 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 1996 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 1998 | ||||||
| Hubs |
| ||||||
| Parent company | Western Pacific 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.
It flew Dornier 328 turboprops and operated via a codeshare agreement with Western Pacific. MAX initially served such smaller communities as Aspen, CO and Casper, WY from its hub located at the Colorado Springs Airport where Western Pacific operated a hub as well. However, flights to larger cities were subsequently operated from Denver including nonstop service to Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City and Tulsa.
In 1997, Western Pacific Airlines moved its hub from Colorado Springs to Denver International Airport. MAX followed Western Pacific to Denver. Just after this move, Western Pacific announced its plans to merge with Frontier Airlines. The merger was not successful [1] and Western Pacific declared Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in February 1998. This left MAX without a codeshare partner and it was subsequently sold in 1998 to Air Wisconsin. [2] During the same year, United Airlines ended its codesharing agreement with United Express carrier Mesa Airlines. Great Lakes Aviation and Air Wisconsin were then selected as the new United Express carriers replacing Mesa. The purchase of MAX gave Air Wisconsin the aircraft and crews it needed for its newly expanded code sharing agreement with United Airlines.
The following destination information is taken from Western Pacific Airlines system timetables dated June 29, 1997 and November 16, 1997, as they contained Mountain Air Express flight schedules as well. Mountain Air Express moved its hub from Colorado Springs to Denver in 1997.
Frontier Airlines is a major American ultra low-cost airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and 31 international destinations, and employs more than 3,000 staff. The carrier is a subsidiary and operating brand of Indigo Partners, LLC, and maintains a hub at Denver International Airport with numerous focus cities across the US and Puerto Rico.
United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which five individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights.
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, per a new contract with American Airlines.
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.
Air Midwest, Inc., was a Federal Aviation Administration Part 121 certificated air carrier that operated under air carrier certificate number AMWA510A issued on May 15, 1965. It was headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, United States, and was a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group. Besides initially flying as an independent air carrier, it later operated code sharing feeder flights on behalf of Eastern Air Lines as Eastern Air Midwest Express, on behalf of American Airlines as American Eagle, on behalf of Trans World Airlines (TWA) as Trans World Express and on behalf of US Airways as US Airways Express. It also operated feeder flights on behalf of Braniff (1983-1990) and Ozark Air Lines in addition to flying for Mesa Airlines. Air Midwest was shut down by its parent company, Mesa Airlines, in June 2008.
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.
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.
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.
Cheyenne Regional Airport is a civil-military airport a mile north of downtown Cheyenne, in Laramie County, Wyoming. It is owned by the Cheyenne Regional Airport Board.
Sheridan County Airport is in Sheridan County, Wyoming, two miles southwest of Sheridan, Wyoming.
Casper–Natrona County International Airport is 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Casper, in Natrona County, Wyoming. Before December 19, 2007, the airport was called Natrona County International Airport.
Santa Fe Regional Airport is a public use airport in Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, 10 miles (16 km) southwest of the city center. The airport serves the greater Santa Fe and Los Alamos areas.
Grand Junction Regional Airport is three miles (4.8 km) northeast of Grand Junction, in Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Owned by the Grand Junction Regional Airport Authority, it is the largest airport in western Colorado and third largest in the state, behind Denver International Airport and Colorado Springs Airport.
Durango–La Plata County Airport is a city- and county-owned public airport 12 miles southeast of Durango, in La Plata County, Colorado.
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.
Aspen Airways was an airline carrier and regional affiliate of United Express and based in Hangar 5 in Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. Aspen ceased operations on April 1, 1990, when separate portions of the airline were acquired by Mesa Airlines and Air Wisconsin Services, Inc.
Lynx Aviation, Inc. was a regional airline based in Denver, Colorado, United States. The airline began as a sister company to, and operated feeder service for, Frontier Airlines. The Lynx name plays off of the tail pictures of its planes, specifically Larry the Lynx, and the fact that it "links" smaller airports to the main Denver hub of Frontier Airlines. All flights operated by Lynx Aviation were sold and marketed as "Frontier Airlines operated by Lynx Aviation."
Lone Star Airlines was an American regional airline that operated both domestic and international flights. For much of the airline's life its headquarters were located in the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas. The airline's largest hub was located at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The airline filed for bankruptcy in August, 1998 and was liquidated in October, 1998.
Trans-Colorado Airlines was a United States airline based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It operated from August 1980 until July 1988. The airline operated flights for Continental Airlines under the Continental Express banner beginning in 1986.
GP Express Airlines was a scheduled passenger commuter air carrier with its headquarters located in Grand Island, Nebraska The parent corporation of the airline began on-demand air charter operations in December 1975. In December 1985 the Department of Transportation notified GP AIR that its bid to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) service in the Midwest had been accepted, GP AIR subsequently created subsidiary GP Express in order to conduct these operations under 14 CFR Part 135.
