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Founded | December 15, 1989 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | August 4, 2004 | ||||||
Hubs | Washington Dulles International Airport | ||||||
Focus cities | Chicago O'Hare International Airport | ||||||
Frequent-flyer program | |||||||
Alliance | |||||||
Fleet size | 121 | ||||||
Destinations | 37 | ||||||
Holding company#Parent company | Atlantic Coast Holdings, Inc. | ||||||
Headquarters | Dulles, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||
Key people | Kerry Skeen (CEO) | ||||||
Website | atlanticcoast.com |
Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA) was an airline based in the United States owned by Atlantic Coast Holdings, Inc. [1] It operated as United Express for United Airlines and Delta Connection for Delta Air Lines. It was headquartered in the Dulles area of unincorporated Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. [2] Previously it was headquartered in Reston, unincorporated Fairfax County. [3] [4] Before then, it was headquartered in Sterling, unincorporated Loudoun County. [5]
The airline was established and started operations on December 15, 1989, and had been in a marketing agreement with United Airlines since its inception. [1] In 1999 it established Atlantic Coast Jet to operate as a Delta Connection carrier, but this was later reintegrated.
Atlantic Coast Airlines operated United Express flights out of Dulles and O'Hare International Airport in Chicago with Jetstream 32, Jetstream 41, DeHavilland DHC-8, Embraer 120 Brasilia and Canadair regional jet aircraft. Their Delta Connection flights out of Logan International Airport in Boston, New York City's LaGuardia Airport, and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Covington, Kentucky were operated with the Fairchild Dornier 328. During 2003 revenues were generated about 80% from United Express operations and 20% from Delta Connection.
United Airlines entered bankruptcy protection in December 2002. At that time United Airlines contracted a consulting firm, Bain, to renegotiate its regional partners contracts. Atlantic Coast Airlines employees and management went through a significant cost reduction program to remain competitive as a United Express carrier. Presented with overwhelming competition from other regional airlines Atlantic Coast Airlines and United Airlines were unable to negotiate a mutual agreement. At that time Atlantic Coast Airlines continued to honor its 10-year contract with United Airlines. Expecting that United would be unable to honor that contract, Atlantic Coast Airlines developed an alternate business plan.
After announcing plans to part with United Airlines, Atlantic Coast Airlines' significant cash position made it a prime target for a takeover attempt. Mesa Air Group launched an attempt at a hostile takeover in the summer of 2003, engaging in what some allege were significant U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission violations. At the same time the employees of Atlantic Coast Airlines organized a grass roots effort to avert the takeover attempt. Within a few months the stock purchase plan was removed by Mesa.
On November 19, 2003, Atlantic Coast Airlines announced that it would become a low-cost carrier under the name of Independence Air. Its status as a United Express carrier ended on August 4, 2004, and its status as a Delta Connection carrier ended November 2, 2004. Operations as Independence Air began on June 16, 2004. On January 5, 2006, Independence Air ceased operations.
On March 10, 2006, Northwest Airlines purchased the DOT Operating Certificate of then-Independence Air with the intent to use that certificate to form a new regional subsidiary. The result was Compass Airlines, which began service using Embraer E175 jets in August 2007.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) was a regional airline in the United States based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier on behalf of Delta Air Lines via a code sharing agreement and, as of February 2010, commenced service as a United Express carrier on behalf of United Airlines via a separate code sharing agreement. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc. ASA operated nearly 900 flights each day. Its main hub was located at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) which is also a hub for Delta. After a 2010 merger with ExpressJet, ASA adopted the ExpressJet name and branding in 2011.
SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah. SkyWest operates and maintains aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by four partner mainline airlines. The company is contracted by Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. In all, it is the largest regional airline in North America when measured by fleet size, number of passengers carried, and number of destinations served.
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Independence Air was a low-cost airline, owned by FLYi, Inc., headquartered in the Loudoun Gateway Corporate Center in Dulles, Virginia, United States that operated from 1989 until 2006. Its route network focused on the east coast of the United States, but it also extended to the west coast. The route network was based at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Continental Express was the brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing commuter airliner and regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines. In 2012 at the time of Continental's merger with United Airlines, two carriers were operating using the Continental Express brand name:
Dulles is an unincorporated area in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The headquarters of Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems and ODIN Technologies, as well as the former headquarters of MCI Inc. and AOL are located in Dulles. The National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington forecast office and the National Weather Service's Sterling Field Support Center are also both in Dulles.
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.
Shuttle America Corporation was a regional airline in the United States based in Indianapolis, Indiana,. It fed United Airlines flights at Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) under the United Express brand, as well as Delta Air Lines flights at Atlanta (ATL), New York-LaGuardia (LGA), and New York-JFK under the Delta Connection brand. Shuttle America also operated two of three Delta Shuttle East Coast routes, serving Washington, D.C., and Chicago from New York-LaGuardia.
The British Aerospace Jetstream 41 is a turboprop-powered feederliner and regional airliner, designed by British Aerospace as a stretched version of the popular Jetstream 31. Intended to compete directly with 30-seat aircraft like the Embraer Brasilia, Dornier 328 and Saab 340, the new design eventually accommodated 29 passengers in a two-by-one arrangement like the Jetstream 31. Eastern Airways of the UK is the biggest operator of Jetstream 41s in the world, with 14 in the fleet.
Republic Airways Inc. is a regional airline in the United States headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Republic operates and maintains aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by a partner mainline airline. The company is contracted by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.
Newport News-Williamsburg Airport is in Newport News, Virginia, United States, and serves the Hampton Roads area along with Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk. The airport is owned and operated by the Peninsula Airport Commission, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia. PHF covers 1,800 acres.
Golden Triangle Regional Airport is a public use airport in unincorporated Lowndes County, Mississippi. The airport is located approximately midway between the cities of Starkville, Columbus, and West Point, Mississippi, and serves the surrounding Golden Triangle region of Mississippi and parts of West Alabama. GTR is used for general and military aviation, and charter aircraft.
Santa Maria Public Airport is three miles (5 km) south of Santa Maria, in northern Santa Barbara County, California, United States.
ExpressJet Airlines was a regional airline in the United States that operated from 1987 until 2022. It was headquartered in College Park, Georgia. The company began as Britt Airways and flew exclusively as Continental Express, the contracted codeshare partner for Continental Airlines. The name was changed to ExpressJet at the beginning of 1995 as the company began acquiring regional jets, replacing its fleet of turboprop aircraft. Along with flying as Continental Express, ExpressJet expanded flying under the Delta Connection brand from 2007 through 2008 and again from 2012 through 2018. Service as American Eagle was flown between 2012 and 2019 and service under the United Express brand began in 2009. ExpressJet also flew an independent operation under their own brand in 2007 through 2008. When Continental Airlines merged into United Airlines in 2012, the Continental Express operations were added to the United Express service. In September 2020, it exited the fee-for-departure airline market and temporarily ceased flights after the conclusion of its contract with its sole remaining mainline partner, United Airlines. In September 2021, ExpressJet resumed operations as both an air charter provider and a regional airline under its own brand aha!—short for "Air-Hotel-Adventure." The brand's route structure focused on the West Coast of the United States with a hub at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, and scheduled flights began on October 24, 2021. The airline, including its brand aha!, filed for bankruptcy on August 23, 2022, having ceased all operations the previous day. In July 2023, the airline announced plans to relaunch as an air charter service using a single leased Boeing 777.
Meridian Regional Airport is a joint civil-military public use airport located at Key Field, a joint-use public/military airfield. It is located 3 nautical miles southwest of Meridian, a city in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States. The Meridian Airport Authority owns the airport. At 10,003 feet (3,049 m), Key Field is home to the longest public use runway in Mississippi. It is mostly used for general aviation and military traffic, but it is also served by one commercial airline with scheduled passenger service subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.
FLYi, Inc., previously known as Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings, Inc., was a Delaware airline holding company based in the Dulles area of unincorporated Loudoun County, Virginia. Prior to filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, the company operated Independence Air.
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