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| Founded | 2 December 1930 incorporated as E.W. Wiggins Airways | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating bases | Manchester-Boston Regional Airport,T.F. Green International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 15 | ||||||
| Parent company | Ameriflight(2014-2024) | ||||||
| Key people | Elmer W. Wiggins Paul Halter | ||||||
| Website | wiggins-air | ||||||
Wiggins Airways is an Americancargo airline andfixed-base operator. It is an operating base ofAmeriflight.
The business was incorporated in Massachusetts on 2 December 1930 asE.W. Wiggins Airways, Inc. by president Elmer W. Wiggins, with its principal office inLeominster, MA. The proposed business of the corporation was a many-hundred word comprehensive description of apparently every type of aviation-related business, covering everything from gliders to helicopters (a dozen years before thefirst mass-produced helicopter) to dirigibles and rocketships, including manufacturing, leasing, operating, financing, fueling, sales and more.[1] Starting in the 1930s, Wiggins was afixed base operator, including pilot instruction. DuringWorld War II it built aircraft parts and trained pilots for the military.[2] By 1944, the company had moved toNorwood.[3]
In June 1946, the CAB certificated Wiggins as a local service carrier to fly several passenger routes between Boston and Albany. Founder Elmer Wiggins died just prior to the public hearings for the CAB case that produced the certification.[2] The company wanted to useDouglas DC-3s for the routes, but was frustrated by lack of adequate airports. In 1949, the CAB said it would accept the use of smaller aircraft. After Wiggins experimented with several types, it was found that the four-passengerCessna T-50 was able to safely operate into the rudimentary airports available and climb fast enough to scale mountainous territory. While a twin-engine aircraft, it was of wood and fabric construction, unattractive to passengers.[4]
SeeExternal links for a link to a photo of Wiggins Airways aircraft of this era.
Scheduled service finally started on 19 September 1949.[5] The basic problem for Wiggins was that few flew the carrier. Even after the airline had been further developed, in 1951 and 1952, an average of fewer than 10 people boarded Wiggins per day, across the whole system. Since passenger revenue was extremely low, the postal subsidy (by which all local service carriers were then supported) was unacceptably high per pound of mail. This was the same basic problem that the CAB had faced previously with bothFlorida Airways in 1949 andMid-West Airlines in 1952, and had the same result. In a decision reached in October 1952, the CAB said it would not renew the Wiggins certification. In the same decision, it allowed that there was intrinsic demand from Albany to Boston, just not the way Wiggins was flying, and handed a route between the two toMohawk Airlines. As with the 1952 decision to not extend Mid-West's certification, the five members of the Board split 3–2, with the same minority members with the same dissenting opinion: Wiggins deserved a shot at flying DC-3s and could be expected eventually to do well with them.[4]
Wiggins and the states ofNew Hampshire,Rhode Island andVermont plus several New England cities asked for reconsideration, but in July 1953 the Board affirmed its decision.[6] Wiggins flew its last scheduled flight on July 31, 1953.[7] Wiggins was the last of three local service carriers (of the 19 that initiated CAB-certificated service) to have the CAB refuse to renew their certificates.[8] However, unlike Florida Airways and Mid-West, Wiggins did not liquidate as a result, having other healthy lines of business.[7]
Wiggins was drawn to New Hampshire by flying feeder cargo aircraft forFedEx Express andUPS Airlines. This started in the 1980s – and by 1990, Wiggins had contracts atManchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) with both FedEx Express and UPS; that same year, the airline officially changed its name to Wiggins Airways, Inc.[9][10] This led the airline to buy Stead Aviation, an MHT fixed base operator, in 1997, with the intention of moving the airline to Manchester.[11] Wiggins built a new headquarters,general aviation terminal and hangar, opening the complex in 1999.[12] Wiggins opened a new aviation fuel farm at MHT in 2004.[13] In the same year, the company finally reincorporated in New Hampshire.[14]
Wiggins Airways was bought out by its employees in the creation of anEmployee Share Ownership Plan in 1985. Wiggins employed over 160 people during this time.
In December 2014,Ameriflight acquired Wiggins Airways (at the time comprising 48 aircraft and 100 employees), which resulted in Ameriflight becoming the largest regional air cargo carrier in the world, with 218 aircraft.[15][16] Ameriflight elected not to continue to operate Wiggins' FBO and airline service departments, selling those departments toSignature Flight Support.[17]
WhileSignature Flight Support operates fueling and deicing services to aircraft flying intoManchester Boston Regional Airport, Wiggins Airways does maintenance on their fleet ofBeechcraft 99s, as well as servicing the airlines that serve the airport and general aviation aircraft.
In February 2024, Wiggins Airways flew its finalFedEx revenue run, signaling the separation of the two companies. The final C208 was flown out toAkron Canton Airport on March 13, 2024, ending the connection betweenFedEx and Wiggins Airways. On June 1, 2024, Ameriflight announced it would transition Wiggins to becoming simply an operating base of Ameriflight.[18]
1987-88 World Airline Fleets (copyright 1987) lists the E.W. Wiggins Airwaysdba Wiggins Airways with a fleet as follows, the Cessna Caravan noted as being flown forFedEx Express:[19]
As of 3 June 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration lists Wiggins as flying 12Beechcraft 99s and three Cessna Caravans under Part 135 of theFederal Aviation Regulations, the Caravans with Fedex registrations.[20]
The route map from Wiggins time as a scheduled airline in 1949–1953 is shown above.Shown below are the current routes flown by Wiggins Airways on behalf of Ameriflight.[citation needed]
| Origin | Destination | Returns to origin after unload? |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (KMHT) (Manchester, NH) | Bangor International Airport (KBGR) (Bangor, ME) | Yes |
| Burlington International Airport (KBTV) (Burlington, VT)* | ||
| Edward F. Knapp State Airport (KMPV) (Montpelier, VT) | ||
| Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport (KLEW) (Auburn, ME) | ||
| Knox County Regional Airport (KRKD) (Rockland, ME) | ||
| Portland International Jetport (KPWM) (Portland, ME | ||
| Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport (KRUT) (Rutland, VT) | ||
| Presque Isle International Airport (KPQI) (Presque Isle, ME) | ||
| Waterville Robert LaFleur Airport (KWVL) (Waterville, ME) | ||
| T.F. Green Airport,Providence, RI, KPVD | Nantucket Memorial Airport (KACK) (Nantucket, MA) |
Note: * denotes a route flown on demand (Ad-hoc) by UPS[citation needed]
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