Capitol Air Lines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Capitol Air Lines (not to be confused with Capital Airlines or Capitol Airways (1946 - 1982)), began operation as a charter airline in 1946. Scheduled service began on May 5, 1979. 1970s and 1980s charter airline from the United States.

By far a beneficiary of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, Capitol Air Lines maintained a large presence in the eastern United States as well as in Europe. Capitol had hubs at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, as well as Brussels, Belgium. The airline used primarily McDonnell Douglas DC-8 jets, but around 1980 brought DC-10 equipment into its fleet.

Many of the airline's flights were operated on a regular basis, such as those from Belgium and New York to the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. But most of their flights, such as the ones from San Juan to Miami International Airport (MIA) were operated on a charter basis. Usually, the SJU-MIA flight was operated for tour companies that then rented buses to transport their customers to Disney World in Orlando.

Capitol Air Lines also operated many charter flights for the United States military. One major trunk route in the mid-1970s connected Rhein-Main Air Base (Frankfurt), Germany to Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina with a refueling stop in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

Capitol Air Lines ceased flying on 25 November 1984, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 14 December that same year.