Cochise Airlines was a commuter airline which was founded in 1971 in
Tucson, Arizona. It operated until the early 1980s. Cochise linked small cities in Arizona with
Phoenix, Arizona and
Tucson, Arizona and also served southern
California and
New Mexico at one point.
History
According to the February 1, 1976 edition of the
Official Airline Guide (OAG), Cochise was operating
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...
turboprop aircraft as well as
Cessna 402 prop aircraft. By 1979, the airline was flying
Swearingen Metroliner (Metro II) turboprops. One route served with the Metro II at this time was Tucson (TUS) - Phoenix (PHX) - Yuma (YUM) - Imperial, CA (IPL) - Los Angeles (LAX) while another route served Phoenix (PHX) - Flagstaff (FLG) - Winslow (INW) - Gallup (GUP).
Besides serving Phoenix, Tucson, Imperial and Yuma, the February 1, 1976
OAG listed scheduled service operated by Cochise into the following destinations in Arizona: Flagstaff (FLG),
Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN), Kingman (IGM), Lake Havasu City (LHU), Page (PGA), Prescott (PRC) and Winslow (INW).
By 1981, Cochise was flying a
Convair 440 propliner nonstop between Tucson (TUS) and San Diego (SAN) and also on the Tucson - Phoenix - Yuma - El Centro - Los Angeles route in addition to Metro II propjet service on the latter route. The Convair 440 was the largest aircraft type ever operated by the airline. Also in 1981, Cochise was flying a Phoenix (PHX) - Blythe, CA (BLH) - Los Angeles (LAX) route in addition to operating its other routes within Arizona and southern California.
The air carrier's two letter airline code in the OAG was "DP".
Destinations in 1974
According to its April 15, 1974 route map, Cochise was serving the following destinations:
*
Douglas, Arizona
*
Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...
*
Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation, established on 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca. The garrison is now under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is in Cochise County in southeast Arizona, appr ...
/
Sierra Vista, Arizona
Sierra Vista is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the population of the city is 45,308, and is the 27th most populous city in Arizona. The city is part of the Sierra Vista-Douglas Metropolitan Are ...
*
Grand Canyon National Park Airport,
Arizona
*
Kingman, Arizona
Kingman is a city in, and the county seat of, Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is named after Lewis Kingman, an engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. It is located southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and northwest of Arizona's ...
*
Lake Havasu City, Arizona
*
Phoenix, Arizona - Hub
*
Prescott, Arizona
*
Tucson, Arizona - Home base and focus city
*
Yuma, Arizona
Destinations in 1979
According to its November 15, 1979 route map, Cochise Airlines was serving the following destinations:
[http://www.departedflights.com, Nov. 15, 1979 Cochise Airlines route map]
*
Blythe, California
*
Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...
*
Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation, established on 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca. The garrison is now under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is in Cochise County in southeast Arizona, appr ...
/
Sierra Vista, Arizona
Sierra Vista is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the population of the city is 45,308, and is the 27th most populous city in Arizona. The city is part of the Sierra Vista-Douglas Metropolitan Are ...
*
Gallup, New Mexico
Zuni: ''Kalabwaki''
, settlement_type = City
, nickname = "Indian Capital of the World"
, motto =
, image_skyline = Gallup, New Mexico.jpg
, imagesize = 250px
, image_caption ...
*
Grand Canyon National Park Airport,
Arizona
*
Imperial, California -
El Centro, California was served via the
Imperial County Airport
Imperial County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in Imperial County, California, United States. Also known as Boley Field, it is mostly used for general aviation, but has scheduled passenger service from one commercial airline. Servi ...
*
Kingman, Arizona
Kingman is a city in, and the county seat of, Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is named after Lewis Kingman, an engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. It is located southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and northwest of Arizona's ...
*
Los Angeles, California (
LAX)
*
Phoenix, Arizona - Hub
*
Prescott, Arizona
*
Tucson, Arizona - Home base
*
Winslow, Arizona
*
Yuma, Arizona
The airline also served
San Diego, California during the early 1980s.
Cochise ceased all operations on June 2, 1982.
Fleet
Piston aircraft:
*
Cessna 402
*
Convair 440 - ''largest aircraft type operated by the airline''
Turboprop aircraft:
*
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...
*
Swearingen Metroliner (Metro II model)
See also
*
List of defunct airlines of the United States
References
{{US-airline-stub
Defunct airlines of the United States
Airlines established in 1971
American companies established in 1971
1971 establishments in Arizona
Airlines disestablished in 1982
Airlines based in Arizona