World Airways

Not to be confused withWorld AirlinesorPan American World Airways.

World Airways

IATA ICAO Callsign WO WOA WORLD
Founded	March 29, 1948(1948-03-29)
Ceased operations	March 27, 2014(2014-03-27)
Parent company	Global Aviation Holdings
Headquarters	Peachtree City, Georgia,U.S.
Key people	John Graber (CEO)

World Airways, Inc.was an American airline headquartered inPeachtree City, GeorgiainGreater Atlanta.The company operated mostly non-scheduled services but did fly scheduled passenger services as well, notably withMcDonnell Douglas DC-10wide body jetliners.World Airways ceased all operations on March 27, 2014.

History

ABoeing 747-273Cof World Airways atMiami International Airportin 1974 wearing the early red color scheme.

World Cargo MD-11F arriving atStockholm Arlanda Airport.

World Airways was founded on March 29, 1948 by Benjamin Pepper with the introduction of ex-Pan AmBoeing 314flying boats.Edward Daly,however, is thought of as World's founder. He bought the airline in 1950 for $50,000 and proceeded to acquireDC-4s.

World Airways started as asupplemental air carrier,the term used by theCivil Aeronautics Board(CAB) to denote charter carriers. The CAB was the US government agency that tightly regulated the US airline industry until 1978. In fact, prior to 1955, the CAB referred to such carriers, including World Airways, as "irregular air carriers". Under either name, World was barred by the CAB from offering scheduled service. After USairline deregulationin 1979, World gained the right to fly scheduled flights, and did so for a time, as detailed below.

World got its first government contract in 1951 and had a substantial amount of government business throughout the rest of its operational history.

Later, World acquiredDC-6sandLockheed Constellations.World entered the jet era in the late 1960s withBoeing 707sand727s.In the early 1970s, World acquiredDouglas DC-8s.

World became a key military contractor during theVietnam War,flying troops and equipment between the war zone and World's base atOakland International Airport.On March 29, 1975, World operated the last airlift flight out ofĐà Nẵng,Vietnam. Two 727s were flown to Đà Nẵng, one of which hadEd Dalyaboard. Thousands rushed the airplane and it took off on a taxiway under heavy fire. The aircraft with Daly aboard started its takeoff roll with the 727's backairstairsstill down with Daly fending off additional people trying to leave due to over capacity (The film of this was later broadcast on theCBS Evening Newson March 30, 1975).When the airplane landed atSaigon,there were 268 people in the cabin and possibly 60 or more in the cargo holds. World did not return to Đà Nẵng until April 17, 2002, then with an MD-11 aircraft to pick up a team of people resolvingMissing-In-Actioncases from the Vietnam War.

In the early 1970s through the early 1980s, World operated threeBoeing 747aircraft and was the launch customer for the "flip nose" front-loading variant of the 747. Later, World acquiredDC-10sthat were eventually retired in 2010.

In 1986 slots for lucrative routes on the east coast became available, and with the competitive nature for these routes, they were offered to interested airlines in the form of a lottery, or what was called the “Slottery”. World was awarded three city pairs: Boston, Washington National, and New York LaGuardia. In order to acquire these slots, the routes had to be operated for at least three months. World's intention was to sell the routes for a profit to another airline rather than establishing their own operation on these routes, so the company operated fully crewed Boeing 727s (flight deck and cabin crew) without passengers, flying between the scheduled city pairs with touch and go landings and takeoffs. As planned, the routes were then sold for profit. World experienced heavy losses in the 1980s as a result of operating scheduled passenger services, ending scheduled service September 15, 1986. In 1987, the company moved its headquarters from Oakland to Washington Dulles International Airport, acquiredKey AirlinesfromBain Capital'sPresidential Airways,and established ties toMalaysia Airlines.World was burdened financially as its cash was siphoned off by parent WorldCorp to support a telecommunications venture in which the parent had invested. During the first Persian Gulf War, World did a substantial amount of profitable business for the military, enabling the addition of theMD-11to the fleet. During the mid-1990s, World operated the military passenger trunk route fromOsan Air Base,Korea andKadena Air Base,Okinawa to Los Angeles, using MD-11 aircraft. World has been headquartered near Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport.

World Airways passenger amenities

The airline received a substantial amount of its business from the military, especially in its role connecting American bases in the U.S. to the Middle East. It also thrived on passenger and freight contracts with private organizations, such as theJacksonville Jaguarsof theNational Football League,as well aswet leasesto other airlines. With such wet lease arrangements, World Airways essentially functioned as acargo airlinearm of another airline for whom a separatedivisionwould not be an efficient use ofresources.

In 2006, World Airways became a subsidiary of World Air Holdings, Inc. On April 5, 2007, World Airways returned to itsOaklandandBay Arearoots where they were headquartered from 1956 to 1987.It was later acquired byATA Holdings,which was renamedGlobal Aero Logistics,in a transaction valued at $315 million.With this, ATA's president,Subodh Karnikbecame the head of all threecertificated airlinesautonomousoperations,ATA Airlines,North American Airlines,and World Airways. In 2007 GAL moved its operation to the World Airways building in Peachtree City, Georgia. Robert Binns was named chief executive officer of GAL in April 2008 and Charlie McDonald was named president. Larry Montford became COO of World Airways.

On March 27, 2014, World Airways announced the immediate cessation of all operations.At the time of its closure, World's fleet consisted of MD-11trijetaircraft both infreighterand passenger configurations and of 747-400 freighters.

On November 8, 2017, investment firm 777 Partners, announced it had acquired the intellectual property of World Airways, Inc. and planned to relaunch the airline as a low cost international carrier with a fleet ofBoeing 787Dreamliners. The new airline was to be based atMiami International Airportwith MIA andLos Angeles International Airportas initial operating hubs.

Scheduled passenger service

World AirwaysMcDonnell Douglas MD-11Fparked atChennai International Airport

World Airways operated scheduled international and domestic passenger service with itsMcDonnell Douglas DC-10wide body jetliners, the Boeing 747-200, as well asBoeing 727jets. Scheduled service began in the late 1970s with airline deregulation, starting April 11, 1979, ending September 15, 1986. Crew bases included Wrightstown, NJ (WRI-closed), Oakland, CA (OAK-company headquarters), Los Angeles, CA (LAX), Baltimore, MD (BWI), and later San Francisco, CA (SFO). The company theme song in the early 1980s, featured at the beginning of the onboard aircraft safety videos and used for advertising, had an instrumental version that played on an easy listening radio station in the San Francisco Bay Area until new advertising was introduced in 1985. The Airline revisited scheduled service in 1996 with the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft, but this was short lived.Destinations served included:

• Baltimore, MD (BWI)
• Frankfurt, Germany (FRA)
• Honolulu, HI (HNL)
• Kansas City, MO (MCI)
• London, England (LGW)
• Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
• Newark, NJ (EWR)
• Oakland, CA (OAK)
• Orlando, FL (MCO)
• San Francisco, CA (SFO)
• Boston, MA - (BOS)
• San Juan, PR - (SJU)

Fleet

A World CargoBoeing 747-400BDSFatMunich Airport,Germany (2009)

As of March 2014, the World Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft, with an average fleet age of 19.8 years:

World Airways fleet

Aircraft	In Service	Orders	Passengers		Notes
			Y	Total
McDonnell Douglas MD-11	3	—	355	355
World Airways Cargo fleet
Boeing 747-400BDSF	2	—	Cargo
McDonnell Douglas MD-11F	4	—	Cargo
Total	9

Historical fleet

World Airways also previously operated the following aircraft types during its existence:

World Airways historical fleet

Aircraft	Total	Introduced	Retired	Notes
Boeing 314A	5	1948	1950
Boeing 707-320	4	1972	1975	Leased fromPan Am
Boeing 707-320C	9	1963	1979
Boeing 727-100	4	1985	1986	Leased from Skybus
Boeing 727-100C	8	1969	1979
Boeing 727-200	3	1986	1987	Leased from Skybus
Boeing 747-100SF	1	1981	1982	Transferred toAvianca
Boeing 747-200C	3	1973	1987
Convair CV-440	1	1971	1985
Curtiss C-46 Commando	2	1949	1955
Douglas C-54 Skymaster	10	1953	1961
Douglas DC-6A	11	1960	1968
Douglas DC-6B	4	1960	1972
Douglas DC-8-61	1	1975	1976	Leased fromCapitol Air
Douglas DC-8-63CF	7	1971	1984
Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation	7	1960	1964
Lockheed L-1649A Starliner	4	1962	1964
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10	11	1984	1994
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10F	1	1993	1994	Transferred toFedEx Express
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30	20	1983	2010
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF	13	1978	1995	Written off asFlight 30
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30ER	1	2008	2009	Written off as Flight 8535
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30F	4	2001	2012
McDonnell Douglas MD-11ER	2	2001	2012

Corporate headquarters

World Airways's corporate headquarters were inPeachtree City, GeorgiainGreater Atlanta.

In 1956, World Airways located its headquarters from the east coast to the grounds ofOakland International Airport(OAK) inOakland, Californiain theSan Francisco Bay Area.World Airways built the World Air Center at Oakland, which served as the company headquarters and maintenance facilities from 1973 through 1986. The World Air Center hangar was able to accommodate four 747s and provided maintenance services to other carriers, as well as the U.S. military.In 1987, headquarters moved tounincorporatedFairfax County, Virginia,nearHerndon,inGreater Washington DC.In 2001 World Airways relocated to Peachtree City from Fairfax County.

Accidents and incidents

• September 19, 1960(1960-09-19):World Airways Flight 830took off from theAgana Naval Air Stationon the island ofGuamfor a night time VFR flight toWake Island.The plane made a right turn after takeoff and climbed continuously until strikingMount Barrigada.The plane struck the mountain 300 feet above airfield elevation and slid into thick underbrush. There were 94 occupants on board with 80 fatalities. The probable cause was the failure of the pilot to comply with published departure procedures.
• September 8, 1973(1973-09-08):World Airways Flight 802,a DC-8 operating on a cargo flight for theMilitary Airlift Command,crashed into high ground while on approach toCold Bay Airport,Alaska. All six people on board were killed. The probable cause was the captain's deviation from approved instrument approach procedures.
• September 20, 1981(1981-09-20):an in-flight accident took place on a DC-10 fromBaltimoretoLondon.Flight attendantKaren Williams was killed when she became trapped in the lowergalleyelevatorof thedouble-deck aircraft.An electrical malfunction and human error were both blamed as the cause. The rising elevator trapped the flight attendant between the top of the elevator shaft and a serving cart that she was apparently trying to release from its locking device.
• January 23, 1982(1982-01-23):World Airways Flight 30,a DC-10 landing at Boston'sLogan International Airportunder icy conditions and limited visibility slid off the end of the runway and plunged intoBoston Harbor,separating the cockpit section from the rest of the aircraft. Two passengers were missing and were reported as fatalities. However, no bodies were found in the very shallow water. The main cause of this accident was theMassachusetts Port Authority's failure to provide adequate runway braking reports to the crew although previous aircraft had reported little to nobraking actionprior to World's landing.
• May 6, 2009(2009-05-06):a DC-10-30 with registration N139WA operating as Flight 8535 from Leipzig, Germany for the Military Airlift Command experienced a firm landing atBaltimore-Washington International Airport(BWI). As a result of the captain's response to the firm landing, the plane's nose wheel struck the runway hard two times. The aircraft blew one of its front tires and had to execute a go-around before landing successfully. Several passengers were injured, including the first officer, who suffered back trauma. The age of the aircraft (29 years 11 months at the time of the accident) and the extent of damage to the front landing gear and fuselage resulted in the aircraft beingwritten off.The aircraft was parted out and is now used on-site at the same airport for fire/rescue training and practice purposes.

See also

• List of defunct airlines of the United States

References

External links

• "World Airways: Official website".Archived fromthe originalon July 16, 2014.
• "World Airways Fleet:MD11 Passenger Charter Aircraft".World Airways. Archived fromthe originalon March 28, 2014.RetrievedNovember 8,2015.
• Booth, Darren (April 20, 2012)."Vintage Airline Seat Map: World Airways DC10 (1987)".Frequently Flying Blog.RetrievedNovember 8,2015.
• Ortega, Sergio (March 29, 2014)."World Airways: A Video Tribute".Air Odyssey Blog.RetrievedNovember 8,2015.
• Archived atGhostarchiveand theWayback Machine:"World Airways: A World of Difference (1960's promotional film)".YouTube. October 30, 2014.RetrievedNovember 8,2015.
• Archived atGhostarchiveand theWayback Machine:"World Airways: Safety Demonstration Video (1985)".YouTube. April 19, 2008.RetrievedNovember 8,2015.
• Archived atGhostarchiveand theWayback Machine:"World Airways: Stowage Video (2010's)".YouTube. December 2, 2013.RetrievedNovember 8,2015.