Editing Modern Air Transport (section)

====Transition to an all-jet fleet====
The award of a five-year licence by the CAB in October 1966 to engage in cargo and passenger [[charter airline|charter operation]]s including [[package holiday|all-expense tour]] charters between the US and points in Canada and Mexico enhanced Modern Air's new status as a permanently certificated US supplemental carrier.<ref group=nb>Modern Air was one of 10 US "non-skeds" attaining permanent supplemental carrier status at the time</ref> Following the award of these new foreign charter rights, the airline concluded a [[US dollar|US$]]17.5 million purchase agreement with [[American Airlines]] to acquire five of the latter's [[Convair 990|Convair CV-990A]] [[jetliners]] between January 1967 and February/March 1968, in anticipation of major growth for low-cost overseas travel by US tour groups.<ref name="1967_FleetSurvey"/><ref name="cutbacks"/><ref>''Aeroplane - Commercial: ITs for Supplementals'', Vol. 112, No. 2869, p. 11, Temple Press, London, 13 October 1966</ref><ref name="Equipment_Changes">''Aeroplane - Order Book: Modern's Coronado purchase'', Vol. 112, No. 2873, p. 10, Temple Press, London, 10 November 1966</ref><ref name="Diversification">''Aeroplane - Late News: Modern branches out'', Vol. 116, No. 2934, p. 38, Temple Press, London, 10 January 1968</ref><ref name="Modern_CV990">{{cite journal|title=Another 990 for Modern|journal=Flight International|date=4 April 1968|page=477|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1968/1968%20-%200489.html|access-date=19 July 2017}}</ref><ref name="AC_Profile_CV990">{{cite journal|title=Aircraft Profile - Convair 990|journal=Air International|date=May 2008|page=65|url=http://www.airinternational.com/view_issue.asp?ID=330|access-date=21 July 2017}}</ref> The first two examples sported a new natural metal "Silver Palace" [[aircraft livery|livery]], which replaced the ''Modern Air Transport/MAT'' fuselage titles used in previous [[aircraft livery|schemes]] with ''Modern Air'' titles.<ref name="AC_Profile_CV990"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoggavia.com/uploads/L749_MAT_1200.jpg|title=Modern Air Transport Lockheed L-749 N103A displaying an older colour scheme incorporating "MAT" fuselage titles (drawing)|work=zoggavia|access-date=16 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Modern Air Transport Convair CV-990A N5609 displaying the bare metal "Silver Palace" scheme incorporating "Modern Air" fuselage titles at New York JFK (photo)|journal=Flight International|date=13 April 1967|page=541|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%200555.html|access-date=19 July 2017}}</ref> Modern Air's first jet, Convair CV-990A N5609, was handed over to the airline in February 1967. It was based in Miami and contracted by GAC to operate charter flights for prospective investors in its real estate development projects in Florida and [[Arizona]]. Modern received its second CV-990A, N5605, the following month. This aircraft was repainted in the contemporary [[Air France]] livery, in preparation of a short-term [[Aircraft lease#Wet lease|wet lease]] beginning in April that enabled the French national airline to introduce high-capacity [[jet aircraft]] on four daily round trips between [[Paris-Orly Airport|Paris Orly]] and [[London Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow]] while awaiting delivery of its own [[Boeing 727#727-200|Boeing 727-200]]s.<ref name="cutbacks"/><ref name="MAT_Story_68">''Airways'' (Weidmann, U., ''The Charismatic Coronado''), Vol. 17, No. 11, p. 38, Airways International Inc., Sandpoint, January 2011</ref> Modern Air's CV-990s were configured in a spacious 139-seat, single-class seating arrangement.<ref name="MAT_Story_63"/><ref name="Modern_CV990"/><ref name="AC_Profile_CV990"/><ref name="MAT_Story_68"/> The aircraft's standard [[cockpit|flight deck]] crew complement comprised three, including a [[flight engineer]] holding a mechanic's and inspector's licence. On flights involving long overwater sectors a [[Navigator#In aviation|navigator]] supplied by a third party joined the other three flight deck crew.<ref name="MAT_Story_64"/>

The slow and difficult integration of the old Gulf American Airlines and pre-GAC Modern Air workforces into a combined post-merger workforce encountered a further obstacle when Modern Air hired former military pilots to crew its new jets. This resulted in the two separate, unionised legacy pilot groups, as well as another unionised group representing [[flight attendant]]s across both airlines and pre-GAC Modern Air flight engineers being joined by another, non-unionised group. In addition, the airline's problems were compounded by reliability issues and high costs. It was at this point that GAC called on the services of experienced senior airline manager and aviation consultant, Morten Sternoff Beyer, to head up the airline and manage the integration as well as turn around its fortunes.<ref name="BeyerM_FlyingHigher_Modern180_1_2"/>

In addition to its new [[Convair 990|CV-990]] [[jet aircraft|jet]]s, Modern Air also leased a pair of [[Boeing 727#727-100|Boeing 727-100C]]s from [[NetJets|Executive Jet Aviation]] in September 1967 as DC-7 replacements and to enable eliminating the intermediate stop in Miami to change flights as the [[Boeing 727|727]]'s [[short-field landing|short-field]] capability permitted direct flights into Fort Myers' original airport at Page Field from GAC's prospective customers' points of origin with a viable [[payload (air and space craft)|payload]].<ref>Beyer, Morten S. [https://books.google.com/books?id=hIe6y-9Fwo4C&dq=general+acceptance+corp%2C+gulf+american+corp%2C+modern+air&pg=PA193] ''Flying Higher: Reorganizing Modern Air, 2009, p. 182''</ref> It also began negotiations with [[Boeing]] for the purchase of a single 727-200 and two 727-100s direct from the manufacturer.<ref name="MAT_Story_63"/> Following a labour dispute with its pilots, new [[Executive Vice President]] Morten S. Beyer (who had arranged the 727 [[aircraft lease|lease]] with Executive Jet) returned the leased Boeing jets, did not finalise its order with Boeing for three new-built 727s and began grounding all piston airliners permanently from the end of 1967.<ref>''Airways'' (Proctor, J., Archive, ''Modern Air Transport''), Vol. 24, No. 03, Iss. 255, pp. 63/4, Airways International Inc., Miami, May 2017</ref> The latter move saw the DC-3s and DC-7s put into storage at Fort Myers while the Martinliners were stored at [[Cape May, New Jersey]]. It also resulted in 100 job losses among [[flight crew]].<ref name="MAT_Story_64">''Airways'' (Proctor, J., Archive, ''Modern Air Transport''), Vol. 24, No. 03, Iss. 255, p. 64, Airways International Inc., Miami, May 2017</ref>

Modern Air carried more than 360,000 passengers in 1967 while revenues increased to over $9.5 million. However, costs associated with the transition to a jet fleet and excess capacity resulted in a $3 million loss (a $2.98 million operating loss and a $3.6 million net loss, respectively).<ref name="WorldHistoryBiz_MAT"/>

Disposal of the stored piston airliners proved more difficult and took longer than anticipated, especially of the four DC-7s. While two were partially [[cannibalization (parts)|cannibalised]] for spare parts, the remaining pair were put up for sale for $60,000 apiece. However, when these were eventually sold in 1969 to Miami-based Interair Parts for only $8,000, Modern Air was well into the jet era.<ref name="MAT_Story_65_6">''Airways'' (Proctor, J., Archive, ''Modern Air Transport''), Vol. 24, No. 03, Iss. 255, pp. 65/6, 69 Airways International Inc., Miami, May 2017</ref>