Air Sunshine

Air Sunshine is an airline based in the United States and in Puerto Rico. It operates scheduled service to and from San Juan and Vieques, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Anguilla, Dominica, Sint Maarten, Nevis, St. Kitts, Tortola and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands and Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands.[3] Its main base is Fort Lauderdale, with a Caribbean hub located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Air Sunshine
IATA ICAO Callsign
YI RSI AIR SUNSHINE[1]
Founded1982
AOC #RSHA311A[2]
HubsLuis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Fleet size8
Destinations12
HeadquartersFort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Websitewww.airsunshine.com
Embraer EMB-110 formerly operated by Air Sunshine

As of 1982 the airline considered Fort Lauderdale to be its corporate headquarters; however, the main base of operations is located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[4] Air Sunshine's website lists two separate post office boxes for contacts, one in Fort Lauderdale and another in San Juan.

Destinations

Air Sunshine operates a series of short routes between its destinations.

Former Destinations

Fleet

As of July 2019 the Air Sunshine fleet included:[5]

Air Sunshine Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Passengers Notes
Beechcraft 1900 2 19
Cessna 402 4 6
Saab 340A 2 30 to 36
Total 8

In August 2006, the fleet consisted of 1 Beechcraft 1900C and 2 Saab 340A aircraft.[6]

Other previously operated aircraft:

Accidents and incidents

Air Sunshine had a better-than-average safety record between 1997 and 2004, per the NTSB. Air Sunshine did have a crash, with two fatalities, on July 13, 2003 on a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Abaco Island, Bahamas. An engine failure caused an at-sea ditching about 6 miles short of the Abaco Island airport. In that same period, there were a few incidents.[7]

On January 7, 2007, an Air Sunshine Cessna 402 had hydraulic problems with the landing gear during a flight from Virgin Gorda to San Juan (SJU). There were no injuries and the pilot managed to land the plane safely. The airport was closed for approximately 30 minutes until the emergency ceased.

On February 11, 2017, an Air Sunshine Cessna 402 overran the runway at Virgin Gorda following a brake failure. The UK Air Accidents Investigation board has reported 'shortfalls' in procedure and recommended that the FAA review Air Sunshine's operations and maintenance.[8]

References
  1. "IATA / ICAO Airline Codes". The Airline Codes Web Site. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  2. "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  3. Moe. "Flights/Fares". www.airsunshine.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-23. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  4. "Air Sunshine: It's Small But It's Right On Time." KNT News Service at Lakeland Ledger. Sunday April 15, 1985. 15D. Retrieved from Google News (59 of 99) on March 5, 2010.
  5. Flightradar24. "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map". Flightradar24. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  6. Flight International, 3–9 October 2006
  7. Leung, Rebecca (16 Dec 2003). "Air Sunshine: Flying Into Danger". CBS News. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  8. Accident report AAIB Bulletin: 3/2018 Retrieved April 5, 2023
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