L'Express Airlines, Inc. was an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

that was conceived as a

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 ...

to provide service to cities throughout

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

from its hub at New Orleans International Airport from 1989 to 1992. The airline's headquarters was in

Kenner, Louisiana Kenner is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the most populous city in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Jefferson Parish, and is the largest incorporated suburban city of New Orleans. The population was 66,448 at the 2020 United States cen ...

Greater New Orleans The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans (, ), is a metropolitan statistical area designated by the United ...

, and it commenced service on August 9, 1989. It was a subsidiary of Read Industries, Inc., a company with headquarters in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

History

Originally announced in April 1989, L'Express was founded by local entrepreneur Stephen Read with the intention of providing an intrastate airline to serve the major cities of Louisiana. The airline originally served

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, Lafayette and Lake Charles with 45 weekly flights. Service was originally to commence in June 1989, however, service began later that August. For its first year, the airline saw gross revenues of $7 to $8 million. By September 1990 L'Express was looking to expand service into other areas of the Gulf South area outside

. Service was first expanded to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and Mobile with future plans to expand to Jackson and

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

in Fall 1990 and to both

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

and Dallas/Fort Worth by winter 1991. Due to increasing fuel costs, on January 9, 1991, L'Express filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy 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, w ...

protection. The airline continued to operate, operating 80 daily flights by the summer of 1991
Smothers, Ronald; Weather is linked to crash of plane; ''The New York Times''; July 12, 1991 In February 1992, the airline ceased operations after its nine planes were repossessed by the finance company of their manufacturer, Beechcraft, The Beech Aircraft Corporation, due to non-payment. Grounded on February 15, airline officials officially shut down its operation on February 28.

Fleet

*7 Beechcraft C-99s *3

Beechcraft 1900 The Beechcraft 1900 is a U.S made 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 customers favoring ...

s With the company being based out of New Orleans, the color scheme included stripes of the traditional Mardi Gras colors of green, yellow and purple painted across white aircraft.

Destinations

Service beginning in August 1989: *

( Alexandria International Airport – AEX) **

( Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport – BTR) ** Lafayette ( Lafayette Regional Airport – LFT) ** Lake Charles ( Lake Charles Regional Airport – LCH) **

( Monroe Regional Airport – MLU) **

( New Orleans International Airport – MSY) – Primary Hub **

( Shreveport Regional Airport – SHV) Service beginning in September 1990: *

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

( William P. Hobby Airport – HOU) *

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

( Birmingham International Airport – BHM) ** Mobile ( Mobile Regional Airport – MOB) Service beginning in 1991: *Texas ** Longview ( East Texas Regional Airport – GGG)

Accident

* On July 10, 1991, a L'Express Beechcraft C-99 (Registration N7217L), flying as Flight 508, crashed while attempting to make an ILS approach at Birmingham International Airport in Birmingham, Alabama. The plane crashed in the Ensley neighborhood and subsequently injured four persons on the ground, as well as destroying two homes. Of the 15 occupants on board, there were 13 fatalities. The cause of the crash was attributed to the captain's decision to attempt an instrument approach into severe thunderstorms resulting in a loss of control of the airplane.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:L'express Airlines Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines established in 1989 Defunct companies based in Louisiana Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Airlines disestablished in 1992 Companies based in New Orleans 1989 establishments in Louisiana 1992 disestablishments in Louisiana American companies established in 1989 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991

History

Fleet

Destinations

Accident

See also

References