Swift Air

Swift Air, LLC
IATA ICAO Callsign
WQ SWQ SWIFTFLIGHT
Founded 1997 (1997)
Hubs Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
Subsidiaries Eastern Airlines
Fleet size 27
Headquarters Phoenix, Arizona (corporate)
Greensboro, North Carolina (operational)
Key people Kevin Burdette
Website flyswiftair.com

Swift Air is an American airline based in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It operates a fleet of business and commercial jets available for charter and private use. Its main hub is Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.[1]

Services

Swift Air operates charter flights for major professional sports teams and major tour operators. It also provides aircraft management services for private owners. Among others in summer of 2011 Swift Air originally planned to operate public charter flights from Chicago to some European destinations such as Belgrade (Serbia), Zagreb (Croatia) and Kraków (Poland); however, these destinations were only flown in June 2011.

Following the acquisition of assets from Eastern Air Lines in 2017, Swift Air began operating charter flights to Cuba for Havana Air.

History

The airline was established in 1997 and was the launch customer for the Embraer ERJ 135 Legacy aircraft.[1] In November 2006 the airline received authorization for Part 121 operations and began flying three Boeing 737-400s. These aircraft are each configured with all first class interiors, electrical outlets, and club work areas with tables. Primary use of these aircraft is air transportation for major professional sports team (NBA, NHL, MLB) and for VIP charters.[2]

John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign utilized one of Swift Air's Boeing 737-400's, which was dubbed the "Straight Talk Express," the same name given to his bus used earlier in the campaign.

In October 2009, Swift was reported to be under investigation by the FAA and OSHA for safety and maintenance issues. Employees claimed they were told to lie to NTSB investigators over an incident of a nose-gear collapsing in 2008. OSHA had asked Swift to take care of a ground equipment issue involving a broken truck latch, which they did. The investigation was re-opened a week later with OSHA declining to comment as to why. The FAA declined to comment while the investigation was under way. Swift Vice President denied that employees were directed to lie to investigators.[3]

On June 17, 2011, Swift Air voluntarily suspended their Part 121 operations pending an inquiry by the FAA.[4][5] Swift Air resumed normal part 121 operations on June 25, 2011 after making manual changes to satisfy the FAA.

In 2017, Swift Air announced plans to acquire the Boeing 737-800 assets of the second iteration of Eastern Air Lines stating, "Eastern Air Lines’ name, assets, and associated trademarks will be retained within the transaction."[6]. One aircraft remains painted in Eastern livery to protect the trademark, although the fleet of Dynamic International Airways (owned by a co-owner of Swift Air) would eventually take the Eastern name and trademark (as Eastern Airlines, without the space), retaining the Dynamic AOC.

Fleet

Swift Air Boeing 737-400

As of March 2018, the Swift Air fleet includes:[7][8][9]

Swift Air Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Notes
Boeing 737-300 2
Boeing 737-300/BDSF 1
Boeing 737-400 20 Five leased to Xtra Airways
Boeing 737-800 4 Two leased to Xtra Airways
Acquired from Eastern Air Lines merger
Total 27

References

  1. 1 2 Flight International 12–18 April 2005
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  3. ↑ Sanchez, Veronica (22 October 2009). "Swift investigated by FAA, OSHA". 12 News (NBC Phoenix). Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-21. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  5. ↑ "Google Translate". Translate.google.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  6. ↑ "Swift Air / Eastern Air Lines - Swift Air". flyswiftair.com.
  7. ↑ "Charter - Swift Air". Flyswiftair.com. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  8. ↑ "Swift Air Fleet Details and History - Planespotters.net". Planespotters.net. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Xtra Airways Fleet Details and History - Planespotters.net". Retrieved March 27, 2018.
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