National Airlines (1999–2002)

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This article is about the third US-based airline to use this name. For other uses of the name, see National Airlines. For 'national airlines' see Flag carrier.
National Airlines
IATA
ICAO
Callsign
N7 ROK RED ROCK
FoundedJuly 1998 (1998-07)
Commenced operationsMay 27, 1999 (1999-05-27)
Ceased operationsNovember 6, 2002 (2002-11-06)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Key peopleMichael Conway
(President & CEO)
Websitenationalairlines.com (2001 archive)
A National Airlines Boeing 757-200.

National Airlines was a

Boeing 757-200
jets in a two-class first class and coach seating configuration.

History

Hoping to attract more visitors from the East Coast,

Rio Hotel & Casino, Inc., each contributed $15 million toward the start-up costs of National Airlines in July 1998. Wexford Capital, owners of Republic Airways Holdings also contributed several million to this create the airline.[2]

Taking a page from Southwest Airlines' book, National kept things simple by operating a single aircraft type—in National's case, the Boeing 757.

Service began on May 27, 1999. This was the third airline in the United States to use the National Airlines name.

CEO of the company. From its inception, the company fought an uphill battle against rising fuel costs and an economic recession. National Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on December 6, 2000.[3]

Like many other airlines, National had serious financial problems after the

McCarran International Airport
, the airline ceased all operations on November 6, 2002, after being in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for 23 months.

As of the day of National's grounding on November 6, 2002, the airline had carried 1.85 million passengers through McCarran (January–November 2002), and National was the airport's fourth-largest carrier based upon passenger volume. Departing

McCarran International Airport
at 4:20 p.m., National Airlines Flight 354 to Dallas/Fort Worth was the carrier's last to leave the Las Vegas hub.

Attempted hijacking

On July 27th, 2000, National Airlines flight 19 operating from

McCarran International Airport was boarded by a man with a gun and knife, who immediately stormed the cockpit and took the two pilots as hostage. The hijacker demanded the flight attendant to close the cabin door, however startled passengers shoved the flight attendant aside and reopened the door to escape. All 143 passengers exited without injuries. By 12:50 AM both pilots were released. The hijacker remained on the plane alone for another two and a half hours before being apprehended. The FBI identified the suspect as Aaron Amartei Commey of Milwaukee. His motive was to be flown to Argentina or Antarctica. He was charged with attempting to hijack an aircraft. [4][5][6]

In popular culture

In the science entertainment television program MythBusters, a stored National Airlines 757 following their collapse is shown on camera taxing away. They were going to use it to test a myth about the effects of jet wash on vehicles behind a taking off airplane. The TV program was unable to use the jet because of a dispute with their insurance company.[7]

Destinations

At the time National Airlines was grounded, the airline provided service to 14 destinations throughout the

United States:[8]

United States

California

District of Columbia

See Virginia for Washington, D.C. service

Florida

Illinois

  • Chicago
    • (
      Chicago Midway International Airport
      )
    • (
      Chicago O'Hare International Airport
      )

New Jersey

New York

Nevada

  • McCarran International Airport
    ) Hub
  • Reno-Tahoe International Airport
    )

Pennsylvania

Texas

  • Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
    )

Virginia

Washington

  • Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
    )

Fleet

At the time the airline was grounded, National had 19 aircraft in its fleet consisting of:

National Airlines Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers
(First/Coach) 		Notes
Boeing 757-200
 19 175
(22/153) 		National's cabins provided coach seats at 33" and first class at 40", greater pitch than that of most
legacy carriers
at the time.

The 757s were sold, eight of them under a new registration number.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ National Comps Membership Guide
  2. ^ Zuckerman, Laurence (30 July 1998). "2 Casino Operators Plan To Start Las Vegas Airline (Published 1998)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2020-05-31.
  3. ^ "National Airlines | About Us". www.nationalairlines.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  4. ^ Schwartzman, Bryan (2000-08-02). "Hijack attempted on flight leaving JFK – QNS.com". qns.com. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  5. ^ "HIJACKER TAKES JFK PLANE – EVERYONE ON JET OK AFTER RUSH TO GET OUT". 2000-07-28. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  6. ^ "SWAT team members gather in front of the National Airlines terminal..." Getty Images. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  7. ^ "MythBusters Episode 13: Buried in Concrete, Daddy Long-legs, Jet Taxi". mythresults.com. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  8. ^ Some National Airlines Destinations
  9. ^ "Plane Spotters production list for N7". Archived from the original on 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2009-04-23.

External links

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