Trump Shuttle
Encyclopedia
Trump Shuttle, Inc., doing business as Trump Airlines, was an airline owned by Donald Trump
from 1989 to 1992. The landing rights and some of the physical assets necessary to operate the shuttle flights were originally part of Eastern Air Lines
and known as the Eastern Air Shuttle. It operated hourly flights of Boeing 727
aircraft from LaGuardia Airport
in New York City
to Logan International Airport
in Boston, Massachusetts and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C.
, then known as Washington National Airport at the time Trump Shuttle operated.
operation into a separate company headed by Bruce Nobles with the intent of selling it to raise cash. On October 5, 1988, amidst a prolonged threatened mechanics strike action
, real estate mogul Donald Trump
arranged to purchase the shuttle. In June, 1989 the deal was completed, financed through a $380 million loan from a syndicate of 22 banks. The new airline began service as Trump Shuttle on June 23. Its IATA designator code, TB, has since been assigned to Jetairfly
.
Trump pushed to make the new shuttle a luxury
service and a marketing vehicle for the Trump name. Its aircraft were newly painted in white livery and the interiors redecorated with such features as maple
wood veneer, chrome
seat belt
latches, and gold colored lavatory fixtures. The airline also was a leader in the adoption of advanced technologies; it introduced some of the first passenger self-service check-in kiosks in coordination with Kinetics
at its LaGuardia base and partnered with LapStop, a startup firm which rented laptop
computers to passengers.
Trump's previous experience with airlines was operating a scheduled helicopter service to Atlantic City, New Jersey
. Trump was to expand this service to include helicopters from Manhattan
to LaGuardia Airport
and to offer scheduled helicopter service between New York and the Hamptons
.
Almost from its inception, the company encountered financial problems. The Shuttle's core passengers chose it for its convenience, not its costly luxury features, and during the prolonged labor strike at Eastern Shuttle many defected to the competing Pan Am
Shuttle or to Amtrak
's Metroliner service. In late 1989 the U.S. Northeast entered an economic recession which depressed demand, while the August 1990 Iraq
i invasion of Kuwait
caused jet fuel prices to double.
Trump Shuttle never turned a profit. The high debt
load incurred in the company's formation unnerved Trump's creditors as his other high profile, highly leveraged interests failed. In September 1990 the loans were defaulted and ownership of the airline passed to its creditor banks, led by Citicorp. With airline share prices depressed by the recession and anticipation of the Gulf War
, they were unable to sell the operation at a desired price despite lengthy negotiations first with Northwest Airlines
, then American Airlines
and US Air Group
.
The banks finally negotiated a complex marketing arrangement in which US Air Group
would assume 40% ownership and agree to manage the operation for ten years, including fares, financial record keeping, advertising, promotions, aircraft maintenance, and labor relations. The same agreement gave USAir an option to purchase the entire shuttle operation on or after October 10, 1996 with an exclusive right to do so until April 10, 1997. On April 7, 1992 Trump Shuttle ceased to exist when it was merged into a new corporation, Shuttle, Inc., which began operating as the USAir Shuttle on April 12, 1992.
US Airways
subsequently announced the purchase of the remainder of Shuttle, Inc. on November 19, 1997, and the service has since operated under the name US Airways Shuttle. Shuttle, Inc. remained as a subsidiary of US Air Group
until July 1, 2000, when it was merged into US Airways
.
The demise of the shuttle almost meant a demise of Trump's scheduled helicopter service to Atlantic City and the Hamptons. However, he was to continue to operate a private service for highrollers. Trump's involvement in airlines was evoked frequently in the television show The Apprentice
.
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
from 1989 to 1992. The landing rights and some of the physical assets necessary to operate the shuttle flights were originally part of Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.-History:...
and known as the Eastern Air Shuttle. It operated hourly flights of Boeing 727
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
aircraft from LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Logan International Airport
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
in Boston, Massachusetts and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, then known as Washington National Airport at the time Trump Shuttle operated.
History
As the financial outlook for Eastern Air Lines became more pessimistic in the late 1980s, the carrier began to sell its routes and aircraft. It organized its profitable Northeastern air shuttleAir shuttle
An air shuttle is a scheduled airline service that operates a frequent, regular service on short routes with a simplified fare and class structure. Although no exact specifications exist, frequency is normally once per hour or more often and travel time is typically an hour or less, although longer...
operation into a separate company headed by Bruce Nobles with the intent of selling it to raise cash. On October 5, 1988, amidst a prolonged threatened mechanics strike action
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, real estate mogul Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
arranged to purchase the shuttle. In June, 1989 the deal was completed, financed through a $380 million loan from a syndicate of 22 banks. The new airline began service as Trump Shuttle on June 23. Its IATA designator code, TB, has since been assigned to Jetairfly
Jetairfly
Jetairfly is a Belgian airline with its headquarters in Ostend, Belgium and its centre of flight operations in Zaventem, Belgium. It operates scheduled passenger flights...
.
Trump pushed to make the new shuttle a luxury
Luxury good
Luxury goods are products and services that are not considered essential and associated with affluence.The concept of luxury has been present in various forms since the beginning of civilization. Its role was just as important in ancient western and eastern empires as it is in modern societies...
service and a marketing vehicle for the Trump name. Its aircraft were newly painted in white livery and the interiors redecorated with such features as maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
wood veneer, chrome
Chrome plating
Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...
seat belt
Seat belt
A seat belt or seatbelt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a collision or a sudden stop...
latches, and gold colored lavatory fixtures. The airline also was a leader in the adoption of advanced technologies; it introduced some of the first passenger self-service check-in kiosks in coordination with Kinetics
Kinetics (company)
NCR Self-Service, LLC , a subsidiary of NCR Corporation, develops self-service software and hardware travel technology. Solutions for hardware include the TouchPort II C for airline check-in and ResortPort for hospitality self-service...
at its LaGuardia base and partnered with LapStop, a startup firm which rented laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
computers to passengers.
Trump's previous experience with airlines was operating a scheduled helicopter service to Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
. Trump was to expand this service to include helicopters from Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
to LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
and to offer scheduled helicopter service between New York and the Hamptons
Hamptons
The Hamptons may refer to several villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on the far east end of Suffolk County in Long Island, New York. These townships occupy the South Fork of Long Island, stretching into the Atlantic Ocean. The Hamptons form a popular seaside resort,...
.
Almost from its inception, the company encountered financial problems. The Shuttle's core passengers chose it for its convenience, not its costly luxury features, and during the prolonged labor strike at Eastern Shuttle many defected to the competing Pan Am
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
Shuttle or to Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
's Metroliner service. In late 1989 the U.S. Northeast entered an economic recession which depressed demand, while the August 1990 Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i invasion of Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
caused jet fuel prices to double.
Trump Shuttle never turned a profit. The high debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
load incurred in the company's formation unnerved Trump's creditors as his other high profile, highly leveraged interests failed. In September 1990 the loans were defaulted and ownership of the airline passed to its creditor banks, led by Citicorp. With airline share prices depressed by the recession and anticipation of the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, they were unable to sell the operation at a desired price despite lengthy negotiations first with Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...
, then American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
and US Air Group
US Airways Group
US Airways Group Inc. is an airline holding company based in Tempe, Arizona. US Airways Group operate US Airways, along with its subsidiaries PSA Airlines, Inc. and Piedmont Airlines, Inc., which are wholly owned but marketed under the branding of US Airways Express...
.
The banks finally negotiated a complex marketing arrangement in which US Air Group
US Airways Group
US Airways Group Inc. is an airline holding company based in Tempe, Arizona. US Airways Group operate US Airways, along with its subsidiaries PSA Airlines, Inc. and Piedmont Airlines, Inc., which are wholly owned but marketed under the branding of US Airways Express...
would assume 40% ownership and agree to manage the operation for ten years, including fares, financial record keeping, advertising, promotions, aircraft maintenance, and labor relations. The same agreement gave USAir an option to purchase the entire shuttle operation on or after October 10, 1996 with an exclusive right to do so until April 10, 1997. On April 7, 1992 Trump Shuttle ceased to exist when it was merged into a new corporation, Shuttle, Inc., which began operating as the USAir Shuttle on April 12, 1992.
US Airways
US Airways
US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....
subsequently announced the purchase of the remainder of Shuttle, Inc. on November 19, 1997, and the service has since operated under the name US Airways Shuttle. Shuttle, Inc. remained as a subsidiary of US Air Group
US Airways Group
US Airways Group Inc. is an airline holding company based in Tempe, Arizona. US Airways Group operate US Airways, along with its subsidiaries PSA Airlines, Inc. and Piedmont Airlines, Inc., which are wholly owned but marketed under the branding of US Airways Express...
until July 1, 2000, when it was merged into US Airways
US Airways
US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....
.
The demise of the shuttle almost meant a demise of Trump's scheduled helicopter service to Atlantic City and the Hamptons. However, he was to continue to operate a private service for highrollers. Trump's involvement in airlines was evoked frequently in the television show The Apprentice
The Apprentice (U.S. TV series)
The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC...
.