AIRWAYS HISTORY Mackey Airlines
Jacksonville was added to Mackey ’ s network early in 1963 but , as had been the case with Tampa and St . Pete in the early days , all passengers to and from Jacksonville had to be international customers going to or from the Bahamas , even though the flight stopped in West Palm Beach .
A SUITOR COMES CALLING
On December 30 , 1964 , the CAB finally gave Mackey permission to fly non-stop from Miami to Nassau , a prize that had been withheld from the company since its inception . Prior to this , Mackey had flown non-stop from Miami to West End and to Bimini , but all flights to Nassau had been routed through Fort Lauderdale . Joseph Mackey and his employees had built Mackey Airlines into a force in the Bahamas tourist trade . And they had done so without the benefit of any US government air mail contracts or subsidy , which greatly pleased the CAB . Mackey was now a very inviting takeover target for a trunk airline seeking a readymade vacation market .
16 In December 1970 , the CAB granted Mackey International Air Commuter an exception to the rules governing scheduled air taxi ( commuter ) operators and allowed the company to utilize larger equipment . Convair 440 N441JM is seen wearing Air Commuter titles at Fort Lauderdale . // PAUL ZOGG COLLECTION
17 Beech 99 N910JM was photographed at Fort Lauderdale . // PAUL ZOGG COLLECTION
18 Within a couple of years after buying the original Mackey Airlines , Eastern only wanted to retain Nassau , Freeport , and Rock Sound in the Bahamas . Col . Mackey was asked to reinstate service to Andros Town , Eleuthera , Marsh Harbour and Bimini . Now branded as Mackey International Airlines , this is the company ’ s Dec . 1 , 1971 timetable . // DAVID H . STRINGER COLLECTION
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Eastern was the airline that came calling and Colonel Mackey was receptive . With authority to fly from Miami to Nassau in addition to other islands of the Bahamas , Mackey Airlines would be a perfect addition to Eastern ’ s system given that carrier ’ s large presence in Miami .
Eastern ’ s CEO , Floyd Hall , had revitalized the airline and now he wanted his company to capture more tourist passengers in addition to business travelers (“ Number One to the Sun ,” Airways March 2022 ). Eastern ’ s acquisition of Mackey would enable passengers from the Midwest and northern cities to enjoy one-plane service through to Nassau , West End , Freeport ,
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