Tower Air Provided Poor Service Long Before It Became Standard
Tower Air – If you haven’t heard of that airline before, then consider yourself lucky. Though it may not be the worst airline to ever exist, it is definitely in contention. They’re widely considered to be more of an infamous airline than a true success.
For Tower Air There Could Be Only One
Tower Air proved to be an enigma in the aviation industry. They employed only one type of aircraft: the Queen of the Skies herself, the Boeing 747. That might sound pretty cool at first, but once it comes to light that they operated some of the rattiest and most beat up 747s, had horrific maintenance practices, and were better known for making customers mad than successfully leaving on time, you realize that this might not have been the best idea.
Foreshadowing
Since the COVID-19 Pandemic has been relaxing regulations (woohoo, no masks!), there has been a massive increase in flying. The downside was the lack of personnel and equipment. This led to operational meltdowns and crew, along with all the guests, stranded for days in airports. Similar meltdowns were relatively regular for Tower Air.
Tower Air Benefitted From Timing
The only thing Tower Air had going for them was the lack of social media and cameras on cell phones to capture the pandemonium. Instead, their disastrous operation was documented on forums, review boards, and by the news channels and newspapers. Tower Air was essentially a replacement airline for Flying Tigers. Once Flying Tiger Line ceased commercial passenger charters, the president of the passenger portion of the airline Morris Nachtomi met with the Tower Travel Corporation (a travel company that dealt primarily with trips to Israel, the home country of Nachtomi) owner Zev Melamid and got him to buy into the idea of creating an airline to serve the travel company’s primary destination. The pair then brought on Mordechai Gil and Sam Fondlier to round out the shareholders.
Nachtomi was the lead of the group and was named the CEO since he had 30 years of experience working with El Al and wanted to serve his home country. They officially opened service in November of 1983.
Operating a ‘Terminal’ from a Hangar at JFK
Tower Air was based out of John F. Kennedy International Airport in Jamaica, New York. The airline even had its own terminal at the peak of its operation, which was a former Pan Am admin maintenance facility. The operations began working out of Hangar 17 at JFK Airport as their headquarters.
Not Much of a Route Tree
The primary market served was to compete with El Al and British Airways by focusing on the U.S./Israel market. Their main route was New York – Brussels – Tel Aviv. Tower Air then added some charter flights from New York to Frankfurt, Zurich, Rome, and Athens. They were able to add a New York to Los Angeles route after acquiring a Boeing 747-100 from Avianca.
