World Atlantic Airlines

World Atlantic Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
WL WAL DORAL
FoundedSeptember 2002; 22 years ago (2002-09)
(as Caribbean Sun Airlines)
Commenced operationsJanuary 2003; 21 years ago (2003-01)
AOC #2WAA860M[1]
HubsMiami International Airport
Fleet size5
HeadquartersVirginia Gardens, Florida, United States
Key people
  • Tomas Romero (President & CEO)
  • Jose 'Pepe' Garcia (CFO)
  • Ray Bradley (Vice President)
Websitewww.flywaa.com

Caribbean Sun Airlines Inc., trading as World Atlantic Airlines is an airline in the United States operating on-demand and scheduled charter services. Its corporate headquarters are located in Virginia Gardens, Florida.[2]

History

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The airline was founded in September 2002 as Caribbean Sun Airlines in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and began operations in January 2003 with flights from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Tortola, using the Bombardier Dash 8 Q100. On the flights, Caribbean Sun cooperated with the Antiguan sister company Caribbean Star Airlines, which also belonged to the Stanford Financial Group and enabled connecting flights to other Caribbean islands.

Flight operations ceased towards the end of January 2007. The resumption of the same under the name Merengue Airlines Dominicana, which was sought after a subsequent change of ownership was also unsuccessful, and so Caribbean Sun Airlines was finally sold to Tomas Romero, who renamed the company to World Atlantic Airlines. The company, which from then on only operates under this name, then focused on the ACMI charter area.[3]

World Atlantic was one of the charter providers to Myrtle Beach Direct Air until the airline's bankruptcy in 2012, and was fined by the Department of Transportation in 2012 for regulatory violations in connection with this business.[4] Since 2013, World Atlantic has acted as a charter provider to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation of individuals from the United States and recently per the NY Post delivering immigrants to Westchester, NY.[5][6][7]

In April 2013, World Atlantic transported Venezuelan voters from Miami to New Orleans to vote in the Venezuelan presidential election.[8]

In September 2017, World Atlantic Airlines also entered into a partnership with Venezuelan airline Avior Airlines, having previously worked with LASER Airlines as part of the ACMI charter. As part of the business relationship with Avior Airlines, World Atlantic operated ACMI charter flights to Fort Lauderdale and Miami.[9][10]

Fleet

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Current fleet

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A World Atlantic Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 on approach at Miami International Airport in 2014

As of May 2024, World Atlantic Airlines operates the following aircraft:

Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
F Y Total
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 5 12 134 146 [11]
8 144 152
8 147 155
155 155
Total 5

Former fleet

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World Atlantic Airlines formerly operated the following aircraft:[12]

Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 12 2003 2007
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 1 2011 2019

Accidents and incidents

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Welcome to WAA". www.flywaa.com. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  3. ^ "Top 10 ACMI dedicated airlines in the world - AeroTime". 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  4. ^ "Caribbean Sun Airlines dba World Atlantic Airlines 2012-7-31". US Department of Transportation. 2012-07-27. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  5. ^ "Ellis Island in reverse: Where deportees go when they get home to Guatemala". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  6. ^ "Dozens gather at Gary/Chicago International Airport to protest ICE deportations". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  7. ^ "Florida companies are cashing in on deportation flights — about $35,000 per deportee". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  8. ^ "Doral Mayor Gearing Up To Fight A Recall Petition". 2013-11-26. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  9. ^ "Venezuela's Avior Airlines reiterates Miami-Caracas desire". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  10. ^ "Laser Airlines to cancel the debt in PAWA and assume its routes". AVIATOR. 2018-06-09. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  11. ^ "World Atlantic Airlines Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  12. ^ "Caribbean Sun Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  13. ^ "More than 100 aboard ICE-chartered plane forced to make emergency landing". 13 WTHR Indianapolis. 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  14. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  15. ^ "World Atlantic Airlines MD-83 Engine Failure and Fire on Takeoff". YouTube. 2024-07-10. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
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