Mackey Airlines

Mackey Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
- - -
Founded September 20, 1946
Ceased operations 1967 (1981 for Mackey International Airlines)
Operating bases Fort Lauderdale International Airport
West Palm Beach International Airport
Miami International Airport
Fleet size See Fleet below
Headquarters Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Key people Joseph C. Mackey

Mackey Airlines, Inc., also known later as Mackey International Airlines, was a United States airline which primarily served Florida and The Bahamas. At one point, the airline also operated Douglas DC-8 jetliners in scheduled passenger service between Florida and Las Vegas.

Foundation and initial operations

Convair 440 at Fort Lauderdale Airport in 1975 wearing full Mackey International Airlines title on its cabin roof
Mackey Airlines time table from December 1962

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 as well as Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.[1] The original Mackey Airlines was acquired by Eastern Air Lines in 1967.

Reformation and later operations

Mackey International Air Commuter Beech 99 Airliner at Fort Lauderdale in February 1971.
Mackey International Douglas DC-6B operating a scheduled passenger service from Miami International Airport in 1975.

"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]

Destinations in 1979

Mackey International Airlines was serving the following destinations in 1979:[6]

The Bahamas

Florida

In 1973, Mackey International Airlines was serving additional destinations in the Bahamas including Bimini, George Town, Governors Harbour, Great Harbour Cay and North Eleuthera, and was also serving Grand Turk and South Caicos in the Turks & Caicos Islands.[7]

Fleet

The following prop, turboprop and jet aircraft were operated by the airline at various times during its existence:

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Gradidge, 1997, p. 101
  2. ↑ Gradidge, 1997, pp. 101-103
  3. ↑ http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=1971
  4. ↑ Miami Herald
  5. ↑ La Floridiana by William Moriaty Nolan's Pop Culture Review #216
  6. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, Nov. 15, 1979 Mackey International Airlines route map
  7. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, 1973 Mackey International Airlines route map
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