 | |||||||
 National AirlinesBoeing 747-400BCF landing atColumbia Metropolitan Airport | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 1985; 40 years ago (1985) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | December 1986; 38 years ago (1986-12) | ||||||
| AOC # | U2RA944L[1] | ||||||
| Hubs | Orlando Sanford International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 13 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Orlando, Florida, U.S. | ||||||
| Website | nationalairlines.com | ||||||
National Air Cargo Group, Inc., also operating asNational Airlines, is a U.S.airline based inOrlando, Florida.[2] It operates on-demandcargo andpassengercharter services.
The airline was established in 1985 and started operations in December 1986. It began withMitsubishi MU-2 aircraft, which it developed for cargo use. In April 2005, Murray Air and its sister company, Murray Aviation, merged operations underMurray Air's newly acquired Part 121 certificate.[3] In December 2008, after the airline was acquired byNational Air Cargo, Murray Air changed its name to National Airlines, and operates under the National Air Cargo Group, Inc. umbrella.
National Airlines previously operated scheduled charter passenger flights fromOakland County International Airport toKokomo Municipal Airport inKokomo, Indiana;Chicago Rockford International Airport inRockford, Illinois;Spirit of St. Louis Airport inSt. Louis, Missouri; andToronto Pearson International Airport inToronto,Ontario, Canada (with some flights making intermediate stops atWillow Run Airport inYpsilanti, Michigan). Flights were focused onChrysler Corporation employees, but the airline also sold seats on those flights to the general public. These flights were operated bySaab 340 andBAe Jetstream 31 propjet aircraft in 30-seat and 19-seat configurations, respectively. This service is no longer operational.
On the cargo side, National Airlines operated twoDouglas DC-8-63CFs (N921R/N865F) and oneDouglas DC-8-71F (N872CA) on scheduled and charter operations worldwide, and later replaced one of the DC-8-63CF's with aDC-8-73F (N155CA).[4] In April 2009, the carrier began cargo flights from Ypsilanti, Michigan, toBagram Air Force Base inAfghanistan; the flights were extended toKandahar International Airport in August of that year.[5] This service was discontinued in 2010, with the last working flight for the DC-8 with National taking place in May 2012. During the summer of 2010, the airline purchased threeBoeing 747-400BCFs. These aircraft were operated for the airline byAir Atlanta Icelandic initially, before being registered in the United States in 2011.
In May 2011, National leased aBoeing 757-200 in an all-passenger configuration and began operating the aircraft in an on-demand charter basis from Dubai. The airline added a second Boeing 757 during the spring of 2013 that was also used for charters in Dubai.
Originally based atWillow Run Airport inYpsilanti, Michigan, the company moved in 2012 toOrlando, Florida.
In September, 2015, National announced scheduled passenger service from its hub atOrlando Sanford International Airport using their two active 757s. They announced destinations that includeSt. John's International Airport inSt. John's, Newfoundland andLabrador, Canada;Windsor International Airport in Windsor,Ontario, Canada;Vancouver International Airport inVancouver,British Columbia, Canada; andLuis Muñoz Marín International Airport inSan Juan, Puerto Rico.[6][7][8]
In March 2016, National was slated to start 757 service fromLong Island MacArthur Airport inRonkonkoma, NY toPuerto Rico. However the service was delayed, then cancelled and never operated[9] due to "lack of aircraft."[10]
National Air Cargo has its headquarters inOrchard Park, New York.[11][12] The National Airlines division has its offices inOrlando, Florida.[11]
At one time the airline had its headquarters atWillow Run Airport nearYpsilanti, Michigan.[13][14] At the airport, the headquarters were in hangar space. When it was located at Ypsilanti, National Airlines had 79 employees, including administrative staff, purchasing staff, and crew schedulers at the headquarters.[12]
On the week of January 29, 2013, the airline National Airlines completed its move from the Ypsilanti area to Orlando. The airline said that it planned to offer 105 jobs at Orlando, with 26 more than were available in Michigan. Out of the 79 existing employees, 44 were having relocation plans. The airline wanted to move its staff intoClass A office space as opposed to the previous hangar space. According to Garrett Matyas, the company's human resources director, the company originally consideredAnn Arbor, Michigan, and was in talks with the Michigan Economic Development Corp.[12] Instead, Matyas said that the airline moved to Florida due to an environment friendly towards business interests.[12]
The state offered tax incentives for the Orlando location.[12] According to Declan Reiley, the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission vice president of business development, the airline also moved to Florida because two of the owners of the company were Florida residents.[12] The freighter and passenger divisions are involved with contract military airlift operations. TheNew Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) indefinitely postponed using National Airlines for its airlift requirements after Flight 102 crashed.[15]
In October 2025My Freighter Airlines has signed an interline agreement with National Air Cargo. This partnership will enhance connectivity betweenUzbekistan, theMiddle East,Asia,Europe, and theAmericas.[16]
As of August 2025[update], National Airlines operates the following aircraft:[17]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Y | Total | |||||||
| Airbus A330-200 | 3 | — | 46 | 250 | 296 | ||||
| Airbus A330-300 | 1 | — | TBA | [18] | |||||
| Cargo fleet | |||||||||
| Boeing 747-400BCF | 6 | — | Cargo | One crashed asFlight 102. | |||||
| Boeing 747-400ERF | 1 | — | Cargo | ||||||
| Boeing 747-400F | 2 | — | Cargo | [19] | |||||
| Boeing 777F | — | 4 | Cargo | Deliveries to commence between late 2025 and 2026.[20] | |||||
| Total | 13 | ||||||||
As of December 2024[update], National Airlines operates the following aircraft:[4][21]
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National Airlines formerly operated the following aircraft:
_of_National_Airlines_cropped.jpg)
On April 29, 2013, at approximately 3:30 p.m. Afghanistan time (11:00UTC),National Airlines Flight 102, aBoeing 747-400BCF, registration N949CA, operating a charter cargo flight for Coalition forces, crashed soon after takeoff fromBagram Airfield in Afghanistan. All seven crew members on board died in the crash.
AlthoughTaliban spokesmen claimed responsibility for the destruction of the aircraft, initial reports based on communications from the crew after takeoff indicated that the crash probably resulted from aload shift, causing the aircraft to experience a high-aft center of gravity, becoming unstable and eventually leading to the loss of control by the pilots. On September 14, 2015, theNational Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released their final report, concluding the probable cause of the crash thus:
"National Airlines' inadequate procedures for restraining special cargo loads, which resulted in the loadmaster's improper restraint of the cargo, which moved aft and damaged hydraulic systems Nos. 1 and 2 and horizontal stabilizer drive mechanism components, rendering the airplane uncontrollable."[23]
On October 29, 2016, theSt. John's Airport Authority seized one of the aircraft of National Airlines passenger operations (N176CA, a 757), alleging non-payment for services at the airport during operations there. This was quickly followed by an announcement by the airline that they are cancelling operations intoNewfoundland and Labrador as of January 6, 2017, and are also cancelling the substantial majority of flights scheduled for that route between October and the end of service. A hearing was held concerning the claim.[24] National Airlines paid the St. John's Airport authority $182,000 for the services and the airport returned the 757 to National Airlines on October 31, 2016.[25]
On May 1, 2022, Flight 761, a National AirlinesAirbus A330-200 (registration N819CA) struck a light pole in St. Kitts'Robert L. Bradshaw Int'l Airport. During taxi, the aircraft's left wing clipped one of the airport's tall light pole, causing it to nearly fall over. The damage to the airplane was minimal, and it flew again on May 4 to Indianapolis.[26]
Media related toNational Airlines (N8) at Wikimedia Commons
