PSA Airlines is an American

regional 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 at Dayton International Airport in

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, United States. The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of the

American Airlines Group American Airlines Group Inc. is an American publicly traded airline holding company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It was formed on December 9, 2013, by the merger of AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, and US Airways ...

and it is paid by fellow group member

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on American Eagle flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by American Airlines. PSA Airlines operates a fleet consisting of exclusively Bombardier regional jet aircraft. The company has a team of more than 5,000 employees, operating more than 800 daily flights to nearly 100 destinations. The airline is named after

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 ...

(commonly known as just PSA), one of the predecessors of today's American Airlines, to protect the trademark.

History

Vee Neal Airlines

Named after its owner Vee Neal Frey, Vee Neal Airlines was established in

Latrobe, Pennsylvania Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The city population was 8,338 as of the 2010 census (9,265 in 1990). It is located near Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ri ...

and received an

air operator's certificate An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets, and system in plac ...

in 1979. At first, the company operated as a

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instructio ...

, and later added schedule service between Latrobe and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

with a

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplane ...

in May 1980. Following the

Airline Deregulation Act The Airline Deregulation Act is a 1978 United States federal law that deregulated the airline industry in the United States, removing federal control over such areas as fares, routes, and market entry of new airlines. The Civil Aeronautics Boa ...

of 1978, nearby

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

saw a decline in service, and Vee Neal saw an opportunity. After several unsuccessful efforts were made between 1980 and late 1982 to start a new airline out of the

Erie International Airport Erie International Airport Tom Ridge Field is a public airport southwest of Erie, in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Airline service at Erie faces stiff competition from the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Toronto airports, al ...

, but the plan didn't get off the ground. The catalyst came in April 1983 when USAir announced it would further reduce frequencies out of Erie and would discontinue nonstop service to Chicago. The young airline was able to raise

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which h ...

from a group of civic and business leaders, investors and corporations in the Erie area. The money was used to purchase six

British Aerospace 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 British ...

aircraft.

Jetstream International Airlines

In December 1983, the airline was renamed to Jetstream International Airlines (JIA) after it took delivery of its first two Jetstream aircraft. The next year, the company relocated its maintenance department and corporate headquarters from Latrobe to Erie. Jetstream established a network of routes between Erie and Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Harrisburg, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. In addition, Jetstream provided service between

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

and both airports in Detroit. The airline struggled financially, but in September 26, 1985 it secured a deal with

Piedmont Airlines Piedmont Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline headquartered at the Salisbury Regional Airport in unincorporated Wicomico County, Maryland, near the city of Salisbury. The airline is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Airline ...

to operate flights under the Piedmont Commuter brand connecting Erie with Piedmont's Baltimore and Dayton hubs and Youngstown with Baltimore. Still suffering financially, the next year Piedmont offered to buy Jetstream in a deal that closed on August 1, 1986. Piedmont immediately pivoted Jetstream's business model, making it a Piedmont Commuter feeder for their Dayton hub on September 15, 1986. In 1987, Jetstream once again moved its corporate headquarters, this time to its new base of operations in Dayton. Parent company Piedmont Airlines was purchased by USAir in November 1987 and was fully merged into the airline on August 5, 1989. After the merger, Jetstream International Airlines started to operate under the

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 ...

brand.

PSA Airlines

In the early 1990s, the airline began to replace its namesake Jetstream aircraft, first with leased

Embraer EMB 120 The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a twin-turboprop 30-passenger commuter airliner designed and manufactured by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The EMB 120 began development during 1974. While initially conceived as a modular series o ...

aircraft, and later with a purchase of

Dornier 328 The Dornier 328 is a turboprop-powered commuter airliner. Initially produced by Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH, the firm was acquired in 1996 by Fairchild Aircraft. The resulting firm, named Fairchild-Dornier, manufactured the 328 family in Oberpfaffen ...

aircraft. Reflecting that change, USAir announced that it would rename Jetstream International Airlines as PSA Airlines in November 1995. The name change also allowed USAir to protect the brand name of

(commonly known as just PSA), which USAir had purchased at about the same time that it purchased Piedmont. USAir had previously assigned the Piedmont Airlines name to Henson Airlines in 1993. Also in November 1995, USAir moved the headquarters of the new PSA Airlines to

Vandalia, Ohio Vandalia is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Dayton. Its population was 15,246 during the 2010 census. In addition to being the city closest to Dayton International Airport, Vandalia lies at the crossroads of I ...

Dornier 328-110, US Airways Express (PSA Airlines) AN0175474

By March 1996, the last Jetstream aircraft was replaced and PSA's fleet of 25 Dornier 328 aircraft was the largest in the world. In February 1997, USAir changed their name to US Airways, and PSA transitioned to operating under the name of

US Airways 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 ...

. On August 11, 2002 US Airways filed for

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 ...

bankruptcy protection. During the reorganization, PSA was chosen to transition to a fleet of regional jet aircraft, including the

Bombardier CRJ200 The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) is a regional jet designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family. The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) ...

and CRJ700. The last Dornier 328 was retired from the PSA fleet in September 2004. USAirways entered a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 12, 2004 and was acquired by

America West Airlines America West Airlines was a major American airline, founded in 1981, with service commencing in 1983, and having reached US$1 billion in annual revenue in 1989, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. At the time of its acquisition of US Airways, Amer ...

in 2005 in a

reverse merger A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public compa ...

. In February 2005, PSA opened its Charlotte crew base. The recently opened Philadelphia crew and maintenance bases also closed in September 2005. In January 2008, US Airways flight activity at the Pittsburgh International Airport was significantly reduced due to market condition changes. US Airways mainline employees took over the US Airways Express flight operations at the airport and PSA ceased providing ground-handling services at the airport. In 2015, after the merger of American Airlines and US Airways, PSA became part of

and started to operate American Eagle flights. In August 2015, PSA Airlines announced a maintenance base would be established at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. In August 2016, PSA Airlines announced a new 45,000-square-foot maintenance base would be opening in late 2016 at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP).

Fleet

, the PSA Airlines fleet consists of these aircraft: In December 2013, American Airlines announced that it had ordered 30 Bombardier CRJ-900 jets and was assigning them to PSA Airlines. The airline began taking deliveries of them in the second quarter of 2014 to finish initial delivery in 2015. In addition, American acquired options to purchase up to 40 additional CRJ-900 aircraft scheduled to be delivered in 2015 through 2016. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the

CRJ-200 The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) is a regional jet designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family. The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) pr ...

fleet consisting of 35 aircraft was retired at an accelerated rate.

Crew bases

As of November 2022, PSA Airlines uses these airports as crewmember domiciles: *

Charlotte Douglas International Airport Charlotte Douglas International Airport (IATA: CLT, ICAO: KCLT, FAA LID: CLT), typically referred to as Charlotte Douglas, Douglas Airport, or simply CLT, is an international airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, located roughly six miles we ...

* Dayton International Airport *

Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The airport served 19.6 million passengers annually in 2021, making it the 21st busiest airport in the United States. The airport is located from t ...

Ronald Reagan 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 ...

* Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

Maintenance bases

As of May 2022, PSA Airlines has maintenance bases at the following airports: * Akron-Canton Airport *

* Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport * Dayton International Airport *

Norfolk International Airport Norfolk International Airport is seven miles (11 km) northeast of downtown Norfolk, an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Airport Authority: a bureau under the municipal government. The ...

* Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport *

Pensacola International Airport Pensacola International Airport , formerly Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport and Pensacola Regional Airport (Hagler Field), is a public use airport northeast of the central business district of Pensacola, in Escambia County, Florida, Unit ...

* Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport

Accidents and incidents

* PSA Airlines Flight 2495 (US2495/JIA2495), a Bombardier CRJ200 (registered N246PS) overran the runway at Yeager Airport,

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 2020 census and an estimated population of 48,018 in 2021. The Charlesto ...

, on 19 January 2010. This was caused by a rejected take-off because the wrong flap setting was set. The aircraft was stopped by the

engineered materials arrestor system An engineered materials arrestor system, engineered materials arresting system (EMAS), or arrester bed is a bed of engineered materials built at the end of a runway to reduce the severity of the consequences of a runway excursion. Engineered ma ...

at the end of the runway, sustaining substantial damage to its landing gear. No one was injured as a result of the accident. *PSA Airlines Flight 5320, a Bombardier CRJ-700 (registered N709PS) struck a deer on take-off from Charlotte Douglas International Airport on 15 February 2017, causing a fuel leak. The aircraft landed shortly afterwards with no passenger injuries reported.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:PSA Airlines Companies based in Dayton, Ohio Airlines established in 1980 Regional Airline Association members Regional airlines of the United States Airlines based in Ohio Airlines for America members American Airlines Group 1980 establishments in Pennsylvania American companies established in 1980