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'Hooters Air' was an airline headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA. Hooters Air flights were operated by Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Pace Airlines both as ad-hoc private charters, and as scheduled USDOT public charters. As such, flights operated both under Pace Airlines' IATA Code of Y5 for ad-hoc charters, and under its own IATA Code of H1 for public charters.

Contents

History

Former destinations

Fleet

References

History

The airline was established in 2003 and started operations on March 6, 2003. It was founded by Hooters restaurant owner Bob Brooks, who acquired Pace Airlines in December 2002.^[1] All flights were operated by Pace Airlines. Hooters Air is owned by Hooters of America, Inc. Brooks initially envisioned Hooters Air as an unconventional means of generating awareness for the Hooters restaurant brand^[2]; the carrier was sometimes referred to as a "flying billboard" for the restaurant chain.
Aside from its unorthodox neighborhood chain-restaurant tie-in, Hooters Air sought to differentiate itself from other carriers with a distinctive style of in-flight service. The carrier was marketed towards golfers in an effort to bring casual and tournament players to Myrtle Beach's 100+ championship golf courses. Two "Hooters Girls," dressed in their restaurant uniforms, were on each flight assisting the (traditionally attired) in-flight crews with hospitality duties. The company advertised nonstop flights for most routes. Although Hooters Air billed itself as a low-fare carrier, rows of seats were removed from the aircraft to provide 34" seating pitch to all passengers, comparable to the legroom offered by many carriers' business classes; in keeping with the golf-friendly orientation of the carrier, this was referred to by the company as "Club Class" seating. Additionally, all seats were upholstered in dark blue or black leather, and all aircraft were painted in Hooters' orange and white company colors featuring the immediately recognizable company logo, painted on the fuselage, and mascot ("Hootie the Owl"), painted on the tailfin. Also, at a time when many low-cost carriers were eliminating in-flight frills in an effort to curtail operating costs, Hooters Air insisted on serving complimentary meals to all customers on trips lasting over one hour.
On December 8, 2005, Hooters announced that it would end service to Rockford, Illinois on January 5, 2006 as a result of the airport authority bringing in a competing airline on its Rockford-Denver route, and providing revenue guarantees for the competitor.
All commercial services were suspended on January 9, 2006. Pace Airlines is continuing with charter services. On April 17, 2006, Hooters Air ceased all operations, halting all scheduled Public Charter service and refunding tickets. The company attributed this cessation of service primarily to a marked increase in fuel costs in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the autumn of 2005.

Former destinations

Seat-back tray featured on Hooters Air

★ Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

★ Denver, Colorado

★ Fort Lauderdale, Florida

★ Orlando, Florida

★ St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida

★ Atlanta, Georgia

★ Gary, Indiana / Chicago, Illinois

★ Baltimore, Maryland / Washington, D.C.

★ Las Vegas, Nevada

★ Newark, New Jersey

★ Columbus, Ohio

★ Allentown, Pennsylvania

★ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

★ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania

★ Rockford, Illinois (service discontinued January 2006)

★ Nassau, Bahamas

★ Fort Myers, Florida (service discontinued in autumn 2004)

Fleet

The Hooters Air fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at December 2005):

★ 2 Boeing 737-200

★ 3 Boeing 737-300

★ 1 Boeing 757-200

References

1. Flight International Directory: World Airlines, p91, April 3, 2007
2. Hooters: A Case Study