Rio Airways was a regional passenger airline headquartered in

Killeen, Texas Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is the principal city ...

, United States, and was operational from 1967 to 1987. Rio Airways was initially based in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "''Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

in 1970. The air carrier initiated service with three

Beechcraft 99 The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by 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, derived from the earlier B ...

commuter turboprops and was operating scheduled passenger flights in 1970 serving

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, Brownsville, Corpus Christi,

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, Laredo, TX, McAllen, TX and

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

. Rio was then purchased by Hood Airlines in 1971 with this small air carrier respectively being based in Killeen with Hood dropping its own name but continuing to use the Rio Airways name. Rio Airways operated

code sharing In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

flights on behalf of

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...

from June 1984 through December 1986 whereby Rio flights were booked and sold under the

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a regional airline brand name for Delta Air Lines, under which a number of individually owned regional airlines primarily operate short- and medium-haul routes. Mainline major air carriers often use regional airlines to ope ...

brand name as Delta was operating a hub at the

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Air ...

(DFW) at this time. Delta subsequently replaced Rio with

Atlantic Southeast Airlines Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) was a regional U.S. airline based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier on behalf of Delta Air Lines via a code sharing agreement and, as of ...

(ASA) for its

service at DFW. Rio then briefly operated as Braniff Express on behalf of

Braniff Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...

from December, 1986 through the spring of 1987. Prior to the Delta Connection and Braniff Express service, Rio Airways (air carrier code "XO") operated independently but shared terminal gates at the DFW airport first with

Texas International Airlines Texas International Airlines Inc. was a United States airline, 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 Continental Airlines. ...

(1974), then with

Braniff International Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...

(1975-1978). Prior to operations at DFW it operated at

Dallas Love Field Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas., effective April 10, 2008 It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) opened. Love Field covers an area of a ...

, having its roots in two smaller commuter air carriers, Dal Airways and Hood Airways.

Labor issues

In 1972, Rio pilots initiated

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The ...

efforts with proposed representation by the

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...

, but vigorous opposition by Rio management and strong appeals by popular pilot Mike Mills, swayed the pilots to reject the union. Two years later, the Rio pilot group having grown dissatisfied with Rio management's failure to carry through with promises made to discourage the former unionization efforts, solicited the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Natio ...

(NLRB) to conduct another union vote. This time the initial solicitation was actually initiated by Mike Mills who personally handed out the solicitation cards to be signed by pilots, and the pilots unanimously voted ALPA

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sa ...

"UPA" as their collective bargaining agent. After a year of failed negotiations the NLRB mediator declared a thirty-day "cooling-off" period and then made his recommendation known to the pilot group that "only a strike will likely force the company to abandon coercive and probably unsafe practices against the pilots." The pilots had an almost 100% walk-out beginning August 1976, with the exception of management pilot Herb Cunningham, and line pilots Mike Mills, Calvin Humphrey, Will Kilgore, and Hugh Longmoor remaining with the company. The company hired replacement pilots from across the country, many of whom arrived to discover the

airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in which ...

under a labor dispute. The strike continued for two years, with no UPA pilot returning to the company, until August 1978, when pilots Calvin Humphrey and Mike Mills organized a "sweetheart" union which de-certified UPA and established the "Rio Pilots Association". Rio acquired competitor Davis Airlines of

College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin. ...

in 1979 and began service to that city. The Connell's who owned Rio, sold it in early 1986 to a group of

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Typ ...

s from Houston, Texas headed by Hugh Seaborn a former owner of

Metro Airlines Metro Airlines, originally Houston Metro Airlines, was a commuter airline that was originally headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States,. Metro subsequently moved its headquarters to north Texas. The airline had an operational base locate ...

Rio operated various aircraft types through its history and initially flew single piston engine Piper Cherokee Six and twin piston engine Beech 18 aircraft. Turboprop aircraft were then operated, including the

until 1977 followed by

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 restar ...

Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild Aircraft at a plant in San ...

s (Metro II models),

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, ...

s and

Beechcraft 1900C The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized 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 ...

Incidents

On January 12, 1971, a Rio Airways flight from Dallas crashed on short approach to the Killeen Municipal airport, injuring several people, including the chancellor of MH-B College. The flight descended below the approach minimum altitude in fog and struck the ground about a quarter mile short of the runway, slid across Highway 190 and came to rest on the airport boundary fence. On February 15, 1983, an Iranian man, Hussein Shey Kholya, hijacked a Rio Airways flight from Killeen to Dallas/Fort Worth. The plane landed in

Nuevo Laredo Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, United States. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo La ...

Destinations in 1970

According to the June 1, 1970 Rio Airways route map, the airline was serving the following destinations as an independent regional air carrier: *

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous cit ...

(AUS) * Brownsville, TX (BRO) *

Corpus Christi, TX Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patr ...

(CRP) - ''Hub'' *

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/ U.S. Highway 5 ...

(IAH) *

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag o ...

(LRD) *

McAllen, Texas McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits exten ...

(MFE) *

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

(SAT)

Destinations in 1978

According to the April 1, 1978 Rio Airways route map, the airline was serving the following destinations as an independent regional air carrier: *

(CLL) *

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

(DFW) - ''Hub'' *

(IAH) *

(ILE) *

Temple, Texas Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the city has a population of 82,073 according to the U.S. census, and is one of the two principal cities in Bell County. Located near the county seat of Belton, Temple lies in ...

(TPL) *

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the List ...

(ACT) *

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordi ...

(SPS)

Destinations in 1983

According to the January 1, 1983 Rio Airways route map, the airline was serving the following destinations as an independent regional air carrier: *

(CLL) *

(DFW) - ''Hub'' *

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. ...

(GLH) *

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is ...

(HOT) *

(IAH) *

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States census. Jackson i ...

(MKL) *

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County. According to the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 78,576 and is the ...

(JBR) *

(ILE) *

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

(LIT) *

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

(MEM) - ''Focus city'' *

San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...

(SJT) *

(TPL) *

Texarkana, Arkansas Texarkana is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Miller County, on the southwest border of the state. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 29,387. The city is located across the state line from its twin city ...

(TXK) *

(ACT) *

(SPS) The airline also previously served

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan sta ...

(ABI),

(DAL),

Fort Worth Meacham International Airport Fort Worth Meacham International Airport (Meacham Field) is a general aviation airport located near the intersection of Interstate 820 and Business U.S. Highway 287 in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is named after former Fort Worth Mayo ...

(FTW) and

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in southwestern Oklahoma, approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton, Oklahoma, metropolitan statistical a ...

(LAW).

Officers

Ted C. Connell, Chairman Of Board; Mark S. Connell, Vice Chairman of Board; Pete Howe, Executive Vice President

TranStar SkyLink

From late 1986 through spring 1987, Rio Airways provided commuter passenger feed services via a

agreement on behalf of TranStar Airlines, the successor to Muse Air, after this new start up jet airline was acquired by

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the ...

and renamed TranStar. Only in print media were Rio's aircraft ever illustrated in TranStar SkyLink brandings. According to TranStar, the plan was for Rio to operate TranStar Skylink service with smaller

and

Fokker F27 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 ...

turboprop aircraft in order to replace jet service then being flown by TranStar on the Houston Hobby - Brownsville, TX route as well as being operated on other feeder routes to smaller cities in Louisiana and Texas (see below) with these smaller destinations not being served directly by TranStar with jets. Although Rio did operate TranStar SkyLink service with Beechcraft 1900C commuter propjets, it appears they were not operating the Fokker F27 on SkyLink services in early 1987 according to the

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the USA, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, fligh ...

(OAG).

TranStar SkyLink destinations in 1987

According to February 1, 1987 TranStar timetable route maps, Rio Airways was operating TranStar SkyLink service to the following cities with connections to and from TranStar jet flights at Austin, Houston Hobby Airport and New Orleans: *

(AUS) - ''connecting airport for TranStar jet service'' * Beaumont, TX/ Port Arthur, TX (BPT) * College Station, TX (CLL) *

Hobby Airport (HOU) - ''connecting airport for TranStar jet service'' * Killeen, TX (ILE) * Lafayette, LA (LFT) *

Lake Charles, LA Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcas ...

(LCH) * Laredo, TX (LRD) *

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

(MSY) - ''connecting airport for TranStar jet service'' * San Angelo, TX (SJT) * Victoria, TX (VCT) The above referenced TranStar route map also indicates that Brownsville, TX (BRO) was continuing to receive TranStar jet service at this time.https://departedflights2.com/muse-air-transtar-airlines-1981-1987/, page 182

Fleet

Rio operated the following turboprop aircraft types during its existence: *

(A models) *

(Metro II models)

References

Killeen, Texas Defunct companies based in Texas Airlines established in 1966 Airlines disestablished in 1987 1966 establishments in Texas Airlines based in Texas {{US-airline-stub

Labor issues

Incidents

Destinations in 1970

Destinations in 1978

Destinations in 1983

Officers

TranStar SkyLink

TranStar SkyLink destinations in 1987

Fleet

See also

References