Mackey Airlines
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| Founded | September 20, 1946 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 1967 (1981 for Mackey International Airlines) | ||||||
| Operating bases | Fort Lauderdale International Airport West Palm Beach International Airport Miami International Airport |
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| Fleet size | See Fleet below | ||||||
| Headquarters | Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States | ||||||
| Key people | Joseph C. Mackey | ||||||
Mackey Airlines, Inc., also known as Mackey International Airlines, was a United States airline which mainly served Florida and The Bahamas. At one point, the airline also operated Douglas DC-8 jetliners between Florida and Las Vegas.
Contents
Foundation and initial operations
Mackey Airlines was founded by former stunt pilot and United States Air Force Colonel Joseph C. Mackey on September 30, 1946. Flights flew primarily out of its Fort Lauderdale base and from West Palm Beach and Miami. Mackey served the Bahamas, Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands.[1] The airline was bought out by Eastern Airlines in 1967.
Reformation and later operations
"Colonel Joe" soon began a new company, Mackey International Airlines. It was equipped with secondhand Convair 440[2] and Douglas DC-6 piston engine airliners. A Mackey International Air Commuter subsidiary operation was equipped with Beech 99 19-seat turboprop aircraft. In 1977, Mackey's headquarters located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida was the target of a bombing attributed to Cuban anti-Castro activity in the United States.[3][4] Mackey International Airlines ceased operations in 1981.[5]
Fleet
The following prop, turboprop and jet aircraft were operated by the airline at various times during its existence:
- Beechcraft Model 18
- Beechcraft Model 99
- Convair 440
- Convair 580
- Douglas DC-3
- Douglas DC-4
- Douglas DC-6 and DC-6B
- Douglas DC-8-51
- de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
- Grumman Goose
- Lockheed Lodestar
Bibliography
- J.M.G.Gradidge, The Convairliners Story, 1997, Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, ISBN 0-85130-243-2
References
- ↑ Gradidge, 1997, p. 101
- ↑ Gradidge, 1997, pp. 101-103
- ↑ http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=1971
- ↑ Miami Herald
- ↑ La Floridiana by William Moriaty Nolan's Pop Culture Review #216
