Shuttle America Corporation was 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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

based in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana. It fed

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

flights at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport as

United Express United Express is a regional airline network that supports United Airlines operations, primarily by serving smaller cities and connecting traffic to United's main hubs. Representing six percent of United's total capacity for 2024, United Express ...

, as well as

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

flights at

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, New York-LaGuardia, and New York-JFK under the

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a brand name under which Delta Air Lines has air service agreements with domestic regional air carriers that feed traffic to their network by serving passengers primarily in small and medium-sized cities in the domestic mark ...

brand. Shuttle America also operated two of three Delta Shuttle East Coast routes, serving

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and Chicago from New York-LaGuardia. Shuttle America merged into

Republic Airways Republic Airways Inc. is a regional airline in the United States and a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings that operates service for American Airlines (as American Eagle (airline brand), American Eagle), Delta Air Lines (as Delta Connect ...

on January 31, 2017.

History

Shuttle America was established in 1995 by former CEO David Hackett, and began operations on November 12, 1998, as a low-fare commuter airline, headquartered in

Windsor Locks, Connecticut Windsor Locks is a New England town, town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was ...

, the location of Hartford's

Bradley International Airport Bradley International Airport – historically known as Bradley Field – is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, Con ...

. Shuttle America's first route was

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. Shuttle America got much publicity for their launch because of their "super-low $29 fares". Shuttle America's first aircraft; registered N801SA, was a 50-seat Bombardier Dash 8-300 with leather seats and a very creative and patriotic paint scheme. Shuttle America had rapid growth in its first year, adding more aircraft and destinations. In 1999, Shuttle America made a controversial move to reach the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

market. Instead of choosing the busy Logan Airport in East Boston, Shuttle America chose a nearby regional airport, Hanscom Field. Located in

Bedford, Massachusetts Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,161 at th2022 United States census History ''The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on information from Abram Engl ...

, just west of

, it had amenities not found at the larger Logan Airport. With free parking, rental cars, and convenience to the I-95 highway, it was promoted as "Hassle-free Hanscom Field". From Hanscom, Shuttle America served Buffalo,

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

in New York,

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, and

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

, via Trenton. At that time

, was acting as a hub because of its central location in their route network. At the peak time of their operation without codeshares, the airline was flying six Dash 8-300 aircraft and transported over 3000 passengers per day. Additional destinations in their route network during this time period include

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

Islip, New York Islip ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States, on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island. The population was 339,938 at th ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, and

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. Despite the success in quickly expanding throughout the region, the airline attained financial trouble with its growth. In 2001, Shuttle America was purchased by Wexford Holdings LLC., who at the time also owned Chautauqua Airlines. Shuttle America then started flying as

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 ...

in a codeshare agreement, adding service to

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

hubs as well as seasonal service to Martha's Vineyard, MA. At the same time, Shuttle America was transitioning to the smaller Dash 8-100 and started taking deliveries of former Chautauqua

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 differen ...

aircraft. The Dash 8-100's had been leased from Allegheny Airlines and were a temporary stop gap measure to allow for the spool up of the Saab 340 fleet. Eventually, the Dash 8-300's were sold to various airlines including Caribbean Star and

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

while the independent branding of Shuttle America was phased out in lieu of a full network of codeshares with US Airways and

with subsequent route changes to feed those carriers. In 2002, Shuttle America moved its headquarters to

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

. In spring 2005, it was purchased by Republic Airways Holdings for $1 million. Headquarters were moved from Fort Wayne to Republic's Indianapolis base shortly afterwards, and the Saab 340 fleet was replaced by

Embraer 170 The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast, narrow-body, short- to medium-range, twin-engined jet airliners designed and produced by Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. The E-Jet was designed to complement Embraer’s earlier ...

aircraft operating for

and

In October 2008, a short-lived operating partnership was established with Mokulele Airlines to feed their hub in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

with three aircraft. These Embraer 170 aircraft operated in the livery of Mokulele Airlines until October 2009, when Republic entered into a new joint venture agreement with

Mesa Air Group Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters at 410 North 44th Street, Suite 700 in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airline subsi ...

, with the latter airline's Canadair Regional Jet aircraft operating jet flights within Hawaii. In an effort to reduce costs, parent company Republic Airways Holdings announced in 2014 that it would begin the process of merging subsidiaries Republic Airlines, Shuttle America and Chautauqua Airlines. Republic Airways Holdings merged Shuttle America and Chautauqua Airlines by the end of 2014 to reduce costs. As Republic Airways Holdings entered bankruptcy protection in February 2016, they announced that they would be merging the Shuttle America certificate into Republic Airlines operations. Shuttle America operated its last Embraer ERJ-145 service on September 30, 2016. On the evening of January 30, 2017, Shuttle America ceased operations and all remaining aircraft and crew were transferred to the Republic Airways Inc. certificate. This was intended to allow reduced costs as Republic Airways Holdings operates a single airline, with a single aircraft type, for the 3 major codeshares, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines.

Operations

Shuttle America had five crew member bases at the time of its merger into Republic: Columbus, Chicago O'Hare, Indianapolis, Newark, and New York-LaGuardia. Its fleet was made up solely of Embraer E170 jetliners with a two-cabin seating configuration. For United Airlines, Shuttle America operated the E170 in a two-class configuration of 6 First Class seats, and 64 economy. For Delta Air Lines, Shuttle America operated the E170 and the larger E-175 aircraft. Both of these aircraft consisted of a two-class configuration, with the E170 consisting of 9 first class seats, and 60 economy seats, while the larger E175 aircraft consists of 12 first class seats and 64 economy. These aircraft were initially operated by sister company Chautauqua Airlines, but Chautauqua was forced to transfer their 170s to Shuttle America after the pilots' union at

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

claimed the aircraft violated a "

scope clause A scope clause is part of a contract between a major airline and the trade union of its Aviator, pilots that limits the number and size of aircraft that may be flown by the airline's regional airline affiliate. Airlines The scope clause's goa ...

" regulating the size of regional aircraft operated by airlines that also operate under the

IATA airline designator code. Beginning in July, 2008, slightly larger Embraer E175 aircraft began to replace the Embraer E170 fleet in service with Delta. Towards the end of 2008, the airline achieved a major feat by being chosen to replace Delta Shuttle's MD-88 operations between New York's

and Washington Reagan National Airport on the same hourly schedule that Delta has operated with larger aircraft for decades. Beginning June, 2010, new flights by Shuttle America on behalf of Delta Shuttle served Chicago's

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...

from New York-LaGuardia with 11 round trips per day.

Callsign

On July 3, 2007, Shuttle America received approval from the ICAO to change its ATC callsign from Shuttlecraft to Mercury. However, prior to the changing of the callsign to Mercury it was changed to Crossroads, but the word "cross" caused confusion between aircraft and air traffic control ("cross" being a common phrase when taxiing aircraft, i.e. "Cross runway 25L"). This change was necessary due to the similar-sounding Air Shuttle callsign used by

Mesa Airlines Mesa Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona. Mesa operates and maintains a fleet of Embraer E-175 Aircraft that are scheduled, marketed and sold by United Airlines as United Express. ...

. The IDENT code remained the same as TCF. The IATA code of the airline has remained S5 through this time.

Crew bases

*Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Pittsburgh Intl Airport 2001–2005, USAir Express SF-340A *Trenton, New Jersey – Mercer County Airport 2001–2004, USAir Express SF-340A *Fairfax, VA – Dulles Intl Airport 2004–2005, United Express SF-340A *Chicago, Illinois –

*Columbus, Ohio – John Glenn Columbus International Airport *Indianapolis, Indiana –

Indianapolis International Airport Indianapolis International Airport is an international airport located southwest of Downtown Indianapolis in Marion County, Indiana, United States. It is owned and operated by the Indianapolis Airport Authority, and the airport serves over 5 ...

*Newark, New Jersey –

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and E ...

*New York City-LaGuardia, New York –

Fleet

As of January 2017, the Shuttle America fleet consisted of the following aircraft:

Incidents

Although Shuttle America was never involved in a fatal accident, it has been involved in several mishaps, notably: *On June 8, 2005: Shuttle America flight 7534, a

Saab 340A reported undercarriage problems on approach to Washington Dulles International Airport. Undercarriage collapsed on landing, aircraft skidded off the runway, and onto grass. No fatalities were reported but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. *On February 18, 2007, Shuttle America flight 6448, a

Embraer E-170 aircraft skidded off the snow covered 6,017 foot runway due to pilot error/fatigue and crashed through a fence while landing on runway 28 at 3:14pm at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The flight was arriving from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. None of the 70 passengers and four crew on board the flight were reported injured. *On February 27, 2012, Shuttle America flight 5124, a

Embraer E-170 aircraft operating a flight from Atlanta made an emergency landing at

after the pilots received an unsafe nose gear indication on approach; a fly-by of the tower confirmed the nose gear was retracted. The aircraft subsequently came to rest on runway 22L supported only by its main landing gear. The 66 passengers and 4 crew escaped uninjured. *On June 13, 2013, a Shuttle America Embraer E-170 aircraft departing

was involved in a near-miss with a

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

arriving at

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is ...

. Both aircraft were turning away from each other when they lost the required separation distance.FAA investigates near-miss by 2 planes over NYC
CBS News (2013-06-21). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.

References

11. https://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR08-01.pdf
Washington Post

External links

Official website

Republic Airways Holdings
{{Navboxes , list = {{Republic Airways Holdings {{Airlines of the United States {{Delta Connection Carriers {{United Express Carriers {{US Airways Express Carriers Defunct regional airlines of the United States Regional Airline Association members Airlines established in 1995 Defunct companies based in Indianapolis Republic Airways Airlines disestablished in 2017 Airlines based in Indiana Airlines based in Connecticut