World Airways

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World Airways

IATA WO	ICAO WOA	Callsign WORLD
Founded		1948
Fleet size		17
Destinations		Various
Parent company		World Air Holdings, Inc.
Headquarters		Peachtree City, Georgia
Key people		Charlie McDonald, COO
Website: http://www.worldair.com

World Airways is a non-scheduled airline currently headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia.

1 History
2 Incidents and accidents
3 Fleet
4 Trivia
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Though World Airways was founded in 1948 by Benjamin Pepper, Edward Daly is thought of as World's founder. He bought the airline in 1950 for $50,000 and proceeded to acquire DC-4s.

World got its first government contract in 1951 and has had a substantial amount of government business since then.

Later, World acquired DC-6s and Lockheed Constellations. World entered the jet era in the late 1960s with Boeing 707s and 727s. In the early 1970s World acquired Douglas DC-8s.

World became a key military contractor during the Vietnam War, flying troops and equipment between the war zone and World's base at Oakland International Airport. On March 29, 1975, World operated the last airlift flight out of Da Nang, Vietnam, an event that made world news. Two 727s were flown to Da Nang, one of which landed with Daly aboard. Thousands rushed the airplane and it took off on a taxiway under heavy fire. When the airplane landed at Saigon, they estimated there were over 330 people on board. World did not return to Da Nang until April 17, 2002, then with an MD-11 aircraft to pick up a team of people resolving Missing-In-Action cases from the Vietnam War.

Also, in the early 1970s, World operated three Boeing 747 aircraft. Later, World acquired DC-10s some of which it still operates today. World experienced heavy losses in the 1980s as a result of an attempt at scheduled service. During the first Persian Gulf War, World did a substantial amount of profitable business for the military, enabling the addition of the MD-11 to the fleet.

View from a seat on a World Airways MD11 flight to Kyrgyzstan(October 2005).

Today's fleet consists of DC-10 and MD-11 aircraft both in freighter and passenger configuration.

World Airways does not currently have any scheduled passenger service. Instead, it provides airlift for customers who need long-haul widebody aircraft for passenger and cargo service.

The airline still receives a substantial amount of its business from the military, especially in its role connecting American bases in Korea and Japan with California. It also thrives on passenger and freight contracts with private organizations, as well as wet leases to other airlines.

In 2006 World Airways merged with North American Airlines with World Airways as the acquiring partner. North American has both charter and scheduled operations which are to Georgetown, Guyana Accra, Ghana and Banjul, Gambia.

In 2006, for the third year in a row, World became the official air-travel provider of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL. ^[1]

During the mid 1990s, World operated the military passenger trunk route from Osan Air Base, Korea and Kadena Air Base, Okinawa to Los Angeles, using MD-11 aircraft.

[edit] Incidents and accidents

On January 23, 1982, a World Airways DC-10 landing at Boston's Logan International Airport under icy conditions and limited visibility slid off the end of the runway and plunged into Boston Harbor, separating the cockpit section from the rest of the aircraft with the loss of only two lives. The accident occurred because the plane touched down about 1,000 feet from its intended touchdown point.

[edit] Fleet

As of January 2007 the World Airways fleet includes:

[edit] Trivia

A World Airways Boeing 707 (N374WA) was chartered for use in the 1972 movie Skyjacked and was also used for one Episode of Charlie's Angels. It was Season 2, Episode 4, Title: Angel Flight Original Air Date: 5 October 1977 The Aircraft wore the titles 'Global Airways'.