World Airways

History

World Airways was founded on March 29, 1948 by Benjamin Pepper with the introduction of ex-Pan Am Boeing 314 flying boats. Edward Daly, however, is thought of as World's founder. He bought the airline in 1950 for $50,000 and proceeded to acquire DC-4s.

World Airways started as a supplemental air carrier, the term used by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to denote charter carriers. The CAB was the US government agency that tightly regulated the US airline industry until 1978. In fact, prior to 1955, the CAB referred to such carriers, including World Airways, as "irregular air carriers". Under either name, World was barred by the CAB from offering scheduled service. After US airline deregulation in 1979, World gained the right to fly scheduled flights, and did so for a time, as detailed below.

World got its first government contract in 1951 and had a substantial amount of government business throughout the rest of its operational history.

Later, World acquired DC-6s and Lockheed Constellations. World entered the jet era in the late 1960s with Boeing 707s and 727s. In the early 1970s, World acquired Douglas DC-8s.

World became a key military contractor during the Vietnam War, flying troops and equipment between the war zone and World's base at Oakland International Airport. On March 29, 1975, World operated the last airlift flight out of Đà Nẵng, Vietnam. Two 727s were flown to Đà Nẵng, one of which had Ed Daly aboard. Thousands rushed the airplane and it took off on a taxiway under heavy fire. The aircraft with Daly aboard started its takeoff roll with the 727's back airstairs still down with Daly fending off additional people trying to leave due to over capacity (The film of this was later broadcast on the CBS Evening News on March 30, 1975). When the airplane landed at Saigon, there were 268 people in the cabin and possibly 60 or more in the cargo holds. World did not return to Đà Nẵng until April 17, 2002, then with an MD-11 aircraft to pick up a team of people resolving Missing-In-Action cases from the Vietnam War.

In the early 1970s through the early 1980s, World operated three Boeing 747 aircraft and was the launch customer for the "flip nose" front-loading variant of the 747. Later, World acquired DC-10s that were eventually retired in 2010.

In 1986 slots for lucrative routes on the east coast became available, and with the competitive nature for these routes, they were offered to interested airlines in the form of a lottery, or what was called the “Slottery”. World was awarded three city pairs: Boston, Washington National, and New York LaGuardia. In order to acquire these slots, the routes had to be operated for at least three months. World's intention was to sell the routes for a profit to another airline rather than establishing their own operation on these routes, so the company operated fully crewed Boeing 727s (flight deck and cabin crew) without passengers, flying between the scheduled city pairs with touch and go landings and takeoffs. As planned, the routes were then sold for profit. World experienced heavy losses in the 1980s as a result of operating scheduled passenger services, ending scheduled service September 15, 1986. In 1987, the company moved its headquarters from Oakland to Washington Dulles International Airport, acquired Key Airlines from Bain Capital's Presidential Airways, and established ties to Malaysia Airlines. World was burdened financially as its cash was siphoned off by parent WorldCorp to support a telecommunications venture in which the parent had invested. During the first Persian Gulf War, World did a substantial amount of profitable business for the military, enabling the addition of the MD-11 to the fleet. During the mid-1990s, World operated the military passenger trunk route from Osan Air Base, South Korea and Kadena Air Base, Okinawa to Los Angeles, using MD-11 aircraft. World has been headquartered near Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport.

The airline received a substantial amount of its business from the military, especially in its role connecting American bases in the U.S. to the Middle East. It also thrived on passenger and freight contracts with private organizations, such as the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League, as well as wet leases to other airlines. With such wet lease arrangements, World Airways essentially functioned as a cargo airline arm of another airline for whom a separate division would not be an efficient use of resources.

In 2006, World Airways became a subsidiary of World Air Holdings, Inc. On April 5, 2007, World Airways returned to its Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area roots where they were headquartered from 1956 to 1987. It was later acquired by ATA Holdings, which was renamed Global Aero Logistics, in a transaction valued at $315 million. With this, ATA's president, Subodh Karnik became the head of all three certificated airlines autonomous operations, ATA Airlines, North American Airlines, and World Airways. In 2007 GAL moved its operation to the World Airways building in Peachtree City, Georgia. Robert Binns was named chief executive officer of GAL in April 2008 and Charlie McDonald was named president. Larry Montford became COO of World Airways.

On March 27, 2014, World Airways announced the immediate cessation of all operations after its parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012 and 2013. At the time of its closure, World's fleet consisted of MD-11 trijet aircraft both in freighter and passenger configurations and of 747-400 freighters.

On November 8, 2017, investment firm 777 Partners, announced it had acquired the intellectual property of World Airways, Inc. and planned to relaunch the airline as a low-cost international carrier with a fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The new airline was to be based in Miami-Dade County, Florida, with Miami International Airport (MIA) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as initial operating hubs.

Scheduled passenger service

World Airways operated scheduled international and domestic passenger service with its McDonnell Douglas DC-10 wide body jetliners, the Boeing 747-200, as well as Boeing 727 jets. Scheduled service began in the late 1970s with airline deregulation, starting April 11, 1979, ending September 15, 1986. Crew bases included Wrightstown, NJ (WRI-closed), Oakland, CA (OAK-company headquarters), Los Angeles, CA (LAX), Baltimore, MD (BWI), and later San Francisco, CA (SFO). The company theme song in the early 1980s, featured at the beginning of the onboard aircraft safety videos and used for advertising, had an instrumental version that played on an easy listening radio station in the San Francisco Bay Area until new advertising was introduced in 1985. The Airline revisited scheduled service in 1996 with the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft, but this was short lived. Destinations served included:

• Baltimore, MD (BWI)
• Frankfurt, Germany (FRA)
• Honolulu, HI (HNL)
• Kansas City, MO (MCI)
• London, England (LGW)
• Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
• Newark, NJ (EWR)
• Oakland, CA (OAK)
• Orlando, FL (MCO)
• San Francisco, CA (SFO)
• Boston, MA - (BOS)
• San Juan, PR - (SJU)

Fleet

Year end 1950:

• 2 Curtiss C-46

30 June 1962:

• 8 Douglas DC-6A/B
• 7 Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation
• 2 Lockheed L-1649A Starliner

As of March 2014, the World Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft, with an average fleet age of 19.8 years:

Historical fleet

World Airways also previously operated the following aircraft types during its existence:

Corporate headquarters

World Airways's corporate headquarters were in Peachtree City, Georgia in Greater Atlanta.

In 1956, World Airways relocated its headquarters from the Teterboro, New Jersey to the grounds of Oakland International Airport (OAK) in Oakland, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. World Airways built the World Air Center at Oakland, which served as the company headquarters and maintenance facilities from 1973 through 1986. The World Air Center hangar was able to accommodate four 747s and provided maintenance services to other carriers, as well as the U.S. military. In 1987, headquarters moved to unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, near Herndon, in Greater Washington DC. In 2001 World Airways relocated to Peachtree City from Fairfax County.

Accidents and incidents

References

• Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
• Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
• Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:

References

1. "World Airways: Contact Us". World Airways.
2. (September 2023). "Unknown}}{{dead link".
3. Dunning, Bruce. "Dunning's Frantic Flight". CBS News.
4. Harding, Robin. (August 17, 2012). "How Mitt Romney earned his wings". Business Spectator.
5. Kristin Bender. (Jun 14, 2005). "Vietnamese make sentimental trip back to homeland". Oakland Tribune.
6. Ben Mutzabaugh. (Apr 6, 2007). "ATA to buy World Air, North American Air". USA Today.
7. (April 5, 2007). "World Air Holdings Agrees to be Acquired by Global Aero Logistics Inc.". World Airways, Inc..
8. NYCAviation Staff. (March 27, 2014). "BREAKING: World Airways Immediately Shutting Down".
9. María Corina Roldan. (November 8, 2017). "777 PARTNERS ANNOUNCED RE-LAUNCH OF WORLD AIRWAYS".
10. (8 September 1986). "World Airways to Discontinue Scheduled Passenger Service". Aviation Week and Space Technology.
11. "departedflights.com, World Airways Sept. 1, 1982 system timetable".
12. departedflights.com, World Airways Oct. 28, 1984 route map
13. "Feb. 15, 1985 Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American Edition". departedflights.com.
14. "World Airways Feb. 10, 1986 system timetable". departedflights.com.
15. "index".
16. (25 February 1952). "Operations of U.S. Nonscheduled Carriers". Aviation Week.
17. (October 1962 – February 1963). "World Airways, Inc., Interim Certificate". U.S. Government Printing Office.
18. "World Airways At a Glance". World Airways.
19. "The Best Airplane Information, Aviation Photos and Aviation News! 3,537,578 photos online!".
20. "World Airways fleet".
21. "World's Charter Airlines." ''[[Flight International]]''. October 10, 1974. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1974/1974%20-%201600.html?search=%22Trans%20International%22 466].
22. "World Airline Directory." ''[[Flight International]]''. March 25–31, 1998. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1998/1998%20-%200767.html?search=%22World%20Airways%22 103].
23. "World Airways Heritage Past & Present". World Airways.
24. (18 July 1962). "Aircraft Accident Report: World Airways, Inc., Douglas DC-6AB, N 99709, Agana Naval Air Station, Guam, Mariana Islands, September 19, 1960". [[Civil Aeronautics Board]].
25. (8 May 1974). "Accident Report, World Airways, Inc., DC-8-63F, N802WA, King Cove, Alaska, September 8, 1973". [[National Transportation Safety Board]].
26. (September 22, 1981). "World Airways Disputes Claim". The Leader-Post.
27. [https://www.newspapers.com/image/461040333 ''Accident kills stewardess'', San Francisco Examiner, 21 September 1981]
28. (10 July 1985). "World Airways, Inc., Flight 30H, McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF, N113WA, Boston-Logan Int'l Airport, Boston, Massachusetts, Jan. 23, 1982 (Revised)". [[National Transportation Safety Board]].
29. (September 27, 2010). "World Airways, Flight 8535, Boeing DC-10-30, N139WA, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Baltimore, Maryland, May 6, 2009". [[National Transportation Safety Board]].
30. "Recalling hard landing at BWI in 2009".