Edge Rewrite
pun Source code View original
Jump to content

Draft:Bahamas Airways

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • Comment: Draft needs copyediting for clarity and to remove unnecessary material. There are number of instances where the conditional when the simple past would be better (ie "the airline would buy" instead of "the airline bought"). There are also at least 3 instances of uncomfortably close paraphrasing. Mme Maigret (talk) 09:27, 27 September 2026 (UTC)
  • Comment: This article still needs to cite sufficient secondary sources - the bar for WP:NCORP is quite high - even though I do believe that this article could become acceptable if you dig up enough secondary citations. Currently, it has both a verifiability issue and a notability issue, since it mainly relies on primary and self-published sources. Since the previous decline, I see that you added the the NYT article and Cayman Compass article, which are relatively brief but helpful - you need more of that. Try to cite nearly the entire article to sources like that, even if you need to reduce some details. Dreamyshade (talk) 21:13, 31 August 2026 (UTC)
  • Comment: We need to see more secondary coverage of the subject. As a pro-tip you can probably pull sources from the tertiary encyclopedia source you posted. Sulfurboy (talk) 21:00, 15 August 2026 (UTC)


Bahamas Airways
IATA ICAO Call sign
- - -
Founded1936
Ceased operations
9 October 1970
Fleet size8
Destinations26
Parent companyBahamas, BOAC
HeadquartersBahamas
Key peopleCharles Collar (founder)
Employees800

Bahamas Airways was an airline based out of Nassau that operated from 1936 to 1970. It was a part of the BOAC group of companies and was one of the first airlines based out of the Bahamas. The company had a large impact during an important period in the development of tourism in the country. It was sold to the John Swire & Sons in 1968 but went out of business 2 years later.

History

[edit]

Establishment

[edit]

Bahamas Airways was founded in 1936[1] by Charles Collar.[2] Collar was an American who had served in the US Naval Reserve and flown with Pan Am.[2]

The airline took over the routes of Inter-Island Charter Services[3] which had gone out of business after just three years. Millionaire Harry Oakes, one of Collar's customers, invested in the airline, allowing it to buy a Douglas Dolphin.[2]

Operations (1941–1970)

[edit]

In 1941, Collar returned to the US and sold the airline to Pan Am.[2] In 1944, American Airways also took an interest in the fledgling airline.[4] In 1947, the airline started flying to a cluster of islands nicknamed the French Leave islands.[citation needed]

In January 1949, the airline was acquired by H. G. Christie's British South American Airways.[5][3][6] In March 1956, the airline started flying to Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands via San Salvador, Mayaguana and Great Inagua.[3]

In the 1950s, the government subsidised the airline.[7][8][9]

In April 1959, the new Skyways (Bahamas) purchased a stake in the airline.[3]

Bahamas Airways tried to break into the market flying to Florida, however, it didn't have a lot of success. It acquired bigger airplanes but American passengers still didn't fly with them[3] and opted instead to fly with Pan Am and Mackey Airlines. In addition, the airline had to pay nearly double the cost of maintenance as other carriers.[10][not specific enough to verify] In 1958, the airline was also affected by the General Strike.[11]

Several other airlines like Pan Am and British Eagle would propose replacements for Bahamas Airways around the same time as the crisis at Bahamas Airways.[10]

However, the airline remained competitive in the domestic market with flights often being overbooked.[12]

Parent company BOAC looked for a buyer for the airline.[13] In 1961, questions were asked in the House of Commons when Bahamas Airways was sold by BOAC to Eric Rylands and David Brown and then bought back by BOAC in 1960.[14] MPs wanted to know the amount of money that exchanged hands.[14]

The Bahamian government refused to take and interest and, in 1969, BOAC approached John Swire & Sons, which owned Cathay Pacific and had purchased Hong Kong Airways during the 1950s.[13]

Collapse

[edit]

In 1968, John Swire & Sons took an 80% stake in the airline,[15][16] and set about rebranding the airline.[13][17] The new flamingo motif and flight attendant uniforms, reminiscent of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, attracted attention.[13][17] The airline ordered a couple of BAC 1-11s to allow it to carry more passengers and fly further. However, it was still bested by competitors flying Boeing 727. A long range BAC 1-11-500 was created by BAC especially for the airline.[13] The airline took on 35 more flight attendants[16] and, in July 1970, the airline announced that it was planning jet services to the Cayman Islands.[18] In total, John Swire spent $30 million dollars.[19]

On 9 October 1970, Bahamas Airways abruptly ceased operations,[20] $35 million in debt.[19]

The company cited the impact of a US recession on tourism; it had also failed to convince the Bahamian Government to invest in the airline.[21] However, the Minister for Transport countered that the government had been been prepared to take a 51% interest in the carrier but the company insisted on a non-negotiable term that was unacceptable to the government and an immediate injection of cash.[22] When the airline went out of business, 600 employees lost their jobs,[22] including 80 pilots.[19]

The airline was eventually wound up in 1973.[1] The same year, the national carrier Bahamasair was born taking over the routes of Flamingo Airlines and Out Island Airways.[1]

Fleet

[edit]

The airline would utilize a number of airlines during its lifetime:

Accidents and incidents

[edit]

On 26 February 1938, a Bahamas Airways airplane went to the aid of a stranded yacht at Joulters Cay near Andros.[25]

On 17 March 1947, a Bahamas Airways Grunmann G 21 A Goose went out of control and crashed, there were no fatalities.[26]

On 26 August 1949, a Consolidated 16 Commodore would be destroyed in a hurricane.[27]

On 7 December 1959, the Grumman Goose registered as VP-BAP would be involved in a forced landing.[28]

On 20 November 1960, a Douglas DC 3 of Bahamas Airways would suffer an engine fire for unknown reasons, the crew of the aircraft were unable to extinguish the fire and the crew ended up crash landing.[29]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 "Bahamas Air Holdings Ltd". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 27 September 2026. Bahamasair was not the islands' first airline. Bahamas Airways Ltd., which had been incorporated in 1936, had also ceased operations in 1973 in spite of a five-year bailout attempt by the British Swire Group.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Smith, Larry (2 February 2005). "Origins of Bahamian Aviation". The Nassau Institute. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lowson, Allan (May 2011). "Bahamas Airways '59". Bluegrass Airlines. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "Index to vol. XLVI: July to December 1944". Flight and Aircraft Engineer: ix – via Internet Archive. American Airways purchases interest in Bahamas Airways, 32
  5. ↑ "B.S.A.A. Acquire Bahamas Line". Gloucestershire Echo. 13 January 1949. p. 4. British South American Air-ways Corporation have, it was announced to-day, acquired the share capital of Bahamas Airways Ltd
  6. ↑ "Bahamas Airways". The Daily Telegraph and Morning Post. London. Jan 14, 1949. p. 5. Retrieved 3 October 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Air". Colonial Office Report on the Bahamas for the Years 1952 and 1953. London: HM Stationery Office: 38. 1955. Retrieved 2024-12-25 – via HathiTrust. Bahamas Airways; Limited, which operates under a subsidy from the Bahamas Government, provided ten scheduled flights daily between Nassau and various Out Islands and charter flights when required.
  8. ↑ "Air". Colonial Office Report for the Bahamas for the Years 1954 and 1955. London: HMSO. 1957. Bahamas Airways Limited, which operates under a subsidy from the Bahamas Government, provided numerous scheduled flights daily between Nassau and various Out Islands and charter flights when required.
  9. ↑ "Air". Colonial Office Report for the Bahamas for the years 1956 and 1957. London, England: H M Stationery Office: 51. 1959. Retrieved 3 January 2025. Bahamas Airways; Limited, which operates under a subsidy from the Bahamas Government, provides scheduled flights daily between Nassau and various Out Islands and charter flights when required.
  10. 1 2 Flight 24 May 1962 (Britten-Norman Hovercraft Cutaway, Aurora, Bahamas Airways)
  11. ↑ "B. O. A. C. 1957–58". Flight and Aircraft Engineer. 74 (2585): 209. 8 August 1958 – via Internet Archive. Similarly, Bahamas Airways suffered from many months of a general strike in the Bahamas
  12. ↑ "Sports Illustrated 1966-01-17| Page 42".
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Stretton, Richard (19 September 2017). "Bahamas Airways Pt2: Swire's Flamingo -". Yesterday's Airlines. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Air Commerce... Clearing the Bahamas Air". Flight (magazine): 796. 23 November 1961 – via Internet Archive.
  15. ↑ "Swire Takes Over Bahamas Airways". Irish Independent. Dublin. Sep 16, 1968. p. 4. Retrieved 3 October 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 Tucker, Jeff (Jan 18, 1970). "Bahamas Airways Making it Big in this Area". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. pp. 8C. Retrieved 3 October 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  17. 1 2 "New Image". Twin Falls Times News. Idaho. Associated Press. 8 January 1969. pp. A-1 – via Internet Archive. The flamingo became the symbol of-Bahamas. Airways when the airline-recently-came under new management.
  18. ↑ "Bahamas Airways to Introduce Jet Service". The Caymanian. p. 1. Retrieved 28 September 2026 – via Cayman Compass.
  19. 1 2 3 Daanguard, Colin (Oct 11, 1970). "Pilots' Jobs Vanish Overnight in Bahamas Airways' Closing". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 3 October 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Airline going into liquidation". Shropspire Star. 10 October 1970. p. 13. The British-owned Bahamas Airways has decided to go into liquidation. It announced an immediate halt to operations.
  21. ↑ "Bahamas Airways Ends Operation, Citing Recession". The New York Times. Reuters. 10 October 1970. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  22. 1 2 Clark, Robert D. (11 October 1970). "Bahama Airline Halts Service as Talks Fail". Miami Herald. pp. 2A. Retrieved 3 October 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Civil Aviation". Colonial Office Report on the Bahamas for the Year 1949. Colonial Office Reports. London: HMSO: 38. 1950 – via HathiTrust. At the end of 1949 the following aviation companies were registered in the Colony: Bahamas Airways, with a fleet of one PBY5A, two Grumman Goose, one Seabee and two DC-3s (these two aircraft had been purchased but were not registered in the Colony at 31st December, 1949); Nassau Aviation Limited... Skyways Limited... Caribbean International Airways
  24. ↑ "MEXICO BERMUDA & THE CARIBBEAN (section Bahamas Airways)".
  25. ↑ "Plane Goes to Aid of Stranded Yacht". The Oregon Daily Journal. Feb 27, 1938. p. 3. Retrieved 3 October 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ "Crash of a Grumman G-21A Goose off Nassau | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  27. ↑ "Other Friday 26 August 1949 Consolidated 16 Commodore".
  28. ↑ "Incident Grumman G-21A GOOSE".
  29. ↑ "Crash of a Douglas C-47B-30-DK in Nassau". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Bahamas_Airways&oldid=1377681938"