Wiggins Airways
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| Founded | 1929 | ||||||
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| Hubs | Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 33 | ||||||
| Parent company | Ameriflight | ||||||
| Headquarters | Manchester, New Hampshire | ||||||
| Key people | Donna Nixon | ||||||
| Website | wiggins-air | ||||||
Wiggins Airways is an American cargo airline based in Manchester, New Hampshire, United States, operating from Manchester–Boston Regional Airport. It is a subsidiary of Ameriflight.
History
Wiggins Airways was founded in 1929, by E.W. Wiggins, operating out of Manchester, New Hampshire. Wiggins Airways was bought out by its employees in the creation of an Employee Share Ownership Plan in 1985. Wiggins currently employs over 160 people.
In December 2014, Ameriflight acquired Wiggins Airways (48 aircraft and 100 employees), which resulted in Ameriflight becoming the largest regional air cargo carrier in the world, with 218 aircraft in its fleet.[1][2] Ameriflight elected not to continue to operate Wiggins' FBO and airline service departments, resulting in these departments being sold to Signature Flight Support.[3]
While Signature Flight Support operates fueling and deicing services to aircraft flying into Manchester Boston Regional Airport, Wiggins Airways does maintenance on their fleet, as well as servicing the airlines that serve the airport and general aviation aircraft.
On 26 January 2024 while operating from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport to Presque Isle International Airport, Wiggins Air Flight 1046 crashed shortly after takeoff, injuring the pilot.[4] The aircraft was involved was a Beechcraft Model 99. It was totally destroyed after a nearly level descent into a wooded area close to a residential building, although no fire ensued.[5][6]
Routes
Wiggins Airways flies across New England and other Northeast states from its base in Manchester utilizing a fleet of Beechcraft Model 99.
As well as flying for UPS, Wiggins Airways operates flights for FedEx utilizing Cessna 208 Caravan in the 208B Cargomaster configuration.
Fleet
As of September 2023[update] Wiggins Airways operates a fleet of 33 aircraft.[7] The majority of these aircraft operate as feeders for UPS Airlines and FedEx Express.
| Aircraft | In fleet | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raytheon Beech B99 | 13 | UPS livery | |
| Cessna 208 Caravan (C208) | 20 | FedEx livery | |
| Total | 33 | ||
References
- ^ "Wiggins Airways". Airliner World: 15. January 2015.
- ^ "Wiggins Acquisition Goes Ahead". Airliner World: 14. December 2014.
- ^ "Signature Flight Support to acquire Wiggins AirWays FBO at Manchester Airport".
- ^ https://apnews.com/article/small-plane-crash-new-hampshire-pilot-fb6e57ab4ac0a84f40d8737b4dd47eb0
- ^ "Accident Beechcraft C99 Commuter N53RP,". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ Toole, Mike (2024-01-26). "Small plane crashes near Londonderry, New Hampshire home, pilot seriously hurt - CBS Boston". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "Fleet & Network". Wiggins Airways. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
