Air Midwest, Inc., was a

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

Part 121 certificated air carrier that operated under air carrier certificate number AMWA510A issued on May 15, 1965. It was headquartered in Wichita,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and from 1991 was a subsidiary of

Mesa Air Group Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters at 410 North 44th Street, Suite 700 in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airline subsi ...

. Besides initially flying as an independent air carrier, it later operated

code sharing A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

feeder flights on behalf of

Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...

as Eastern Air Midwest Express, on behalf of

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

as American Eagle, on behalf of

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...

( TWA) as

Trans World Express Trans World Express (TWE) was the fully owned and certified regional carrier for Trans World Airlines ( TWA) and an airline trademark name for TWA's corporation. * Trans World Express - The formerly independent regional airline known as Ransom ...

and on behalf of

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

US Airways Express US Airways Express was the brand name for the regional affiliate of US Airways, under which a number of individually owned commuter air carriers and regional airlines operate short and medium haul routes. This code sharing service was previously ...

. It also operated feeder flights on behalf of

Braniff (1983–1990) Braniff Inc. was an American airline that operated flights from 1984 until 1989 and was partially formed from the assets of the original Braniff International Airways. The domestic air carrier was originally headquartered at Dallas Love Field ...

and

Ozark Air Lines Ozark Air Lines was a local service carrier (originally known as a feeder airline) in the United States that operated from 1950 until 1986, when it was purchased by Trans World Airlines (TWA). Ozark got a second chance to be an airline when t ...

in addition to flying for

Mesa Airlines Mesa Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona. Mesa operates and maintains a fleet of Embraer E-175 Aircraft that are scheduled, marketed and sold by United Airlines as United Express. ...

. Air Midwest was shut down by its parent company,

, in June 2008.

History

Air Midwest was incorporated in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

, on May 7, 1965 by Gary Adamson as Aviation Services Inc. Using a single

Cessna 206 The Cessna 205, 206 and 207, known primarily as the Stationair (and marketed variously as the Super Skywagon, Skywagon and Super Skylane), are a family of single-engined, general aviation aircraft with fixed landing gear, used in commercial air ...

, Adamson transported human remains for area mortuaries. Later, Aviation Services held out for charter and on April 17, 1967 began scheduled service flying between Wichita and Salina. As

Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines, Inc. is a major American ultra low-cost airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 120 destinations in the United States, Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, and employs more than 5,000 staff. ...

downsized from the western Kansas market beginning in 1968, Aviation Services moved in to assume air service. In 1969, it changed its name to Air Midwest and ordered Beech 99 commuter turboprop aircraft to keep up with its expansion. In 1971, Frontier withdrew all service from Dodge City, Great Bend, and Hutchinson, KS allowing Air Midwest to assume service. In 1977, Frontier withdrew all service at Garden City, Goodland, and Hays, KS as well as Lamar, CO and Air Midwest began operating a fleet of six Swearingen Metroliner commuter propjets. By then Air Midwest was linking smaller cities throughout

to Wichita, Kansas City, MO, and Denver, CO. With airline deregulation in late 1978 Air Midwest saw many more expansion opportunities and made a bold move by ordering ten more Metroliners. On March 1, 1979, Air Midwest began operating several new routes in New Mexico formerly flown by

Texas International Airlines 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 Contine ...

. This new service to New Mexico was connected to the Kansas operations by serving

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

where Air Midwest partnered with

Braniff Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until the cessation of air operations, was an American airline that operated from 1928 until 1982 and continues to ...

. From Lubbock, service was started to Hobbs, Roswell, Carlsbad, and Albuquerque, New Mexico as well as from Albuquerque to Clovis, NM. Service was also started from Lubbock, to Garden City, Dodge City, and Wichita, Kansas. In July 1979, service was inaugurated from Lubbock and Wichita, to Ponca City, Enid, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1980/1981 Air Midwest again expanded with new routes from Albuquerque to Alamogordo, Silver City, and Farmington, New Mexico as well as from Farmington to Phoenix, Arizona all formerly flown by the original

Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) Frontier Airlines, Inc. is a major American ultra low-cost airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 120 destinations in the United States, Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, and employs more than 5,000 staff. ...

. A new link to Wichita was also created via Clovis and Amarillo. Routes were also expanded from both the

Kansas City International Airport Kansas City International Airport (originally Mid-Continent International Airport) is a public airport in Kansas City, Missouri, located northwest of Downtown Kansas City in Platte County, Missouri., effective May 15, 2025. The airport was ...

and the Kansas City Downtown Airport to new cities in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma. In 1982 all Lubbock service was discontinued and transferred to Midland/Odessa, Texas until 1984 when all Midland/Odessa service ended. In 1983 a marketing agreement was established with Frontier Airlines in which all Air Midwest flights at Denver would feed Frontier. Beginning in 1984, competitor Mesa Airlines began aggressive expansion throughout New Mexico and Texas and Air Midwest made the decision to discontinue all routes in this area on January 31, 1986. They then shifted their focus to building newly acquired code share relationships with major airlines listed below. Also in 1984, Air Midwest was independently operating nonstop flights from St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS) to Chicago Midway Airport (MDW), Kansas City Downtown Airport (MKC), and Olathe, KS (via Johnson County Industrial Airport (LXT)) with Metro propjets. On May 1, 1985, Air Midwest merged with Scheduled Skyways, a

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

-based commuter air carrier which later changed its name to Skyways, in hopes of gaining a

codeshare A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

to feed

Republic Airlines Republic Airlines was an airline in the United States that operated from 1979 until it merged with Northwest Airlines in 1986. Republic was formed by the merger of North Central Airlines and Southern Airways on July 1, 1979. Their headquar ...

' Memphis hub. Air Midwest would expand by acquiring routes in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

to complement its existing routes in the midwest. Both carriers operated Metro propjets, and Air Midwest had an opportunity to win a codeshare agreement with Republic. However, Republic then picked a different air carrier to feed its Memphis hub. Meanwhile, Air Midwest subsequently discovered many hidden problems with the neglected fleet inherited from Scheduled Skyways, forcing the airline to perform a great deal of maintenance to keep the aircraft flying. The merger with Scheduled Skyways pushed Air Midwest to the verge of bankruptcy over the few years that followed. On April 1, 1985, Air Midwest introduced the 30-seat

Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30–36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 differen ...

turboprop aircraft with flights from Kansas City to Wichita, Omaha, and Manhattan, KS. By the end of 1985 the airline was operating five Saab 340's and 24 Metroliners. Although Air Midwest was unsuccessful in gaining a codeshare with Republic through the Scheduled Skyways merger, it was able to acquire codeshare agreements in 1985 with

Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...

as Eastern Air Midwest Express at the Kansas City and Wichita hubs and in 1986 with

as Ozark Midwest at that carriers' St. Louis hub, as well as with

as part of the

American Eagle (airline brand) American Eagle is an American Airlines brand, encompassing regional carriers including wholly-owned affiliates Envoy Air, PSA Airlines, and Piedmont Airlines, as well as third-party carriers like Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines. These r ...

at their newly created Nashville hub. Continuing money problems forced Air Midwest to sell its

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

hub and

aircraft to American in 1987.

( TWA) acquired

in 1986 and forced Air Midwest to surrender some of its

St Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

routes because TWA already had a code share partner in St Louis, Resort Air (later

Trans States Airlines 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 o ...

). At the end of 1989, Air Midwest was operating

service on behalf of TWA at its St. Louis hub with nonstop flights to Birmingham, AL;

Bloomington, IL Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the List of municipalities in Illinois, 13th-most populous ci ...

;

Cape Girardeau, MO Cape Girardeau ( , ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, Cape Girardeau and Scott County, Missouri, Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the ...

;

Cedar Rapids, IA Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa ...

;

Champaign, IL Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in the state outside the Chicago metr ...

;

Decatur, IL Decatur ( ) is the largest city in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 census, it had a populat ...

;

Evansville, IN Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

; Fayetteville, AR; Fort Leonard Wood, MO; Knoxville, TN;

Lexington, KY Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

; Marion, IL;

Paducah, KY Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern United States at the confluenc ...

; Quincy, IL; Rochester, MN;

South Bend, IN South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

;

Topeka, KS Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cens ...

and Waterloo, IA operated with Jetstream 31, Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia,

Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, Cabin pressurization, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corporation, Swearingen ...

and

turboprops. By 1990, the airline had added Trans World Express service between St. Louis and Fort Smith, AR; Manhattan, KS and Salina, KS. By June 1988, Air Midwest had built up the Kansas City hub with 89 flights per day to 20 cities, all operating as Eastern Express. Eastern then abruptly downsized its Kansas City hub operation thus leaving Air Midwest with no one to connect passenger traffic to. Air Midwest quickly negotiated a

agreement with the second incarnation of Braniff (1983-1990), as Braniff was now building up Kansas City as a hub. The Braniff Express operation took over by October 1, 1988, however, just over one year later, Braniff once again went into bankruptcy and suspended operations on November 6, 1989. After the collapse of Braniff, Air Midwest went back to operating under their own branding at Kansas City until yet another new codeshare agreement was negotiated, this time with

USAir US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it was renamed Allegheny Airlines an ...

to feed their small Kansas City hub as USAir Express beginning on January 15, 1991. USAir changed its name to

in 1997 and the

operation at Kansas City continued until June 30, 2008.

began attempts to purchase Air Midwest in 1989. It succeeded in 1991 and replaced the Air Midwest metroliner fleet with newly acquired Beechcraft 1900D aircraft. In 2001 all Mesa Airlines flights operating with Beech 1900D's at the Albuquerque and Phoenix hubs were transferred to the Air Midwest certificate. A book on the history of Air Midwest entitled "Pioneer of the Third Level" was written by Dr. Imre E. Quastler, an authority on regional airlines. This book thoroughly covers the early years of Air Midwest from 1965 through 1980.

Operations under Mesa Air Group

acquired Air Midwest in 1991. From 1991 until 1997, Air Midwest operated twelve

Beechcraft 1900C The Beechcraft 1900 is a U.S made twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With customers favoring ...

commuter turboprops flying from its Kansas City hub as USAir Express. In 1997, Mesa Air Group underwent a corporate reorganization: Mesa Airline's FloridaGulf, Liberty Express, and Independent divisions were merged into Air Midwest. Air Midwest operated to many smaller cities for

Essential Air Service Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which had been served by certificated airlines prior to deregulation in 1978, maintain commercial service. Its aim is ...

including an America West Express operation in Phoenix and

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

under an agreement with

America West Airlines America West Airlines was an airline in the United States that operated from 1981 until it merged with US Airways in 2007. It was headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. Its main hub was at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, with secondary hubs ...

. Also independent operations were run as ''Mesa Airlines''

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

with divisions out of

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and Dallas/Fort Worth. The America West Express operation was transferred to

with the merger of America West and US Airways in 2007. Air Midwest further operated as US Airways Express at the major carriers' hubs in Charlotte,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and with smaller operations at

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. On January 8, 2003, Air Midwest had its first fatal accident when Air Midwest Flight 5481 operating as

and departing out of Charlotte for Greenville-Spartanburg crashed 37 seconds after takeoff. All 19 passengers and two crewmembers were killed in the accident. For a period of three weeks in August 2006, Air Midwest operated as

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a brand name under which Delta Air Lines has air service agreements with domestic regional air carriers that feed traffic to their network by serving passengers primarily in small and medium-sized cities in the domestic mark ...

, flying three Beechcraft 1900D from John F. Kennedy Airport to

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and

Windsor Locks, Connecticut Windsor Locks is a New England town, town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was ...

, as a stop-gap measure for Freedom Airlines, another subsidiary of

, until it was relieved by Chautauqua Airlines. On February 1, 2007, Air Midwest began operations at

Chicago Midway International Airport Chicago Midway International Airport is a major commercial airport on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the city's Loop business district, and divided between the city's Clearing and ...

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, to three Illinois airports: Decatur,

Marion Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...

, and Quincy. However, just nine months after beginning this service,

announced that Air Midwest would end all service from Illinois on November 9, 2007. In May 2007, Air Midwest, operating as America West Express on behalf of America West Airlines, requested that the FAA allow it to withdraw service from the regional airport in

Vernal, Utah Vernal, the county seat and largest city in Uintah County, is in northeastern Utah, approximately east of Salt Lake City and west of the Colorado border. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,079. The population has since grown t ...

, (a service that had started only one year prior) as soon as a replacement carrier was approved. On Oct. 4, 2007, the federal Department of Transportation announced that Great Lakes Airlines would replace Air Midwest as the

carrier at the Utah airports in Vernal and

Moab Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...

. At the same time, the Department of Transportation announced that

SkyWest Airlines SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah. SkyWest operates and maintains aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by four partner Mainline (air travel), mainline airlines. The comp ...

would replace Air Midwest as the

carrier at

Cedar City Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. Located south of Salt Lake City, it is north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 in Utah, Interstate 15. Southern Utah University is located in Cedar City. It is the home of the Ut ...

. A report published in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' on January 14, 2008, included a statement from Mesa CEO Jonathan G. Ornstein that the company had decided to shut down Air Midwest, citing significant losses stemming from increased maintenance and fuel costs. All cities served by Air Midwest received notices of intention to end service, except for Prescott and Kingman, Arizona. Mesa later announced plans to completely shut down the Air Midwest subsidiary, with all services to be terminated by June 30, 2008. At the time of its shutdown, there were 20 airplanes in service, down from a high of 118. The last two flights flown by Air Midwest were Flights 4679 and Flights 4681. Both departed on June 30, 2008, at 10:40pm from Kansas City International (MCI) to Joplin, Missouri (flt. 4679) and Columbia, Missouri (flt. 4681).

MesaMax

MesaMax applied to Mesa Airlines flights that were operated by Air Midwest. It consisted of a card, upon which flights were recorded with a stamp. Once 16 stamps had been recorded, the card could have been redeemed for a single round-trip ticket on Mesa Airlines flights.

Fleet

*51 Swearingen Metroliner II As of February 2008, Air Midwest operated the following turboprop aircraft type: Other aircraft operated by Air Midwest included: *

Beechcraft 99 The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by American manufacturer Beechcraft. It is also known as the Beech 99 Airliner and the Commuter 99. The 99 is a twin-engine, unpressurized, 15 to 17 passenger seat turboprop aircraft, deriv ...

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...

BAe Jetstream 31 *

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplanes, Second Edition'', page 108. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. All seats are easily removable so ...

All of the above are twin turboprop aircraft with the exception of the Cessna 206 which is a single-engined piston aircraft and the Cessna 402 which is a twin engine piston powered aircraft.

Destinations

In 1970

Air Midwest was serving the following destinations as an independent commuter air carrier in 1970: * Colby, KS * Colorado Springs, CO *

Denver, CO Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of ...

* Dodge City, KS * Garden City, KS * Great Bend, KS * Hays, KS * Hutchinson, KS *

Kansas City, MO Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

- Focus city * Liberal, KS * Omaha, NE *

Pueblo, CO Pueblo ( ) is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the most populous municipality in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 111,876 at the 2020 United States census, making Pueblo the ninth most ...

Wichita, KS Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

- Hub & airline headquarters

From 1979 through early 1985

Air Midwest independently served the following destinations between 1979 and early 1985 (prior to the merger with Skyways) with all flights being operated with

(Metro II SA-226 model) commuter propjets at this time: * Alamogordo, NM *

Albuquerque, NM Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County. Founded in 1706 as ' by Santa Fe de Nuevo México gover ...

- Focus city * Amarillo, TX * Carlsbad, NM * Clovis, NM *

Columbia, MO Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

- Focus city *

Des Moines, IA Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

* Dodge City, KS * Enid, OK * Farmington, NM * Garden City, KS * Goodland, KS *

Grand Island, NE Grand Island is a city in and the county seat of Hall County, Nebraska, Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 53,131 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Nebraska, 4th most populous ...

* Great Bend, KS * Hays, KS * Hobbs, NM * Hutchinson, KS * Joplin, MO *

- Kansas City Downtown Airport - Focus airport *

- Hub * Lamar, CO * Liberal, KS *

Lincoln, NE Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's second-most populous city and the 72nd-most populous in the United States. The county seat o ...

* Lubbock, TX * Manhattan, KS * Midland/ Odessa, TX *

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

/ St. Paul, MN * Moline, IL * Oklahoma City, OK * Omaha, NE * Parsons, KS *

Phoenix, AZ Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

* Ponca City, OK * Roswell, NM * St. Louis, MO * Salina, KS * Silver City, NM * Sioux City, IA *

Springfield, MO Springfield is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had ...

Tulsa, OK Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa ...

- Hub & airline headquarters In 1984 Air Midwest briefly operated new service from the St. Louis Downtown Airport to

Chicago, IL Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

(via

Midway Airport Chicago Midway International Airport is a major commercial airport on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the city's Chicago Loop, Loop business district, and divided between the city's C ...

), and Olathe, KS (via Johnson County Industrial Airport) outside Kansas City, as well as the Kansas City Downtown Airport.

Incidents and accidents

* May 24, 1984, Air Midwest Flight 513 - a

model SA-226AC Metro II en route from the Roswell International Air Center in

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,422 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fi ...

to the

Albuquerque International Sunport Albuquerque International Sunport , locally known as the Sunport, is the primary international airport serving the U.S. state of New Mexico, particularly the Albuquerque metropolitan area and the larger Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Los Alamos com ...

was forced to make a belly landing at Albuquerque after the right main landing gear would not lock into position. All 15 passengers and the two pilots deplaned with no injuries. * January 8, 2003, Air Midwest Flight 5481 - a Beechcraft 1900D operated by Air Midwest as

under a franchise agreement, crashed into an airport hangar and burst into flames 37 seconds after leaving Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, for Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport near

Greer, South Carolina Greer is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, Greenville and Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 35,308, making ...

. All 19 passengers and two pilots aboard died in the accident.ASN Aircraft accident Beechcraft 1900D N233YV Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, NC (CLT)
" Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on May 26, 2009.

Notes

References

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External links

Mesa Air Group
{{Navboxes , list= {{Mesa Air Group, state=autocollapse {{Airlines of the United States {{Delta Connection Carriers {{US Airways Express Carriers Airlines established in 1965 Airlines disestablished in 2008 Companies based in Wichita, Kansas Defunct companies based in Kansas Defunct regional airlines of the United States Mesa Air Group 1965 establishments in Kansas 2008 disestablishments in Kansas 1991 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1965 American companies disestablished in 2008 Airlines based in Kansas

History

Operations under Mesa Air Group

MesaMax

Fleet

Destinations

In 1970

From 1979 through early 1985

Incidents and accidents

See also

Notes

References

External links