Do you remember these air carriers that are now no more?
With the merger of American Airlines and US Airways, another airline brand will disappear as the US Airways name will be dropped. A number of brands were once big players at Logan International Airport for a while only to be lost to history when they went out of business.
DEFUNCT AIRLINES THAT FLEW OUT OF LOGAN
Do you remember these air carriers that are now no more?
With the merger of American Airlines and US Airways, another airline brand will disappear as the US Airways name will be dropped. A number of brands were once big players at Logan International Airport for a while only to be lost to history when they went out of business.
Pan Am
Once a major airline, Pan Am had a large presence at Logan. The company began to fall apart when international travel dipped during the first Gulf War. The company declared bankruptcy in January 1991 and began selling off routes to other carriers including Delta which took over its Northeast routes. The Pan Am name had a second life from 1996 to 1998, went bankrupt again and, after the name was sold and a third incarnation operated as a discount carrier from 1998-2008 until the company died for good in February 2008.
ATA
Amaerican Trans Air was a low-cost carrier that flew throughout the United States until it went out of business in April 2008. The remains of ATA were purchased by Southwest Airlines, but the brand no longer exists.
TWA
TWA was a major player in the airline industry until it merged with American Airlines in 2001. TWA was once one of the largest US carriers, flying out of hubs including St. Louis International Airport, JFK Airport in New York, and Charles de Gaulle in Paris.
Northeast Airlines
Based in Boston, Northeast Airlines began as Boston-Maine Airways in 1931. The company continue to fly regionally until 1972 when it merged with Delta Airlines and the Northeast name disappeared.
Continental Airlines
Continental was a major airline from 1934 to 2012 when it disappeared after a merger with United Airlines. The merger was actually announced in 2010 and it took nearly two years to combine the two companies. Once the combo was complete, the Continental name was eliminated.
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines was a major carrier that began as an independent company in 1926. It continued that way until it merged with Delta Air Lines in 2008. The Northwest name remained on planes until 2010 when the two companies were integrated under the Delta brand.
Eastern Airlines
Once a major carrier at Logan, Eastern Airlines fell apart in the late 1980s. The company’s shuttle service, which flew out of Boston, was sold to Donald Trump and it became the short-lived Trump Shuttle. American Airlines bought the company’s Central and South American routes in 1990 and eastern had its last flight in January 1991.
Ted by United
An attempt to compete with JetBlue and Southwest Airlines, Ted was a brand within a brand operating under the auspices of United Airlines. Ted flew mostly to what United considered vacation destinations and its planes had no first class cabin. TED was discontinued as a brand and folded back into United in early 2009.
Song
Another brand within a brand, Song was a Delta-owned company that was marketed as a low-cost alternative. Song mostly flew from the northeast to Florida in an attempt to take on JetBlue. Song ceased to exist in 2006 when it was folded back into Delta but planes carrying the Song paint job flew until 2008.
Trump Shuttle
The Trump Shuttle came into being when real estate mogul and reality television star Donald Trump bought some shuttle routes from Eastern Airlines in 1989. The company had hourly flights between new York’s LaGuardia Airport and Logan (as well as other routes) until it closed in 1992.
People Express
People Express was often derisively called “a bus in the sky” by its detractors, but the low-cost airline was actually the precursor to many of today’s no-frills outfits. People Express offered very cheap fares on a number of well-travelled commuter routes. The company flew out of Logan from 1981-1986 offering 23 flights a day.
Allegheny Air
Based in Pittsburgh, Allegheny flew as a commercial airline from 1952 to 1979. The company actually began life as a mail carrier under the name All American Aviation Company in 1939 before making the name switch and taking on passengers. Allegheny never exactly went out of business. Instead, the company morphed into US Airways which merged with American Airlines in February 2013.
America West
Once the second-largest low-cost carrier in the United States, America West flew to over 100 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Like so many of its competitors, America West ultimately merged with US Airways in 2006. US Airways merged with with American Airlines in February 2013 and all America West branding has been removed.
Comair
Comair was a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Airlines that also flew under the Delta Connection name. Founded in 1977, Delta began buying a stake in the airline in 1986 before acquiring it entirely in 1999. Comair ceased independent operations in 2012 with all flights rolled into the Delta Brand.
Flyglobespan
A low-cost British airline, Flyglobespan was based in Scotland. The airline flew all over the world before it went bankrupt in late 2009. The company was liquidated in December 2010.
Providence-Boston Airlines (PBA)
Provincetown-Boston Airline (PBA) was founded in 1949 and ceased operations in 1989. The airline operated in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida, and at one time was the largest commuter airline in the United States before its purchase by the also defunct People Express.
New York Air
A subsidiary of Texas Air, New York Air was created in 1980 as a competitor for Eastern Airlines shuttle service. The company provided regular, cheap flights between New York, Boston and Washington-Reagan National. New York air ceased to exist in 1987 when it was absorbed into Continental Airlines.
The airlines that time forgot
There are a number of other airlines that once flew into and out of Logan. Some of these airlines may be flying under similar names and, in some cases, new airlines have adopted these old monikers, but the original versions of these airlines are no more. Here is the list:
Air Florida, Air New England, Air Vermont, Bar Harbor Airlines, Braniff, Down East Airlines, East Hampton Air, East Wind Airlines, Empire, First Air, Independence Air, Laker Airways, Midway, Mohawk Airlines, Piedmont, Presidential Airlines, Ransome Airline, Republic Airlines, Sabena, Swiss Air, Tower Air, and Western Airlines
