Sun Air Express Explained

Airline:Sun Air Express
Fleet Size:12
Destinations:8
Iata:6G
Icao:FDY
Callsign:FRIENDLY
Parent:Sun Air Express, LLC
Commenced:2012
Ceased:March 7, 2016 (bought by Southern Airways Express)[1]
Headquarters:Dania Beach, Florida, USA
Key People:Philip LeFevre (President, COO)
Mark Cestari (VP Marketing)
Roy Canter (VP Customer Care)
Website:http://www.flysunairexpress.com

Sun Air Express was a United States airline with its headquarters in Dania Beach, Florida in Greater Miami (the headquarters had a Fort Lauderdale mailing address).[2] [3] It operates charter services as well as scheduled passenger services subsidized under the federal Essential Air Service (EAS) program.

The airline ended subsidized scheduled service to Victoria Regional Airport from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas on October 31, 2014 after its two-year EAS contract expired.[4] A little over a month later, Sun Air began service from Washington Dulles International Airport to Lancaster Airport (Pennsylvania) and Hagerstown Regional Airport in Maryland.[5]

Sun Air had planned to begin service between Atlanta and Middle Georgia Regional Airport in Macon, Georgia on December 1, 2012.[6] However, the airline decided to pull out of the airport deal.[7]

Sun Air Express had a focus city at Pittsburgh International Airport and provided frequent daily service to Altoona, Hagerstown (Maryland), Jamestown (New York), Lancaster, Bradford and Franklin/Oil City.

Upon beginning scheduled service, Sun Air Express' passenger bookings were handled by Pacific Wings and their flight listings in travel reservation systems were under Pacific Wings' IATA code, LW. On April 21, 2015, Sun Air Express flights began being handled by and listed under the code of Mokulele Airlines, (6G).[8]

As of November 2013, Sun Air International received $6,583,848 in annual Federal subsidies for Essential Air Services that they provided to Hagerstown, Maryland, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Victoria, Texas airports in the U.S.[9]

On March 7, 2016, Southern Airways Express bought Sun Air Express for an undisclosed amount. It will continue the routes currently running and will keep the focus cities that were established by Sun Air. The company withdrew from its Jamestown service after losing Essential Air Service funding.[10]

Destinations

State City served Airport Notes
[11]
[12]
Focus City

Fleet

Aircraft In service Passengers Notes
9 8
Cessna 208B Grand Caravan[13] 3 9 All aircraft leased from and operated by Mokulele Airlines.

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2016/03/08/memphis-southern-airways-acquires-connecting.html Memphis airline buys commuter carrier and Pittsburgh hub
  2. "Contact Us." (Archive) Sun Air International. Retrieved on March 30, 2013. "Mailing Address Sun Air International 3201 Griffin Road Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33312"
  3. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Dania Beach city, FL 001." (Archive). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on March 30, 2013.
  4. Miles, Allison. Victoria air service resumes with Sun Air, Victoria Advocate, October 1, 2012, Retrieved 2012-11-08
  5. Stauffer, Cindy. First Sun Air flight takes off from Lancaster Airport, Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era, November 5, 2012, Retrieved 2012-11-08
  6. Lockwood, Erica. New Airline Picked for Macon-Atlanta Service, WMAZ, September 7, 2012, Retrieved 2012-11-08
  7. Web site: Sun Air Pulls Out of Macon Deal.
  8. McCarthy, Jimmy. Sun Air Express Changing Reservation Company, Jamestown Post-Journal, February 14, 2015, Retrieved 2015-03-02
  9. https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/Subsidized%20EAS%20web%20report%20for%20non-Alaska%20communities-Nov%202013.pdf Subsidized EAS report for non-Alaska communities
  10. Web site: Reed Critical After Southern Airways Vacates City Airport.
  11. De Lancey, Fran. New airline to start March 1 at Bradford airport, The Bradford Era, January 15, 2015, Retrieved 2015-01-17
  12. Gordon, Sam. http://www.titusvilleherald.com/articles/2015/02/26/news/doc54ee95ffc76fb131284529.txt, The Titusville Herald, February 26, 2015, Retrieved 2015-03-02
  13. Web site: Sun Air Express to lease three Cessna Caravans.