Wright Air Lines, founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966, is regarded as the first United States regional airline. The airline was based in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport is a public airport on the shore of Lake Erie, in the northeast part of downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It's classified as a general aviation airport and is an FAA designated reliever to Cleveland Ho ...

and filed for protection under

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

of the Bankruptcy Code in September 1984 and its assets liquidated within a year.

History

Convair CV-600, Wright Airlines JP7771695

The founder and first president of the airline was Gerald Weller. This regional airline was the first to be financed through the sale of stock on Wall Street. Wright was also considered a commuter airline with scheduled departures operated at one-hour intervals between cities such as Cleveland and Detroit with no advance reservations required. During its existence, Wright Airlines had these acquisitions and mergers: *

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

acquired Tyme Airlines *

merged with Air Commuter Airlines *

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

merged with Aeromech Airlines After each of these mergers, the Wright name was retained. According to its February 1, 1982, system timetable, Wright was operating

Convair 600 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...

turboprop aircraft on all of its scheduled passenger flights and was serving Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton in Ohio; Detroit City Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Michigan; and Louisville in Kentucky. Wright had expanded its route system by 1984 (see below) following the merger with Aeromech Airlines.

Livery

The

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 ...

of the airline varied, and through its existence was either orange and tan on white, blue and tan on white, or dark orange, orange and tan on white.

Destinations in 1984

According to its October 1, 1984 system timetable, Wright was serving the following destinations: * Albany, NY (ALB) * Beckley, WV (BKW) * Bluefield/Princeton, WV (BLF) * Clarksburg/Fairmont, WV (CKB) * Cincinnati, OH (CVG) * Cleveland, OH (CLE) –

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is an international airport in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the primary airport serving Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, the largest and busiest airport in the state, and the 43rd busiest ...

– Focus city * Cleveland, OH (BKL) –

Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport is a public airport on the shore of Lake Erie, in the northeast part of downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It's classified as a general aviation airport and is an FAA designated reliever to Cleveland Ho ...

– Home base * Columbus, OH (CMH) * Dayton, OH (DAY) * Detroit, MI (DET) –

Detroit City Airport Coleman A. Young International Airport (Coleman A. Young Municipal Airport, formerly Detroit City Airport until 2003) is six miles northeast of downtown Detroit, in Wayne County, Michigan. It is owned by the City of Detroit. The Federal Aviation ...

* Detroit, MI (DTW) –

Detroit Metropolitan Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , usually called Detroit Metro Airport, Metro Airport, or simply DTW, is a major international airport in the United States covering effective December 30, 2021. in Romulus, Michigan. It is the primary ...

* Elkins, WV (EVN) * Greensboro/High Point, NC (GSO) * Huntington/Ashland, WV (HTS) * Louisville, KY (SDF) * Morgantown, WV (MGW) * Pittsburgh, PA (PIT) – Hub * Syracuse, NY (SYR) * Washington, DC (DCA) –

Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...

Fleet

The airline flew a wide range of aircraft types at various times during its existence which were selected according to the specific route and projected number of passengers on each route: *

Beechcraft Model 18 The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to Novem ...

(Twin Beech) * Beechcraft Model 99A * British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven (''only jet type operated by the airline'') *

Convair 440 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inro ...

"Metropolitan" (''improved version of Convair 340 with soundproofing and weather radar'') *

(''turboprop conversion of Convair 240'') *

Convair 640 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inr ...

(''turboprop conversion of Convair 340 and 440'') * De Havilland DH-114 Riley Heron * De Havilland DH-114-2B Heron * de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter * Douglas DC-3 * Embraer EMB-110P1 Bandeirante *

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 ...

Wright acquired the EMB-110P1 aircraft when it purchased Aeromech October 1, 1983.

Safety record

The airline had a good safety record with few accidents or incidents. None are known to have been fatal accidents.

Similarly named but non-related airlines

North-Wright Airways North-Wright Airways is an airline based in Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, Canada. It operates commuter services to several communities in the Northwest Territories, and charter services. Its main base is Norman Wells Airport and they ope ...

, a small commuter airline based in Canada. *

Wright Air Service Wright Air Service is an American commuter airline based in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. It was established by Al Wright and started operations in 1967. It is located off the east ramp near the Fairbanks International Airport. The preside ...

, a small commuter airline based in Alaska.

References

{{US-airline-stub Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines established in 1966 1966 establishments in Ohio Airlines based in Ohio