Silver Airways Adds to Florida Route Network

US regional carrier Silver Airways has announced plans to further extend connectivity within Florida with the introduction of flights from Gainesville Regional Airport to Orlando International and Tampa International from April 15. The Tampa link will be flown twice every weekday and once at weekends while the Orlando service will have a single rotation every day. Both routes will be operated on behalf of Continental Airlines under the Continental Connection franchise brand.

There are currently no direct services from Gainesville to either Orlando International or Tampa International. The only non-stop links from the airport are important hub links to Atlanta by Delta Air Lines, to Charlotte by US Airways and to Miami by American Airlines. These are all operated by regional partners of the three US majors.

Silver Airways, which until mid-December last year was known under the Gulfstream International Airlines name, is investing at Gainesville Regional Airport and announced earlier this year the relocation of its maintenance operation from its Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport base to a new 61,000 sq ft facility which is due to open in April.

“This new service better connects the Gainesville community with the world,” says Darrell Richardson, Chief Executive Officer, Silver Airways. “Our codeshare agreement with United/Continental will enable travellers from Gainesville to connect seamlessly in Orlando and Tampa to non-stop flights covering much of the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe.”

The new routes will be operated by Silver Airways’ existing 19-seat Beech 1900D turboprops as well as its new fleet of 34-seat Saab 340Bplus aircraft. The airline has already taken delivery of the first two of six Saab 340Bplus models it is due to acquire by July 2012 but these are undergoing a period of inspection and certification under US and Bahamian aviation regulations to ensure full compliance with all safety and operational requirements prior to initiating scheduled passenger service. The Saab 340Bplus turboprops will mainly serve the carrier’s routes between Florida and The Bahamas.

Silver Airways was established from the assets of Gulfstream International Airlines after that carrier filed for bankruptcy in November 2010. Its corporate logo logotype is derived from the spinning propeller blades of a turboprop engine like those found on its Saab 340Bplus and Beech 1900D aircraft.