Vanguard Airlines was a low-cost airline based in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, where it operated a hub from 1994 through 2002.[1] For a time, Vanguard also had significant operations at Chicago Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, until late 2000. Vanguard began operations on November 15, 1994 with a route from Kansas City to Denver and on to Salt Lake City. It ceased operations on July 29, 2002, after filing for bankruptcy. The airline flew leased Boeing 727-200, 737-200, 737-300 as well as McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series and MD-87 jetliners to a number of destinations from its main hub in Kansas City at the time of its demise.
History
Early history
Bob McAdoo founded Vanguard after operating as CFO of People Express Airlines and then was an Airline analyst of Southwest Airlines due to a noncompete clause he signed when People Express was bought by Continental Airlines. He started Vanguard with just $6 million as a low-cost, low-fare point to point airline trying to capture the same lightning Southwest caught in a bottle, the strategy was to undercut the costs of the major airlines and so be able to charge lower fares and serve smaller cities near the larger cities served by the major airlines.