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AIR FLORIDA COMMUTER
Air
Florida Commuter was an not an airline, but a system of affiliated
commuter carriers that fed traffic into Air
Florida's hubs. In an
arrangement commonly known as code-sharing, each airline painted their
aircraft in Air Florida colors and their flights were listed in
reservations systems as Air Florida flights. Air Miami
became the first
affiliate in 1980, and over a dozen other airlines became part of the
system, including: Marco
Island Airways, Florida
Airlines, Key Air,
Southern International, Skyway, North
American Airlines, National
Commuter Airlines, Gull Air,
Pompano,
Finair,
Slocum,
Atlantic
Gulf and
others. As Air Florida became financially strapped, the commuter system
was dismantled in early 1984.
Air Miami became the first Air Florida Commuter airline in October 1980. de Havilland Heron N454AM is pictured at Miami.
Air Miami became North
American Airlines
in December 1980 and continued to operate flights for Air Florida using
Herons and CASA 212s. This agreement ended in December 1981. This is
N451AM, msn 165.
Florida Airlines and its short-lived successor Southern International Airlines operated Martin 404s under the Air Florida Commuter banner from February until December 1981. This is N144S, which had previously flown with Eastern, Southern, and Ocean Airways.
Marco Island Airways Martin 404s were used on Air Florida Commuter flights from Miami to Key West and the Bahamas.
Utah-based Key Air operated Air Florida Commuter flights between major Florida cities using turboprop Convair 580s. N26KA is seen at Miami in
1984.
National Commuter Airlines operated Nord 262 turboprops in Air Florida Commuter colors.
Finair operated Embraer Bandeirantes and Piper Navajos in Air Florida colors.
Slocum Airlines flew Britten Norman Islanders and Tri-Islanders on Air Florida routes for a brief period.
Several
Convair 580s were leased from Frontier Airlines and used on Air Florida
Commuter flights during 1983 and 1984. N73164 (msn 367) is shown at
Atlanta during its time with Atlantic
Gulf.
Skyway of Ocala operated Piper Navajos and Beech 99s on Air Florida Commuter flights. Navajo N3582X is pictured at Miami in 1984.
Gull
Air was one of the final Air Florida Commuter carriers and operated
contract flights until the system was disbanded in May 1984. This CASA
212, N451AM, previously flew with Air Miami and North American.
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Updated December 7, 2010