Crown Airways was a regional airline operating for

USAir 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 ...

with its headquarters on the grounds of

DuBois Regional Airport DuBois Regional Airport , formerly DuBois–Jefferson County Airport, is in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, eight miles northwest of DuBois, a city in Clearfield County. The airport is in Washington Township. It is owned and operated by the Cle ...

in Washington Township, Jefferson County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, near Falls Creek."World Airline Directory." ''

Flight International ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's oldes ...

''. March 22–28, 1995
65
Allegheny Commuter was the

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

for the regional affiliate of Allegheny Airlines, under which a number of individually owned commuter air carriers operate short and medium haul routes. The airline is often credited as the first code-share agreement between a major airline and smaller commuters.

History

Crown Airways started as feeder airline for Allegheny Commuter in March 1969. Allegheny Commuter was started in March 1967, when

Henson Airlines Piedmont Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline headquartered at the Salisbury Regional Airport in unincorporated Wicomico County, Maryland, near the city of Salisbury. The airline is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Airlines ...

began operating as a feeder carrier for

Allegheny Airlines Allegheny Airlines was a regional airline that operated out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1952 to 1979 with routes primarily located in the eastern U.S. It was the forerunner of USAir that was subsequently renamed US Airways, which itself me ...

, predecessor to

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called ...

. The initial route was from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

to Hagerstown. This is generally credited as the airline industry's first

code-share 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 ...

agreement and the first major airline to use another airline as its commuter partner, At the time the idea was considered nothing short revolutionary in the industry. Within the code-share agreement the smaller commuter airlines would take on routes that proved unprofitable for the larger airlines and paint their aircraft in the Allegheny Airlines livery, In turn Allegheny Airlines included the commuter airlines routes in their timetable and flight reservations systems as if they were mainline Allegheny flights, giving passengers the impression of completely integrated operations. With this agreement Allegheny had a larger passenger base to fill there aircraft with while the feeder airlines saw huge growth in passenger numbers and revenue. Through the 1970's many other commuter airlines would join the Allegheny Commuter system providing feeder service from small communities for Allegheny Airlines. By the 1980s Allegheny Commuter was operating twelve French

Nord 262 Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

turboprops and three

de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with short take-off and landing (STOL) performance. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, d ...

turboprops as well as a myriad of other aircraft. Allegheny Airlines changed its name to

USAir US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon b ...

in 1979 however the feeder network still carried the name of Allegheny Commuter until 1989 when it was changed to

. After Allegheny Commuter became USAir Express, Crown Airways was taken over in a leveraged buyout in 1990 by two of its executives, Albert Beiga and Philip Burnaman. Crown Airways ceased to exist as an independent entity in 1994 when it was purchased by

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

.Mesa Air Group web site. Retrieved July 9, 2013

Affiliate Airlines

De_Havilland_DH-114_Heron,_Allegheny_Commuter_Airlines_(Fischer_Brothers_Aviation)_JP5935364

Allegheny Commuter was operated by a myriad of smaller commuter airlines, these included: *

Aeromech Airlines Aeromech Airlines was a small U.S. commuter air carrier founded in Clarksburg, West Virginia in 1951 as Aeromech. History Initially the company was an air taxi operation. It changed its name to Aeromech in 1971. Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante sma ...

Air Kentucky Air Kentucky was a commuter airline based in Owensboro, Kentucky. It was also known for a time as Owensboro Aviation. It began operations in 1974, and joined the Allegheny Commuter system for Allegheny Airlines, and later USAir Express. The airlin ...

Air East Air East was a commuter airline based at Johnstown–Cambria County Airport, Johnstown, Pennsylvania. History It was established in 1967. On April 26, 1970, Air East inaugurated six daily passenger flights under the Allegheny Commuter brand. In ...

* Air North *

Britt Airways Britt Airways was a United States airline 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 19 ...

* Crown Airways *

Chatauqua Airlines Chautauqua Airlines, Inc. was an American regional airline and a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings based in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Prior to the shut down of operations, it operated scheduled passenger services to 52 airports ...

Fischer Brothers Aviation Crown Airways was a regional airline operating for USAir Express with its headquarters on the grounds of DuBois Regional Airport in Washington Township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, near Falls Creek."World Airline Directory." ''Flight Int ...

* GCS Airlines *

* Pennsylvania Commuter Airlines *

Pocono Airlines Pocono Airlines was a regional airline operating out of Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, founded by Walter E. ("Wally") Hoffman Jr. History The inaugural flight was made on July 1, 1965 using ...

Ransome Airlines Ransome Airlines was a regional airline from the United States, headquartered at Northeast Philadelphia Airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1967, it operated feeder flights on behalf of different mainline carriers via specific air ...

* Southern Jersey Airways *

Suburban Airlines A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

* The Hagerstown Commuter, * Travel Air Aviation.

Fleet

Henson Airlines Shorts 330 at Baltimore - 11 September 1983

Mohawk 298 Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...

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 ...

Short 330 The Short 330 (also SD3-30) is a small turboprop transport aircraft produced by Short Brothers. It seats up to 30 people and was relatively inexpensive and had low maintenance costs at the time of its introduction in 1976. The 330 was based on ...

Short 360 The Short 360 (also SD3-60; also Shorts 360)Mondey, David. ''Encyclopedia of the World's Commercial and Private Aircraft''. New York: Crescent Books, 1981. , p. 228. is a commuter aircraft that was built by UK manufacturer Short Brothers during ...

Fokker F27 Friendship The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...

Fairchild Metroliner III 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 ...

Riley Turbo Skyliner The de Havilland DH.114 Heron is a small Propeller (aircraft), propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more Reciprocating en ...

* Beechcraft B99 * Beech 1900C * Volpar Turboliner *

CASA C-212 The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by the Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). It is designed for use by both civil and military operators. The C-212 w ...

* Embraer EMB 110P2 Bandeirante *

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 different o ...

References

{{Portal bar, United States, Companies, Aviation Defunct companies based in Pennsylvania Defunct regional airline brands Defunct regional airlines of the United States Jefferson County, Pennsylvania US Airways Group Mesa Air Group Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines based in Pennsylvania

History

Affiliate Airlines

Fleet

See also

References