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Founded | 1984 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | 1998 | ||||||
Hubs | Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport |
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. [1] The airline's largest hub was located at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. [2] The airline filed for bankruptcy in August, 1998 and was liquidated in October, 1998.
Lone Star was founded in 1984 in Stillwater, Oklahoma, as Exec Express Inc. by Phil Trenary (later President of Pinnacle Airlines), [3] the company moved its headquarters to Fort Worth, Texas, in 1987. [4] [5] Exec Express Inc. operating as Exec Express Commuter Airlines [6] later became Exec Express II Inc. and eventually operated under the d/b/a's of Lone Star Airlines and Aspen Mountain Air. [7] In order to have both names on the same ticket stock a third d/b/a was created "Aspen Mountain Air/Lone Star Airlines" [8] The airline became an American Airlines (AMR Corporation) and Frontier Airlines code sharing partner. In 1996 Professional Pilot magazine selected Lone Star Airlines to receive the Regional Airline Teamwork Award. [9] By 1997 the airline was serving 21 cities in 8 states Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas. International non-stop service to Mexico was provided from DFW International Airport. [10] Federal EAS subsidies approximated 20% of total revenues in 1996. Total revenues were projected to exceed $24 million in 1997. [11]
Dallas/Fort Worth
EL Paso
St. Louis
Denver
Fort Worth
FEDERAL ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE COMMUNITIES, (EAS) [19]
Following the introduction of Metro III aircraft, Lone Star Airlines incorporated state of the art, full motion aircraft flight simulators into its training program.
Lone Star Airlines and Flight Safety International ("FlightSafety") pioneered a new pilot hiring practice. Pilot applicants who met Lone Star Airlines initial hiring requirements, were first interviewed, screened and tested by FlightSafety. Upon review of these results, Lone Star Airlines would select pilots for company interviews and subsequent job offers contingent upon the pilot's successful completion of flight training at one of FlightSafety's flight simulator training centers. [11]
Besides domestic scheduled passenger service, Lone Star Airlines was granted authority to operate passenger service to the following additional areas: [21]
IATA Airline Code: AD
ICAO Airline Code: LSS
DOT Certificate ID: EQGA
Call Sign: Hustler, Lone Star (when it began using the DBA Lone Star)
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