Air New England (1970–1981)

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Not to be confused with New England Airlines or Air New England (charter airline).
Air New England
Founded25 September 1970
Commenced operations16 November 1970 (1970-11-16)
Ceased operations31 October 1981 (1981-10-31)
Hubs
Destinations
HeadquartersLogan International Airport
Tail Wing Color, used from 1970 to 1981
Multi-colored tail wing, used from 1970 to 1975

Air New England (ANE) was an American regional airline in New England during the 1970s and early 1980s. It was headquartered at Logan International Airport in the East Boston area of Boston, Massachusetts.[1] ANE was noneconomic for most of its existence. From 1975 through its last year, 1981, ANE depended heavily on government subsidies. Depending on the year, these accounted for 17 to 25% of operating revenues, despite which the airline was generally unprofitable. ANE collapsed in the early years of US airline deregulation.

History[edit]

Scheduled service began in 1970 acquiring Cape & Islands Airline [2] and continued until the company went out of business in 1981. In 1974, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now defunct Federal agency that then tightly regulated almost all US air travel, certificated Air New England.[3] Air New England was the first certification of a US airline covering multiple cities within the contiguous United States by the CAB since Ozark Air Lines in 1950.[4] US carriers had previously been certificated to fly exclusively international routes (such as Trans Caribbean Airways in 1957), or for a single domestic route within the lower 48 (Aspen Airways in 1967, TAG Airlines in 1969, Wright Air Lines in 1972). In the days prior to the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, airlines (other than those flying aircraft of less than 12,500lbs - later increased to 30 passengers or fewer with a payload of less than 7,500lbs) were required to operate with a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the CAB. Air New England operated principally with a fleet of de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 turboprop aircraft.

ANE was formed in November 1970 by Joseph Whitney, Nelson Lee, formerly of Executive Airlines and George Parmenter of Cape and Island Airways. Based in Hyannis, MA, they operated Beech 18s and a Twin Otter around the Cape and Islands, Boston and La Guardia. They expanded in 1971 with the first of 6 DC-3s. 1972 and 1973 saw more expansion with additional Twin Otters and Beech 99 turboprops. The Beech 18s were retired at this point. By 1974 the airline had expanded into Maine, Vermont, New York and would fly to all six New England states by 1978. In 1975 Air New England received Part 121 certification and added FH-227s, bought from Delta Air Lines, to the fleet. Additional FH-227s were purchased from Ozark and by 1979, Convair 580 turboprops were added as well. By this time the Beech 99's and DC-3s had been retired. Major expansion outside of the northeast U.S. occurred in 1979 to Albany, NY, Baltimore-Washington and Cleveland, but the writing was on the wall as the effects of airline deregulation began to materialize.

Air New England Financial Results, 1975 thru 1981
USD 000 1975[5] 1976[5] 1977[6] 1978[6] 1979[7] 1980[8] 1981(1)[8]
Op revenue 14,578 15,364 17,908 20,801 26,312 28,436 20,325
Of which subsidy 2,963 3,590 3,818 3,770 4,524 7,117 4,914
Op profit (loss) (891) (662) 203 (1,289) (2,055) (290) (3,812)
Net profit (loss) (1,527) (1,287) 56 (2,044) (2,779) 273 (2,128)
Op margin -6.1% -4.3% 1.1% -6.2% -7.8% -1.0% -18.8%
Net margin -10.5% -8.4% 0.3% -9.8% -10.6% 1.0% -10.5%
Subsidy/op revenue 20.3% 23.4% 21.3% 18.1% 17.2% 25.0% 24.2%
(1) Nine months ending September 30
Company Logo

Air New England shut down on October 31, 1981, with 400 employees. The company cited "intolerable financial losses" caused by competition, lack of federal subsidies, cumulative expenses, and a decrease in revenue caused by the contemporaneous strike by the air-traffic controllers' union, PATCO.[9] ANE had been carrying close to 600,000 passengers a year in 1980. In 1981, it depended on $6.1 million in federal subsidies to cover operating costs. During its 12-year existence, the airline suffered only one serious incident/crash [cited below] and had one of the highest safety/reliability ratings of all American based airlines over that 12-year period."[10][11]

In September 1981, Wright Air Lines signed a tentative $10 million deal to purchase ANE.[12] In the end, Wright walked away from ANE, with its owners doing the same, shutting Air New England on October 31, 1981. As an industry source noted, “Air New England didn’t have anything to sell.”[13]

An on-demand charter operator named Air New England based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Portland, Maine, has been operating since 2010.[14]

Destinations[edit]

Fleet[edit]

Douglas DC-3 of Air New England at Miami in 1974

World Airline Fleets 1979 lists Air New England as having eight Fairchild-Hiller FH-227s and ten DHC-6 Twin Otters.[15]

Accidents and incidents[edit]

On 17 June 1979, an Air New England de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft crashed while approaching Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, Massachusetts. One person, the pilot, was killed.[17]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 20, 1975. "468.
  2. ^ "Cape & Islands Airline". Airline History. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  3. ^ "New England Service Investigation". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 65 (1): 220–460. June–October 1974. hdl:2027/osu.32437011658453.
  4. ^ Air New England Service Upgraded, New York Times, July 18, 1974
  5. ^ a b "Part IV. Income Statement Data of the Certificated Route Air Carriers". Supplement to the Handbook of Airline Statistics: Calendar Years 1975 and 1976 (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. December 1977. p. 59. hdl:2027/uc1.31822008525891.
  6. ^ a b "Part IV. Income Statement Data of the Certificated Route Air Carriers". Supplement to the Handbook of Airline Statistics: Calendar Years 1977 and 1978 (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. November 1979. p. 59. hdl:2027/osu.32435025695669.
  7. ^ Air Carrier Financial Statistics (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. December 1980. p. 29. hdl:2027/msu.31293024880514.
  8. ^ a b Air Carrier Financial Statistics (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. December 1981. p. 45. hdl:2027/osu.32435022510952.
  9. ^ "AIR NEW ENGLAND WILL SHUT DOWN". New York Times. Associated Press. 23 October 1981. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  10. ^ Hartman, Curtis (1 February 1983). "Pba: A Tale Of Two Airlines". Inc. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  11. ^ Shirley, Craig (2009). Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America. Wilmington, DE: ISI Books. p. 225. ISBN 978-1933859552. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  12. ^ Air New England merger, Boston Globe, September 24, 1981
  13. ^ Airline serving City going out of business, Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle, October 23, 1981
  14. ^ "FAQs". airnewe. Air New England. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  15. ^ Endres, Günter G. World Airline Fleets 1979. Hounslow (UK): Airline Publications and Sales. p. 197. ISBN 0905117530.
  16. ^ http://www.airliners.net, photos of Air New England/Aspen Airways Convair 580 aircraft
  17. ^ "ACCIDENT DETAILS". PlaneCrashInfo.com. Retrieved 30 April 2010.

External links[edit]

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