Florida Coastal Airlines (FCA) was an airline based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. It operated services between Florida and the Bahamas, Cuba, and Haiti.
History The airline was formed in 1995, operating with Cessna 402C aircraft. The small charter airline flew mostly fisherman & boaters to the Abacos and Walker's Cay, both located in the Bahamas; and workers to the tiny island of Salt Cay, just south of Bimini. Once the airline went scheduled, FCA initially flew from the Florida Keys to Ft Lauderdale, augmenting their flights to Marsh Harbour & Treasure Cay, Abaco from Ft. Pierce. The airline eventually tried Sarasota & Stuart, FL - only to have the airport authority in Stuart kick them out.
In 2006, operations ceased, but quickly resumed under new ownership. After flights restarted, the airline dropped their service to destinations within Florida, and operated exclusively to the Bahamas. It has subsequently expanded to serve Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, as well as five destinations in the Bahamas.. Florida Coastal was purchased by Lynx Air in 2008. Lynx Air was forced by the FAA to turn over their Air Carrier Certificate for faulty maintenance practices. After that happened, Lynx Air started operations using the Florida Coastal Certificate they had purchased. In July 2010 Florida Coastal Airlines was purchased by Salsa Airlines of Haiti. This only lasted until August 2010 because their planes (one Saab and one 402) were repossessed by the owner, thus bringing an end to Florida Coastal Airlines/Lynx Air/Salsa.
Destinations Florida Coastal Airlines served the following destinations: Fort Lauderdale International Airport, Fort Lauderdale, United States (hub) Cap-Haitien International Airport, Cap-Haïtien, Haiti Congo Town Airport, South Andros, Bahamas South Bimini Airport, Bimini, Bahamas North Eleuthera Airport, Eleuthera, Bahamas Governor's Harbour Airport, Eleuthera, Bahamas New Bight Airport, Cat Island, Bahamas Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba
Former Destinations Key West International Airport, Key West, United States Marathon, Florida Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas Salt Cay, Bimini, Bahamas (now Ocean Cay a private island used by MSC Cruises) Treasure Cay, Abaco, Bahamas Walker's Cay, Grand Bahama Islands, Bahamas
Fleet Florida Coastal Airline's fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of May 2010): 2 Cessna 402Cs 1 Fairchild Swearingen Metro III 1 Fairchild Swearingen Metro IIB 3 Saab 340As
See also List of defunct airlines of the United States
References
External links Florida Coastal Airlines Sunshine Skies