National Airlines (1999–2002): Difference between revisions

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	Service began on May 27, 1999. This was the third airline in the United States to use the ''National Airlines'' name. ] became ] and ] of the company. From its inception, the company fought an uphill battle against rising fuel costs and an economic recession. National Airlines filed for ] on December 6, 2000.		Service began on May 27, 1999. This was the third airline in the United States to use the ''National Airlines'' name. ] became ] and ] of the company. From its inception, the company fought an uphill battle against rising fuel costs and an economic recession. National Airlines filed for ] on December 6, 2000.

			In the spring of 2001, a group of three handsome gentlemen journeyed to Las Vegas and struck up a conversation with three National flight attendants sitting in the jump seat. Everything was going swimmingly until one of them asked whether the ladies had ever seen an unidentified flying object while working on a flight. The conversation came to a halt, effectively ending all chances of the anticipated Las Vegas rendezvous with the women. While a good time was had by all on the trip, historians continue to wonder about the outcome of the trip if this unfortunate comment had remained unspoken.

	Like many other airlines, National had serious financial problems after the ] in 2001, and only 41 months after their inaugural flight left Las Vegas' ], the airline ceased all operations on November 6, 2002 after being in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for 23 months.		Like many other airlines, National had serious financial problems after the ] in 2001, and only 41 months after their inaugural flight left Las Vegas' ], the airline ceased all operations on November 6, 2002 after being in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for 23 months.

Revision as of 14:35, 5 February 2019

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

File:NationalAir(N7).jpg

IATA	ICAO	Call sign
N7	ROK	RED ROCK

Founded

1998

Commenced operations

1999

Ceased operations

2002

Hubs

McCarran International Airport

Fleet size

Destinations

Headquarters

Las Vegas, Nevada

Key people

Michael Conway (President and CEO

Website

nationalairlines.com (2001 archive)

National Airlines (IATA: N7, ICAO: ROK, call sign: Red Rock) was a Las Vegas based low fare airline that operated from 1999 to 2002. It was the third United States-based airline to use the name. The airline was created to bring tourists to Las Vegas. National offered service to a limited number of cities with high traffic to Las Vegas. The airline operated a fleet of 19 Boeing 757-200s in a two-class configuration.

History

Hoping to attract more visitors from the East Coast, Harrah's Entertainment and the former 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.

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. Michael Conway became President and 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.

In the spring of 2001, a group of three handsome gentlemen journeyed to Las Vegas and struck up a conversation with three National flight attendants sitting in the jump seat. Everything was going swimmingly until one of them asked whether the ladies had ever seen an unidentified flying object while working on a flight. The conversation came to a halt, effectively ending all chances of the anticipated Las Vegas rendezvous with the women. While a good time was had by all on the trip, historians continue to wonder about the outcome of the trip if this unfortunate comment had remained unspoken.

Like many other airlines, National had serious financial problems after the September 11 attacks in 2001, and only 41 months after their inaugural flight left Las Vegas' 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.

Destinations

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

Miami (Miami International Airport)

Virginia

Washington

Seattle (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.

References

External links

Categories:

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