Air Florida

Air Florida
IATA ICAO Call sign
QH FLA PALM
Founded4 November 1971;
52 years ago
 (1971-11-04)[1]
Commenced operations27 September 1972;
52 years ago
 (1972-09-27)
(as Air Florida)
15 October 1984;
40 years ago
 (1984-10-15)
(as Air Florida dba Midway Express)
Ceased operations3 July 1984;
40 years ago
 (1984-07-03)
(as Air Florida)
14 August 1985;
39 years ago
 (1985-08-14)
(becomes "Midway Airlines (1984)")
HubsMiami
Fleet size29
Destinations99
Parent companyAir Florida System, Inc.[2]
HeadquartersMiami-Dade County, Florida
Key peopleEli Timoner
Ed Acker
Donald Lloyd-Jones
Electra at Miami in 1976

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.