Ozark Air Lines

Last updated

Ozark Air Lines
Ozark Air Lines Logo, December 1985.svg
IATA ICAO Callsign
OZOZAOZARK
FoundedSeptember 25, 1950 (1950-09-25)
Ceased operationsOctober 26, 1986 (1986-10-26)
(integrated into Trans World Airlines)
Hubs St. Louis Lambert International Airport
Fleet size50
Destinations
  • Ozark Mainline cities: 57
  • Ozark Midwest cities: 21
Parent company Trans World Corporation
Headquarters St. Louis County, Missouri, U.S.
Key people
  • Laddie Hamilton (president, 1950—1959)
  • Joseph A. Fitzgerald (president, 1959—1963)
  • Floyd Jones (acting resident, 1963—1964)
  • Thomas L. Grace (president, 1964—1971)
  • Edward J. Crane (president, 1971—1986)
  • Lester L. Cox (chairman of board, 1972—1986)

Ozark Air Lines was an airline in the United States that operated from 1950 until 1986, when it was purchased by Trans World Airlines (TWA). In 2001, TWA was merged into American Airlines. A smaller regional airline that used the Ozark name (and whose operating certificate was purchased by Great Plains Airlines) operated in 2000–2001. From 1950 until 1986, Ozark's headquarters was located at St. Louis Lambert International Airport. [1]

Contents

History

The dark green Ozark Air Lines logo OzarkLogoDarkGreen.jpg
The dark green Ozark Air Lines logo
Another Ozark Air Lines logo Ozark1.JPG
Another Ozark Air Lines logo

On September 1, 1943, Ozark Air Lines was founded to fly services from Springfield, Missouri, [2] and, in January 1945, it began flights between Springfield and St. Louis on Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwings, replaced by Cessna AT-17 Bobcats in the late 1940s. The required license from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was not forthcoming and operations had to stop.

In July 1950, Ozark was granted a certificate to operate Parks Air Transport routes not previously activated. Services were started on September 26, 1950, using Douglas DC-3s from St. Louis to Chicago, Tulsa and Memphis. [2] In 1955, the airline had 13 DC-3s flying to 35 cities between Sioux City, Indianapolis, Wichita, and Nashville. Ozark's main hub was St. Louis Lambert International Airport. Like other Local Service airlines, it was subsidized; in 1962, its operating revenues of US$ 14 million (equivalent to US$ 135 million in 2022) included US$ 4.5 million (equivalent to US$ 44 million in 2022) of federal subsidy. [3]

In 1960, turboprop Fairchild F-27s were introduced; piston-engine Martin 4-0-4s were added to the fleet in 1964 and removed in 1967.

One of three co-founders, Arthur G. Heyne was an attorney in St. Louis, Missouri, and served as Secretary-Treasurer starting in 1950.

The three swallows on Ozark fins represented on-time flights, referring to the legend of the swallows that return to the Mission San Juan Capistrano, in California, each year on the 19th of March.

Jets

Revenue passenger traffic, in millions of passenger-miles (scheduled flights only) [4]
YearPax-Miles
19518
195536
196099
1965229
1970653
1975936
Fairchild-Hiller FH-227B at Chicago O'Hare Airport in 1975 Fairchild FH227B Ozark ORD 28.07.75 edited-3.jpg
Fairchild-Hiller FH-227B at Chicago O'Hare Airport in 1975

In 1961, Ozark's network reached from Minneapolis to Nashville and from Kansas City to Indianapolis and Louisville. Denver was added in 1966 and, in 1969, the network sprouted eastward: Ozark was awarded nonstops from Champaign and Peoria to Washington Dulles, continuing to New York LaGuardia. Atlanta was added in 1978 and four Florida cities in winter 1978–1979.

Ozark Douglas DC-9-31 at O'Hare in 1975 Douglas DC-9-31 N976Z Ozark ORD 28.07.75 edited-2.jpg
Ozark Douglas DC-9-31 at O'Hare in 1975

In September 1966, Ozark and Central Airlines announced plans to merge, subject to CAB approval; the new airline was to retain the Ozark name and would be one of the largest local service carriers in the U.S. [5] However, in November 1966, the two airlines announced that merger talks had ended by mutual consent due to financing difficulties. [6]

By 1967, the Martins and F-27s were replaced with Fairchild Hiller FH-227s, a stretched F-27; Ozark was all-turbine after the last DC-3 flight in October 1968. Ozark's introduced its first jets in July, 1966 with the Douglas DC-9-10s. The DC-9-10s were later augmented with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s (DC-9-31/32) and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-40s. The airline also ordered two Boeing 727-200s but never took delivery. In late 1980, Ozark retired its last FH-227 prop aircraft and went all jet with an all DC-9 fleet. Several very small cities including Burlington, Fort Dodge, and Mason City in Iowa, Decatur, Marion, and Quincy in Illinois, and Cape Girardeau, Missouri, briefly saw DC-9 jet service before Ozark discontinued serving those cities in 1982. In 1984, larger McDonnell Douglas MD-80s were added.

Ozark Midwest

In 1985 Ozark began a code-share agreement with Air Midwest, a commuter airline operating 17-seat Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners. The operation was called Ozark Midwest and the Air Midwest aircraft were painted with green stripes, similar to Ozark but without the swallows. Ozark Midwest provided feeder service to Ozark from many smaller cities in the midwest that were not able to support large DC-9 jets including several cities that Ozark had previously discontinued. [7]

Merger with TWA

In the mid-1980s Ozark and TWA had a de facto duopoly at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, a hub for both. Ozark accounted for 26.3 percent of boardings at STL in 1985, while TWA accounted for 56.6 percent. [8] On March 1, 1986, the two airlines announced plans to merge: TWA would buy Ozark for US$ 242 million in cash (equivalent to US$ 646 million in 2022). [9] Shareholders of both airlines approved the merger by late summer, and the United States Department of Transportation gave its approval on September 12, 1986. [10]

Ozark ceased to exist as an independent company on October 27, 1986. The Ozark DC-9s were gradually painted with a modified paint scheme with "TWA" in the tail. Over the next couple of years, the fifty Ozark airplanes were repainted in the TWA livery. On December 1, 2001, TWA was merged into American Airlines.

Second Ozark Air Lines (2000–2001)

In 1998, rights to the airline's name were purchased by William E. Stricker of Columbia, Missouri. The reformed Ozark Air Lines received its operating certificate on February 11, 2000, and began service 10 days later, [11] from Columbia Regional Airport to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago Midway Airport, using two Fairchild Dornier 328JET aircraft. Later in 2000, service was added to Joplin Regional Airport in Joplin, Missouri, as a stop between Columbia and Dallas/Fort Worth. In early 2001, Ozark operated to the Taos Regional Airport serving Taos, New Mexico, from Dallas/Fort Worth on two days per week during the winter ski season.

A year later, the company ceased operations and sold its assets to the now-bankrupt Great Plains Airlines, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. [12]

Sales and marketing

Reservations

From the 1960s through the late 1980s, Ozark Air Lines' reservations department used a special toll-free WX telephone prefix in New Jersey which could be reached only in certain areas of the state by dialing 0 and asking the New Jersey Bell operator to connect to Ozark's WX number: WX-8300. The number could not be dialed directly by the customer and was only available to certain telephone exchanges where WX was available. (Direct-dial toll-free service made WX numbers obsolete, and they have been largely phased out.)

Advertising

In the late 1960s, comedian George Carlin appeared in Ozark advertising. [13]

Destinations in 1986

Note: Regional destinations were served by Ozark Midwest

Fleet history

Ozark Air Lines operated the following aircraft: [14] [15]

AircraftTotalIntroducedRetiredNotes
Boeing 727-200 219791979Never entered service and sold to Pan Am [16]
Convair CV-240 719621965
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 319721974Used to serve Chicago Meigs Field
Douglas C-47 Skytrain 2919501971
Fairchild F-27 719591967
Fairchild FH-227B 2119661981
Martin 4-0-4 1519641968
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-10 1019681986
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 37
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-40 31982
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 41984

Accidents and incidents

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trans World Airlines</span> Defunct airline of the United States (1930–2003)

Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until 2001 when it was acquired by American Airlines. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with Ford Trimotors. With American, United, and Eastern, it was one of the "Big Four" domestic airlines in the United States formed by the Spoils Conference of 1930.

St. Louis Lambert International Airport Commercial airport serving St. Louis, Missouri, United States

St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the primary commercial airport serving metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Commonly referred to as Lambert Field or simply Lambert, it is the largest and busiest airport in the state of Missouri. The airport covers 3,793 acres (1,535 ha) of land. STL is located 14 miles (23 km) northwest of downtown St. Louis in unincorporated St. Louis County between Berkeley and Bridgeton. The airport provides nonstop service to airports throughout the United States and to the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and Europe. In 2019, it served nearly 16 million passengers. In 2023 there were more than 270 daily departures to 80 nonstop domestic and international locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Midwest</span> 1965–2008 airline in the United States

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterloo Regional Airport</span> Airport

Waterloo Regional Airport ( Livingston Betsworth Field) is four miles (6 km) northwest of Waterloo, in Black Hawk County, Iowa. It is used for general aviation and sees one airline.

Trans World Express (TWE) was the fully owned and certificated, regional carrier for Trans World Airlines (TWA) and an airline trademark name for TWA's corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joplin Regional Airport</span> Airport

Joplin Regional Airport is located four miles (6.4 km) north of Joplin, in Jasper County, Missouri. It has airline service, which is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirksville Regional Airport</span> Domestic airport serving Kirksville, Missouri, United States

Kirksville Regional Airport is four miles south of Kirksville, Missouri, on the west side of US highway 63. One airline schedules passenger flights, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Smith Regional Airport</span> Public airport in Fort Smith, Arkansas, US

Fort Smith Regional Airport is a public use joint civil–military airport located near the Interstate 540 freeway three nautical miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of Fort Smith, in Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States. FSM is governed by the Fort Smith Airport Commission as established by the City of Fort Smith, Arkansas. It serves the transportation needs of residents and businesses of western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. FSM is currently served by American Eagle, the regional airline affiliate of American Airlines. It has a large population of corporate and general aviation aircraft. A full-service fixed-base operator (FBO), Signature Flight Support, provides service to general aviation, airline, and military operators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barkley Regional Airport</span> Airport

Barkley Regional Airport is an American domestic airport in West Paducah, Kentucky, 14 miles west of Paducah in McCracken County. It is used for general aviation and sees one airline, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quincy Regional Airport</span> Airport serving Quincy, Illinois, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois</span> Airport

Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois , also known as Williamson County Regional Airport, is five miles west of Marion, in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. The airport is owned by the Williamson County Airport Authority. It sees one airline, subsidized by the federal government's Essential Air Service program at an annual cost of $2,562,819 or $141 per passenger. On November 11, 2016 during the grand opening ceremony for the new terminal, the airport was renamed to "Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois" to honor veterans and better reflect the regional nature of the airport.

RegionsAir was a 14 CFR Part 121 regional airline based out of the Smyrna Airport in Smyrna, Tennessee, USA. The hub airports for RegionsAir were Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL) and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drake Field</span> Airport in Greenland, Arkansas

Drake Field is a public airport three miles south of Fayetteville, in Washington County, Arkansas. It is also known as Fayetteville Executive Airport and was formerly Fayetteville Municipal Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Airlines</span> 1949–1967 airline

Central Airlines was a scheduled passenger airline operating service in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas from 1949 to 1967. It was founded by Keith Kahle in 1944 to operate charter and fixed base services in Oklahoma, but was not granted an air operator's certificate until 1946 and did not begin scheduled flights until September 15, 1949, just before the certificate expired. Central was then headquartered at Meacham Field in Fort Worth, Texas. The airline was eventually acquired by and merged into the original Frontier Airlines which continued and expanded its network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast Airlines</span> United States airline from 1940 to 1972

Northeast Airlines was an American airline based in Boston, Massachusetts that chiefly operated in the northeastern United States, and later to Canada, Florida, the Bahamas, Los Angeles and other cities. It was acquired by and merged into Delta Air Lines in August 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Topeka Regional Airport</span> Joint-use civil-military airport in Kansas, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ozark Air Lines Flight 650</span> 1983 aviation accident

Ozark Air Lines Flight 650 was a regularly scheduled flight on December 20, 1983 from Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, to Sioux Falls Regional Airport in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. While landing in Sioux Falls, the aircraft struck a snow plow on the runway and burst into flames. The snow plow's driver was killed, and two flight attendants were injured.

References

  1. ↑ "World Airline Directory". Flight International . 1985-03-30. p. 105. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  2. 1 2 Endres, Günter G. (1982). World Airline Fleets 1983. Feltham: The Aviation Data Centre. p. 327. ISBN   978-0-9461-4102-9. OCLC   9203525.
  3. ↑ Moody's Transportation Manual. 1964. ISSN   0027-089X.
  4. ↑ Handbook of Airline Statistics. Civil Aeronautics Board.
  5. ↑ Mort, John (1966-09-21). "Central Airlines Seeking Merger With Ozark". Fort Worth Star-Telegram . Vol. 86, no. 232 (Morning ed.). Washington, D.C. p. 10-C. ISSN   0889-0013 . Retrieved 2022-06-14– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  6. ↑ "Ozark, Central Calls Halt to Merger Plans". Fort Worth Star-Telegram . Vol. 86, no. 283 (Evening ed.). Washington, D.C. Associated Press. 1966-11-10. p. 5-D. ISSN   0889-0013 . Retrieved 2022-06-14– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. ↑ Ozark timetables from 1985 and 1986
  8. ↑ "Airline Competition: Fare and Service Changes at St. Louis Since the TWA–Ozark Merger" (PDF). Government Accountability Office . 1988-09-21. Archived from the original on 2022-07-27. Retrieved 2022-06-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ↑ "Ozark, TWA Sign Pact". Kenosha News . Vol. 92, no. 111. St. Louis. United Press International. 1986-03-02. p. A3. ISSN   0749-7067 . Retrieved 2022-06-14– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  10. ↑ "14 NMB No. 63: Case Nos. R-5684, R-5685, and File No. CR-5908". Determinations of the National Mediation Board. Vol. 13–14. National Mediation Board. 1987-04-10. p. 218. Retrieved 2022-06-14– via Google Books.
  11. ↑ Chase, Nan (2001-01-01). "Home Grown". Air & Space/Smithsonian . ISSN   0886-2257. OCLC   1054386888. Archived from the original on 2022-06-14. Retrieved 2022-06-14.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ↑ "Flying Tigers to offer more airport services". Columbia Daily Tribune . 2005-10-06. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  13. ↑ George Carlin (actor) (2008-04-22). Living St. Louis – Ozark Air Lines (Television production). St. Louis: KETC-TV. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2009-01-07– via YouTube.
  14. ↑ "Ozark Air Lines Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  15. ↑ "Ozark Air Lines". Aerobernie.bplaced.net. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  16. ↑ "Ozark & the Boeing 727". Airliners.net. 2018-05-16.
  17. ↑ "Midair collision, Ozark Air Lines, Inc., DC-9, N970Z And Interstate Airmotive, Inc., Cessna 150F, N8669G, St. Louis, Missouri, March 27, 1968" (PDF). fss.aero. 1969-06-30. Archived from the original on 2022-05-31. Retrieved 2022-06-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ↑ "Loss of roll control, Ozark Air Lines, Inc., Douglas DC-9-15, N974Z, Sioux City Airport, Sioux City, Iowa, December 27, 1968". fss.aero. Archived from the original on 2022-01-23. Retrieved 2022-06-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ↑ "AirDisaster.Com » Accident Database » Accident Synopsis » 07231973". Archived from the original on 2009-01-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.