than in the US, where restrictive rules governed non-scheduled air services as part of an effort by the CAB to protect the country's scheduled airlines. To enable Modern Air to operate its new CV-990s into Fort Myers Page Field with a viable payload, GAC agreed to co-finance the lengthening of one of its runways, which until then had been limited to revenue flights with jet aircraft no bigger than the Boeing 727-100. As a result, the airline operated its first CV-990 revenue flight, which was chartered by GAC Properties to carry 134 prospective land buyers from Sioux City, Iowa into Page Field on 1 February 1968 (before proceeding to Kansas City, Missouri and Lincoln, Nebraska to return with another load of prospective buyers to Fort Myers Page Field). By 1968, Modern Air operated an all-jet fleet comprising five CV-990s. The acquisition of a further two CV-990s from American Airlines at the end of 1970 expanded Modern's 990 fleet to seven aircraft. This allowed it to vie with Swissair for the title of the world's largest Convair 990 operator. The final enlargement of Modern's CV-990 fleet occurred in 1972, when it acquired former Brazilian flag carrier VARIG's final two examples. This brought the airline's 990 fleet to nine, briefly allowing it to assume the title of the world's largest Convair 990 operator. The expanded all-jet fleet facilitated the introduction of regular tour group charters carrying American tourists from the Miami and New York areas to popular holiday resorts in North and Central America, as well as the launch in May 1968 of a Canadian-based Caribbean and transatlantic charter programme, in addition to operating a large German charter programme. Eventually, all three US-based Modern Air CV-990s were allocated to the Canadian transatlantic charter programme, which Modern Air operated for Nordair under a wet lease arrangement (until 1970, when the Government of Canada revoked Nordair's permission to subcontract transatlantic flights to foreign airlines). At least two of these aircraft wore the full Nordair livery. In 1968, Modern Air increased revenues by 20% to over $11.5 million (compared with 1967), while significantly reducing losses (a $1.3 million operating loss and a $2.4 million net loss, respectively). Modern Air's expanding jet operations also led to further development in the airline's maintenance capabilities, as a result of the takeover of aircraft maintenance and conversion specialist, American Airmotive. This included one of Miami International Airport's biggest aircraft