is an
American non-scheduled
Airline currently headquartered in
Peachtree City, Georgia .
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-4 s.
World got its first government contract in
1951 and has had a substantial amount of government business since then.
Later, World acquired
DC-6 s and
Lockheed Constellation s. World entered the jet era in the late
1960s with
Boeing 707 s and
727 s. In the early
1970s World acquired
Douglas DC-8 s.
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. The aircraft with Daly aboard started its takeoff roll with the 727's back stairs still down with Daly fending off additional people trying to leave due to over capacity (The film of this was later broadcast on the CBS Evening News on March 30, 1975). 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-10 s 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.
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 .
Jacksonville Jaguars travel provider
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.
On ,
North American Airlines and World Airways. The transaction is valued at $315 million.
- A World Airways " under the "Sovereign Airways" titles.
- A World Airways Boeing 727 (N693WA) was chartered for use in the TV movie "Mayday At 40,000 Feet" wearing the titles "Transcon Airways".
- A World Airways DC-10 was spotted near the beginning of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "Commando" (1985) during World's scheduled service. The scene takes place in Los Angeles (LAX) with a Western Airlines DC-10 (N908) actually used for the movie. ( At the time this Movie was filmed, Western Airlines aircraft N904 and N905 were acquired by World Airways on lease due to World's need for additional capacity for its scheduled service.)
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 two lives. The main cause of this accident was the Boston Port Authority's failure to provide adequate runway braking reports to the crew although previous aircraft had reported little to no braking action prior to World's landing.
As of April 2007, the World Airways fleet includes 17 aircraft:
World Airways Passenger Fleet World Airways Cargo Fleet
