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Revision as of 18:46, 10 February 2018
A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (Noveber 2016) |
File:Air Wisconsin Airlines Logo.png | |||||||
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Founded | 1965[1] | ||||||
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Commenced operations | August 23, 1965[1] | ||||||
Hubs | As American Eagle:
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Frequent-flyer program |
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Alliance |
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Fleet size | 60 [3] | ||||||
Parent company | CJT Holdings[1] | ||||||
Headquarters | Appleton, Wisconsin | ||||||
Key people | Christine Deister (President and CEO)[4] | ||||||
Employees | 1,500 | ||||||
Website | www |
Air Wisconsin Airlines is a regional airline based at Appleton International Airport in the town of Greenville,[5] Wisconsin, United States,[6] near Appleton.[7] Air Wisconsin is the largest privately held regional airline in the United States. It currently operates regional jet flights as American Eagle under contract to American Airlines via a code sharing agreement, serving cities in the U.S. and Canada with hubs at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) .[8][9] Air Wisconsin previously operated United Express service on behalf of United Airlines followed by US Airways Express service on behalf of US Airways prior to becoming an American Eagle regional air carrier. The company has announced it will once again partner with United Airlines as a United Express code sharing air carrier with primary hubs to be located at Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) beginning in September 2017 and will be "exclusively operating" as United Express by March 2018.[10][11]
History
In 1963 investors from the Fox Cities raised $110,000 ($1063526.93 adjusting for inflation) to start a new airline.[12] The airline was established as an independent commuter air carrier in 1965 and started operations on August 23, 1965, just one day after the brand new Outagamie County Regional Airport was opened using de Havilland Dove commuter aircraft configured with nine passenger seats.[13] It was founded to connect Appleton, Wisconsin, with Chicago and initially had 17 employees and two de Havilland Dove aircraft.[14] According to the August 23, 1965 Air Wisconsin timetable, the airline was flying only one route between Appleton and Chicago O'Hare Airport with four round trips on weekdays and two round trips on Saturdays and Sundays operated with the British-manufactured Dove twin prop aircraft.[15]
By the mid 1970s, Air Wisconsin was flying two small commuter turboprop airliner types, being the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and Swearingen Metro, and was operating a small hub at Chicago O'Hare Airport with service primarily to destinations in Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin as well as to Minneapolis/Saint Paul from several small cities in Wisconsin.[16][17]
In September 1978 the airline was certified by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) as a regional air carrier (Air Wisconsin previously had commuter air carrier status with the CAB). In October 1978 it had over $10 million in assets.[12] Joining Air Wisconsin in 1965 as traffic manager and eventually becoming president, Preston H. Wilbourne's leadership oversaw Air Wisconsin grow to an airline serving 29 cities in an eleven state area with 32 aircraft boarding over 10,000 passengers daily.[citation needed] Air Wisconsin gained the nicknames "Air Willy" and "Rag Tag"[12] and more recently "Air Wis" and "Air Wisky".[citation needed]
By 1985, Air Wisconsin had become large independent regional air carrier operating British Aerospace BAe 146-200 and British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets as well as de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 turboprops with flights as far west as Grand Island, NE and Minneapolis/Saint Paul, and as far east as Bridgeport, CT and New Haven, CT with a large connecting hub located at Chicago O'Hare Airport (ORD).[18][19] In early 1986, the airline was serving sixteen airports with its British-manufactured jets with flights to Appleton, WI, Bridgeport, CT, Cedar Rapids, IA, Chicago O'Hare Airport, Flint, MI, Fort Wayne, IN, Grand Island, NE, Green Bay, WI, Kalamazoo, MI, Lincoln, NE, Moline, IL/Quad Cities, New Haven, CT, South Bend, IN, Toledo, OH, Waterloo, IA and Wausau/Stevens Point, WI with other flights and destinations in its route system being served with the Canadian-manufactured four engine Dash 7 turboprop.[20]
Air Wisconsin pioneered the concept of code sharing as a United Express carrier operating on behalf of United Airlines. As an independent air carrier prior to its business agreement with United to provide passenger feed, Air Wisconsin rapidly became the nation's largest regional airline in the 1980s.[citation needed] In 1985 it merged with Mississippi Valley Airlines (MVA) and continued to operate under the Air Wisconsin name.
In late 1989 Air Wisconsin was operating United Express code share service from two United hubs: Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).[21] According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG) at this time, United Express flights were operated with British Aerospace BAe 146-200 jets and Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops nonstop to Chicago O'Hare from Akron/Canton, OH, Appleton, WI, Cedar Rapids, IA, Champaign, IL, Fort Wayne, IN, Green Bay, WI, Kalamazoo, MI, La Crosse, WI, Lansing, MI, Lexington, KY, Moline, IL/Quad Cities, Oshkosh, WI, Peoria, IL, Roanoke, VA, South Bend, IN, Toledo, OH and Wausau, WI, and with BAe 146-200 jets and Short 360 turboprops nonstop to Washington Dulles from Charleston, WV, Charlottesville, VA, Harrisburg, PA, Reading, PA, Richmond, VA and State College, PA.
In 1990 Air Wisconsin acquired Denver-based Aspen Airways and was itself bought by United Airlines a year later.
At one point, Air Wisconsin operated British Aerospace (BAe) ATP turboprop aircraft as well as BAe 146-100, BAe 146-200 and BAe 146-300 jet aircraft on United Express services. These were all large aircraft types when compared to other regional aircraft in operation at the time. Air Wisconsin was the only U.S. operator of the BAe ATP turboprop and also the BAe 146-300, which is the largest member of the BAe 146 family of jet aircraft. United Airlines sold Air Wisconsin and the BAe 146 fleet to CJT Holdings in 1993. Air Wisconsin was then renamed Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation (AWAC) as UAL retained the rights to the Air Wisconsin name and logo. In April 1995 during the late ski season, Air Wisconsin was operating British Aerospace BAe 146 jet shuttle service as United Express on the former Aspen Airways route between Aspen, Colorado and Denver with at least fourteen daily nonstop flights in each direction.[22]
In February 1998 AWAC acquired the assets of Mountain Air Express including Dornier 328 turboprop aircraft which were used to expand United Express service in the west.[8] In the fall of 2003 AWAC acquired ten Canadair CRJ regional jet aircraft from bankrupt Midway Airlines and became a feeder for AirTran Airways under the name AirTran JetConnect, but this relationship was discontinued in July 2004. Towards the end of the contract with United Airlines Air Wisconsin was unable to secure a long-term deal or extension to continue providing regional service for UAL. United failed to renew its contract with AWAC allowing it to expire in April 2005, and the last flight under the United flag operated on April 16, 2006, using the BAe 146.
During 2005 AWAC invested $175 million U.S. into US Airways for their bankruptcy exit financing in exchange for a long term contract operating as US Airways Express. In 2005 AWAC began operating all of its Canadair CRJ200 regional jets as a US Airways Express carrier with flight crew bases located in Philadelphia, New York LaGuardia, Washington DC Reagan National and Norfolk, VA. US Airways has since merged with American Airlines and Air Wisconsin currently operates as an American Eagle regional air carrier via a code sharing agreement with American.
On November 20, 2014, it was reported that Air Wisconsin was nearing an agreement with Delta Air Lines to fly as a Delta Connection carrier beginning in January 2015. Under the terms of the deal, 26 Bombardier (formerly Canadair) CRJ200 aircraft were to be transferred to Air Wisconsin from Endeavor Air. In January 2015, Air Wisconsin said that negotiations had ended and that it did not want to fly under the Delta Connection brand.[23]
In 2016, it was announced that Air Wisconsin would close all of its ground handling operations in all cities served by the air carrier primarily due to the formation of a wholly owned subsidiary of United called United Ground Express. This would leave only three American Eagle ground handling cities served, which the airline deemed uneconomical.
On March 1, 2017, Air Wisconsin announced a new agreement with United Airlines to once again operate under the United Express banner upon the expiration of the airline's current agreement with American Eagle in 2018. Additionally, the new agreement with United would provide for the creation of a career pathway program whereby Air Wisconsin pilots would be offered the opportunity to move up to United upon meeting its hiring standards.[24]
Destinations
Air Wisconsin operating as United Express currently serves 70 destinations with nearly 350 flights per day, transporting nearly six million passengers on an annual basis.[25]
Crew domiciles
Operating as United Express, Air Wisconsin pilots and flight attendants have crew domiciles at the following locations:[26]
- Chicago, Illinois – O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin – General Mitchell International Airport(MKE)
- Washington, D.C.- Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
Fleet
The Air Wisconsin fleet comprises the following aircraft (as of January 2018):[27][28]
Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Operated For |
---|---|---|---|
Bombardier CRJ200 | 17 | 50 | American Eagle |
42 | 50 | United Express |
Historical fleet
In 2016, the airline retired four Canadair CRJ regional jet aircraft that had met their structural time limit and sent them to Tupelo Regional Airport (TUP) in Tupelo, MS.
The following aircraft types were formerly operated by Air Wisconsin:
Jet Aircraft
- British Aerospace 146-100 (via acquisition of Aspen Airways)
- British Aerospace 146-200
- British Aerospace 146-300 (only U.S. operator of the BAe 146 series 300)
- British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven
Turboprop Aircraft
- Beechcraft Model 99
- British Aerospace ATP (only U.S. operator of the ATP)
- de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
- de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7
- de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100 Dash 8
- de Havilland Canada DHC-8-300 Dash 8
- Dornier 328 (via acquisition of Mountain Air Express)
- Fokker F27-500
- Short 360 (via merger with Mississippi Valley Airlines)
- Short 330 (via merger with Mississippi Valley Airlines)
- Swearingen Metro
Piston Aircraft
Aircraft maintenance
Air Wisconsin performs CRJ maintenance activities at the following locations:
- Appleton, Wisconsin (Appleton International Airport)
- Columbia, South Carolina (Columbia Metropolitan Airport)
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin (General Mitchell International Airport)
- Dayton, Ohio (Dayton International Airport)
Air Wisconsin also contracts aircraft maintenance heavy checks at a facility in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (OKC).
The airline also uses a facility in Rockford, Illinois (RFD) for major structural repairs.
Past Heavy Check maintenance conducted in Montreal, Canada and Hot Springs, Arkansas (HOT)
Air Wisconsin's primary aircraft painting is located in Fort Worth, Texas – Meacham International (FTW).
Incidents and accidents
Flight | Date | Aircraft | Routing | Location | Description | Injuries | Cause |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Flight 671 | June 29, 1972 | de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | Chicago, IL- Sheboygan, WI- Appleton, WI |
near Appleton, WI | While approaching Outagamie County Regional Airport (Now Appleton International Airport), Flight 671 was involved in a midair collision over Lake Winnebago with a Convair 580 turboprop flown by North Central Airlines as Flight 290 which was operating a Green Bay-Oshkosh-Milwaukee-Chicago flight; both aircraft crashed into the lake and sank. | 13 fatal (8 on Flight 671) (5 on Flight 290) |
Pilots of both flights failed to see and avoid the others' aircraft [29] |
Flight 965 |
June 12, 1980 | Swearingen Metro | Appleton, WI- Minneapolis, MN- Lincoln, NE |
near Valley, NE | The aircraft suffered a failure of both turboprop engines after entering a thunderstorm. The amount of water ingested into the engine caused a power interruption and a loss of control; plane hit the ground nose-down and right wing-down; plane skidded and ended inverted | 13 fatal, 2 serious |
Improper in-flight decisions by captain, complete failure of 2 engines [30] |
Flight 3758 |
December 16, 2007 | Canadair CRJ200 | Philadelphia, PA- Providence, RI |
T. F. Green Airport | Miscommunication between the first officer and captain resulted in the first officer idling the engines on final approach. Soon a 2000 ft rate of descent developed, the captain attempted to salvage the landing and stalled the aircraft. The aircraft touched down at a 9 degree bank, collapsed the landing gear and the aircraft skidded to a halt left of the runway. | 0 injuries | The captain’s attempt to salvage the landing from an instrument approach which exceeded stabilized approach criteria, resulting in a high sink rate, likely stall, and hard landing which exceeded the structural limitations of the airplane [31] |
References
- ^ a b c Norwood, Tom; Wegg, John (2002). North American Airlines Handbook (3rd ed.). Sandpoint, ID: Airways International. p. 5. ISBN 0-9653993-8-9.
- ^ "Partners". www.airwis.com. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ "Profile". Air Wisconsin. Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
- ^ "Leadership". Air Wisconsin. Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
Christine Deister is the President and CEO of Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation
- ^ "Zoning Map Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine." Town of Greenville. June 17, 2009. Retrieved on June 17, 2009.
- ^ "Contact Air Wisconsin Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine." Air Wisconsin. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
- ^ Mader, Becca. "Appleton's Air Wisconsin cuts costs to remain competitive." The Business Journal of Milwaukee. May 17, 2004. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 69.
- ^ "Route map". Airwis.com. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
- ^ "Partners". Airwis.com. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
- ^ "In the Air". Airwis.com. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
- ^ a b c "Air Wisconsin: Commuter Success Story." Flight International. October 21, 1978. p. 1464.
- ^ "History - Appleton International Airport (ATW)". Appleton International Airport (ATW). Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ "History". Airwis.com. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
- ^ http://www.timetableimages.com, Aug. 23, 1965 Air Wisconsin timetable
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, April 1, 1974, pocket Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American edition, Chicago O'Hare flight schedules
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Sept. 1, 1973 & June 1, 1976 Air Wisconsin route maps
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Feb. 15, 1985 Official Airline Guide, North American edition, Chicago O'Hare flight schedules
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, June 1, 1985 Air Wisconsin route map
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Jan. 6, 1986 Air Wisconsin system timetable
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Dec. 15, 1989 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Chicago O'Hare & Washington Dulles flight schedules
- ^ departedflights.com. April 2, 1995 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Denver flight schedules
- ^ "Air Wisconsin nearing deal with Delta for 26 CRJ200s". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
- ^ Mar 2, 2017 Mark Nensel (2017-03-02). "United Airlines signs five-year CPA with Air Wisconsin | Airports & Routes content from". ATWOnline. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Profile". Airwis.com. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- ^ "Crew Domicile Locations". Airwis.com. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- ^ "Global Airline Guide 2016 (Part Two)". Airliner World (November 2016): 37.
{{cite journal}}
:|access-date=
requires|url=
(help) - ^ "Aircraft". www.airwis.com. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Aircraft Accident Report North Central Airlines, Inc. Allison Convair 340/440ICV-580, N90858 and Air, Wisconsin Inc., DHC-6, N4043B near Appleton, Wisconsin June 29, 1972" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. 1973-04-25. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
- ^ "Aircraft Accident Report Air Wisconsin Inc. Swearingen SA-226 Metro N650S Valley, Nebraska June 12, 1980" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. 1980-12-09. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
- ^ "Aircraft Accident Report Air Wisconsin Airlines. Bombardier CL600-2B19, Providence, RI December 16, 2007". National Transportation Safety Board.