The story
Nations Air began as a passenger airline with three Boeing 737-200 jetliners, adding four
Boeing 727 within the first year. Scheduled services were operated between Pittsburgh,
Philadelphia and Boston. The airline quickly faced aggressive competition, "Justice Probes
USAir's Actions In Fare Battles; Airline Denies 'Predatory' Tactics Against ValuJet and Nations
Air The Washington Post; August 15, 1995", as well as a five day voluntary "no-fly" consent over
a clerical error on a training form which required the pilots to repeat a single maneuver in the
Boeing simulator. According to the Department of Transportation data, Nations Air increased the
passenger traffic in these markets dramatically; specifically, the passenger traffic in the
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Pittsburgh/Philadelphia market by 200%. Nations Air was the first airline to start scheduled jet
passenger service to Myrtle Beach South Carolina, connecting Pittsburgh and Boston through
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Nations Air also provided Boeing
727 contract schedule service to Pan Am World Airways, Air Jamaica and the U.S. Immigration
service. In March 1996, Nations Air announced extensive expansion plans to the route
structure connecting the Philadelphia hub to destinations of Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and
Tampa/St.Petersburg Florida.
Nations Air was established as Miami Air Charter in 1987. Miami Air Charter became one of
the most successful charter operations in Florida, operating both passenger and cargo aircraft.
Miami Air Charter's CEO Mark McDonald orchestrated a private equity placement with
Accredited Investors issuing Preferred A and B stock for the capital requirements to support the
airlines expansion.
The demise of scheduled service for Nations Air occurred after the Valujet crash in the Florida Everglades. Nations Air CEO Mark McDonald reported that
reservations/income had dropped by 42% within six days after the Valuejet tragedy and made
the difficult decision to discontinue the scheduled service in an effort for the company to survive.
The aircraft dedicated on the scheduled route structure were deployed to the charter market.
His 737's on contracts with the US Immigration service and with the casino/hotel markets in
Atlantic City and Gulfport/Biloxi. The 727 were contracted to Air Jamaica, Aero Costa-Rica, Air
Haiti and on demand for other Caribbean Airlines.
From Wikipedia’s article on Nations Air, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3