Stol Air Commuter was a United States commuter airline that began service around 1974. The air carrier was also known as STOL Air Commuter thus reflecting its use of

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...

(short take off and landing) aircraft. It served the

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Bay Area and northern California. The airline was based in San Rafael in

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

north of the city of San Francisco and also had administrative offices located in Santa Rosa, CA at one point. Stol Air Commuter operated scheduled passenger air service connecting several cities in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as northern California with

San Francisco International Airport 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 E ...

(SFO). According to the airline's system timetable, in the spring of 1975 Stol Air Commuter was operating 66 daily flights serving SFO via

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

gate 10 at the airport. In 1979, Stol Air changed its name to

WestAir Commuter Airlines WestAir Commuter Airlines (IATA:OE, VB/ICAO WCA, SDU), was a U.S.-based regional airline formed when Stol Air Commuter changed its name in 1978 to WestAir Airlines; it was renamed WestAir Commuter Airlines in 1986. One of the founders was Maur ...

. WestAir subsequently became a

United Express United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...

carrier operating turboprop and jet aircraft on behalf of

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

via a

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 ...

agreement.

Destinations in 1978

Clear Lake, California Clearlake is a city in Lake County, California. Clearlake is north-northwest of Lower Lake, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 16,685, up from 15,250 in 2010. It takes its name from Clear Lake. ...

(1O2, Lampson Field) *

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 129,295 in 2019 making it the eighth largest city in the San Francisco Ba ...

(CCR, Buchanan Field) * Napa/

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to the ...

(APC,

Napa County Airport Napa County Airport (Napa Valley Airport) is a public airport five miles (8 km) south of Napa, in Napa County, California, United States. It has three runways. During 2008 the airport's 1960-era control tower received extensive radio, plumb ...

) *

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

(OAK,

Oakland International Airport Oakland International Airport is an international airport in Oakland, California, United States, 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown located in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by the Port of Oakland and has domestic passenger f ...

) *

(SFO,

) - Hub *

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

Novato, California Novato (Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...

Marin County, California Marin County is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and ...

(DVO, Gnoss Field, also known as Marin County Airport) *

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...

(STS,

Sonoma County Airport Sonoma may refer to: * ''Sonoma'' (beetle), a genus of beetles * Sonoma County, California, a county in northern California in the United States ** Sonoma, California, the city for which the county is named ** Sonoma Valley, the region in Sonoma ...

) *

Ukiah, California Ukiah ( ; Pomo: ''Yokaya'', meaning "deep valley") is the county seat and largest city of Mendocino County, California, with a population of 16,607 at the 2020 census. With its accessible location along the U.S. Route 101 corridor, Ukiah serves ...

(UKI,

Ukiah Municipal Airport Ukiah Municipal Airport is a public airport located one mile (1.6 km) south of Ukiah, serving Mendocino County, California, United States. This general aviation airport covers and has one runway. Past passenger airline service Ukiah wa ...

) Destination information is taken from the Stol Air Commuter June 1, 1978 system timetable.http://www.timetableimages.com, June 1, 1978 Stol Air Commuter system timetable

Fleet

Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...

* Britten-Norman BN-2A Trislander The twin engine Islander and three engine Trislander are

(short take off and landing) capable aircraft. Stol Air Commuter was one of the few commuter airlines in the U.S. to operate the Trislander in scheduled passenger service.

References

{{US-airline-stub Defunct airlines of the United States Companies based in San Rafael, California

Destinations in 1978

Fleet

See also

References