Waterloo Regional Airport ( Livingston Betsworth Field) is four miles (6 km) northwest of Waterloo, in

Black Hawk County, Iowa Black Hawk County is a county in the northeastern part of U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 131,144, making it Iowa's fifth-most populous county. The county seat is Waterloo. Black Hawk County is part of the Water ...

. It is used for general aviation and sees one airline.

Overview

The airport has two gates and one

jet bridge A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...

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 ...

(which had merged with

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 ...

) was the airport's only carrier for several years with flights to its hub at

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

/ Saint Paul, MN (MSP). In late 2011 Delta Air Lines said they would end service to Waterloo and immediately submitted an

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) proposal to continue flying to Waterloo with government subsidies. As part of the EAS process, the

U.S. Department of Transportation 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 ...

(DOT) opened up the airport to a bidding process with other carriers.

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

submitted a proposal to start service between Waterloo and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport operated by their regional carrier,

American Eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

, via a code sharing agreement . American sent representatives to Waterloo to present to the Chamber of Commerce and a straw poll of area businesses showed local companies favored service to Chicago over Minneapolis. American said they plan to only need the EAS subsidy for two years, when they believe that service will be self-sustaining. The Waterloo city council sent a recommendation to the DOT that American be awarded the contract and on December 8 DOT awarded American Eagle the contract. The regional airline affiliate of American Airlines initially operated flights twice daily. American Eagle previously served Waterloo with

ATR-42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and ...

and

Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30-36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 different o ...

turboprop flights to Chicago during the 1990s.

Past airline service

Airline service to Waterloo began in 1948, on

Mid-Continent Airlines Mid-Continent Airlines was an airline which operated in the central United States from the 1930s until 1952 when it was acquired by and merged with Braniff International Airways. Mid-Continent Airlines was originally founded as a flight school a ...

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

s. In 1966 Mid-Continent successor

Braniff International Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, List of defunct airlines of the United States (A–C), was an airline in the United Sta ...

flew

BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (or BAC-111/BAC 1-11) was an early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-se ...

s and

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 inroa ...

s to Kansas City, Minneapolis/St. Paul and St. Louis; Braniff left Waterloo the next year.

Ozark Air Lines Ozark Air Lines was an airline that operated in the United States from 1950 until 1986 when it was purchased by Trans World Airlines (TWA). In 2001, TWA was merged into American Airlines. A smaller regional airline that used the Ozark name ( ...

arrived in 1955; its DC-3s flew Chicago Midway Airport - Dubuque - Waterloo - Mason City - Fort Dodge - Sioux City. By 1960 Ozark was flying

Fairchild F-27 The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 were versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined turboprop passenger aircraft manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to the standa ...

s to Waterloo. Ozark

Douglas DC-9-10 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 ...

s arrived in 1966. (Runway 12/30 had been extended from 5400 to 6500 feet around that time). In 1967 Ozark DC-9s flew nonstop to Chicago

O'Hare Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop busines ...

and direct to Denver via Sioux City; other flights were

Fairchild Hiller FH-227 The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 were versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined turboprop passenger aircraft manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to the standa ...

s and

Martin 4-0-4 The Martin 4-0-4 was an American pressurized passenger airliner built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. In addition to airline use initially in the United States, it was used by the United States Coast Guard and United States Navy as the RM-1G ( ...

s. The April 1970 Ozark timetable lists nonstop DC-9s to Washington D.C.

Dulles Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fai ...

continuing to New York

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...

(LGA); by 1971 Ozark's direct DC-9 to Washington and New York stopped in Peoria. Besides DC-9-10s, Ozark also served Waterloo during the 1970s with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s and

s. In the 1975

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the USA, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, flight st ...

Ozark was the only airline at Waterloo, with nonstops from Cedar Rapids, Chicago

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...

, Des Moines, Dubuque, Mason City, Moline, Omaha, Rochester, MN, and Sioux City, a total of eighteen weekday flights, nine DC-9s and nine FH-227s. In 1976 Ozark was operating nonstop as well as direct, one stop DC-9s to Denver and one-stop DC-9s to Minneapolis/St. Paul; and direct and nonstop to Chicago O'Hare with up to seven flights a day in addition to direct flights to Omaha, St. Louis and other cities. By 1982 Ozark flights at Waterloo were all DC-9s, including direct flights to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and Miami in Florida via St. Louis. Ozark successor

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

flew DC-9s to its St. Louis hub; TWA ended mainline Waterloo service by early 1988, replaced with

Trans World Express Trans World Express (TWE) was the fully owned and certificated, regional carrier for Trans World Airlines ( TWA) and an airline trademark name for TWA's corporation. * Trans World Express - The formerly independent regional airline known as Ran ...

. In 1985

Aspen Airways Aspen Airways was an airline carrier and regional affiliate of United Express and based in Hangar 5 in Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. Aspen ceased operations on April 1, 1990, when separate portions of the airline were acqu ...

Convair 580 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 ...

s flew to

Denver 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 ...

via

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

. In 1986

Air Wisconsin Air Wisconsin Airlines is a regional airline based at Appleton International Airport in the town of Greenville, Wisconsin near Appleton. Air Wisconsin originally operated as one of the original United Express partners in 1985, and operated ...

was independently flying

BAe 146-200 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Manufacture by Avro Internationa ...

s and

de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with short take-off and landing (STOL) performance. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, d ...

s to

Chicago O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business ...

via Cedar Rapids or

Dubuque, IA Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

. Several major airline regional affiliates served Waterloo during the 1980s and 1990s via code sharing flights including American Eagle,

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 ...

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 ...

Midway Connection Midway often refers to: *Midway (fair), a place at a fair or circus where rides, entertainment, and booths are concentrated *Midway Atoll, also called Midway Island, a low-lying coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean *Naval Air Facility Midway Is ...

, and Air Midwest with the latter operating as Eastern Express on behalf of

Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Ea ...

and also as

. Besides Aspen Airways, several regional and commuter airlines independently served the airport in the past as well with turboprop service including

Great Lakes Aviation 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 ...

Midstate Airlines Midstate Airlines (also known as Mid-State Airlines and Midstate Air Commuter (MAC)) was an airline with its headquarters in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. History It was founded by Roy P. Shwery in 1964 and provided air service out of Marshfield, ...

and

Mississippi Valley Airlines Mississippi Valley Airlines (IATA--XV) was a regional air carrier serving the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It was founded by Herb Lee, Norm Elsy and Charles A. ("Chuck") Draine as Gateway Aviation, and had its headquarters in L ...

(MVA). In 1989 turboprops flew nonstop to Chicago

, Chicago Midway Airport, St. Louis, Kansas City and Minneapolis/St. Paul and to several other cities. Types operated to the airport over the years included the

Beechcraft 99 The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by Beechcraft. It is also known as the Beech 99 Airliner and the Commuter 99. The 99 is a twin-engine, unpressurized, 15 to 17 passenger seat turboprop aircraft, derived from the earlier Be ...

Beechcraft 1900C The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With ...

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 ...

Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante The Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (English: ''pioneer'') is a Brazilian general purpose 15–21 passenger twin-turboprop light transport aircraft designed by Embraer for military and civil use. The EMB 110 was designed by the French engineer Max ...

Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia 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 of ...

and

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 ...

. In 2007 Northwest Airlink was the only airline at Waterloo with nonstop flights to the

hub in Minneapolis/St. Paul on

Canadair 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) pro ...

s and Saab 340s. Under its founding manager, Walter Betsworth, Waterloo Municipal Airport expanded from a WWII training airstrip to a flourishing regional airport. After Betsworth's death in 1979 the airport was named The Livingston Betsworth Field, honoring Walter Betsworth and noted Iowa flying ace Jonathan Livingston. Competition from nearby airports, especially

The Eastern Iowa Airport Eastern Iowa Airport is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wright Brothers Boulevard on the south edge of town, west of Interstate 380. CID covers . Airline service The airport has been served almost entirely by regional jets, but also sees De ...

in Cedar Rapids eventually forced most airlines to drop Waterloo. Prior to its merger with

was operating the only mainline jet service from Waterloo with

DC-9 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 ...

s until Delta took over this service to Minneapolis/Saint Paul, a former Northwest hub. Delta then discontinued its Waterloo service.

Current airline service

Waterloo Regional Airport is served by Envoy Air, an affiliate of American Airlines, with

Embraer ERJ-145 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenger ...

s to Chicago (ORD).Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, April 8, 2012, http://wcfcourier.com/news/opinion/editorial/airport-on-the-right-track/article_67cbdc92-7ff5-11e1-a5a1-0019bb2963f4.html

Facilities

The airport covers and has two

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

runways: 12/30 is 8,399 x 150 feet (2,560 x 46 m) and 18/36 is 6,003 x 150 feet (1,829 x 46 m). In the year ending September 30, 2016 the airport had 19,314 aircraft operations, average 53 per day: 87%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

, 5% military, 1% airline and 7%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...

. In May 2017, 97 aircraft were based at this airport: 75 single-engine, 9 multi-engine, 4 jet and 9 military.

Airline and destination

Scheduled passenger service:

Incidents

References

Other sources

* Essential Air Service documents
Docket DOT-OST-2011-0132
from the

: *
Order 2011-12-2 (December 8, 2011)
selected

American Eagle Airlines Envoy Air Inc. is an American regional airline headquartered in Irving, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group and it is paid by fellow group member American Airline ...

, a regional affiliate of American Airlines, to provide 13 nonstop round trips per week to each community, Sioux City and Waterloo, from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). Rate effective for a two-year period beginning when it inaugurated EAS at both communities through the end of the 24th month thereafter. The carrier inaugurated service at both communities on April 3, 2012, thus making the expiration date April 30, 2014. American Eagle was selected to provide service at Sioux City with 50-seat aircraft and 44-seat aircraft at Waterloo, with annual subsidy rates of $1,512,799 and $1,541,824, respectively. *
Order 2014-3-14 (March 28, 2014)
selecting American Airlines to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Sioux City and Waterloo, Iowa, for annual subsidies of $611,334 and $945,546, respectively. EAS to be Provided to Waterloo, Iowa - Effective Period: May 1, 2014, through April 30, 2016. Service: Thirteen (13) nonstop round trips per week to Chicago (ORD). Aircraft Type: Regional Jets, 44-50 seats.

External links

Waterloo Regional Airport
official site * * {{authority control Airports in Iowa Buildings and structures in Waterloo, Iowa Transportation buildings and structures in Black Hawk County, Iowa Essential Air Service

Overview

Past airline service

Current airline service

Facilities

Airline and destination

Incidents

See also

References

Other sources

External links