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| Founded | 4 November 1971[1] | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 27 September 1972 (as Air Florida) 15 October 1984 (as Air Florida dba Midway Express) | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 3 July 1984 (as Air Florida) 14 August 1985 (becomes "Midway Airlines (1984)") | ||||||
| Hubs | Miami | ||||||
| Fleet size | 29 | ||||||
| Destinations | 99 | ||||||
| Parent company | Air Florida System, Inc.[2] | ||||||
| Headquarters | Miami-Dade County, Florida | ||||||
| Key people | Eli Timoner Ed Acker Donald Lloyd-Jones | ||||||
Air Florida was an American low-cost carrier that operated under its own brand from 1972[3] to 1984. During the period from 1972 to 1978 Air Florida was an intrastate airline. Until a high-profile 1982 aircraft crash in Washington DC, Air Florida was considered an early success story of U.S. airline deregulation, having expanded rapidly from its original Florida network, including internationally to Europe and Latin America. After the crash, the airline struggled for over two and a half years before finally succumbing to bankruptcy in 1984.
After being grounded for three months in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Air Florida flew again for 10 months in 1984 and 1985 under contract to Midway Airlines using the brand "Midway Express", with Midway selling the tickets and doing the marketing. In 1985 it was sold to Midway.