Florida Coastal Airlines

Florida Coastal Airlines
Founded	1995
Ceased operations	July 2010
Hubs	Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport
Fleet size	5
Destinations	8
Headquarters	Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

Florida Coastal Airlines (FCA) was an airline based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. It operated services between Florida and the Bahamas, Cuba, and Haiti.

History

The airline was formed in 1995, operating with Cessna 402C aircraft.^[1] The small charter airline flew mostly fisherman & boaters to the Abacos and Walker's Cay, both located in the Bahamas; and workers to the tiny island of Salt Cay, just south of Bimini. Once the airline went scheduled, FCA initially flew from the Florida Keys to Ft Lauderdale, augmenting their flights to Marsh Harbour & Treasure Cay, Abaco from Ft. Pierce. The airline eventually tried Sarasota & Stuart, FL - only to have the airport authority in Stuart kick them out.

In 2006, operations ceased, but quickly resumed under new ownership. After flights restarted, the airline dropped their service to destinations within Florida, and operated exclusively to the Bahamas. It has subsequently expanded to serve Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, as well as five destinations in the Bahamas.^[2]

Destinations

Florida Coastal Airlines served the following destinations:^[2]

Fort Lauderdale International Airport, Fort Lauderdale, United States (hub)
Cap-Haitien International Airport, Cap-Haïtien, Haiti
Congo Town Airport, South Andros, Bahamas
South Bimini Airport, Bimini, Bahamas
North Eleuthera Airport, Eleuthera, Bahamas
Governor's Harbour Airport, Eleuthera, Bahamas
New Bight Airport, Cat Island, Bahamas
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba

Former Destinations

Key West International Airport, Key West, United States
Marathon, Florida
Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas
Salt Cay, Bimini, Bahamas (now Ocean Cay a private island used by MSC Cruises)
Treasure Cay, Abaco, Bahamas
Walker's Cay, Grand Bahama Islands, Bahamas

Fleet

Florida Coastal Airline's fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of May 2010):^[2]

References

^ "Florida Coastal". World Air Routes.
^ ^a ^b ^c "FLORIDA COASTAL AIRLINES". Sunshine Skies. Retrieved 11 September 2010.. Florida Coastal was purchased by Lynx Air in 2008. Lynx Air was forced by the FAA to turn over their Air Carrier Certificate for faulty maintenance practices. After that happened, Lynx Air started operations using the Florida Coastal Certificate they had purchased. In July 2010 Florida Coastal Airlines was purchased by Salsa Airlines of Haiti. This only lasted until August 2010 because their planes (one Saab and one 402) were repossessed by the owner, thus bringing an end to Florida Coastal Airlines/Lynx Air/Salsa.

External links

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[1] "Florida Coastal". World Air Routes.

[ss-2] "FLORIDA COASTAL AIRLINES". Sunshine Skies. Retrieved 11 September 2010.. Florida Coastal was purchased by Lynx Air in 2008. Lynx Air was forced by the FAA to turn over their Air Carrier Certificate for faulty maintenance practices. After that happened, Lynx Air started operations using the Florida Coastal Certificate they had purchased. In July 2010 Florida Coastal Airlines was purchased by Salsa Airlines of Haiti. This only lasted until August 2010 because their planes (one Saab and one 402) were repossessed by the owner, thus bringing an end to Florida Coastal Airlines/Lynx Air/Salsa.

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