Kiwi International Airlines

Kiwi International Air Lines was a Part 121 American airline that operated from September 21, 1992, to March 23, 1999.

Formed by former Eastern and Pan Am pilots and managers, the airline relied on Boeing 727s for their flights. The airline was named Kiwi because kiwi are flightless birds.

Kiwi International Air Lines was plagued with problems almost throught the company's existence: in 1994, reorganization was needed, and in 1996, the FAA temporarily forced Kiwi International to suspend its flights. This was because of alleged airplane maintenance problems, but the airline was allowed to fly again soon after. It should be noted that Kiwi International never had any major incidents.

In 1997, Kiwi filed for bankruptcy, suspending all operations.

In 1999, the airline re-started, but this was a short lived comeback, as soon after, Kiwi was forced into bankruptcy again and Kiwi had to stop flying again before that year was over.

In 2001, the airline was acquired by a medical doctor from Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Charles Edwards, who tried to revive the airline by receiving a 2.2 million dollars loan from Kennedy Funding. He thought of using the loan to fix the eight airplanes that still remained in Kiwi's possesion; this turned out too costly, however, because he would have had to pay a 15% annual interest rate [1], and the idea of returning Kiwi International Air Lines into the air again was eventually abandoned.

Destinations

Kiwi had three main hubs:

Kiwi operated to several American eastern coast cities from these airports.

Note: San Juan flights from the United States are considered as international by the IATA.

See also: Kiwi International Airlines, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, Airplane, Baltimore, Maryland, Bankruptcy