View source for Trump Shuttle

{{Short description|Former American air shuttle service (1989–1992)}}
{{for|Donald Trump's private jet|Trump Force One}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline        = Trump Shuttle
| image          = File:Boeing 727-25, Trump Shuttle AN1132781.jpg
| caption        = A Trump Shuttle [[Boeing 727-100]] in 1989
| logo           = Trump Shuttle logo, August 1989.svg
| logo_size      = 250
| IATA           = TB
| ICAO           = TPS
| callsign       = TRUMP
| aoc            =
| hubs           =
| focus_cities   =
| frequent_flyer =
| fleet_size     =
| destinations   = {{ubl|class=nowrap
  | [[Boston Logan International Airport|Boston]]
  | [[LaGuardia Airport|New York–LaGuardia]]
  | [[Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport|Washington–National]]}}
| parent         = {{nowrap|[[The Trump Organization]] {{small|(1989–1992)}}}}
| key_people     = {{bulleted list|
  | [[Donald Trump]] (owner)
  | [[Bette Nash]] ([[flight attendant]])}}
| num_employees  =
| founded        = {{start date|1989|06|07}}
| ceased         = {{end date|1992|04|07}}<br />{{small|(rebranded as [[US Airways Shuttle|USAir Shuttle]])}}
}}

'''Trump Shuttle, Inc.''' was an airline owned by [[Donald Trump]] from 1989 to 1992. The landing rights and some of the physical assets necessary to operate the [[air shuttle|shuttle flights]] were originally part of [[Eastern Air Lines]] and known as the [[Eastern Air Lines Shuttle]]. It operated hourly flights on [[Boeing 727]] aircraft from [[LaGuardia Airport]] in [[New York City]] to [[Boston Logan International Airport]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts]] and [[Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], as well as charter service to other destinations. Its [[IATA]] designator code was TB (later reassigned to Jetairfly, which became [[TUI fly Belgium]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.al-airliners.be/codes/codes-alpha-19.htm|title=Codes IATA/OACI by airline|publisher=www.al-airliners.be|access-date=2017-08-21}}</ref>

Trump's formal launch in the air business occurred in March 1988 when he acquired three [[Sikorsky S-61]] helicopters that belonged to Resorts International Airlines (RIA) used to shuttle high rollers to the [[Resorts Casino Hotel]] in [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]].<ref name=TrumpAirDailyRecord>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31464398/daily-record-morristown-nj-1998-03-24/ |title=Helicopter Service Shuttles Gamblers to Casinos |work=[[Daily Record (Morristown)|Daily Record]] |location=[[Morristown, New Jersey]] |page=26 (B10) |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=March 24, 1988 |access-date=November 14, 2020 |archive-date=November 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115022325/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31464398/daily-record-morristown-nj-1998-03-24/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>  The three green and orange helicopters were repainted black and red and emblazoned with the Trump Air logo.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chadwick |first=Bruce |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31464697/new_york_daily_news_19880327/ |title=Atlantic City Confidential |work=[[New York Daily News|Daily News]] |location=[[New York City]] |page=313 (24) |date=March 27, 1988 |access-date=November 14, 2020 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607023252/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31464697/new_york_daily_news_19880327/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

== History ==
=== Formation ===
In the late 1980s, both [[Eastern Air Lines]] and [[Pan American World Airways]] operated [[air shuttle]] services in the [[Northeastern United States]], which were highly profitable even though the two airlines, as a whole, were not.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/25/business/selling-the-trump-shuttle.html|title=Selling the Trump Shuttle|last=Landler|first=Mark|date=1989-06-25|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2017-08-21|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> As the financial outlook for Eastern became more pessimistic in the late 1980s, the carrier began to sell its routes and aircraft. It organized its profitable shuttle operation into a separate company, headed by Bruce Nobles, with the intent of selling it to raise cash.

Eastern chairman [[Frank Lorenzo]] met [[Donald Trump]] at a party, and subsequently negotiated the sale of the shuttle to Trump for $365 million, more than the projected cost to start up a similar airline, but justifiable if the airline achieved a high market share.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2016/05/27/donald-trump-airline-went-from-opulence-air-crash-landing/zEf1Er2Hok2dPTVVmZT6NP/story.html|title=Donald Trump's airline went from opulence in the air to crash landing|last=Viser|first=Matt|date=2016-05-27|work=[[The Boston Globe]] |access-date=2017-08-21}}</ref> For that price, Trump got a fleet of 17 [[Boeing 727]]s, landing facilities in each of the three cities that the shuttle flew to, and the right to put his name on the company and its airplanes.<ref name=":4">{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/4343030/donald-trump-failures/|title=10 Donald Trump Business Failures|date=April 29, 2011|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|language=en|access-date=January 18, 2019}}</ref> The shuttle had previously been a "[[No frills|no-frills]]" operation for business travelers, but Trump announced that he would convert it to a luxury airline.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://airwaysmag.com/airchive/donald-ran-shuttle/|title=Special Friday Flashback: When Trump Ran 'The Shuttle'|date=2017-01-20|work=Airways Magazine|access-date=2017-08-21|language=en-US|archive-date=2017-08-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821213236/https://airwaysmag.com/airchive/donald-ran-shuttle/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

After reaching an agreement with Trump in October 1988, Eastern filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Many passengers switched to the competing [[Delta Shuttle|Pan Am Shuttle]], and the previously profitable Eastern Shuttle began losing money. Trump attempted to use the situation to negotiate a lower price and to acquire additional aircraft from Eastern. [[America West Airlines]] submitted a more attractive competing offer on May 10, but failed as its financing was not in place. Trump's offer was approved by the bankruptcy court in May 1989.<ref name=":2" /> In June 1989 the deal was completed, financed through a loan from a syndicate of banks led by [[Citibank]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/16/business/nwa-trump-shuttle-deal-seen-as-near.html|title=NWA-Trump Shuttle Deal Seen as Near|last=Hylton|first=Richard D.|date=1991-04-16|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2017-08-21|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The new Trump Shuttle operation launched on June 8, 1989, and by the end of August had returned to a strong market share of 40–50%. 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 (company)|Kinetics]], at its LaGuardia base; and partnered with LapStop, a startup firm that rented laptop computers to passengers. The airline was also an early adopter of the [[GTE]] [[Airfone]] in-flight telephone system.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Flights offered free meals, including chicken and steak on some flights, as well as complimentary champagne, beer and wine.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thys|first=Fred|date=2016-04-04|url=http://www.wbur.org/politicker/2016/04/04/trump-shuttle-boston|title=Trump Shuttle's Boston Workers Recall Lavish Start Before 'Things Started to Go Down'|publisher=[[WBUR]] |language=en|access-date=2017-08-21}}</ref> Both Trump and Pan Am spent millions on advertising campaigns around this time in an attempt to maintain strong competitive positions.<ref name=":0" />

=== August 1989 incident ===
In August 1989, a Trump Shuttle flight arriving in Boston incurred a nose gear failure upon landing due to maintenance errors by Eastern personnel prior to the acquisition.<ref name=":1" /> Trump personally flew on the next Trump Shuttle flight to Boston in order to manage the public reaction to the incident.<ref name=":1" />

=== Financial difficulties ===
{{Table alignment}}
{|class="wikitable floatright plain-row-headers defaultright"
|+ Trump Shuttle Financial Results
! (USD 000) !! 1990<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://airlines.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/1991.pdf|title=Air Transport Association 1991 Annual Report}}</ref> !! 1991<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://airlines.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/1992.pdf|title=Air Transport Association 1992 Annual Report}}</ref>
|-
! Operating revenue
|  172,013  ||  169,096
|-
! Operating loss
|  (40,122) ||  (24,671)
|-
! Net loss
|  (68,761) ||  (58,552)
|-
! Operating margin
| -23.3% || -14.6%
|-
! Net margin
| -40.0% || -34.6%
|}
The company was never profitable.<ref name=":4" /> Passenger traffic on the shuttle began to decline in November 1989. In late 1989, the [[Northeastern United States]] entered an economic recession which depressed demand, while the August 1990 [[Iraq]]i [[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait|invasion]] of [[Kuwait]] caused jet fuel prices to double.<ref name=":1" /> While costs of running the airline rose, many of the corporate customers using the shuttle were cutting travel budgets. Trump's casino business was simultaneously encountering serious difficulties, and Trump was forced to cede control over several business holdings to his bankers in June 1990 in order to avoid personal bankruptcy. The airline ran out of cash and defaulted on its debt in September 1990.<ref name=":2" />

Trump Shuttle conducted some charter operations around this time to monetize the shuttle's spare aircraft. In June 1990, the airline carried [[Nelson Mandela]] on his eight-city tour of the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-25-mn-471-story.html|title=Trump Takes Mandela Under His Wing|last=Wilkinson |first=Tracy|date=1990-06-25|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=2017-08-22|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> During the [[Gulf War]] of 1990–91, the airline received a government contract to ferry U.S. military personnel between the key domestic bases of [[Dover Air Force Base|Dover AFB]], [[Charleston Air Force Base|Charleston AFB]], [[Travis Air Force Base|Travis AFB]], [[McChord Field|McChord AFB]], and [[Kelly Field Annex|Kelly AFB]].

=== Sale ===
Trump had personally guaranteed $135 million of the shuttle's debt. Following the default, Citibank made arrangements for [[Northwest Airlines]] to take control of the shuttle in exchange for relieving Trump's personal liability on its debt, and all sides were reportedly close to an agreement by April 1991.<ref name=":3" /> [[Delta Air Lines]] agreed to buy the competing Pan Am Shuttle in July, and Northwest announced that its acquisition of the Trump Shuttle was cancelled in August, reportedly due to the Trump Shuttle's unions demanding parity with Northwest employees and Trump refusing to discount the price to reflect this.<ref name=":2" /> [[US Airways|USAir]] ultimately reached an agreement in December 1991 to take operational control of Trump Shuttle for up to ten years, with an option to buy it after five years.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/20/business/deal-made-on-trump-shuttle.html|title=Deal Made On Trump Shuttle|last=Salpukas|first=Agis|date=1991-12-20|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2017-08-21|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Bankers involved in the negotiations said that Trump would be relieved of at least $100 million of his guarantee, and possibly as much as $110 million, leaving him owing between $25 and $35 million in the closing out of his ownership of the company.<ref name=":5" />

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 purchased the remainder of Shuttle, Inc., on November 19, 1997, and the service subsequently 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. In October 2015, US Airways merged with [[American Airlines]], at which point the shuttle became the [[American Airlines Shuttle]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://internationalaviationhq.com/2019/10/05/trump-shuttle-trump-air|title=Trump Shuttle: When President Trump Owned an Airline ... And Failed|website=[[International Aviation HQ]]|access-date=2019-07-26}}</ref>

== Helicopter service ==
Trump Air operated a scheduled helicopter service between [[LaGuardia Airport]] and [[Downtown Manhattan Heliport|Wall Street Heliport]] to provide connections with Trump Shuttle flights at LaGuardia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/7d8912.htm|title=Trump Air – The Trump Shuttle Connection|website=www.timetableimages.com|access-date=2017-08-22}}</ref>

Trump Air also operated between New York City and [[East Hampton Airport]] from 1989 to 1992, and between [[West 30th Street Heliport]] and Steeplechase Pier in [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]] to serve Trump's casinos. It used a combination of [[Sikorsky S-61]] and [[Boeing CH-47 Chinook|Boeing Chinook]] helicopters.<ref name=TrumpAirDailyRecord/><ref>{{Cite web|last=Rattiner|first=Dan|url=http://www.danspapers.com/2017/01/trumps-choppers-from-1989-92-trump-ran-a-hamptons-helicopter-service/|title=Trump's Choppers: From 1989–92 Trump Ran a Hamptons Helicopter Service|work=[[Dan's Papers]]|location=[[The Hamptons|Hamptons, Long Island, New York]]|language=en|date=January 13, 2017|access-date=2017-08-22|archive-date=November 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115021958/https://www.danspapers.com/2017/01/trumps-choppers-from-1989-92-trump-ran-a-hamptons-helicopter-service/}}</ref> It was established on March 22, 1988, with three Sikorsky S-61 helicopters, which could carry 24 passengers each, with service between the [[West 30th Street Heliport]] in Manhattan and Bader Field and the Steeplechase Pier in Atlantic City.<ref name=TrumpAirDailyRecord/> Fares were from $49–125, and travel time was 48 minutes.<ref name=TrumpAirDailyRecord/> One of the helicopters had already been operating for about a month.<ref name=TrumpAirDailyRecord/> Trump had acquired the helicopters, which had been Resorts International Air, as part of his 1988 deal with [[Merv Griffin#Business ventures|Merv Griffin]] following Griffin's takeover of [[Resorts International]] Inc.<ref name=TrumpAirDailyRecord/><ref name=NYT15041988>{{cite news |last=Stevenson |first=Richard W. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/15/business/griffin-wins-resorts-in-deal-with-trump.html |title=Griffin Wins Resorts in Deal with Trump |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 15, 1988 |access-date=November 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name=WP17091989>{{cite news |last=Mufson |first=Steven |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1989/09/17/the-wheel-of-fortune-that-went-awry/4932433d-c02b-437a-a7dd-46763ebf421e/ |title=The Wheel of Fortune that Went Awry |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=September 17, 1989 |access-date=November 14, 2020 }}</ref>

== Fleet ==
The Trump Shuttle fleet consisted of the following aircraft:<ref>{{cite web | url = https://rzjets.net/aircraft/?parentid=1359&typeid=45&frstatus=3 | title = Trump Shuttle | publisher = rzjets | access-date = 7 September 2019}}</ref>
* 8 [[Boeing 727-100]]
* 17 [[Boeing 727-200]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Companies|Aviation}}
* [[List of defunct airlines of the United States]]
* [[List of things named after Donald Trump]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Trump Shuttle}}

{{Trump businesses}}
{{US Airways Group}}
{{American Airlines}}

[[Category:Airlines established in 1989]]
[[Category:Airlines disestablished in 1992]]
[[Category:1989 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1992 disestablishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Assets owned by the Trump Organization]]
[[Category:Defunct airlines of the United States]]
[[Category:Eastern Air Lines]]
[[Category:US Airways Group]]
[[Category:Airline shuttles]]
[[Category:Businesses of Donald Trump that went bankrupt]]