Founded | 1939 |
---|---|
Commenced operations | 1 August 1945 as a certificated carrier |
Ceased operations | 1 April 1955 |
Fleet size | 20 |
Destinations | See below |
Headquarters | Houston, Texas, United States |
Essair (short for Efficiency, Safety, and Speed in the Air [1] ) was incorporated in 1939, the first airline authorized by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to fly as a local service carrier in the United States. Essair Lines changed its name to Pioneer Air Lines in 1946, and served destinations in New Mexico and Texas. Pioneer was acquired by and merged into Continental Airlines in 1955.
An unrelated commuter airline using the name Pioneer Airlines operated in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming during the late 1970s through 1980s with Beechcraft 99 and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprop aircraft. [2] [3] Besides operating as an independent air carrier, this second version of Pioneer also provided feeder connecting flight services on behalf of Continental Airlines as a Continental Commuter air carrier at the Denver airport (DEN) via a code sharing agreement with Continental from 1983 through 1986.
Founded by Major William F. Long [4] [5] (who owned the Dallas Aviation School and Air College), Essair began a temporary service between Houston and Amarillo, via Austin, San Angelo, Abilene, and Lubbock. On July 11, 1944, the Civil Aeronautics Board agreed that an experiment in subsidized short-haul and local scheduled air service should be conducted. The experiment involved the establishment of a new airline category, known as "feeder" or "local service" air carriers. On August 1, 1945, Essair became the first airline to fly under the new classification, with a temporary certificate. [6] and operated Lockheed Model 10 Electra twin prop aircraft on its routes within Texas. [7]
The airline's name became Pioneer Air Lines in 1946. The Electras were replaced by Douglas DC-3s with 23 of the type being used between 1946 and 1953. [8] New routes to several cities in New Mexico were added in 1948. From June 1952, nine Martin 2-0-2 unpressurised airliners were operated by Pioneer after they were purchased from Northwest Airlines. Davies (and Killion) says the federal CAB forced Pioneer to revert to the DC-3s in 1953 however, per the February 1955 Official Airline Guide (OAG), the carrier reintroduced the 36-seat Martin 202's back on some flights. The 202's were known as "Pioneer Pacemaster" aircraft.
In April 1949 Pioneer scheduled flights to 24 airports in New Mexico and Texas from Albuquerque and El Paso in the west to Dallas and Houston in the east. In February 1955 it flew to 21 airports; later that year it was acquired by and merged into Continental Airlines. [9]
The November 1, 1953 Pioneer Air Lines system timetable listed the following 22 destinations: [10]
Pioneer also previously served El Paso, TX, Las Cruces, NM, Las Vegas, NM, and Roswell, NM, from 1948 to 1951. [11] [12] [13]
Following its acquisition of Pioneer, the April 1, 1955, Continental Airlines timetable contained this message: "Now...ONE GREAT AIRLINE to serve you better! Pioneer Air Lines, serving 22 cities over 2000 route miles in Texas and New Mexico, officially becomes part of the greater Continental Air Lines system and opens a new era in air transportation for the Southwest!" [14] However, by late 1963 Continental had ceased serving a number of the destinations previously served by Pioneer as the routes were transferred to Trans-Texas Airways. [15]
Aviation Week magazine for March 14, 1955 lists Pioneer as having a fleet of 20 aircraft, comprising: [16]
Pioneer or Essair was also known to operate:
William P. Hobby Airport — colloquially referred to as Houston Hobby or other short names — is an international airport in Houston, Texas, located 7 mi (11 km) from downtown Houston. Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primary airport until the Houston Intercontinental Airport, now known as the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, opened in 1969. Hobby was initially closed after the opening of Houston Intercontinental; however, it was re-opened after several years, and became a secondary airport for domestic airline service, and a center for corporate and private aviation.
El Paso International Airport is an international airport located four miles (6 km) northeast of downtown El Paso, in El Paso County, Texas, United States. It is the busiest commercial airport in West Texas, and also serves Southern New Mexico and Northern Mexico. It handled 3,904,110 passengers in 2023, with 96,316 aircraft operations.
Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport is a public airport six miles (10 km) east of downtown Amarillo, in Potter County, Texas, United States. The airport was renamed in 2003 after NASA astronaut and Amarillo native Rick Husband, who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in February of that year.
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.
Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport is five miles north of Lubbock, in Lubbock County, Texas, United States. Originally Lubbock International Airport, it was renamed in 2004 for former Texas governor Preston E. Smith, an alumnus of Texas Tech University.
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Texas International Airlines Inc. was a United States local service carrier, known from 1940 until 1947 as Aviation Enterprises, until 1969 as Trans-Texas Airways (TTA), and as Texas International Airlines until 1982, when it merged with Continental Airlines. It was headquartered near William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas.
Roswell Air Center is an airport five miles (8.0 km) south of Roswell, in Chaves County, New Mexico, United States.
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.
Lea County Regional Airport is four miles (6.4 km) west of Hobbs, in Lea County, New Mexico, United States. The airport covers 898 acres (363 ha) and has three runways. It is an FAA certified commercial airport served by United Airlines' affiliate with daily regional flights. Lea County Regional Airport is the largest of the three airports owned and operated by Lea County Government. Lea County also owns and operates two general aviation airports in Lovington and Jal, New Mexico.
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.
Memorial Field Airport is located in City of Hot Springs, in Garland County, Arkansas, United States, 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Downtown Hot Springs. It serves nearby Hot Springs National Park. The airport is used for general aviation; airline flights are subsidized by the federal government's Essential Air Service program at a cost of $1,637,012.
San Angelo Regional Airport, serves San Angelo in Tom Green County, Texas, United States. The airport covers 1,517 acres (614 ha) and has three runways. It has free parking.
Abilene Regional Airport is a public airport located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of downtown Abilene, in Taylor County, Texas. The airport is located within the Abilene city limits, and is and owned and operated by the city.
Greater Southwest International Airport, originally Amon Carter Field (ACF), was a commercial airport serving Fort Worth, Texas, from 1953 until 1974. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) opened in 1974 a few miles north to replace Greater Southwest and Dallas Love Field as a single airport for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The area is now a commercial/light-industrial park serving DFW International, centered along Amon Carter Boulevard, which follows the old north-south runway.
Chicago and Southern Air Lines (C&S) was a United States trunk carrier, a scheduled airline that started life as Pacific Seaboard Air Lines in California and was organized on June 15, 1933. Following the move from California, the airline's headquarters were initially located in St. Louis, Missouri, and were then moved to Memphis, Tennessee, which also served as a hub for the carrier. C&S was merged into Delta Air Lines in 1953, thus providing Delta with its first international routes.
Britt Airways was a regional airline in the United States that operated from 1964 until it merged with ExpressJet in 1996. 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.
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Big Spring McMahon–Wrinkle Airport is a municipal airport two miles southwest of Big Spring, in Howard County, Texas. The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013 categorized it as a general aviation airport.
Metro Airlines, originally Houston Metro Airlines, was a commuter airline that was originally headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States. Metro subsequently moved its headquarters to north Texas. The airline had an operational base located on the grounds of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and also had offices on the airport property and in Grapevine, Texas. Metro evolved into an airline holding company with the acquisition or creation of a number of different airlines, including as the banner carrier operating feeder services for Eastern Airlines as Eastern Metro Express which was based in Atlanta, GA and Metroflight which operated American Eagle service from the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1993, and the assets were acquired by AMR Simmons Airlines.
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