Southern Airways Express is a commuter airline operating in the United States, headquartered in the Memphis suburb of Hernando, Mississippi. Southern Airways Express acts as a local service airline for several cities in the Southern United States, and it provides scheduled passenger service in the Mid-Atlantic Region subsidized by the Federal government of the United States under the Essential Air Service program. In its Gulf Region, Southern operates from executive terminals at primary airports, meaning that passengers are not required to check-in at the main passenger terminals, nor are they required to pass through Transportation Security Administration security screening. In Southern's mid-Atlantic footprint, which includes Pittsburgh International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Airport, passengers embark and disembark through the primary secured terminals. In June 2018 Southern became an interline partner with American Airlines, allowing for single-ticketing and baggage transfers between Southern and American. On February 12, 2019, Southern Airways announced its acquisition of Mokulele Airlines, a Hawaiian-based airline operating Cessna Grand Caravans and Pilatus PC-12 commuter turboprops. Following the integration of the two airlines, the combined entity will operate 1,380 weekly flights, more flights in the 50 states than any other commuter air carrier. Terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. Southern intends to keep and strengthen the Mokulele brand in Hawaii.
History
Southern Airways Express was founded by Stan Little, a criminal defense attorney based in Hernando, Mississippi. Little owned a Golden Eagle 421 which was never used by the airline, although his private pilot, Scott Honnoll, did transition to the airline and advanced to the role of assistant chief pilot before returning to general aviation in November 2015. Southern's initial funding was secured by a group of unknown investors which are believed to be connected to the University of Mississippi, the alma mater of Little and co-founder Keith Sisson. Southern Airways investors were later revealed in FAA filings made public only after Southern Airways fought against releasing their names. In its first year, Southern operated as a DOT 380 scheduled charter provider with the flights being operated by Executive Express Aviation based in Sugar Grove, Ill. In March 2014 Southern acquired Executive Express Aviation and its FAA charter certificate, retaining all of its employees in the process. Executive Express Aviation is still a private charter company and is marketed under the name Southern Private Jets. Southern Airways Express operates the Cessna Caravan aircraft on its scheduled service flights. The airline started operations in June 2013, with its first flight from Olive Branch Airport near Memphis, Tennessee to Destin Executive Airport. Early destinations included University-Oxford Airport, Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport, New Orleans Lakefront Airport, and Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. Due to the nature of the flights being public charters, the airline did not originally use TSA terminals. During the first year, the airline was run experimentally, operating different routes to test demand. Southern Airways Express started flights to DeKalb–Peachtree Airportin September 2013, but the routes were then suspended. Service to DeKalb-Peachtree resumed on. On, Southern Airways Express relocated its Memphis hub from Olive Branch Airport to the Private Signature Terminal at Memphis International Airport, which is closer to the Memphis city center. In the fall of 2015, Southern Airways began operating flights on behalf of Seaport Airlines, but it discontinued that service when Seaport Airlines filed for bankruptcy in January 2016. In December 2016, Southern Airways took over Seaport Airlines' routes to Arkansas' Boone County Airport, Hot Springs Memorial Field Airport, and South Arkansas Regional Airport, and enplanements have grown markedly from all three cities. On March 7, 2016, Southern Airways Express announced that it had purchased Fort Lauderdale-based Sun Air Express. The combined airline has since retired most of Sun Air Express's Piper aircraft in favor of the turbine-powered Cessna Caravan and has retired the Sun Air Express name in all cities that it serves. Southern now flies 106 daily departures system-wide and is the second-largest airline at Pittsburgh International Airport by peak-day departures with 34. With the addition of service to Nashville International Airport in its Gulf footprint, Southern continues its expansion near its hometown. Service between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport began September 5, 2018. On October 16, 2018, Southern Airways Express announced it would establish a new base at Palm Beach International Airport and begin service to Key West International Airport and Tampa International Airport on November 8, 2018.
In early 2020, Southern Airways Express became the code operator for Tailwind Air Service. The part 135 airline withdrew its application for commuter air service authority in early 2019. Southern will operate the flights under their 9X code and sell tickets using their reservation system.
Interline Agreements
Southern Airways Express has interline agreements with American, Condor and Alaska Airlines which provide through ticketing and baggage transfers. Southern is working on establishing a new interline agreement with Air New Zealand in 2020.
CampusConnection
Southern provides an extra discount at select communities that participate in the Campus Connection program for students, faculty and parents.
Fleet
Southern Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft:
Southern Private Jets
Southern began a new subsidiary, called Southern Private Jets, which provides on-demand charter services utilizing the Cessna Citation.
