This article is about the regional airline that was based in Wichita, KS. For the article regarding the renamed Midwest Express (based in Milwaukee, WI), see Midwest Airlines.
Air Midwest was founded in Wichita, Kansas, in May 1965 by Gary Adamson as Aviation Services Inc. Using a single Cessna 206, Adamson transported human remains for area mortuaries. Later, Aviation Services held out for charter and in 1967 began scheduled service flying between Wichita and Salina.[2]
As Frontier Airlines downsized from the western Kansas market beginning in 1968, Aviation Services moved in to assume air service. In 1969, it changed its name to Air Midwest and ordered Beech 99 commuter turboprop aircraft to keep up with its expansion. In 1971, Frontier withdrew all service from Dodge City, Great Bend, and Hutchinson, KS allowing Air Midwest to assume service. In 1977, Frontier withdrew all service at Garden City, Goodland, and Hays, KS as well as Lamar, CO and Air Midwest began operating a fleet of six Swearingen Metroliner commuter propjets. By then Air Midwest was linking smaller cities throughout Kansas to Wichita, Kansas City, MO, and Denver, CO.
With airline deregulation in late 1978 Air Midwest saw many more expansion opportunities and made a bold move by ordering ten more Metroliners. On March 1, 1979, Air Midwest began operating several new routes in New Mexico formerly flown by Texas International Airlines. This new service to New Mexico was connected to the Kansas operations by serving Lubbock, Texas where Air Midwest partnered with Braniff Airways. From Lubbock, service was started to Hobbs, Roswell, Carlsbad, and Albuquerque, New Mexico as well as from Albuquerque to Clovis, NM. Service was also started from Lubbock, to Garden City, Dodge City, and Wichita, Kansas. In July 1979, service was inaugurated from Lubbock and Wichita, to Ponca City, Enid, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1980/1981 Air Midwest again expanded with new routes from Albuquerque to Alamogordo, Silver City, and Farmington, New Mexico as well as from Farmington to Phoenix, Arizona all formerly flown by the original Frontier Airlines (1950-1986). A new link to Wichita was also created via Clovis and Amarillo. Routes were also expanded from both the Kansas City International Airport and the Kansas City Downtown Airport to new cities in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma. In 1982 all Lubbock service was discontinued and transferred to Midland/Odessa, Texas until 1984 when all Midland/Odessa service ended. In 1983 a marketing agreement was established with Frontier Airlines in which all Air Midwest flights at Denver would feed Frontier. Beginning in 1984, competitor Mesa Airlines began aggressive expansion throughout New Mexico and Texas and Air Midwest made the decision to discontinue all routes in this area on January 31, 1986. They then shifted their focus to building newly acquired code share relationships with major airlines listed below.[3] Also in 1984, Air Midwest was independently operating nonstop flights from St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS) to Chicago Midway Airport (MDW), Kansas City Downtown Airport (MKC), and Olathe, KS (via Johnson County Industrial Airport (LXT)) with Metro propjets.[4]
On May 1, 1985, Air Midwest merged with Scheduled Skyways, a Fayetteville, Arkansas-based commuter air carrier which later changed its name to Skyways, in hopes of gaining a codeshare to feed Republic Airlines' Memphis hub. Air Midwest would expand by acquiring routes in Arkansas to complement its existing routes in the midwest. Both carriers operated Metro propjets, and Air Midwest had an opportunity to win a codeshare agreement with Republic.[citation needed] However, Republic then picked a different air carrier to feed its Memphis hub. Meanwhile, Air Midwest subsequently discovered many hidden problems with the neglected fleet inherited from Scheduled Skyways, forcing the airline to perform a great deal of maintenance to keep the aircraft flying. The merger with Scheduled Skyways pushed Air Midwest to the verge of bankruptcy over the few years that followed.
On April 1, 1985, Air Midwest introduced the 30-seat Saab 340 turboprop aircraft with flights from Kansas City to Wichita, Omaha, and Manhattan, KS. By the end of 1985 the airline was operating five Saab 340's and 24 Metroliners.
Although Air Midwest was unsuccessful in gaining a codeshare with Republic through the Scheduled Skyways merger, it was able to acquire codeshare agreements in 1985 with Eastern Airlines as Eastern Air Midwest Express at the Kansas City and Wichita hubs and in 1986 with Ozark Air Lines as Ozark Midwest at that carriers' St. Louis hub, as well as with American Airlines as part of the American Eagle (airline brand) at their newly created Nashville hub.
By June 1988, Air Midwest had built up the Kansas City hub with 89 flights per day to 20 cities, all operating as Eastern Express. Eastern then abruptly downsized its Kansas City hub operation thus leaving Air Midwest with no one to connect passenger traffic to. Air Midwest quickly negotiated a codeshare agreement with the second incarnation of Braniff (1983-1990), as Braniff was now building up Kansas City as a hub. The Braniff Express operation took over by October 1, 1988, however, just over one year later, Braniff once again went into bankruptcy and suspended operations on November 6, 1989.
After the collapse of Braniff, Air Midwest went back to operating under their own branding at Kansas City until yet another new codeshare agreement was negotiated, this time with USAir to feed their small Kansas City hub as USAir Express beginning on January 15, 1991. USAir changed its name to US Airways in 1997 and the US Airways Express operation at Kansas City continued until June 30, 2008.
Mesa Airlines began attempts to purchase Air Midwest in 1989. It succeeded in 1991 and replaced the Air Midwest metroliner fleet with newly acquired Beechcraft 1900D aircraft. In 2001 all Mesa Airlines flights operating with Beech 1900D's at the Albuquerque and Phoenix hubs were transferred to the Air Midwest certificate.[7]
A book on the history of Air Midwest entitled "Pioneer of the Third Level" was written by Dr. Imre E. Quastler, an authority on regional airlines. This book thoroughly covers the early years of Air Midwest from 1965 through 1980.
Destinations in 1970
Air Midwest was serving the following destinations as an independent commuter air carrier in 1970:[8]
Air Midwest independently served the following destinations between 1979 and early 1985 (prior to the merger with Skyways) with all flights being operated with Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (Metro II SA-226 model) commuter propjets at this time:[9]
Mesa Air Group acquired Air Midwest in 1991.[11] From 1991 until 1997, Air Midwest operated twelve Beechcraft 1900C commuter turboprops flying from its Kansas City hub as USAir Express. In 1997, Mesa Air Group underwent a corporate reorganization: Mesa Airline's FloridaGulf, Liberty Express, and Independent divisions were merged into Air Midwest.
On January 8, 2003, Air Midwest had its first fatal accident when Air Midwest Flight 5481 operating as US Airways Express and departing out of Charlotte for Greenville-Spartanburg crashed 37 seconds after takeoff. All 19 passengers and two crewmembers were killed in the accident.
In May 2007, Air Midwest, operating as America West Express on behalf of America West Airlines, requested that the FAA allow it to withdraw service from the regional airport in Vernal, Utah, (a service that had started only one year prior) as soon as a replacement carrier was approved. On Oct. 4, 2007, the federal Department of Transportation announced that Great Lakes Airlines would replace Air Midwest as the Essential Air Service carrier at the Utah airports in Vernal and Moab. At the same time, the Department of Transportation announced that SkyWest Airlines would replace Air Midwest as the Essential Air Service carrier at Cedar City.
A report published in The Wall Street Journal on January 14, 2008, included a statement from Mesa CEO Jonathan G. Ornstein that the company had decided to shut down Air Midwest, citing significant losses stemming from increased maintenance and fuel costs. All cities served by Air Midwest received notices of intention to end service, except for Prescott and Kingman, Arizona.[12] Mesa later announced plans to completely shut down the Air Midwest subsidiary, with all services to be terminated by June 30, 2008.[13] At the time of its shutdown, there were 20 airplanes in service, down from a high of 118.
The last two flights flown by Air Midwest were Flights 4679 and Flights 4681. Both departed on June 30, 2008, at 10:40pm from Kansas City International (MCI) to Joplin, Missouri (flt. 4679) and Columbia, Missouri (flt. 4681).
MesaMax applied to Mesa Airlines flights that were operated by Air Midwest. It consisted of a card, upon which flights were recorded with a stamp. Once 16 stamps had been recorded, the card could have been redeemed for a single round-trip ticket on Mesa Airlines flights.
Mesa Airlines, Inc., is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an FAA Part 121–certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group and operates flights as United Express via respective code sharing agreements with United Airlines. It serves more than 180 markets in the Western Hemisphere. In a 1997 article from the Journal of Air Transportation, Mesa's safety record was noted as having the fewest incidents among domestic regional airlines at that time. Mesa filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2010, hoping to shed financial obligations for leases on airplanes it no longer needed and emerged from bankruptcy in March 2011. In November 2017, Mesa opened a new training center in Phoenix. The 23,000-square-foot facility features a full-size CRJ-200 cabin trainer aircraft, 14 classrooms, and has the capacity to train 300 crew members at one time.
Corpus Christi International Airport is 6 miles west of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas. It opened in 1960, replacing Cliff Maus airport at 27.767°N 97.44°W, where the Lozano Golf Center is now located.
Great Lakes Airlines was an American regional airline operating domestic scheduled and charter services. Corporate headquarters were in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with a hub at Denver International Airport.
Manhattan Regional Airport in Riley County, Kansas, United States, is the second-busiest commercial airport in Kansas. Owned by the city of Manhattan, Kansas,the airport is located about five miles southwest of downtown Manhattan. American Airlines serves the airport with five daily flights to Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.The airport also accommodates general aviation and charter planes for the military and college sports teams, being conveniently located four miles east of Fort Riley and eight miles southwest of Kansas State University's athletic complex).
Big Sky Airlines was an American commuter air carrier that operated from 1978 to 2008. Headquartered in Billings, Montana, United States. Big Sky was wholly owned by Big Sky Transportation Company, which in turn was a wholly owned subsidiary of MAIR Holdings.
Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 700 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airline subsidiary: Mesa Airlines which operates as United Express and as American Eagle under contractual agreements with United Airlines and American Airlines respectively.
Central Nebraska Regional Airport is three miles northeast of Grand Island, in Hall County, Nebraska. It is owned by the Hall County Airport Authority. The airport sees two airlines, Allegiant Air which flies independently and American Eagle which is subsidized by the federal Essential Air Service program. In 2016 the airport had 68,879 passenger boardings (enplanements), a 6.6% increase from the 64,602 enplanements in 2015. The airport had 7,961 enplanements in calendar year 2008, 20,136 in 2009 and 37,101 in 2010.
Four Corners Regional Airport is in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States, in the city of Farmington, which owns it. It is a Class D towered general aviation airport with no commercial passenger services, but has chartered flight services, flight instruction, and a full service fixed base operator (FBO). It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023, in which it is categorized as a regional general aviation facility.
Pueblo Memorial Airport is a public airport located six miles east of Pueblo, in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. It is primarily used for general aviation.
Great Bend Municipal Airport is five miles west of Great Bend, in Barton County, Kansas. It is used for general aviation and formerly saw one airline, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.
Hays Regional Airport is three miles southeast of Hays, in Ellis County, Kansas, United States. It is used for general aviation and sees one airline, United Express.
Salina Regional Airport, formerly Salina Municipal Airport, is located in Salina, Kansas, United States. The airport is owned by the Salina Airport Authority. It is used for general aviation, and has service by one passenger airline, SkyWest Airlines, which is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.
Quincy Regional Airport is a city-owned airport 12 miles east of Quincy, a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States. It is used for general aviation but also sees Southern Airways Express flights to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and St. Louis Lambert International Airport, a service which is subsidized by the federal government's Essential Air Service program at a cost of $1,956,856. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2023–2027 categorized it as a national non-primary commercial service facility.
Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located four nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, a city in Otero County, New Mexico. It opened in 1959 and was formerly known as Alamogordo Municipal Airport. The airport was the home for Black Hills Aviation, with a fleet of fire fighting aircraft. The company was bought out by Neptune Aviation in 1993 and moved to Missoula, Montana. Neptune still bases some of its current fleet of British Aerospace 146 jets at Alamogordo during active forest fire seasons. The airport also sees large MD-87 firefighting jets operated by Erickson Aero Tanker.
Rio Airways was a regional passenger airline headquartered in Killeen, Texas, United States, and was operational from 1967 to 1987.
Topeka Regional Airport, formerly known as Forbes Field, is a joint civil-military public airport owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority in Shawnee County, Kansas, seven miles south of downtown Topeka, the capital city of Kansas. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a general aviation airport.
Goodland Municipal Airport is two miles north of Goodland, in Sherman County, Kansas, United States.
Vernal Regional Airport is a mile southeast of Vernal, in Uintah County, Utah. It is owned by the city and county and sees one airline, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.
Britt Airways was a regional airline in the United States that operated from 1964 until 1996, when it merged with ExpressJet. It was established as Vercoa Air Service in 1964 and renamed to Britt Airlines when it was purchased by William and Marilyn Britt in 1975 later on Britt Airways. It was based in Terre Haute, Indiana until 1996. It began as a commuter airline. It primarily operated turboprop aircraft but also flew British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven twinjets as an independent air carrier at one point as well. The airline evolved into a regional air carrier operating code share flights primarily for Continental Airlines.
Mountain Air Express (MAX) was a short-lived commuter airline in the United States founded in 1996. The air carrier was established by Western Pacific Airlines in order to provide passenger feed.
References
Henderson, Danna (1989-05-01). "Robert Priddy's $1 million Midwest Gamble". Air Transport World (98).
various (1991–1993). "Mesa Airlines Company Reports 1991-1993" (PDF). The Investext Group.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Mesa Air Group (1995–2005). "1995-2005 Annual Reports".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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