Wiggins Airways

Wiggins Airways is a long-lived American aviation company that pursued many lines of business during its existence, including:

• fixed base operator
• local service carrier based in Massachusetts, providing scheduled airline service 1949–1953, certificated by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now defunct Federal agency that, at the time, tightly regulated almost all airline service in the United States
• cargo airline based in Manchester, New Hampshire, United States, operating from Manchester–Boston Regional Airport. In 2014 it became a subsidiary of Ameriflight, and as of June 1, 2024, Wiggins is transitioning to becoming an operating base of Ameriflight, apparently merging into its parent.

History

Startup

The business was incorporated in Massachusetts on 2 December 1930 as E.W. Wiggins Airways, Inc. by president Elmer W. Wiggins, with its principal office in Leominster. The proposed business of the corporation was a many-hundred word comprehensive description of apparently every type of aviation-related business, covering everything from gliders to helicopters (a dozen years before the first mass produced helicopter) to dirigibles and rocketships, including manufacturing, leasing, operating, financing, fueling, sales and more. Starting in the 1930s, Wiggins was a fixed base operator, including pilot instruction. During World War II it built aircraft parts and trained pilots for the military. By 1944, the company had moved to Norwood.

Scheduled passenger airline

In June 1946, the CAB certificated Wiggins as a local service carrier to fly several passenger routes between Boston and Albany. Founder Elmer Wiggins died just prior to the public hearings for the CAB case that produced the certification. The company wanted to use Douglas DC-3s for the routes, but was frustrated by lack of adequate airports. In 1949, the CAB said it would accept the use of smaller aircraft. After Wiggins experimentated with several types, it was found that the four-passenger Cessna T-50 was able to safely operate into the rudimentary airports available and climb fast enough to scale mountainous territory. While a twin-engine aircraft, it was of wood and fabric construction, unattractive to passengers.

Scheduled service finally started on 19 September 1949. The basic problem for Wiggins was that few flew the carrier. Even after the airline had been further developed, in 1951 and 1952, an average of fewer than 10 people boarded Wiggins per day, across the whole system. Since passenger revenue was extremely low, the postal subsidy (by which all local service carriers were then supported) was unacceptably high per pound of mail. This was the same basic problem that the CAB had faced previously with both Florida Airways in 1949 and Mid-West Airlines in 1952, and had the same result. In a decision reached in October 1952, the CAB said it would not renew the Wiggins certification. In the same decision, it allowed that there was intrinsic demand from Albany to Boston, just not the way Wiggins was flying, and handed a route between the two to Mohawk Airlines. As with the 1952 decision to not extend Mid-West's certification, the five members of the Board split 3-2, with the same minority members with the same dissenting opinion: Wiggins deserved a shot at flying DC-3s and could be expected eventually to do well with them.

Wiggins and the states of New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont plus several New England cities asked for reconsideration, but in July 1953 the Board affirmed its decision. Wiggins flew its last scheduled flight on July 31, 1953. Wiggins was the last of three local service carriers (of the 19 that initiated CAB-certificated service) to have the CAB refuse to renew their certificates. However, unlike Florida Airways and Mid-West, Wiggins did not liquidate as a result, having other healthy lines of business.

New Hampshire

Wiggins was drawn to New Hampshire by flying feeder cargo aircraft for Federal Express and UPS Airlines. This started in the 1980s and by 1990 Wiggins had contracts at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) with both UPS and Federal Express. (The same year, the airline officially changed its name to Wiggins Airways, Inc.) This lead the airline to buy Stead Aviation, an MHT fixed base operator, in 1997, with the intention of moving the airline to Manchester. Wiggins built a new headquarters, general aviation terminal and hangar, opening the complex in 1999. Wiggins opened a new aviation fuel farm at MHT in 2004. In the same year, the company finally reincorporated in 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.

Ameriflight era

In December 2014, Ameriflight acquired Wiggins Airways (at the time comprising 48 aircraft and 100 employees), which resulted in Ameriflight becoming the largest regional air cargo carrier in the world, with 218 aircraft. Ameriflight elected not to continue to operate Wiggins' FBO and airline service departments, selling those departments to Signature Flight Support.

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 June 1, 2024, Ameriflight announced it would transition Wiggins to becoming simply an operating base of Ameriflight.

Fleet

1987-88 World Airline Fleets (copyright 1987) lists the E.W. Wiggins Airways dba Wiggins Airways with a fleet as follows, the Cessna Caravan noted as being flown for Federal Express:

As of 3 June 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration lists Wiggins as flying 12 Beechcraft 99s and three Cessna Caravans under Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, the Caravans with Fedex registrations.

Routes

The route map from Wiggins time as a scheduled airline in 1949–1953 is shown above.

Incidents and Accidents

• On August 22, 2023, while operating a training flight from Lewiston-Auburn Airport, Wiggins Air Flight 634 crashed in a wooded area in Litchfield, ME. The aircraft involved was a Beechcraft Model 99. The aircraft was totally destroyed after entering a steep dive while conducting training, almost disintegrating on impact. Both occupants were killed on impact.

• On January 26, 2024, a Wiggins Airways Beech C99 cargo flight from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport to Presque Isle International Airport crashed in Londonderry, NH into wooded terrain, severely injuring the sole pilot on board. After takeoff, the aircraft broadcast an emergency transponder code then flew erratically for 16 minutes before crashing. The pilot's door had become detached, resulting in control difficulties, and the pilot was unable to contact ATC.

References

External links

• Official website