StatesWest Airlines was a

commuter airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

headquartered in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) 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 1 ...

that operated to destinations in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

History

StatesWest was founded by Phoenix entrepreneur Rudy Mille

in 1986 and began operating from its base at PHX, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in 1987 with 36-passenger

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 ...

turboprop aircraft. Later that year, 19-passenger

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

BAe Jetstream 31 The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin- turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the Britis ...

propjets were added to the fleet. During the airline's lifespan as an independent carrier, StatesWest served

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

;

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

;

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

;

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...

;

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

;

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

;

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

;

Lake Havasu City, Arizona Lake Havasu City (, ) is a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,144, up from 52,527 in 2010. It is served by Lake Havasu City Airport. History The community first started as an ...

; Bullhead City, Arizona;

Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. The city is the county seat of Yavapai County. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona T ...

; Sierra Vista/Fort Huachuca, Arizona and briefly to

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

as well as

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

and

Telluride, Colorado Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains. The first ...

. In late 1988, StatesWest determined the Short 360 and Jetstream 31 aircraft were inefficient for the company's mission. Both types were phased out in favor of 19-passenger

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 c ...

turboprop aircraft. In 1989, the airline entered a small niche market by offering daily nonstop service between

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

and

, but that route was discontinued in 1990. Future Scottsdale city council member and current mayor, W.J. "Jim" Lane was elected StatesWest president and chief operating officer on January 31, 1990. Shortly after, StatesWest discontinued all flying under its own name and entered into an agreement with

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 ...

(which was renamed

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 ...

and has now been merged into

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

) to operate as

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 o ...

by providing

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 ...

feeder service to USAir hubs at

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

(SAN),

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

(LAX) and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

(SFO) which were focus cities of the original

Pacific Southwest Airlines Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) was a regional U.S. airline headquartered in San Diego, California, that operated from 1949 to 1998. It was the first large discount airline in the United States. PSA called itself "The World's Friendliest Airl ...

(PSA) route system. USAir completed its acquisition of and merger with PSA in 1988. The USAir Express operation began on July 15, 1990, and also included flights at

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

(PHX) and

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

(TUS). During the contract with USAir, StatesWest acquired four Dash 8 aircraft that where later replace with three 13-passenger Beechcraft 1300 turboprop aircraft to supplement the fleet of B1900Cs. Many new routes were added including several that had been previously flown by

(PSA) with jet aircraft and were later discontinued by USAir such as to Concord and Stockton, California. The aircraft were painted in USAir colors but included a smile under the nose thus remembering and honoring PSA which had been acquired by USAir 1n 1987. In late 1992 StatesWest declared bankruptcy and closed its doors the following year as USAir sharply reduced its operations in California.

USAir Express destinations in 1991

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, flight sta ...

(OAG), StatesWest was operating

service with

Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general aviati ...

commuter turboprop aircraft on behalf of

in 1991 via a

agreement to the following destinations with hubs located in Los Angeles (

LAX Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

) and San Francisco (

SFO San Francisco International Airport is an international airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, south of Downtown San Francisco. It has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe, the Middle ...

)http://www.departedflights.com, Oct. 1, 1991 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Los Angeles (LAX) & San Francisco flight schedules * Bakersfield (BFL) * Bullhead City/Laughlin * Concord (CCR) * Fresno (FAT) * Los Angeles (LAX) - ''Hub'' * Monterey (MRY) * Ontario (ONT) * Orange County (SNA) * Palm Springs (PSP) * Sacramento (SMF) * San Diego (SAN) * Santa Barbara (SBA) * San Francisco (SFO) - ''Hub'' * Stockton (SCK)

Fleet

StatesWest operated the following turboprop aircraft types at various times during its existence: *

* Beechcraft 1300 (Super King Air modified for commuter airline operations) *

de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...

Destinations

StatesWest served the following destinations at various times during its existence, both as an independent airline and as an

air carrier: Arizona *Bullhead City/Laughlin *Lake Havasu City *Phoenix *Prescott *Sierra Vista/Fort Huachuca *Scottsdale *Tucson California *Bakersfield (US*) *Burbank *Concord (US*) *Fresno (US*) *Los Angeles *Monterey (US*) *Ontario *Orange County *Palm Springs (US*) *Sacramento (US*) *San Diego *Santa Barbara (US*) *Stockton (US*) Colorado *Telluride Nevada *Las Vegas New Mexico *Albuquerque (US*) designates destinations that were added after StatesWest became a USAir Express

code share 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 c ...

operator.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stateswest Airlines Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines established in 1986 Airlines disestablished in 1993 1986 establishments in Arizona

History

USAir Express destinations in 1991

Fleet

Destinations

See also

References