Royale Airlines
| |||||||
| Commenced operations | 1968 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 1989 | ||||||
| Operating bases | Shreveport Regional Airport | ||||||
| Hubs | Houston Intercontinental Airport & Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport | ||||||
| Alliance | Continental Airlines | ||||||
| Fleet size | See Fleet below | ||||||
| Destinations | See Destinations below | ||||||
| Headquarters | Shreveport, Louisiana, United States | ||||||
Royale Airlines was a regional / commuter airline with headquarters on the grounds of Shreveport Regional Airport in Shreveport, Louisiana.[1]
Operations
Royale operated scheduled passenger flights in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florida from 1962 to 1989.[2] It flew mainly turboprop aircraft such as the Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante, Beechcraft Model 99, Short 330 and Grumman Gulfstream G-I with the latter being a regional airliner version of Grumman's successful propjet business aircraft. Royale also flew two Douglas DC-9-14 jetliners on services from Houston primarily to Brownsville, Texas (BRO) on behalf of Continental Airlines. For a short period between 1985 and 1986 Royale operated de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft acquired from Metro Airlines which had moved its operations to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in Texas and also to Atlanta, Georgia. These Twin Otter STOL (short take off and landing) turboprop aircraft were primarily utilized to shuttle passengers between the Clear Lake City, Texas STOLport, which was located near the NASA Johnson Space Center, and Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH, now Houston George R. Bush Intercontinental Airport). Royale operated as a Continental Express air carrier via a code sharing agreement with Continental Airlines and provided passenger feed at Continental's Houston hub (IAH) during the final years of operation prior to its bankruptcy Chapter 11 filing on September 9, 1987.[3]
Destinations
The following destination information is taken from Royale Airlines system timetable route maps from 1974 to 1987.[4]
- Alexandria, LA (ESF)
- Austin, TX (AUS)
- Baton Rouge, LA (BTR)
- Beaumont/Port Arthur, TX (BPT)
- Brownsville, TX (BRO)
- Clear Lake City, TX (CLC, airport no longer in existence)
- College Station, TX (CLL)
- Fort Polk, LA (POE)
- Houston, Texas (IAH) - Hub
- Jackson, MS (JAN)
- Lafayette, LA (LFT)
- Lake Charles, LA (LCH)
- Lake Jackson, TX (LBX)
- Laredo, TX (LRD)
- Memphis, TN (MEM)
- Morgan City/Patterson, LA (PTN)
- Monroe, LA (MLU)
- Natchez, MS (HEZ)
- New Orleans, LA (MSY) - Hub
- Pensacola, FL (PNS)
- San Antonio, TX (SAT)
- Shreveport, LA (SHV, the airline's home base)
- Victoria, TX (VCT)
Fleet
- Beechcraft 99
- de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
- Douglas DC-9-10[5] - only jet aircraft type operated by Royale
- Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante
- Grumman Gulfstream I (model G-159)
- Short 330
Cessation of Operations
The airline encountered financial difficulties and then ceased operations during the late 1980s when its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of 1987 was changed to Chapter 7 bankruptcy in February 1989.[6][3]
References
- ↑ Staff writer; no by-line (1986). "World Airline Directory". Flight International. p. 120. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Airline History, Inactive Airlines". AirlineHistory. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- 1 2 In re Royale Airlines, No. 95-31137, Nov. 4, 1996 (5th Cir.)
- ↑ "Collector's Guide to Airline Timetables: Royale Airlines". Air Times. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Abstract, History 4238 Strategic Wing Jul 1961". Air Force History Index. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Royale Airlines Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
External links
- "Photo Search Results: Royale Airlines". Airlineers.net. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- Klein, Jeannine E. (March 31, 1985). "Growing Airline Finds Niche". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved June 11, 2015.