Royale Airlines was a regional airline with headquarters on the grounds of Shreveport Regional Airport (SHV) in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Operations

Royale operated scheduled passenger flights in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florida from 1962 to 1989. It flew mainly

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...

aircraft such as the

Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante The Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (English: ''pioneer'') is a Brazilian general purpose 15–21 passenger twin-turboprop light transport aircraft designed by Embraer for military and civil use. The EMB 110 was designed by the French engineer Max ...

, Beechcraft Model 99,

Short 330 The Short 330 (also SD3-30) is a small turboprop transport aircraft produced by Short Brothers. It seats up to 30 people and was relatively inexpensive and had low maintenance costs at the time of its introduction in 1976. The 330 was based on ...

and Grumman Gulfstream G-I with the latter being a regional airliner version of Grumman's successful propjet business aircraft. Royale also flew two Douglas DC-9-14 jetliners on services from

Houston Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 ...

(IAH) primarily to Brownsville, Texas (BRO) on behalf of Continental Airlines. For a short period between 1985 and 1986 Royale operated de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft acquired from

Metro Airlines Metro Airlines, originally Houston Metro Airlines, was a commuter airline that was originally headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States,. Metro subsequently moved its headquarters to north Texas. The airline had an operational base located ...

which had moved its operations to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in Texas and also to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia. These Twin Otter STOL (Short Take Off and Landing) turboprop aircraft were primarily utilized to shuttle passengers between the

Clear Lake City STOLport Clear Lake City STOLport was owned by Houston Metro Airlines, a commuter air carrier. It was located adjacent to Clear Lake City on Texas State Highway 3 (also known as the Old Galveston Highway) approximately two miles west of the NASA Johnson Sp ...

, which was located near the

NASA Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late ...

, and Houston Intercontinental Airport (now

George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 5 ...

). Royale also operated as a

Continental Express Continental Express was the operating brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing commuter airliner and regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines. In 2012 at the time of the merger ...

air carrier via a code sharing agreement with Continental Airlines and provided passenger feed at Continental's Houston hub (IAH) during the final years of operation prior to its bankruptcy Chapter 11 filing on September 9, 1987.In re Royale Airlines, No. 95-31137, Nov. 4, 1996 (5th Cir.)
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Destinations

Royale Airlines served the following destinations at various times during its existence: * Alexandria, Louisiana * Austin, Texas * Baton Rouge, Louisiana * Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas * Brownsville, Texas * Clear Lake City, Texas * College Station, Texas * Dallas, Texas ( Love Field) * Greenwood, Mississippi * Fort Polk, Louisiana * Houston, Texas (

Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/ U.S. Highwa ...

) - Hub * Jackson, Mississippi * Lafayette, Louisiana * Lake Charles, Louisiana * Lake Jackson, Texas * Laredo, Texas * Laurel/Hattiesburg, Mississippi * Memphis, Tennessee * Morgan City/Patterson, Louisiana * Monroe, Louisiana * Natchez, Mississippi * New Orleans, Louisiana - Hub * Oxford/University, Mississippi * Pensacola, Florida * San Antonio, Texas * Shreveport, Louisiana - Home base * Victoria, Texas

Fleet

Beechcraft 99 The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by Beechcraft. It is also known as the Beech 99 Airliner and the Commuter 99. The 99 is a twin-engine, unpressurized, 15 to 17 passenger seat turboprop aircraft, derived from the earlier Be ...

* de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter *

Douglas DC-9-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

- ''only'' ''jet'' ''aircraft type operated by Royale'' *

Grumman Gulfstream I The Grumman Gulfstream I (company designation G-159) is a twin-turboprop business aircraft. It first flew on August 14, 1958. Design and development After first rejecting an idea to develop the Grumman Widgeon as an executive transport, the comp ...

(model G-159) *

Cessation of Operations

The airline encountered financial difficulties and then ceased operations during the late 1980s when its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of 1987 was changed to

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debto ...

in February 1989.

References

External links