Pacific_Island_Aviation
Pacific Island Aviation (PIA) was a commuter airline headquartered on the second floor of the Cabrera Center in Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands.[3] It operated passenger and cargo services. Its main base was Saipan International Airport.[2] PIA's last flight was February 9, 2005.[1]
| |||||||
| Founded | 1987 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | August 1988 (1988-08) | ||||||
| Ceased operations | February 9, 2005 (2005-02-09)[1] | ||||||
| Hubs | Saipan International Airport[2] | ||||||
| Headquarters | Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands[3] | ||||||
| Key people | Robert Christian, owner[4] | ||||||
The airline was established in 1987 and began helicopter operations in August 1988. It secured commuter airline status in February 1992 and started operations as such on 21 March 1992. It became a codeshare partner with Continental Micronesia in December 1992 and took over flights to Guam, Rota and Saipan. In February 1995 Continental discontinued its service to Rota and Pacific Island Aviation began codesharing with Northwest Airlines, becoming a Northwest Airlink carrier in February 1998. It was wholly owned by Robert Christian.[2]
After it discontinued service in Saipan, the airline attempted to restart its operations, but base itself out of Texas, providing flights from Dallas to Lake Charles and Beaumont. It planned to operate as Tri-Star Airways.[6]
As of January 2005 Pacific Island Aviation operated the following services:[7]
- Guam (U.S.)
- Northern Mariana Islands (U.S.)
(Services to Tinian International Airport on Tinian were suspended before the airline went out of business.)
- 27 October 1992 - Pacific Island Aviation Cessna 310R aircraft, at Saipan, two fatalities.[8]
As of March 2005 the Pacific Island Aviation fleet included:[9]
| Type | Total | Passengers | Operation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | Y+ | Y | Total | |||
| Short 360 | 3 | — | — | 30 | 30 | All operated for Northwest Airlink |
- List of defunct airlines of the United States
- Freedom Air (Guam), another defunct airline operated from 1974 to 2013
- Donato, Agnes E. (26 January 2005). "PIA to fold its wings, cites stiff competition". Saipan Tribune. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- Flight International 12–18 April 2005
- "PIA Contacts". Archived from the original on 11 March 2005. Retrieved 2004-04-06.
- Stier, Ken (7 November 2002). "Startup Business Hopes for A Caucasus Breakthrough". EurasiaNet. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
- Airline Codes retrieved 12 December 2006
- "Defunct Pacific Carrier Eyes Texas Routes.(Pacific Island Aviation)." Regional Aviation News. May 30, 2005. Retrieved on September 17, 2009.
- "PIA Route Map". Archived from the original on 11 March 2005. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "PIA Company Information". Archived from the original on 24 March 2005. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
