Tower Air

2025-10-18T12:59:35Z

2600:8800:1E0F:4C00:3BE7:F94B:49F8:70B7: Airlines' that operate with one type of aircraft will be categorized as a part of that certain aircraft

{{Short description|Charter airline}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline = Tower Air
| logo = Tower_Air_logo.png
| logo_size = 260f
| fleet_size = 17
| destinations = 9
| IATA = FF
| ICAO = TOW
| callsign = TEE AIR
| parent =
| founded = {{Start date and age|1983}}
| ceased = {{End date and age|2000}}
| headquarters = Hangar #17<br>[[John F. Kennedy International Airport]]<br>[[Jamaica, Queens|Jamaica]], [[Queens]], [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
| key_people = Morris K. Nachtomi (co-founder, owner, manager)
| hubs = [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]]
| secondary_hubs =
| focus_cities = [[Ben Gurion Airport]]
| frequent_flyer =
| lounge =
| alliance =
| website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20000510062736/http://www.towerair.com/ www.towerair.com] (defunct)
}}
'''Tower Air''' was a certificated FAR 121 [[United States|U.S.]] [[Air charter|charter airline]] that also operated scheduled passenger service from 1983 until 2000 when the company declared bankruptcy and was liquidated. Scheduled flights were initially offered over a New York – Brussels – Tel Aviv route in addition to charter flights to Athens, Frankfurt, Rome, and Zurich. Short-lived New York – Los Angeles flights were introduced with the addition of an ex-[[Avianca]] [[Boeing 747-100]] in 1984. The airline was headquartered in Building 178 and later in Hangar 17 at [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] in [[Jamaica, Queens|Jamaica]], [[Queens]], [[New York City]].<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20000510101020/http://www.towerair.com/about-cu.cfm How to Contact Us]." Tower Air. Retrieved on May 28, 2009. "Corporate Headquarters Hangar #17 JFK International Airport Jamaica, NY 11430'</ref><ref>"World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. March 30, 1985. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1985/1985%20-%200987.html 127]." Retrieved on June 17, 2009. "Head Office: Building 178, JFK International Airport, New York 10430, USA" ([http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1985/1985%20-%200984.html continued from page 124])</ref>

==History==
Tower Air was co-founded, majority-owned, and managed by Morris K. Nachtomi, an [[Israel]]i citizen who had emigrated to the [[United States]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-22-fi-1844-story.html|title=Tower Air Is Banking on Flights to Israel|last=DALLOS|first=ROBERT E.|date=1991-02-22|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2017-09-05|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> After a 30-year career with [[El Al]], he moved to New York to start a passenger operation for [[Flying Tiger Line]], Metro International Airways. After this airline shut down, Nachtomi acquired the "Tower" brand from a packaged tour agency called Tower Travel Corporation. Tower Air began charter service in 1983 and served a number of international destinations, with a focus on charter flights to Israel. Nachtomi eventually bought out his partners to control about three-quarters of the stock.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/tower-air-inc-history/|title=History of Tower Air, Inc. – FundingUniverse|website=www.fundinguniverse.com|language=en|access-date=2017-09-05}}</ref>
[[File:Tower Air Boeing 747-127 N601BN (26071118710).jpg|thumb|A Boeing 747-100 at Zurich in 1985. This aircraft was acquired from [[Braniff International Airways]].]]
Arthur Fondlier, son of Sam Fondlier and the former Chief Financial Officer of Tower Air, was a passenger in the first-class section of [[Pan Am flight 103]]. His untimely death gave Morris Nachtomi much more freedom in management and cost-cutting.

The company won many contracts from the [[United States Department of Defense]] to transport armed forces personnel to overseas locations, and from the [[United Nations]] to transport troops to their peacekeeping missions all over the world. Tower often flew charters for groups of [[Hajj|Muslim pilgrims]] to [[Mecca]].<ref name=":1" />

Tower Air's main base of scheduled operations was [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] in [[New York City|New York]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/17/us/tower-air-says-5-or-6-planes-were-vandalized-at-kennedy.html|title=Tower Air Says 5 or 6 Planes Were Vandalized at Kennedy|last=Wald|first=Matthew L.|date=1994-12-17|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-09-05|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In the mid-1980s, the airline operated from the [[British Airways]] terminal at JFK (now Terminal 7).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.departedflights.com/JFK0485.html|title=JFK0485|website=www.departedflights.com|access-date=2017-09-05}}</ref> In the early 1990s, it operated from the former [[Eastern Air Lines|Eastern]] terminal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.departedflights.com/JFK91.html|title=JFK91|website=www.departedflights.com|access-date=2017-09-05}}</ref> In 1993, Tower Air renovated and expanded Building 213, a former [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]] hangar, to serve as its dedicated JFK terminal, adding three finger gates in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.panynj.gov/airports/pdf-traffic/airtraffic1998.pdf|title=1998 Airport Traffic Report|website=Port Authority of New York and New Jersey|access-date=2017-09-05|archive-date=2017-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203034743/http://www.panynj.gov/airports/pdf-traffic/airtraffic1998.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Defense.gov News Photo 980218-F-2829R-514.jpg|thumb|US Army soldiers line up to board a Tower Air charter flight from [[Hunter Army Airfield|Hunter AAF]] during [[Operation Southern Watch]] in 1998.]]
During the 1990-91 [[Gulf War]], Tower Air evacuated US citizens from Tel Aviv using the otherwise empty return legs of military charter flights to the region.<ref name=":1" /> It eventually became the only US carrier providing scheduled service to Israel in 1991, using special [[war risk insurance]] provided by the Federal Aviation Administration.<ref name=":0" /> It opened a special departure terminal at [[Ben Gurion Airport]] in 1997.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1997/07/14/Tower-Air-inaugurates-Tel-Aviv-terminal/9747868852800/|title=Tower Air inaugurates Tel Aviv terminal|work=UPI|access-date=2017-09-05|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Hangar 17 at JFK Airport.jpg|thumb|A [[hangar]] previously used by Tower Air at [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|New York JFK Airport]] in 2025]]
The airline began running into financial and operational difficulties in the late 1990s. The airline lost $20 million in 1996.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-3rd-circuit/1457412.html|title=IN RE: TOWER AIR|website=Findlaw|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905235951/https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-3rd-circuit/1457412.html|archive-date=2017-09-05|url-status=dead|access-date=2017-09-05}}</ref> The 1997 [[Zagat Survey]] ranked Tower Air 59th out of 61 ranked carriers in terms of maintenance, ahead of only [[Valujet]] and [[Aeroflot]],<ref>[http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=2537107&date=19970504 Air Travel – Trans-Pacific Carriers Tops In Airline Poll] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120707144843/http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=2537107&date=19970504 |date=2012-07-07 }}, ''[[Seattle Times]]'' News Services, May 4, 1997.</ref> and in February 1998, the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] proposed two civil penalties totaling $276,000 for continuing to fly aircraft that required maintenance.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000121235506/http://www.faa.gov/apa/pr/feb/aea0198.html FAA Proposes Two Fines For Tower Air], Federal Aviation Administration press release, February 3, 1998.</ref> The airline had attempted to cut costs by cannibalizing its own engines for spare parts, but was forced to borrow money to acquire new engines in 1998.<ref name=":3" />

In January 1998 the FAA successfully sought to have the airline remove Guy Nachtomi, son of the Chairman and CEO, 24 years old at that time, from the position of Vice President-Operations. This was done in part because of the airline's maintenance problems, as well as his lack of airline experience (he worked at Twentieth Century Fox until 1994).<ref name="sec.edgar-online.com">[http://sec.edgar-online.com/1998/05/01/14/0000940180-98-000483/Section9.asp TOWER AIR INC – TOWRQ Proxy Statement (definitive) (DEF 14A) COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930211139/http://sec.edgar-online.com/1998/05/01/14/0000940180-98-000483/Section9.asp |date=2007-09-30 }}</ref> The junior Mr. Nachtomi continued service with the company in a capacity unrelated to maintenance as Vice President-Office of the Chairman.<ref name="sec.edgar-online.com" />

The Department of Defense Commercial Airlift Review Board suspended Tower Air military charters from January 27 to February 12, 1999, pending an on-site review of its operations. At the same time, the airline lost an arbitration brought by the [[Association of Flight Attendants]], claiming that Tower Air was lodging their flight attendants in dirty [[Tel Aviv]] hotels with poor security and bed bugs.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}}

By 2000, a majority of Tower Air's fleet (11 out of 19 aircraft) was out of service.<ref name=":3" /> Tower Air filed for protection under [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] on February 29, 2000, ceased all scheduled service on May 1, 2000<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20000510042326/http://www.towerair.com/news.cfm TOWER AIR SUSPENDS ALL SCHEDULED FLIGHT OPERATIONS EFFECTIVE MAY 1, 2000.]." ''Tower Air''.</ref> and surrendered their FAA [[air operator's certificate]] on November 28, 2000.<ref>[http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/cessations/tower2.htm Information for Consumers Regarding the Cessation of Service by Tower Air] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060428210209/http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/cessations/tower2.htm |date=2006-04-28 }}, Aviation Consumer Protection Division, Department of Transportation.</ref> The airline's bankruptcy trustee, Charles Stanziale, subsequently sued the airline's directors and officers for "driving the company into insolvency by indifference and egregious decision-making."<ref name=":3" />

In 1997, a Boeing 747-200 US registration N618FF operated by Tower Air appeared in the movie ''[[Liar Liar]]''. Its aircraft also appeared in the movie ''[[Turbulence (1997 film)]]'' the same year in their own livery and as the fictional Trans-Continental Airlines.

==Destinations==
[[File:Tower Air Boeing 747-200 KvW.jpg|thumb|A Boeing 747-200 in Tower Air's livery.]]
[[File:TA9.jpg|thumb|TowerAir Military (DOD) Charter Flight]]

===Destinations at time of closure===
* '''{{ISR}}'''
** [[Tel Aviv]] - [[Ben Gurion Airport]]<ref name="April291999Destinations">"[https://web.archive.org/web/19990429120219/http://www.towerair.com/destinations.cfm Destinations]" as of April 29, 1999. ''Tower Air''.</ref><ref name="March62000Destinations">"[https://web.archive.org/web/20000306115247/http://www.towerair.com/destinations.cfm Destinations]" as of March 6, 2000. ''Tower Air''.</ref>
* '''{{USA}}'''
** [[Miami]] - [[Miami International Airport]]<ref name="April291999Destinations"/><ref name="March62000Destinations"/>
** [[New York City]] - [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] '''Hub'''<ref name="April291999Destinations"/><ref name="March62000Destinations"/>
** [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]] - [[Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport]]<ref name="April291999Destinations"/><ref name="March62000Destinations"/>

===Destinations before closure===
* '''{{BRA}}'''
** [[São Paulo]] - [[Guarulhos Airport]]
* '''{{BEL}}'''
** [[Brussels]] - [[Brussels Airport]]
* '''{{DEN}}'''
** [[Copenhagen]] - [[Copenhagen Airport]] (flights between New York and Copenhagen operated either nonstop or via [[Cologne Bonn Airport|Cologne]])
* '''{{DOM}}'''
** [[Santo Domingo]] - [[Las Américas International Airport]]<ref name="KosovoRefugees"/>
* '''{{FRA}}'''
** [[Paris]] - [[Orly Airport]]<ref name="April291999Destinations"/><ref name="KosovoRefugees">"[http://www.allbusiness.com/transportation/air-transportation-air-charter-services/6645892-1.html Tower Air Brings First Kosovo Refugees to U.S.;Airline to Perform 40 Mercy Missions Over the Next Month Under ContractWith...]." ''Business Wire''.</ref><ref name="News1998">"[https://web.archive.org/web/19980701165422/http://www.towerair.com/news.cfm Tower Air News July 1, 1998 – 12:50 PM]." ''Tower Air''.</ref>
* '''{{FIN}}'''
** [[Helsinki]] - [[Helsinki Airport]]
* '''{{GER}}'''
** [[Frankfurt]] - [[Frankfurt Airport]]
** [[Berlin]] - [[Berlin Tempelhof Airport]]
** [[Cologne]] - [[Cologne Bonn Airport]]
* '''{{GRE}}'''
** [[Athens]] - [[Ellinikon International Airport]]<ref name="KosovoRefugees"/><ref name="News1998"/>
* '''{{IND}}'''
** [[Delhi]] - [[Indira Gandhi International Airport]]
** [[Mumbai]] - [[Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport]]
*'''{{IRL}}'''
** [[Shannon, County Clare|Shannon]] - [[Shannon Airport]]
* '''{{ISR}}'''
** [[Tel Aviv]] - [[Ben Gurion Airport]] (flights between New York and Tel Aviv operated via [[Brussels Airport|Brussels]])
* '''{{NED}}'''
** [[Amsterdam]] - [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol]]
* '''{{NOR}}'''
** [[Oslo]] - [[Oslo Airport, Fornebu|Oslo Fornebu Airport]]
* '''{{SWE}}'''
** [[Stockholm]] - [[Stockholm Arlanda Airport]]
* '''{{UK}}'''
** [[London]] - [[Gatwick Airport]]
* '''{{USA}}'''
** [[Baltimore]] - [[Baltimore-Washington International Airport]]
** [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida|Fort Lauderdale]] - [[Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport]]<ref name="KosovoRefugees"/>
** [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] - [[McCarran International Airport]]<ref name="KosovoRefugees"/><ref name="News1998"/>
** [[Los Angeles]] - [[Los Angeles International Airport]]<ref name="April291999Destinations"/><ref name="KosovoRefugees"/><ref name="News1998"/>
** [[Oakland]] - [[Oakland International Airport]]
** [[San Francisco]] - [[San Francisco International Airport]]<ref name="April291999Destinations"/><ref name="KosovoRefugees"/><ref name="News1998"/>

According to the [[Official Airline Guide]] (OAG), in early 1989 Tower Air was operating transatlantic flights from both New York [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] (JFK) and Miami (MIA) with nonstops between New York and Brussels, Copenhagen and Oslo with direct one stop service to and from Tel Aviv, and nonstops between Miami and Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm.<ref>http://www.departedflights.com, Jan. 15, 1989 Official Airline Guide (OAG), New York JFK & Miami flight schedules</ref>

==Aircraft==
[[File:TA1.jpg|right|thumb|Tower Air [[Boeing 747]]]]
Tower Air's fleet consisted of [[Boeing 747]]s in both the −100 and −200 series, including both passenger and [[cargo aircraft]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> The airline operated a total of thirty 747s (fifteen −100 and fifteen −200 series) over its history. Several were converted to freighters following Tower's bankruptcy.{{Cn|date=March 2025}} One former Tower Air 747-200 was converted to a hotel, the [[Jumbo Stay]] at [[Stockholm Arlanda Airport]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Now you can dine on the wing of a Boeing 747 at the Jumbo Stay in Stockholm |url=https://worldairlinenews.com/2013/05/11/now-you-can-dine-on-the-wing-of-a-boeing-747-at-the-jumbo-stay-in-stockholm/ |website=World Airline News |access-date=23 July 2020 |language=en |date=11 May 2013}}</ref>

==Incidents and accidents==
On December 20, 1995, [[Tower Air Flight 41]] from New York Kennedy to Miami veered off the runway during takeoff in a snowstorm resulting in one [[flight attendant]] receiving serious injuries and 24 passengers receiving minor injuries. The aircraft sustained heavy damage and was written off. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of this accident was the captain's failure to reject the takeoff in a timely manner when excessive nosewheel steering tiller inputs resulted in a loss of directional control on a slippery runway.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1996-12-06 |title=Runway Departure During Attempted Takeoff, Tower Air Flight 41, Boeing 747-136, N605FF, JFK International Airport, New York, December 20, 1995 |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR9604.pdf |access-date=2007-03-02 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |id=NTSB/AAR-96/04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release|date=1996-10-29|title=NTSB Press Release – 10/29/96|url=http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/dnetGOjg/201295xx.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208022820/http://dnausers.d-n-a.net/dnetGOjg/201295xx.htm|archive-date=2007-02-08|access-date=|publisher=National Transportation Safety Board}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1995-12-21 |title=FRIGHT 41: TOWER JET SKIDS OFF RUNWAY AT JFK |language=en |work=NY Daily News |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/fright-41-tower-jet-skids-runway-jfk-article-1.709462 |access-date=2017-09-05}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of defunct airlines of the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Tower Air}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000510062736/http://www.towerair.com/ Tower Air] website (defunct)
* [http://www.twst.com/notes/articles/gax626.html 1997 interview with co-founder]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4803/is_200005/ai_n17436986 Tower Air Collapse Will Bring Higher N.Y. Air Fares.]
* [http://www.atlantis.gr/towerair/destinations.html Travel agency advertising Tower Air service to Athens]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080324001122/http://www.towerair.org/ Tower Air Debrief]

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[[Category:Defunct airlines of the United States]]
[[Category:Airlines established in 1983]]
[[Category:Airlines disestablished in 2000]]
[[Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2000]]
[[Category:Boeing 747]]
[[Category:1983 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:2000 disestablishments in the United States]]

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Tower Air