Mackey Airlines

Mackey Airlines, Inc., later known as Mackey International Airlines, was a United States airline which primarily served Florida and The Bahamas. At one point, the airline also operated Douglas DC-8 jetliners in scheduled passenger service between Florida and Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

History[]

Convair 440 at Fort Lauderdale Airport in 1975 wearing full Mackey International Airlines title on its cabin roof

Mackey Airlines was founded by former stunt pilot and United States Air Force Colonel Joseph C. Mackey on September 30, 1946. Flights flew primarily out of its Fort Lauderdale base and from West Palm Beach and Miami. Mackey Airlines served the Bahamas as well as Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.^[1] In 1956 it acquired Midet Aviation.^[2] The original Mackey Airlines was acquired by Eastern Air Lines in 1967, although flights to Bimini from Miami continued into at least 1968.

In 1979 acquired Charter Airlines based in Gainesville and flew the only Convair 580 on intrastate Florida routes. ^[3]

Reformation and later operations[]

Mackey International Air Commuter Beech 99 Airliner at Fort Lauderdale in February 1971.

Mackey International Douglas DC-6B operating a scheduled passenger service from Miami International Airport in 1975.

"Colonel Joe" soon began a new company, Mackey International Airlines. It was equipped with secondhand Convair 440^[4] and Douglas DC-6 piston engine airliners. A Mackey International Air Commuter subsidiary operation was equipped with Beech 99 19-seat turboprop aircraft. In 1977, Mackey's headquarters located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida was the target of a bombing attributed to Cuban anti-Castro activity in the United States.^[5][6] Mackey International Airlines ceased operations in 1981.^[7]

Destinations in 1979[]

Mackey International Airlines was serving the following destinations in 1979:^[8]

The Bahamas

• Freeport (FPO)
• Marsh Harbour (MHH)
• Nassau (NAS)
• Treasure Cay (TCB)

Florida

• Fort Lauderdale (FLL) - Headquarters
• Fort Myers (FMY)
• Gainesville (GNV)
• Miami (MIA)
• Naples (APF)
• Orlando (MCO)
• Panama City (PFN)
• Pensacola (PNS)
• Tampa (TPA)
• West Palm Beach (PBI)

In 1973, Mackey International Airlines was serving additional destinations in the Bahamas including Bimini, George Town, Governors Harbour, Great Harbour Cay and North Eleuthera, and was also serving Grand Turk and South Caicos in the Turks & Caicos Islands.^[9]

Mackey Airlines time table from December 1962

Fleet[]

The following prop, turboprop and jet aircraft were operated by the airline at various times during its existence:

Mackey Airlines Douglas DC-8-51

• Beechcraft Model 18
• Beechcraft Model 99
• Convair 440
• Convair 580
• Douglas DC-3
• Douglas DC-4
• Douglas DC-6 and DC-6B
• Douglas DC-8-51 (only jet aircraft type operated by the airline)
• de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
• Grumman Goose
• Lockheed Lodestar

See also[]

• List of defunct airlines of the United States

Bibliography[]

• J.M.G.Gradidge, The Convairliners Story, 1997, Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, ISBN 0-85130-243-2

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mackey Airlines.

• Mackey Airlines Page
• La Floridiana - Florida’s Commuter Airlines from the 1960s to the 1980s: Part Three
• Sunshine Skies - Mackey International, featuring vintage photos

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