Aviation

Aviation is the practical aspect or art of aeronautics, being the design, development, production, operation and use of aircraft, especially heavier than air aircraft. The word "aviation" was coined by French writer and former naval officer Gabriel La Landelle in 1873, from the verb "avier" (synonymous flying), itself derived from the Latin word "avis" ("bird") and the suffix "-ation".

History

Early beginnings

There are early legends of human flight such as the story of Icarus in Greek myth and Jamshid in Persian myth, and later, somewhat more credible claims of short-distance human flights appear, such as the flying automaton of Archytas of Tarentum (428–347 BC), the winged flights of Abbas Ibn Firnas (810–887), Eilmer of Malmesbury (11th century), and the hot-air Passarola of Bartholomeu Lourenço de Gusmão (1685–1724).

Lighter than air

The modern age of aviation began with the first untethered human lighter-than-air flight on November 21, 1783 of a hot air balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers. The practicality of balloons was limited because they could only travel downwind. It was immediately recognized that a steerable, or dirigible, balloon was required. Jean-Pierre Blanchard flew the first human-powered dirigible in 1784 and crossed the English Channel in one in 1785.

Executive Airlines

Executive Airlines, Inc. was an airline headquartered in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Effective April 1, 2013 Executive Airlines will continue to do business in the Caribbean and Bahamas as an aircraft ground handling company, providing services to various airlines in the region.

Executive Airlines operated an extensive inter-island network in the Caribbean and to the Bahamas and the USA in American Eagle colors. Its main base was Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, San Juan. In addition, Executive Airlines owns Executive Ground Services, Inc. which is a provider of aviation ground services.

According to the American Airlines system timetable dated March 7, 2013, all American Eagle flights operated by Executive Airlines from San Juan (SJU) were scheduled to be discontinued by April 1, 2013. Executive Airlines d/b/a American Eagle operated its last flights on Sunday, March 31, 2013.

History

The airline was founded by Puerto Rican businessman Joaquín Bolivar as Executive Air Charter in 1979, and on September 15, 1986 joined the American Eagle system. It became an AMR Eagle subsidiary on December 7, 1989. It is a subsidiary of AMR Eagle Holdings Corporation which operates American Eagle Airlines Inc., and Executive Airlines Inc. Both are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation, the parent of American Airlines. It has 2,125 employees (at March 2007).