 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 1998 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | February 1999 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | February 2001 | ||||||
| Hubs | Des Moines International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 4 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Des Moines, Iowa | ||||||
Access Air was a short-lived low-cost airline based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States.
| | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 1998 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | February 1999 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | February 2001 | ||||||
| Hubs | Des Moines International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 4 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Des Moines, Iowa | ||||||
Access Air was a short-lived low-cost airline based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States.
AccessAir was founded in 1998 and, after multiple delays, [1] began operating flights in February 1999. [2] Looking to provide lower rates at niche markets such as Des Moines, the Quad Cities, and Peoria, major investors at its start included many local companies, such as Caterpillar Inc. (Peoria) [3] and FBL Financial Group, Principal Financial Group, MidAmerican Energy, and Pioneer Hi-Bred (Des Moines). [4] Flights would fly from Des Moines to New York–LaGuardia via either the Quad Cities or Peoria. Direct service to Los Angeles was added later; Colorado Springs was later added as a stop. [5]
Despite offering discounted rates below major carriers, AccessAir struggled to fill planes, with most planes not even half full. [6] The airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1999, after just nine months of operations. [7] A total of 14,000 enplanements resulted in an estimated $30 million in losses. Des Moines business leader John Ruan III came forward in the spring of 2000 and injected the money necessary to take control of the company and restart operations. The airline resumed flights in November 2000 with daily flights from Des Moines to Chicago Midway Airport with the intent of offering flights to Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Cedar Rapids. [8] However, low passenger loads again led to the airline shutting down in February 2001. [9]
AccessAir provided service to cities such as Los Angeles (via LAX) and New York City (via LaGuardia Airport) from its hub in Des Moines, Iowa from 1998 to 2001. Other cities included Colorado Springs, Colorado; Peoria, Illinois; and Moline, Illinois. [10] Access was a point-to-point carrier, meaning flights did not always start or stop in its hub city of Des Moines. Access Air utilized a series of thru-flights to connect its route network. For example, if a passenger wanted to fly Access Air from New York to Los Angeles, they would have to first fly through one or two stops, i.e. Peoria, Moline, Des Moines, and Colorado Springs before reaching Los Angeles. In most cases, it would be a quick 25-minute turn-around for fuel and a few passengers before continuing to the next destination.
AccessAir flew (or had planned to fly) to the following domestic destinations:
The airline operated Boeing 737-200 jetliners.
The airline's logo was a stylized capital A with a circle around it, similar to "@". The aircraft was bare metal with a red stripe along the window line which continued to the rudder (but not the rest of the vertical stabilizer). There was also a black stripe under the red one on the fuselage.
The airline's fleet included four 737s registered in the US as N621AC, N623AC, N624AC and N625AC. N621AC and N623AC originally flew under German registration for Lufthansa. After Access Air service, N623AC operated as PK-JGR in Indonesia for Jatayu Airlines.
ATA Airlines, Inc., formerly known as American Trans Air and commonly referred to as ATA, was an American low-cost scheduled service and charter airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana. ATA operated scheduled passenger flights throughout the U.S. mainland and Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Portugal as well as military and commercial charter flights around the world.
Mesaba Aviation, Inc. was a regional airline in the United States that operated from 1944 until it merged with Pinnacle Airlines in 2012 to form Endeavor Air. It was based in Eagan, Minnesota From 2010 to 2012, the airline was a wholly owned subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. with code sharing flights operated as Delta Connection for Delta Air Lines and US Airways Express for US Airways. Previously, the airline operated code sharing service as Northwest Airlink and Northwest Jetlink on behalf of Northwest Airlines which subsequently merged with Delta. Mesaba also previously operated connecting flight services in association with Republic Airlines before this air carrier was subsequently merged into Northwest. Mesaba Airlines effectively ceased operations on January 4, 2012, when all aircraft and personnel were transitioned to the Pinnacle Airlines operating certificate. Mesaba's operating certificate was surrendered on July 31, 2012.
Air Wisconsin Airlines is a regional airline based at Appleton International Airport in the town of Greenville, Wisconsin near Appleton. Air Wisconsin originally operated as one of the original United Express partners in 1985, and subsequently operated as US Airways Express on behalf of US Airways prior to becoming an American Eagle regional air carrier. Between March 2018 and April 2023, Air Wisconsin operated exclusively as a United Express regional air carrier once again with primary hubs located at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). This came to an end in April 2023 as the carrier switched to conducting solely American Eagle branded flights, under a new contract with American Airlines.
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.
Chicago Express Airlines, Inc. was a regional airline headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Quad Cities International Airport is a public airport in Rock Island County, Illinois, three miles (5 km) south of Moline, partly in Blackhawk Township and partly in Coal Valley Township. In 2012 it was named "Illinois Primary Airport of the Year". It serves the Quad Cities Metropolitan area, including Davenport and Bettendorf in Scott County, Iowa as well as Moline in Rock Island County, Illinois.
Trans States Airlines was a regional airline in the United States that operated from 1982 until 2020, when it shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was owned by Trans States Holdings and headquartered in Bridgeton, Missouri. At the time of its closing, the airline operated flights for United Airlines under the United Express brand. Trans States Airlines ceased all operations on April 1, 2020.
Skyway Airlines was an American ramp and aircraft ground handling services and catering company based in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Until April 5, 2008, it operated as a regional airline and banner carrier exclusively for Midwest Express Airlines under the business name Midwest Connect, feeding Midwest's hub at General Mitchell International Airport with twelve 32-seat Fairchild-Dornier 328JET regional jet aircraft, and four 19-seat Beechcraft 1900 commuter turboprops. Skyway Airlines, along with its parent corporation, Midwest Air Group, has since ceased operations.
Des Moines International Airport is a joint civilian-military commercial service airport 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Des Moines, the capital of Iowa.
Western Pacific Airlines, or WestPac, was an airline which operated in the United States from 1995 to 1998. A low-cost carrier, it was formed in 1994 under the name Commercial Air, later changed to Western Pacific, and began operating scheduled passenger flights on April 28, 1995, with eight Boeing 737-300s. Edward Gaylord of Gaylord Entertainment Company was involved in the formation and management of the airline. Its headquarters were in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, near Colorado Springs.
Ozark Air Lines was a local service carrier in the United States that operated from 1950 until 1986, when it was purchased by Trans World Airlines (TWA). Ozark got a second chance to be an airline when the carrier that won the routes for which Ozark applied, Parks Air Lines, failed to start them in a timely manner. Parks had its rights revoked, Ozark won not only the routes it previously applied for, but others as well. Parks merged into Ozark and Ozark took over the Parks operation and the single route over which Parks had recently started service, thereby launching Ozark. Ozark over time became a jet carrier with a hub in St. Louis.
Trans World Express (TWE) was the fully owned and certified regional carrier for Trans World Airlines (TWA) and an airline trademark name for TWA's corporation.
Palm Springs International Airport, formerly Palm Springs Municipal Airport, is an airport two miles east of downtown Palm Springs, California, United States. The airport covers 940 acres and has two runways. The facility operates year-round, with most flights occurring in the fall, winter, and spring.
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.
Vanguard Airlines was a low-cost airline based in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, where it operated a hub from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. For a time, Vanguard also had significant operations at Chicago Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, until late 2000. 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. Vanguard Airlines started service in 1994.
Midway Airlines was a United States airline based in Chicago, Illinois. It was incorporated on October 13, 1976, by Kenneth T. Carlson, Irving T. Tague and William B. Owens, filing with the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) for an airline operating certificate. Although it received its operating certificate from the CAB prior to the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978, it was viewed as the first post-deregulation start-up. The airline commenced operations on November 1, 1979.
Mississippi Valley Airlines (IATA--XV) was a regional air carrier serving the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It was founded by Herb Lee, Norm Elsy and Charles A. ("Chuck") Draine as Gateway Aviation, and had its headquarters in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Chuck Draine served as chairman and chief executive officer. It began scheduled flight operations on July 22, 1968 between La Crosse Municipal Airport and both Chicago and Milwaukee. The carrier changed its name to Mississippi Valley Airways in October 1969. It became Mississippi Valley Airlines (MVA) and moved its headquarters to Quad City Airport in Moline, Illinois in January 1982. The airline merged into Air Wisconsin on May 17, 1985 in a $10 million share exchange transaction. At the time of the merger, Mississippi Valley Airlines was the United States' eighth-largest regional airline in terms of ridership.
Frontier Airlines was a local service carrier, a scheduled airline in the United States formed by a merger of Arizona Airways, Challenger Airlines, and Monarch Air Lines on June 1, 1950. Headquartered at the now-closed Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, the airline ceased operations on August 24, 1986. A new airline using the same name was founded eight years later in 1994.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
