{{Short description|Short-lived American airline}} {{about|the defunct airline|the Philippine basketball team<!-- formerly known as Air21 Express -->|Barako Bull Energy Cola}}{{distinguish|text = 21 Air, an operational all-cargo airline}} {{Refimprove|date=August 2017}} {{Infobox airline | airline=Air21 | logo=Air21 Fokker 28 Silagi-1.jpg | logo_size= | fleet_size=5 Fokker F-28-4000's | destinations= *Colorado Springs Airport *Grand Junction Regional Airport *McCarran International Airport *Los Angeles International Airport *Palm Springs International Airport *Salt Lake City International Airport *San Francisco International Airport | IATA=A7 | ICAO=UBA | callsign=Rocketeer<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-21/Fokker-F-28-4000-Fellowship/403186 | title=Aviation Photo #0403186: Fokker F-28-4000 Fellowship - Air 21 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://aerosavvy.com/more-airline-call-signs/ | title=15 MORE Cool Airline Call Signs! | date=24 October 2015 }}</ref> | founded= {{Start date and age|1994|01}} | ceased= {{End date and age|1997|01}} | headquarters=Fresno, California | key_people=Mark Morro <br/>David Miller <br/>Joe Levy David J. VanderLugt | hubs=Fresno Yosemite International Airport }} '''Air21 Airlines''' was a short-lived United States airline based in Fresno, California, led by Mark Morro, founded by David Miller and co-founded by David J. VanderLugt. The airline operated five Fokker F28 Fellowship 64-passenger twin engine jet aircraft.
==History== Air21, named through its slogan "Your Low-Cost Carrier and Low-Cost Airline for the Twenty-First Century", was founded by David Miller in January 1994. Miller, a management pilot and executive, partnered with David J. VanderLugt, treasurer of a small startup airline in Visalia, California. In October 1994, Miller and VanderLugt filed necessary paperwork for the certification of operations with the United States Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C. The next year, in March 1995, Miller and VanderLugt along with Mark Morro and Joe Levy, CEO of Gottschalks Department Stores, released their IPO prospectus for the airline. Air21 commenced passenger operations in December 1995.
The crash of ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 in 1996 refocused public attention on the operations of low-cost carriers. With a negative public perception increasing, passenger numbers declined. Air21 ceased operations in January 1997, whereupon it entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Two months later in March 1997 a buyout of the company by investment banker David Walsh converted the airline's filing to a Chapter 7 status.
==Destinations== According to the Air21 March 1996 system timetable and route map, the airline operated Fokker F28 jet service into the following destinations:<ref>{{cite web|title=Air21 - March 1996 Route Map|url=http://www.departedflights.com/A7030496.html|website=DepartedFlights.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Air21 Timetable|url=http://www.departedflights.com/A7030496p1.html|website=DepartedFlights.com}}</ref>
{|class="sortable wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;" |- !City !Airport |- |Colorado Springs, CO||{{center|Colorado Springs Airport}} |- |Fresno, CA||{{center|Fresno Yosemite International Airport}} |- |Grand Junction, CO ||{{center|Grand Junction Regional Airport}} |- |Las Vegas, NV||{{center|McCarran International Airport}} |- |Los Angeles, CA||{{center|Los Angeles International Airport}} |- |Monterey, CA||{{center|Monterey Regional Airport}} |- |Palm Springs, CA||{{center|Palm Springs International Airport}} |- |Salt Lake City, UT||{{center|Salt Lake City International Airport}} |- |San Francisco, CA||{{center|San Francisco International Airport}} |}
== See also == * List of defunct airlines of the United States
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Portalbar|United States|Companies|Aviation}} {{Airlines of the United States|state=collapsed}}
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Category:Defunct airlines of the United States Category:Airlines established in 1995 Category:Airlines disestablished in 1997 Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997 Category:Airlines based in California