National Airlines (N7)
Encyclopedia
National Airlines was a Las Vegas
based low fare airline
, and the third United States-based airline to use the name. The airline was created to bring tourists to Las Vegas. As a result, it offered service to a limited number of cities with high traffic to Las Vegas. The airline operated a fleet of 19 Boeing 757-200s in a two-class configuration.
and the former Rio Hotel & Casino, Inc.
, each contributed $15 million toward the start-up costs of National Airlines in July 1998. Wexford Capital, owners of Republic Airways Holdings
also contributed several million to this create this airline.
On May 27, 1999, the airline started service, becoming the third airline in the United States to use the National Airlines name. Michael Conway became President and CEO of the company. However, from its inception in 1999, the company fought an uphill battle against rising fuel costs and an economic recession. In response, National Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on December 6, 2000.
Like many other airlines at the time, the new National found itself in financial trouble after 9/11, and only 41 months after its inaugural flight left Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport
on May 27, 1999, the bankrupt airline ceased all operations on November 6, 2002.
As of the day of National's grounding on November 6, 2002, the airline had carried 1.85 million passengers through McCarran (January - November, 2002), and was the airport's fourth-largest carrier based on passenger volume. Departing McCarran International Airport
at 4:20 P.M., National Airlines Flight 354 to Dallas/Fort Worth was the carrier's last to leave the Las Vegas hub.
California
Illinois
Nevada
Pennsylvania
Texas
Virginia
The 757's were sent to scrap yards and all were sold, eight of them under a new registration number.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
based low fare airline
Low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
, and the third United States-based airline to use the name. The airline was created to bring tourists to Las Vegas. As a result, it offered service to a limited number of cities with high traffic to Las Vegas. The airline operated a fleet of 19 Boeing 757-200s in a two-class configuration.
History
Hoping to attract more visitors from the East Coast, Harrah's EntertainmentHarrah's Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
and the former Rio Hotel & Casino, Inc.
Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino
The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino is located off the Las Vegas Strip in the unincorporated area of Paradise, Nevada, USA. It is better known as The Rio and is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Inc. The Rio was the first all suite resort in the Las Vegas area...
, each contributed $15 million toward the start-up costs of National Airlines in July 1998. Wexford Capital, owners of Republic Airways Holdings
Republic Airways Holdings
Republic Airways Holdings, Inc. is an aviation holding corporation based in Indianapolis, Indiana, which owns six airlines operating in the United States: Chautauqua Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Republic Airlines, Shuttle America, and the former Lynx Aviation....
also contributed several million to this create this airline.
On May 27, 1999, the airline started service, becoming the third airline in the United States to use the National Airlines name. Michael Conway became President and CEO of the company. However, from its inception in 1999, the company fought an uphill battle against rising fuel costs and an economic recession. In response, National Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on December 6, 2000.
Like many other airlines at the time, the new National found itself in financial trouble after 9/11, and only 41 months after its inaugural flight left Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport
McCarran International Airport
McCarran International Airport is the principal commercial airport serving Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. The airport is located five miles south of the central business district of Las Vegas, in the unincorporated area of Paradise in Clark County. It covers an area of and...
on May 27, 1999, the bankrupt airline ceased all operations on November 6, 2002.
As of the day of National's grounding on November 6, 2002, the airline had carried 1.85 million passengers through McCarran (January - November, 2002), and was the airport's fourth-largest carrier based on passenger volume. Departing McCarran International Airport
McCarran International Airport
McCarran International Airport is the principal commercial airport serving Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. The airport is located five miles south of the central business district of Las Vegas, in the unincorporated area of Paradise in Clark County. It covers an area of and...
at 4:20 P.M., National Airlines Flight 354 to Dallas/Fort Worth was the carrier's last to leave the Las Vegas hub.
Destinations
At the time National Airlines was grounded, the airline provided service to 14 destinations throughout the United States: CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
- Los AngelesLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
(Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
) - San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
(San Francisco International AirportSan Francisco International AirportSan Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...
)
IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
- Chicago
- (Chicago Midway International Airport)
- (Chicago O'Hare International AirportO'Hare International AirportChicago O'Hare International Airport , also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, northwest of the Chicago Loop...
)
NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
- Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
(McCarran International AirportMcCarran International AirportMcCarran International Airport is the principal commercial airport serving Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. The airport is located five miles south of the central business district of Las Vegas, in the unincorporated area of Paradise in Clark County. It covers an area of and...
) Hub - RenoReno, NevadaReno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
(Reno-Tahoe International Airport)
PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
- PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
(Philadelphia International AirportPhiladelphia International AirportPhiladelphia International Airport is a major airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and is the largest airport in the Delaware Valley region and in Pennsylvania...
)
TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
- DallasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
/Fort WorthFort Worth, TexasFort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
(Dallas-Fort Worth International AirportDallas-Fort Worth International AirportDallas/Fort Worth International Airport is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas...
)
VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
- ArlingtonArlington County, VirginiaArlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal capital district. On February 27, 1801, the United States Congress organized the area as a subdivision of...
(Ronald Reagan Washington National AirportRonald Reagan Washington National AirportRonald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport located south of downtown Washington, D.C., in Arlington County, Virginia. It is the commercial airport nearest to Washington, D.C. For many decades, it was called Washington National Airport, but this airport was renamed in 1998 to...
) - DullesDulles, VirginiaDulles, Virginia is an unincorporated area located in Loudoun County, Virginia, part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. The headquarters of Orbital Sciences Corporation, GeoEye, and ODIN technologies and the former headquarters of MCI Inc...
(Washington Dulles International AirportWashington Dulles International AirportWashington Dulles International Airport is a public airport in Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. The airport serves the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia metropolitan area centered on the District of Columbia. It is named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of...
)
Washington
- SeattleSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
(Seattle-Tacoma International AirportSeattle-Tacoma International AirportThe Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , also known as Sea–Tac Airport or Sea–Tac , is an American airport located in SeaTac, Washington, at the intersections of State Routes 99 and 509 and 518, about west of Interstate 5...
)
Fleet
At the time the airline was grounded, National had 19 aircraft in its fleet consisting of:| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (First/Coach) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 757-200 | 19 | 175 (22/153) |
National's cabins provided coach seats at 33" and first class at 40", greater pitch than that of most legacy carriers at the time. |
The 757's were sent to scrap yards and all were sold, eight of them under a new registration number.