Hooters air

The airline was founded in 2003. To do this, Robert Brooks, owner of the Hooters brestoran network, acquired the charter airline Pace Airlines ^[1] . Passenger flights began on March 6, 2003; the actual carrier was Pace Airlines. Brooks saw the activities of Hooters Air primarily as an advertising campaign for the restaurant chain ^[2] , the airline was sometimes called the “flying billboard ”.

Hooters Air advertised nonstop flights on most routes. One of the main target groups were professional players and golf enthusiasts (Myrtle Beach is known for its large and well-equipped fields, which host various championships in this sport). Ticket prices start at $ 129 one way ^[3] .

In addition to representing the restaurant chain, Hooters Air also sought to stand out for its special service on board. On each flight, in addition to the usual certified stewardesses in a traditional conservative uniform, responsible for the safety and passenger service, there were always 2 girls dressed as waitresses in the network (tight-fitting short shorts and a topic). Their duties included entertaining passengers with various contests. Although the company was advertised as a low-cost airline , the step of the seats was 86 centimeters, which was more than other budget carriers; in order to maintain the image of a company convenient for golfers, it was advertised as a “club class”.

Hooters Air aircraft were painted in branded orange and white, and an owl logo was applied to the vertical stabilizer; the seats were upholstered in dark blue or black leather. While many airlines cut back on the list of free services provided to passengers, Hooters Air provided free meals on all flights lasting more than one hour ^{[ source?} .

The company brought additional income to the small airports from which flights were operated, as well as very good income to the city of Myrtle Beach, which was its main destination ^[3] . On December 8, 2005, Hooters Air announced the termination of flights to Rockford due to the fact that, under an agreement with the airport, the competing airline United Airlines arrived on the Rockford- Denver route.

The last regular Hooters Air flight was on January 9, 2006. Private charters continued to run until April 17, after which it announced the cessation of operations and a refund for tickets already sold. The main reason for the liquidation of the airline was called the cost of fuel, greatly increased after the hurricanes Katrina and Rita .

The total loss from the airline, according to some estimates, amounted to $ 40 million. ^[four]

As of 2006, the company's fleet consisted of several Boeing 737 aircraft and one Boeing 757 ^[5] . The registration numbers of some of the boards were specially chosen so that they ended with "0WL" ^[6] , which was a reference to the owl Huti (English owl - owl), the mascot of the company.

Myrtle Beach was the main airport; most flights connected this airport with other US cities. From there, one could fly to the Bahamas and Puerto Rico . The second by number of flights was Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton , located in Pennsylvania , planes from there flew to various popular resorts in Florida . Flights from Las Vegas and Denver flew to Myrtle Beach with an intermediate landing ^[3] .

• The company was mentioned by Larry the Cable Guy in his 2005 comedy album The Right to Bare Arms. According to the comedian, he got 80,000 frequent boner miles there, and the stewardess took off her shorts when he asked her where the cockpit was (puns and cockpit, which means can be translated as "pit for a member"). He also said that this was the only flight where he specially reserved a seat at the aisle and longed for the plane to get into turbulence .
• In February 2018, Business Insider published on its Youtube channel a video about the rise and fall of Hooters Air dedicated to the company ^[3] . In the week since publication, the video received about 449,000 views. ^[eleven]