||
Cinciniati | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport | CVG | Branson | |||
Pennsylvania | ||||||
Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh International Airport | PIT | Sarasota | |||
South Carolina | ||||||
Myrtle Beach | Myrtle Beach International Airport | MYR | Albany
Newport News |
|||
Texas | ||||||
Houston | George Bush Intercontinental Airport | IAH | Branson | B | ||
Virginia | ||||||
Washington, D.C. | Washington Dulles International Airport
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IAD | Melbourne-Orlando | |||
Bahamas | ||||||
Bimini
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South Bimini Airport | BIM | Melbourne
Newark (Seasonal) |
|||
Canada | ||||||
Halifax | Halifax Stanfield International Airport | YHZ | Portland (ME) | |||
Mexico | ||||||
Cancún | Cancún International Airport | CUN | Branson (Seasonal)
New Orleans (Seasonal) |
References
- ^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
- ^ "Love to Fly Again | Elite Airways | About Us". res.eliteairways.net. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ ELITE AIRWAYS, AMERICA’S NEWEST AIRLINE, PREPARES FOR TAKE-OFF Archived 2015-11-20 at the Wayback Machine, Elite Airways PR via EAS Flights blog, November 6, 2012, retrieved 2014-04-24
- ^ Craig, J.; Writer, ersonStaff (2014-07-29). "Maine-based Elite Airways takes flight path to expansion". Press Herald. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ Price, Wayne T. "Now boarding: Direct flights from Melbourne to D.C." Florida Today. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ Muserallo, Sean. "Rockford airport to serve Denver, New York City areas". www.wrex.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Elite Airways flights from Vero Beach to Newark begin December 10". www.tcpalm.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Your Naples Florida News Source | Naples Florida Weekly | News, Arts and Entertainment". Naples Florida Weekly -. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ "Loveland flights to Rockford resume May 23 (updated)". Loveland Reporter-Herald. 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ "Long Island MacArthur Airport to welcome Elite Airways". Newsday. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ "Elite Airways begins flights serving LI MacArthur Airport". Newsday. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ Pascale, Jordan. [1] "The Virginian-Pilot" December 7, 2016
- ^ Caddell, Catherine. "Vero Beach Regional Airport, Elite Airways celebrate partnership anniversary". Treasure Coast. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View".
- ^ "Airline halts Carlsbad to Vegas flights but says it will resume service". 22 February 2018.
- ^ "Cal Jet abruptly cancels more flights". 2018-04-20.
- ^ "Book Flights | Cal Jet".
- ^ Taschler, Joe. "Midwest Express enters into agreement with carrier as process continues to begin service in Milwaukee". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ "StackPath". www.aviationpros.com. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ "Vero Beach Airport Commission recommends ending Elite Airways commercial flights". 10 January 2020.
- ^ "Vero's airport funding extended for three years while city searches for permanent solution". 3 February 2020.
- ^ "US's Elite Airways secures FAA dormancy waiver extension". 14 August 2023.
- ^ "US DOT revokes Elite Airways' operating authority". 5 October 2023.
- ^ "Global Airline Guide 2016 (Part Two)". Airliner World (November 2016): 38.
- ^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Aircraft Detail". av-info.faa.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2020-04-27.