Big Sky Airlines
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Big Sky Airlines was an American commuter air carrier that operated from 1978 to 2008. Headquartered in
Billings Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...
,
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
, United States. Big Sky was wholly owned by Big Sky Transportation Company, which in turn was a wholly owned subsidiary of
MAIR Holdings MAIR Holdings, Inc. ( NASDAQ: MAIR) was an airline holding company. Later in its life its headquarters were in Fifth Street Towers II in Downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. At an earlier time its headquarters were on the property of Minneapolis-St ...
. Big Sky operated scheduled commuter passenger services to ten cities and maintained a hub at
Billings Logan International Airport Billings Logan International Airport is in the western United States, northwest of downtown Billings, in Yellowstone County, Montana. It is the second largest airport in Montana, having been surpassed in recent years by Bozeman in both ...
in
Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...
, from which the airline flew more of its nonstop routes than it did from any other airport. The airline was a crucial air link within the state of Montana, serving as the primary (and in some cases, only) commercial air carrier to several small airports in the state. The airline also began and ended service to a number of other locations over the years, often operating as a contract carrier under the federal government's
Essential Air Service Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which had been served by certificated airlines prior to deregulation in 1978, maintained commercial service. Its aim is t ...
(EAS) program.


History

The airline was established in 1978 and started operations on September 15, 1978, initially operating to a number of small cities in eastern and central Montana formerly served by the original
Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines is a major ultra-low-cost U.S. airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and 31 international destinations, and employs more than 3,000 staff. The ca ...
. This remained the core of the company's business throughout its history, although the airline also expanded into a number of other geographic areas over the years. Most of the later expansions proved to be short-lived, however. In 1987, Big Sky was operating
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 ...
service as
Northwest Airlink Northwest Airlink was the brand name of Northwest Airlines' regional airline service, which flew turboprop and regional jet aircraft from Northwest's domestic hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Memphis. Service was primarily to small-to-medium-siz ...
on behalf of
Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
from a hub in Billings with
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. The Jetstream turboprops were then replaced with
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 ...
propjets on the Northwest Airlink service. Big Sky took over Exec Express II d/b/a
Lone Star Airlines Lone Star Airlines was an American regional airline that operated both domestic and international flights. For much of the airline's life its headquarters were located in the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas. The airline's largest hub w ...
/
Aspen Mountain Air Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, ...
's EAS routes in October 1998, following the bankruptcy of this Texas-based commuter air carrier. Transfer of services was completed in December 1998. These routes included: Dallas/Ft. Worth-Brownwood, TX; Dallas/Ft. Worth-Enid/Ponca City, OK; Dallas/Ft. Worth-Hot Springs-Harrison-Mountain Home, AR-St. Louis, MO; and Dallas/Ft. Worth-El Dorado-Jonesboro, AR. On October 21, 2000, Big Sky began new service between Montana and north Texas via southeastern New Mexico with a Dallas/Ft. Worth-Hobbs-Carlsbad-Roswell-Denver-Billings route. This service was later modified to Dallas/Ft. Worth-Carlsbad-Roswell and Dallas/Ft. Worth-Brownwood-Hobbs routes. All New Mexico service ended in 2001. In late 2002, Big Sky Airlines was operating nonstop flights between
Idaho Falls, Idaho Idaho Falls (Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: Dembimbosaage) is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state's largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Un ...
and
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
but then cancelled this service three months afterward, declaring it unprofitable. In early 2005, Big Sky announced several changes concerning its service including the termination of flights to
North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
as well as the replacement of its
Fairchild 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 ...
propjets with Beechcraft 1900D turboprops with the latter being leased from
Mesa Air Group Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 700 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one re ...
subsidiary
Air Midwest Air Midwest, Inc., was a Federal Aviation Administration Part 121 certificated air carrier that operated under air carrier certificate number AMWA510A issued on May 15, 1965. It was headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, United States, and was a sub ...
. Service from
Sheridan, Wyoming Sheridan is a town in the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Sheridan County. The town is located halfway between Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore by U.S. Route 14 and 16. It is the principal town of the Sheridan, Wyoming, Micropol ...
to both Denver and Billings began by the end of 2005 but was then terminated in January 2008. In February 2006 Big Sky began daily service between
Walla Walla Regional Airport Walla Walla Regional Airport is a public airport in Walla Walla County, Washington, in the western United States. It is northeast of central Walla Walla, and is owned by the Port of Walla Walla. History World War II The airport was the locatio ...
and Boise (BOI). Service ceased with the airline's bankruptcy in 2007. In July 2006, Big Sky announced that the airline would discontinue service to
Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...
;
Kalispell, Montana Kalispell (, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a city in, and the county seat of, Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at 24,558. In Montana's northwest region, ...
; and
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...
. The airline also announced that one of their Beechcraft 1900D's would be leased to
Chalk's International Airlines Chalk's International Airlines, formerly Chalk's Ocean Airways, was an airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in unincorporated Broward County, Florida near Fort Lauderdale. It operated sc ...
in Florida. On September 1, 2006, Big Sky discontinued service to
Moses Lake, Washington Moses Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,146 as of the 2020 census. Moses Lake is the largest city in Grant County. The city anchors the Moses Lake Micropolitan area, which includes all of Grant Co ...
. On December 21, 2006, a press release announced that Big Sky would become a
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 ...
carrier via a
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 ...
agreement with
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 List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
using eight Beechcraft 1900D turboprops operated from Boston's
Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...
(BOS). The airline's east coast operations ended on January 7, 2008.


Closure

On December 20, 2007, Big Sky announced that it would more than likely cease operations within 60 to 90 days. This was due to the loss of the Delta contract, unusually bad weather, disappointing revenue and record-high fuel prices. The remaining Beechcraft 1900D aircraft were planned to be auctioned off and proceeds returned to MAIR holdings stockholders. In late 2007
Great Lakes Airlines Great Lakes Airlines was an American regional airline operating domestic scheduled and charter services. Corporate headquarters were in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with a hub at Denver International Airport. As of November 2013, Great Lakes Airlines ...
was given
USDOT The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...
approval to take over EAS service to and from Billings, Montana and seven other Montana cities currently served by Big Sky. Great Lakes Airlines began flying the routes in 2009, only to be replaced with
Gulfstream International Airlines Gulfstream International Airlines was a United States airline that operated from 1988 to 2010. The airline primarily operated codeshare flights for major airlines. In December 2010, the airline went bankrupt and its assets were sold. Silver Air ...
(now named
Silver Airways Silver Airways LLC. is a United States regional airline with its headquarters in Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale. It was founded in 2011 with assets from the former Gulfstream I ...
) by the Montana Essential Air Service Task Force in January 2011. The Montana routes were replaced once again by
Cape Air Hyannis Air Service Inc., operating as Cape Air, is an airline headquartered at Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, Massachusetts, United States. It operates scheduled passenger services in the Northeast, the Caribbean, Midwest, and Eas ...
on December 10, 2013. Big Sky's final scheduled flights arrived in Billings on the morning of March 8, 2008; that morning, the three final flights marked the end of the airline by performing a joint flyover of the Billings airport prior to landing. The airline's website
www.bigskyair.com
has been deactivated.


Destinations: Western and Central U.S.

Big Sky served the following destinations at different times during its existence. Destination information is taken from various Big Sky Airlines route maps:
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
*
El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
*
Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...
*
Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
* Jonesboro * Mountain Home
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
*
Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , it is the largest airport in ...
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
*
Boise Airport Boise Airport (Boise Air Terminal or Gowen Field) is a joint civil-military airport in the western United States, south of downtown Boise in Ada County, Idaho. The airport is operated by the city of Boise Department of Aviation and is overseen ...
*
Idaho Falls Idaho Falls (Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: Dembimbosaage) is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state's largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Un ...
* Lewiston
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
* Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
*
St. Louis Lambert International Airport St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the primary commercial airport serving metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Commonly referred to as Lambert Field or simply Lambert, it is the largest and busiest airport in the state o ...
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
*
Billings Logan International Airport Billings Logan International Airport is in the western United States, northwest of downtown Billings, in Yellowstone County, Montana. It is the second largest airport in Montana, having been surpassed in recent years by Bozeman in both ...
– Hub *
Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (Gallatin Field) is located in Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, ...
*
Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...
(
Bert Mooney Airport Bert Mooney Airport is a public airport three miles southeast of Butte, in Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. It is owned by the Bert Mooney Airport Authority. The airport name was changed in 1972 to honor Bert Mooney, an aviator from B ...
) *
Glasgow Airport gd, Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Ghlaschu , image = Glasgow Airport logo.svg , image-width = 200 , image2 = GlasgowAirportFromAir.jpg , image2-width = 250 , IATA = GLA , ICAO = EGPF , type = Public , owner = AGS Airports , hub = *easy ...
*
Glendive Glendive is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Montana, United States, and home to Dawson Community College. Glendive was established by the Northern Pacific Railway when they built the transcontinental railroad across the northern ...
(
Dawson Community Airport Dawson Community Airport is five miles northwest of Glendive, in Dawson County, Montana, United States. The airport has one airline, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. The airport opened around 1970, replacing the airport on the ...
) *
Great Falls International Airport Great Falls International Airport is a public/military airport in city limits three miles southwest of central Great Falls in Cascade County, Montana, United States. The airport has also been called Great Falls Municipal Airport. The Nat ...
*
Havre City–County Airport Havre City–County Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles (6  km) west of the central business district of Havre, a city in Hill County, Montana, United States. It is owned by the City of Havre and Hill County. T ...
*
Helena Regional Airport Helena Regional Airport is a public airport two miles northeast of Helena, in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, United States. It is owned by the Helena Regional Airport Authority. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011– ...
* Kalispell (
Glacier Park International Airport Glacier Park International Airport is in Flathead County, Montana, United States, six miles northeast of Kalispell. The airport is owned and operated by the Flathead Municipal Airport Authority, a public agency created by the county in 1974. T ...
) *
Lewistown Municipal Airport Lewistown Municipal Airport is two miles southwest of Lewistown, in Fergus County, Montana. It is owned by the city and county. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 596 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar yea ...
*
Miles City Airport Miles City Airport or Frank Wiley Field is a city-owned airport two miles northwest of Miles City, in Custer County, Montana, United States. The airport was served by one airline, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. EAS subsidies e ...
*
Missoula International Airport Missoula Montana Airport is located in Missoula, in Missoula County, Montana. It is owned by the Missoula County Airport Authority.. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective June 7, 2014. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for ...
* Sidney ( Richland Municipal Airport) *
Wolf Point Wolf Point ( asb, šųktógeja oʾípa) is an incorporated ranchingtown in, and the county seat of, Roosevelt County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,517 at the 2020 census, down 4% from 2,621 in the 2010 Census. It is the larges ...
( L. M. Clayton Airport)
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
* Carlsbad * Hobbs *
Roswell International Air Center Roswell Air Center (Roswell International Air Center; Roswell Industrial Air Center) is an airport south of Roswell, New Mexico, Roswell, in Chaves County, New Mexico, United States. History The airport was Roswell Army Airfield during World ...
North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
* Bismarck * Devils Lake * Dickinson *
Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...
* Jamestown * Williston
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
* Enid *
Ponca City Ponca City ( iow, Chína Uhánⁿdhe) is a city in Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The city was named after the Ponca tribe. Ponca City had a population of 25,387 at the time of the 2010 census- and a population of 24,424 in the 2020 ...
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
*
Portland International Airport Portland International Airport is a joint civil–military airport and the largest airport in the U.S. state of Oregon, accounting for 90% of the state's passenger air travel and more than 95% of its air cargo. It is within Portland's city li ...
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
*
Rapid City Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
* Brownwood *
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 ...
– Hub
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
*
Moses Lake Moses Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of Crab Creek, in Washington state, USA. Moses Lake is part of the Columbia River basin, as Crab Creek is a tributary of the Columbia River. Although originally a shallow natural lake, Moses ...
(
Grant County International Airport Grant County International Airport is a public use airport in the northwest United States, located northwest of the central business district of Moses Lake in Grant County, Washington. Formerly a military facility, the airport is owned by the ...
) * Seattle/Tacoma International Airport *
Spokane International Airport Spokane International Airport is a commercial airport located approximately west-southwest of downtown Spokane, Washington, United States. It is the primary airport serving the Inland Northwest, which consists of 30 counties and includes areas ...
*
Walla Walla Walla Walla can refer to: * Walla Walla people, a Native American tribe after which the county and city of Walla Walla, Washington, are named * Place of many rocks in the Australian Aboriginal Wiradjuri language, the origin of the name of the town ...
*
Olympia Regional Airport Olympia Regional Airport is a public use airport located four nautical miles (7 km) south of the central business district of Olympia, a city in Thurston County and the capital of the U.S. state of Washington. It is owned by the Port of ...
Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
*
Casper Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * David ...
*
Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...
* Sheridan County Airport


Delta Connection Routes: Eastern U.S. and Canada

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
*
Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
* Boston, Massachusetts – Hub
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
*
Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
*
Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
*
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
*
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
/
Islip Islip may refer to: Places England * Islip, Northamptonshire *Islip, Oxfordshire United States *Islip, New York, a town in Suffolk County ** Islip (hamlet), New York, located in the above town **Central Islip, New York, a hamlet and census-d ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
*
Massena, New York Massena is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. Massena is along the county's northern border, just south of the St. Lawrence River and the Three Nations Crossing of the Canada–United States border. The population was 12,8 ...
*
Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and de ...
*
Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...
*
Saranac Lake, New York Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406, making it the largest community by population in the Adirondack Park. The village is named after Upper, Middle and Lower Saran ...
*
Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the ...
Ohio * Cincinnati, Ohio – Hub Pennsylvania * Allentown, Pennsylvania, Allentown/Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Bethlehem/Easton, Pennsylvania, Easton, Pennsylvania Quebec * Quebec, Quebec,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
Vermont * Burlington, Vermont


Fleet

In January 2000, the Big Sky Airlines fleet consisted of 14 Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner Metro III and Metro 23 aircraft. However, the air carrier then removed the Metro propjets from its fleet and in January 2008 was operating Beechcraft 1900D turboprops with 10 aircraft in the fleet: Big Sky previously operated Handley Page Jetstream propjets as well as Cessna prop aircraft during the late 1970s. By 1987, the airline was operating
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 on its flights as a
Northwest Airlink Northwest Airlink was the brand name of Northwest Airlines' regional airline service, which flew turboprop and regional jet aircraft from Northwest's domestic hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Memphis. Service was primarily to small-to-medium-siz ...
air carrier.http://www.airliners.net, photos of Big Sky Airlines aircraft


Code share agreements

Big Sky had
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 ...
agreements with the following airlines. The code share agreements allowed these larger mainline air carriers to place their airline codes on Big Sky flights, but not vice versa. * Alaska Airlines *
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 List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
(as
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 ...
) *
Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
(as
Northwest Airlink Northwest Airlink was the brand name of Northwest Airlines' regional airline service, which flew turboprop and regional jet aircraft from Northwest's domestic hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Memphis. Service was primarily to small-to-medium-siz ...
) * US Airways


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Big Sky Airlines
(Archive) {{Delta Connection Carriers Airlines established in 1978 Airlines disestablished in 2008 Billings, Montana Defunct regional airlines of the United States Defunct companies based in Montana Regional Airline Association members 1978 establishments in Montana 2008 disestablishments in Montana Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines based in Montana