NATIONAL COMMUTER AIRLINES
During 1982 - 1984, National Commuter Airlines operated a fleet of Mohawk 298 and Nord 262 turboprops on routes between 7 Florida cities along with several points in the Bahamas. Although not directly related to the original major trunk airline National Airlines (which was merged into Pan Am in 1980), National Commuter's aircraft were painted in a nearly identical paint scheme. Below: N274A at Miami.
National also operated contract flights under the Air Florida Commuter banner. A payment dispute with Air Florida led to National suspending flights in September 1983. While a limited schedule was eventually resumed, the airline called it quits by early 1984.
Following the shut down, a former National Commuter Airlines board chairman and a travel agency owner were arrested for a ticket refund scam and were charged with defrauding Eastern Airlines out of approximately $123,000. The chairman was charged with paying Eastern employees for reissuing tickets and issuing refund drafts. The money obtained from the refunds was then deposited into the accounts of National Commuter Airlines as payment for services to individuals.
