Braniff (1983-1990)

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Braniff (IATA: BE, ICAO: , and Callsign: ) was an airline based in Dallas. It was partially formed from the assets of Braniff International Airways.

[edit] History

In 1984, the Hyatt Corporation reorganized the company, and the airline flew again domestically. Jay Pritzker, of Hyatt Hotels, was behind the reorganization of Braniff International and brought it out of bankruptcy in December 1983. Braniff Airways, Inc., was then changed to "Dalfort Corporation" and a "new" Braniff, named Braniff, Inc., was formed as a subsidiary of "Dalfort."

In 1988, the debts were starting to collect. It ordered Fokker F100 aircraft but could never be delivered because of a backup from fellow American carriers American Airlines and US Airways. However, 50 Airbus Industrie A320 aircraft orders were taken over from Pan Am, and in 1989 the first two were introduced and proved very expensive. In order to increase their presence in the Florida market, the airline bought the Orlando, Florida based Florida Express Airlines and assumed operation of their routes and British Aerospace BAC 1-11 aircraft. Oddly, Braniff was again operating some of the same aircraft they disposed of in the 1960s. Also, Braniff moved their headquarters from Dallas, Texas, to Orlando, Fla.

In 1989, the airline filed for bankruptcy protection, a victim of a corrupt leveraged buy-out scheme and severe mismanagement. Braniff finally called it quits at the end of December 1990. A buyer was sought, but never found. The company then agreed to liquidate all assets in three separate auctions. America West Airlines bought and still flies the few A320s that were actually delivered to Braniff. Braniff, Inc. actually existed until 1998, when Joe Mitchell and four other employees closed the airline's files.