Vanguard Airlines was an American airline based in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, where it operated a hub from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. For a time, Vanguard also had significant operations at

Chicago Midway International Airport Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, until late 2000. It ceased operations on July 29, 2002, after filing for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. The airline flew leased

Boeing 727-200 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpor ...

737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...

737-300 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Febru ...

as well as

McDonnell Douglas MD-80 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...

series and

MD-87 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

jetliners to a number of destinations from its main hub in Kansas City at the time of its demise. Vanguard Airlines started service in 1994.

History

Early history

Vanguard was originally started as a low-cost, low-fare airline, the purpose of which was to undercut the costs of the

major airline The United States Department of Transportation defines a major carrier or major airline carrier as a U.S.-based airline that posts more than $1 billion in revenue during a fiscal year, grouped accordingly as "Group III". Airlines According to FY20 ...

s and so be able to charge lower fares. Super-low regular advance fares of as little as $29 each way were the standard. Sale fares of as little as $10 were not uncommon. By the time Vanguard began operations, however, most major air carriers had learned how to deal with such competition. They simply lowered prices in the markets where these smaller airlines flew, thus making it difficult for the

low-cost airline A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

s to be profitable.

Destinations during the mid and late 1990s

In early 1995, Vanguard was operating scheduled nonstop service between its Kansas City hub and Dallas/Fort Worth,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

as well as direct service between Kansas City and

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

via a stop in Denver with all flights being operated with

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...

jets configured with all-coach, single class passenger cabins. By the summer of 1995, the new start-up airline had added new service between Kansas City and

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

and Wichita as well as between Minneapolis/St. Paul and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Midway Airport Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...

, and was also operating nonstop service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Denver, Kansas City and Wichita as well as nonstop flights between Denver and Salt Lake City but was no longer serving Milwaukee. One year later in the summer of 1996, Vanguard was flying nonstops between Kansas City and California with service to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

(

LAX Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

) and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

(

SFO San Francisco International Airport is an international airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, south of Downtown San Francisco. It has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe, the Middle ...

) in addition to operating nonstop service between Wichita and Chicago Midway Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver and Kansas City. By the winter of 1996, the airline was operating new service between Kansas City and

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 ...

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

and

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

but was no longer serving Salt Lake City. Flights between Kansas City and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

were added to the route system by the late summer of 1997 but service to Des Moines, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Wichita as well as to the four destinations in Florida had been discontinued. By the fall of 1997, nonstops between Kansas City and

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Dulles Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fai ...

as well as between Chicago Midway Airport and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

were being flown with the airline also operating nonstop service between New York

JFK Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...

and Atlanta, Kansas City and Pittsburgh. In 1998,

Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...

was being served nonstop from Atlanta as well as direct from Kansas City via a stop in Atlanta; however, the airline was no longer serving New York City and San Francisco (

). In the summer of 1999, Vanguard was operating a small hub (

focus city An airline hub or hub airport is an airport used by one or more airlines to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations. Hubs serve as transfer (or stop-over) points to help get passengers to their final destination. It is part of the ...

) at Chicago with nonstop flights between

and Buffalo,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Kansas City, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Pittsburgh in addition to continuing to operate its Kansas City hub, and was also operating seasonal nonstop service between Myrtle Beach and Pittsburgh in 1999.

Destinations during the early 2000s

In 2000, Vanguard had resumed nonstop service between its Kansas City hub and New York City with service to

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...

instead of

in addition to adding new service to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and was also flying new nonstop service between Denver and Chicago

as well as seasonal nonstop service between Myrtle Beach and Buffalo and Pittsburgh but was no longer serving Cincinnati. By the end of 2001, the airline had added new nonstop service between Kansas City and

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

and

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, and had also resumed nonstop flights between Kansas City and Los Angeles (

), Las Vegas and San Francisco (

) but had scaled back its flights at Chicago Midway Airport with only a Kansas City - Chicago - Buffalo route being operated.

Reservations

Reservations were outsourced to a call center in Mission, KS run by Dakotah Reservations, a division of Dakotah Direct (now owned by West Business Services). Reservation agents were originally people of all ages from the Kansas City Metro area. Eventually they opened a second call center in Lawrence, KS, which was mostly staffed by college students attending the University of Kansas. Eventually the Lawrence call center was re-purposed to handle overflow calls for the Disney Catalog and the Mission location remained operational until the company shut down in 2002.

Reinvention

In 2000, the airline began a program to change itself from a Low-cost, low-fare airline to the more sustainable

Low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

model. This type of airline had lower costs than the major carriers, but competed on more than just price. Service, on-time performance, leg room, frequent flier programs, and other factors are often used in this competitive model. No longer were the cut-rate advance-purchase fares well-below the

major carrier The United States Department of Transportation defines a major carrier or major airline carrier as a U.S.-based airline that posts more than $1 billion in revenue during a fiscal year, grouped accordingly as "Group III". Airlines According to FY20 ...

s. Only the full-coach fares, which fewer customers buy, were significantly lower. The change program worked and the airline saw significant improvements in operational and financial performance. The summer of 2001 saw some of the best growth and performance the airline had ever achieved; but the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

changed all that. In October, 2001, the airline cut 20% of its staff. Full-time hourly workers were cut to as little as 32 hours per week. The executive suite took a 25% pay-cut. The airline struggled to compete in a market that saw schedules cut by a third and planes flying half-full. During this period, Vanguard also introduced a multi-color

aircraft livery An aircraft livery is a set of comprehensive insignia comprising color, graphic, and typographical identifiers which operators (airlines, governments, air forces and occasionally private and corporate owners) apply to their aircraft. As aircraft ...

similar in concept to

Braniff International Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...

"Flying Colors" or

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...

's "airline within an airline" concept, ZIP airlines. This paint scheme was adopted with the introduction of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 Series aircraft and involved the stylistic painting of the new Vanguard livery, in varied hues upon different aircraft. As in the case of Braniff's ultimate "Ultra" or "wet-look", more restrained use of colors were favored by the design team, which conversely was to become Vanguard's final livery.

9/11

As with all the other airlines, that day was chaos for the operation. Airplanes were displaced all over the country. Sept 12, no airlines flew and only a few small aircraft "Emergency" type flights were granted approval from the FAA. It's believed that Vanguard is the first airline to fly a regularly scheduled flight after 9/11, although that has not yet been confirmed. Because of their small size, and many crews living in base, they were nimble and could coordinate quickly. That first flight took place Sept 13, from Kansas City (MCI) to Chicago's Midway Airport (MDW), as reported by the company news letter. The legacy carriers did not fly regularly scheduled flights until the 14th.

Post 9/11

Shortly after the attacks, Vanguard received approximately $2–3 million in federal aid, as did most other airlines. In 2001, Vanguard changed from the Open Skies reservation system to

SABRE A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

, which cost the airline millions. Company meetings between CEO Scott Dickson and Marketing Director Greg Aretakis and other staff became more numerous and serious as the year passed. On at least three occasions, the conclusions made by the CEO and marketing director was that the transformation of Vanguard from an Open Skies to a SABRE system had to work, or it would be the end of the airline. Daily revenue records showed marked increases in sales overall, but difficulties in adopting SABRE overshadowed the successful sales increases. The money that the government remitted to Vanguard after 9/11 offered the airline a new lease on life. It would not sustain the airline forever, but it allowed for a few months of replanning. Companion fare sales and internet ticket hot deals helped keep the airline above water for several months, and the hopes of more funding from the Air Transportation Stabilization Board kept a positive outlook among airline staff. The following summer was bad for most airlines, but worse for Vanguard. While operational performance continued to improve to summer 2001 levels, the airline was still saddled with $80 million in debt. Nervous about increased bookings,

credit card A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

processors required greater and greater assurances that they would not lose money if the airline failed. In his book about the bankruptcy of the airline, Scott Dickson wrote how these processors required

surety bonds In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay ...

of 125% of sales to continue processing

credit cards A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

. As each ticket was sold, the airline actually lost money. This financial situation was unsustainable and on July 29, 2002, the airline ceased operations.

After bankruptcy

When operations ceased, National Airlines and

Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines is a major ultra-low-cost U.S. airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and 31 international destinations, and employs more than 3,000 staff. The ca ...

immediately offered to take Vanguard passengers on a space-available basis. Controversy broke out with other airlines that had accepted

Air Transportation Stabilization Board The Air Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB) is an office of United States Department of the Treasury created to assist US airlines in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act, sig ...

grants immediately following the

September 11, 2001, attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

. One requirement of these grants was to accept passengers from airlines that ceased operations for a nominal fee. Some airlines refused and others charged higher fees than allowed under the law. Eventually, most passengers reached their destinations. Therefore, it went into bankruptcy Not long after the bankruptcy, Robert H. Brooks, owner of Naturally Fresh,

Hooters Hooters is the registered trademark used by two American restaurant chains: Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, and Hooters of America, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the private investment firm Nord Bay Capital (with ...

restaurants and PACE Aviation, offered to purchase the airline. His offer was rejected and the company was eventually liquidated. Its headquarters became the temporary offices of the

Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...

(TSA) in Kansas City, now the home of Entercom Radio.

Destinations

Vanguard served the following destinations during its existence; however, not all of these destinations were served at the same time. *

(

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , also known as Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport, Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield, Hartsfield–Jackson and, formerly, as the Atlanta Municipal Airport, is the primary internatio ...

) *

(

Austin–Bergstrom International Airport Austin–Bergstrom International Airport, or ABIA , is a Class C international airport in Austin, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Located about southeast of downtown Austin, it covers and has two runways ...

) * Buffalo (

Buffalo Niagara International Airport Buffalo Niagara International Airport is in Cheektowaga, New York. The airport serves Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, New York United States, and the southern Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. It is the third-busiest airport in ...

) *

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(

) - Focus City *

(

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is a public international airport located in Hebron, Kentucky, United States. It serves the Cincinnati tri-state area. The airport's code, CVG, is derived from the nearest city at the time of ...

) - ''Service suspended twice'' *

(

Colorado Springs Airport City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport , known as Colorado Springs Airport, is a city-owned public civil-military airport southeast of downtown Colorado Springs, in El Paso County, Colorado, United States., effective December 30, 2021. It i ...

) *

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

(

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Air ...

) *

(

Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , it is the largest airport in ...

) *

(

Des Moines Airport Des Moines International Airport is a commercial service airport 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Des Moines, the capital of Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the ...

) - ''Briefly served during 1995-1996'' *

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

(

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

) *

(

Page Field Page Field is a public airport three miles (4.8 km) south of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers, in Lee County, Florida, United States. It is owned by the Lee County Port Authority; the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 ...

) *

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

(

Kansas City International Airport Kansas City International Airport (originally Mid-Continent International Airport) is a public airport in Kansas City, Missouri located northwest of Downtown Kansas City in Platte County, Missouri., effective December 30, 2021. The airport o ...

) - Hub *

(

McCarran International Airport Harry Reid International Airport is an international airport in Paradise, Nevada, and is the main government airport for public use in the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada, about south of Downtown Las Vegas. ...

) *

(

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

) *

(

Miami International Airport Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most co ...

) - ''Service suspended before 1999'' *

(

General Mitchell International Airport Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is a civil–military airport south of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States., effective May 21, 2020. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Ai ...

) - ''Service suspended before 1999'' *

(

Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport , also less commonly known as Wold-Chamberlain Field, is a joint civil-military public-use international airport located in Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory, Minnesota, United States. Although s ...

) - ''Service suspended in 2001'' *

( Myrtle Beach Airport) - ''Weekly service three times per week plus seasonal service'' *

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

(

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (French language, French: ''Aéroport international Louis Armstrong de La Nouvelle-Orléans'') is an international airport under Airspace class (United States), Class B airspace in Kenner, Loui ...

) *

(

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Ne ...

) - ''Service suspended in 1999'' *

(

) *

(

Orlando International Airport Orlando International Airport is a major public airport located 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Downtown Orlando, Florida. In 2021, it handled 19,618,838 passengers, making it the busiest airport in the state and seventh busiest airport i ...

) *

(

Pittsburgh International Airport Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, is a civil–military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Located about 10 miles (15 km) west of downtown Pittsbur ...

) *

(

Salt Lake City International Airport Salt Lake City International Airport is a civil-military airport located about west of Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. The airport is the closest commercial airport for more than 2.5 million people and is within a 30-minu ...

) *

(

San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport is an international airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, south of Downtown San Francisco. It has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe, the Middle E ...

) *

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

/ Tacoma (

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , branded as SEA Airport and also referred to as Sea–Tac (), is the primary commercial airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is in the city of SeaTac, which ...

) - ''Service suspended November 1996'' *

(

Tampa International Airport Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective December 30, 2021. T ...

) - ''Briefly served during the late 1990s'' * Wichita (

Wichita Mid-Continent Airport Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport is a commercial airport west of downtown Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state of Kansas. Located south of US-54 in southwest Wichita, it covers 3,24 ...

) - ''Nonstop

flights from Chicago Midway Airport, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver and Kansas City as well as direct one stop 737 service from Minneapolis/St. Paul in 1996. After discontinuing all service to Wichita, Vanguard Airlines sued

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

for unfair trade practices, in federal court...and lost.''

Fleet

Final fleet

At the time the airline was grounded in 2002, Vanguard had 15 aircraft in its fleet including:

Historical fleet

Vanguard operated the following aircraft types at various times during its existence: *

Boeing 737-300 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Febru ...

(Advanced and High Gross Weight variants) *

(wet-leased from

Falcon Air Express Falcon Air Express was a charter airline which was based in Miami, Florida, United States. Falcon Air turned in its certificate to the FAA on June 5, 2015, following the loss of a contract with the US Department of Justice and mounting debt. Falc ...

TransMeridian Airlines TransMeridian Airlines was an Atlanta, Georgia based charter airline, operating under U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Regulations Part 121. It ceased all operations on September 29, 2005, after negotiations with creditors to re ...

, and others) *

McDonnell Douglas MD-81 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...

McDonnell Douglas MD-82 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

McDonnell Douglas MD-87 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...

References

* Dickson, Scott & Sumner, Tracy (2004). ''Never Give Up: Seven Principles for Christian Leaders in Tough Times''. Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour Publishing, Inc. .

External links

Vanguard Airlines website circa 1998 (Courtesy of Archive.com)

Last version of the Vanguard Website, detailing the bankruptcy (Courtesy of Archive.org)

Vanguard Airlines: An Unauthorized History
{{Airlines of the United States Airlines established in 1994 Airlines disestablished in 2002 Companies based in Kansas City, Missouri Defunct airlines of the United States Defunct companies based in Missouri 1994 establishments in Missouri