Catalina Express

Catalina Express
Type	Privately held company
Industry	Transportation
Founded	1981; 40 years ago in California, US
Founders	Doug Bombard; Greg Bombard; Tom Rutter;
Headquarters	San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, US
Number of locations	5
Area served	Los Angeles County, California; Orange County, California;
Key people	Greg Bombard (President)
Services	High-speed ferry transport
Number of employees	450 (Summer); 300 (Winter);
Website	catalinaexpress.com
	Footnotes / references;

Catalina Express' Starship Express ferry in 2008

Catalina Channel Express is an American passenger ferry service that operates scheduled trips between Santa Catalina Island and mainland California.^[4] The company began service in 1981 with a single sixty-passenger vessel.^[2] As of 2016, the Catalina Express fleet includes eight high-speed vessels that can make the roughly 30 mi (48 km) channel crossing in under an hour.^[2] Catalina Express controls 95 percent of passenger and freight traffic to and from the island when including its sister company, Avalon Freight Services.^{[citation needed]}

Background[]

Catalina Express operates year-round, and runs up to thirty trips a day in peak season. Transportation is provided to ports at Avalon and Two Harbors on Santa Catalina Island from the mainland California communities of San Pedro, Long Beach and Dana Point. Catalina Express transports over one million passengers each year, and has transported over 25 million passengers as of August 2015. The most popular port of departure is the Catalina Landing in Downtown Long Beach, which provides the most daily trips. The company's San Pedro terminal underwent renovations in 2012, and is the only port to offer daily service to Two Harbors.

On April 1, 2016, Catalina Express and Harley Marine began a new sister company, Avalon Freight Services, from the Catalina Sea and Air Terminal in San Pedro. Avalon Freight Services operates self-propelled landing craft named Catalina Provider, and a rebuilt tug named Lucy Franco.

Catalina Express and Long Beach Transit have created a partnership which entails the Catalina Express vessel crews to operate and manage the vessels Aquabus and Aqualink around Long Beach Harbor and Alamitos Bay, with its year-round service.

Fleet[]

The company began with only one vessel that held about 60 passengers. As of 2019, the company operates eight high-speed vessels.^[5]

Name	Type	Length (Feet)	Passenger Capacity	Top Speed (Knots)	Crossing Time (Minutes)	Built
Catalina Jet	Catamaran	144	450	37	60	1999
Starship Express	Catamaran	134	300	37	60	1999
Jet Cat Express	Catamaran	145	381	42	60	2001
Cat Express	Catamaran	97	360	28	60	1987
Islander Express	Monohull	97	149	32	60	1994
Catalina Express	Monohull	97	149	32	60	1994
Super Express	Monohull	95	149	32	60	1989
Avalon Express	Monohull	95	149	32	60	1990

References[]

^ Karen Gee-McAuley. "Catalina Express Fact Sheet" (PDF). Relevance Public Relations. Retrieved 24 May 2017.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Karen Gee-McAuley. "Catalina Express - A Leader in Luxury" (PDF). Relevance Public Relations. Retrieved 24 May 2017. In 1981, founders Doug Bombard, with son Greg and colleague Tom Rutter, formed Catalina Express. [...] The company, which employs 450 people in summer and 300 during the winter [...]^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Ports: Catalina Express". Catalina Express. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
^ "How to get to Avalon, Catalina Island". Santa Catalina Island Company. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
^ "About Us". Catalina Express. Retrieved 26 September 2013.