Muse Air was a domestic U.S. airline founded in 1981, headquartered near

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 ...

Dallas, Texas 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 ...

, later moving to William P. Hobby Airport in

Houston 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 ...

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 U ...

acquired Muse Air in 1985 and later renamed it TranStar Airlines, but it was unprofitable, and was shut down in 1987.

History

The company was first established as a Texas-based intrastate airline named Muse Air for its founder, but much like

, it only operated larger mainline jet aircraft and began to initiate new service to destinations outside of the state of Texas. Muse Air's name originates from its founder and the one time president of

, Marion Lamar Muse. The airline's first flights consisted of nonstop service between

(DAL) and

Houston Hobby Airport William P. Hobby Airport (colloquially referred to as Hobby Airport, Houston Hobby, or simply Hobby) is an international airport in Houston, Texas, located from downtown Houston. Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primar ...

(HOU) in 1981 with two

McDonnell Douglas MD-80 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...

aircraft. An air traffic controller's strike almost immediately made things difficult for the company, and Muse stepped down as CEO to let his son Michael take over the company. By the end of 1984 the company was still struggling, and actively looking for a merger to keep it afloat. At the end of the year, Harold Simmons, president of the

Amalgamated Sugar Company The Amalgamated Sugar Company is an American sugar beet-refining company run on a cooperative basis. It was founded in 1897 in Ogden, Utah, and is now located in Boise, Idaho. The company markets its sugar under the White Satin brand. Founding ...

offered the airline the money to continue, on the condition that Michael Muse resign, and that his father return as CEO. Despite the new influx of cash and Lamar Muse in charge again, the company was not able to generate a consistent profit despite its use of non-union labor and competitive fares. Besides MD-80 jetliners, the airline added

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

and

DC-9-50 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

aircraft to its fleet. During its existence, Muse Air attempted to operate new nonstop routes with jet aircraft that were not being flown by other airlines at the time, including Austin (AUS) - Los Angeles (LAX), Lubbock (LBB) - Los Angeles (LAX), Midland/Odessa (MAF) - Los Angeles (LAX), Houston Hobby (HOU) - Ontario (ONT) and Midland/Odessa (MAF) - Las Vegas (LAS).

Muse Air alliance with AirCal

In 1984, Muse Air entered into an alliance with California-based AirCal (formerly known as

Air California Air California, later renamed AirCal, was an American airline company, founded by William E. Myers and Bill Perrera, a partnership of Orange County businessmen. It began as an intrastate airline operating solely within California. Air Califo ...

) with connections being listed in its April 29, 1984 system timetable via Los Angeles (LAX) to and from AirCal flights serving Oakland, California (OAK), Portland, Oregon (PDX), Reno, Nevada (RNO), Sacramento (SMF), San Francisco (SFO), and San Jose, California (SJC) and Seattle, Washington (SEA). The January 1, 1984 AirCal system timetable listed connections via Los Angeles (LAX) and Ontario (ONT) to and from Muse Air flights serving Austin (AUS), Houston Hobby (HOU), Midland/Odessa (MAF) and New Orleans (MSY).

No smoking policy

Muse Air prohibited smoking on their flights long before the U.S. government implemented federal restrictions concerning smoking on board scheduled commercial airline flights. The intent was to not tarnish the airline's brand new MD-80 aircraft. For four years, Muse Air had prohibited smoking on its flights however in 1985 the smoking ban was rescinded.

Acquisition by Southwest Airlines and name change to TranStar

On June 25, 1985,

acquired Muse Air, and Muse Air was allowed to continue to operate as a separate airline. In February 1986 its name was changed to "TranStar Airlines." Lamar Muse was removed from having any active role in management, and the company was restructured.

and

jetliners continued to be operated and the airline's routes were modified to provide flights between California/Nevada and Florida via Texas and Louisiana, primarily via Houston

Hobby Airport William P. Hobby Airport (colloquially referred to as Hobby Airport, Houston Hobby, or simply Hobby) is an international airport in Houston, Texas, located from downtown Houston. Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primar ...

and New Orleans. These flights were restricted from carrying mail,

air freight Air cargo is any property carried or to be carried in an aircraft. Air cargo comprises air freight, air express and airmail. Aircraft types Different cargo can be transported by passenger, cargo or combi aircraft: * Passenger aircraft use the ...

, and any interline passengers traveling partly on other airlines. TranStar also introduced new nonstop flights such as Houston Hobby (HOU) - San Francisco (SFO), Las Vegas (LAS) - San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX) - San Francisco (SFO), Houston Hobby (HOU) - Miami (MIA), New Orleans (MSY) - Los Angeles (LAX), New Orleans (MSY) - Las Vegas (LAS), New Orleans (MSY) - Miami (MIA) and New Orleans (MSY) - San Antonio (SAT). Among other changes were a new corporate image, replacing Muse Air's beige

aircraft livery An aircraft livery is a set of comprehensive insignia comprising color, graphic, and typographical identifiers which operators (airlines, governments, air forces and occasionally private and corporate owners) apply to their aircraft. As aircraft ...

and color scheme branding, with a dark blue tone, accentuated by

concentric In geometry, two or more objects are said to be concentric, coaxal, or coaxial when they share the same center or axis. Circles, regular polygons and regular polyhedra, and spheres may be concentric to one another (sharing the same center p ...

multi-hued pinstripes banding the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

. Attempts were made to integrate the TranStar pilots with

pilots, but in a classic example of misapplied BATNA an integrated seniority list was rejected by the TranStar pilot's association. At its peak, TranStar employed some 900 people and served 14 cities, but by mid-1987 the company was still not making a profit and the airline was shut down.

TranStar SkyLink: TranStar's feeder airline

In 1986, prior to TranStar being shut down, a commuter airline feeder service in Texas between

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 ...

(AUS) and

Killeen, TX 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 cit ...

(ILE), Laredo, TX (LRD) and San Angelo, TX (SJT), and also between Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) and

Brownsville, TX Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

(BRO),

College Station, TX 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. ...

(CLL), Killeen, TX (ILE) and Victoria, TX (VCT) was established and briefly undertaken under the name and guise of "TranStar Skylink". By early 1987, additional TranStar SkyLink service nonstop between Houston Hobby Airport and

Beaumont, TX Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the seat of government of Jefferson County, within the Beaumont– Port Arthur metropolitan statistical area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston ( ...

Port Arthur, TX Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County, Texas, Orange County; it is east of Housto ...

(BPT) was being operated with ten roundtrip flights every weekday in addition to flights serving southern Louisiana with a routing of Houston Hobby (HOU) - Lake Charles, LA (LCH) -

Lafayette, LA Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

(LFT) -

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

(MSY) being flown with seven roundtrip flights being operated every weekday between HOU and MSY. All of these services were operated by Rio Airways 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 communicati ...

agreement on behalf of TranStar primarily with Beechcraft 1900C commuter propjets. However, none of the commuter turboprop aircraft operated by Rio Airways on the "Skylink" service were ever painted with TranStar's branding as was indicated in some print advertising. Connections between TranStar Skylink turboprop flights and TranStar jet services were available in Austin, Houston Hobby Airport and New Orleans.

Muse Air destinations in 1982

According to the September 15, 1982 Muse Air route map, the airline was serving the following destinations by the fall of that year: *

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 i ...

(HOU) *

- Love Field (DAL) *

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Los Angeles International Airport 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 ...

( LAX) *

Midland, Texas Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States. A small part of Midland is in Martin County. At the 2020 census, Midland's population was 132,524. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas metropolitan ...

Odessa, Texas Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small section of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 census, ma ...

(MAF) *

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

(TUL)

Muse Air destinations in 1985

According to its July 20, 1985 route map, the following destinations were being served by Muse Air shortly after its acquisition by Southwest Airlines: *

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 city ...

(AUS) *

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. I ...

(BRO) *

- Love Field (DAL) *

(HOU) - ''Hub'' *

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 Vega ...

(LAS) *

(LAX) *

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 extend ...

(MFE) * Midland/

(MAF) *

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

(MSY) - ''Focus city'' *

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

(MCO) *

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) *

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

(SJC) *

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...

(TPA) *

(TUL) Muse Air also previously served

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the nort ...

(LBB) in 1983,

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, i ...

(ONT) in 1984,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

(OKC) in 1985 and

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 Stat ...

(SAN) in 1987.

TranStar destinations in 1987

According to its June 15, 1987 route map, the following destinations were being served by TranStar shortly before the airline was shut down: *

(AUS) - ''Focus city'' *

(BRO) *

- Love Field (DAL) *

(HOU) - ''Hub'' *

(LAS) *

(LAX) *

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

(MIA) *

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

(MSY) - ''Focus city'' *

(MCO) *

(SAT) *

(SAN) *

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 17t ...

(SFO) *

(TPA) TranStar also previously served

(MFE) and Midland/

(MAF) during 1986.

Fleet

According to the Muse Air historical website, the airline operated the following jet aircraft during its existence as Muse Air and TranStar: *1 -

*8 - McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50 *2 -

McDonnell Douglas MD-81 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

*8 - McDonnell Douglas MD-82 *2 -

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...

The Muse Air historical website also states the airline owned two

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 restart ...

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 condi ...

capable turboprop aircraft at one point; however, it appears they were not operated in scheduled service.

References

External links

Muse Air: A history of an airline
*

from Air Fleets.net

* ttps://rzjets.net/operators/?show=1305 Code and fleet information {{Airlines of the United States Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines established in 1981 Airlines disestablished in 1987 Companies based in Houston Defunct companies based in Texas Southwest Airlines

History

Muse Air alliance with AirCal

No smoking policy

Acquisition by Southwest Airlines and name change to TranStar

TranStar SkyLink: TranStar's feeder airline

Muse Air destinations in 1982

Muse Air destinations in 1985

TranStar destinations in 1987

Fleet

See also

References

External links