Air BVI was an airline which operated and was based in the

British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...

(BVI). Founded in 1971, by 1975 it had significantly added capacity to its fleet with the introduction of two

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

aircraft. Air BVI primarily flew between the

Beef Island Airport Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport , previously known as Beef Island Airport, is the main airport serving the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. The airport serves as the gateway to just about all of ...

(EIS) on

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

and

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Aeropuerto Internacional Luis Muñoz Marín'') , previously known as Isla Verde International Airport (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Aeropuerto Internacional de Isla Verde''), ...

(SJU, then best known as "Isla Verde International Airport") in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

, providing connecting flights to and from major air carriers serving San Juan in order to enable tourists to visit the British Virgin Islands as well as providing transportation for local BVI residents and also served other destinations in the BVI such as

Anegada Anegada is the northernmost of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It lies about north of Virgin Gorda. Anegada is the only inhabited British Virgin Island formed from ...

and

Virgin Gorda Virgin Gorda () is the third-largest island (after Tortola and Anegada) and second-most populous of the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Geography Located at about 18 degrees, 30 minutes North, and 64 degrees, 30 minutes West, it covers an area o ...

. Air BVI went insolvent liquidation in 1991, although it continued to operate out of bankruptcy for nearly two and a half years. In May 1993 it suffered its only major incident when one of its aircraft overran the runway at

Beef Island Beef Island is an island in the British Virgin Islands. It is located to the east of Tortola, and the two islands are connected by the Queen Elizabeth Bridge. Beef Island is the site of the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport (IATA c ...

on Tortola during an aborted takeoff, and landed in the sea. However, the accident resulted in no significant injuries.

Routes

The 15 April 1975

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the United States, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, ...

(OAG) listed four roundtrip nonstop flights operated on a daily basis by Air BVI between Tortola and San Juan with small

Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...

twin prop commuter aircraft which featured

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including tho ...

capabilities. In 1979, the airline was operating larger

aircraft on all of its flights between Tortola and San Juan. The 16 December 1980 Air BVI system timetable listed nonstop service between the airline's small hub in Tortola and

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands,

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

and

with flights operated with 30-passenger seat Douglas DC-3 aircraft and eight-passenger seat Britten-Norman Islander aircraft.http://www.timetableimages.com, 16 Dec. 1980 Air BVI timetable According to this timetable, the airline was operating seven roundtrip DC-3 flights on a daily basis between Tortola and San Juan in addition to "no reservation shuttle" service between Tortola and Virgin Gorda with five daily roundtrips (with a one way flight time of five minutes) operated with the Islander aircraft as well as flying one stop DC-3 service twice a week between Antigua and San Juan via a connection in Tortola.{{fact, date=November 2024 By 1985, Air BVI had replaced its DC-3 aircraft with larger

Hawker Siddeley HS 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (formerly Avro HS 748) is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorptio ...

turboprops and was operating up to seven roundtrip HS 748 flights a day nonstop between Tortola and San Juan in addition to flying twice daily nonstop service between Virgin Gorda and San Juan with Britten-Norman Islander aircraft. In 1989, the airline was continuing to operate nonstop HS 748 turboprop service between Tortola and San Juan in addition to nonstop Islander flights between Virgin Gorda and San Juan and had also added nonstop HS 748 service operated six days a week between San Juan and

La Romana, Dominican Republic La Romana is a municipality and capital of the southeastern La Romana Province, province of La Romana, opposite Catalina Island, Dominican Republic, Catalina Island. It is one of the 10 largest cities in the Dominican Republic with a population ...

Fleet

Air BVI operated the following aircraft types at various times during its existence:http://www.departedflights.com, 15 April 1975; 1 April 1981; 15 Dec. 1985 Official Airline Guide (OAG) editions, San Juan flight schedules *

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 ...

, as Atlantic Air BVI

Sources

* http://www.michaelprophet.com/SanJuan2.html * http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19930506-2 * http://www.avcodes.co.uk/callsignlistres.asp * https://web.archive.org/web/20140203031541/http://www.sailcaribbeandivers.com/dive/BVIDiveSites.asp * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1G6RUSqwlQ

References

Airlines of the British Virgin Islands Airlines established in 1971 British Virgin Islands companies established in 1971 Airlines disestablished in 1993