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| Air Wisconsin | ||
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| IATA ZW |
ICAO AWI |
Callsign WISCONSIN |
| Founded | 19651 | |
| Commenced operations | August 23, 19651 | |
| Hubs | Philadelphia International Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Norfolk International Airport |
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| Frequent flyer program | Dividend Miles (US Airways Express) | |
| Member lounge | US Airways Club (US Airways Express) | |
| Alliance | Star Alliance (US Airways Express) | |
| Fleet size | 70 | |
| Destinations | 70 | |
| Parent company | CJT Holdings1 | |
| Headquarters | Appleton, Wisconsin | |
| Key people | Jim Rankin (President) | |
| Website: http://www.airwis.com | ||
Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation, trading as Air Wisconsin, is an airline based in Appleton, Wisconsin, USA. Air Wisconsin is the largest privately held regional and commuter airline which operates regional jet flights as US Airways Express under contract to US Airways, serving around 70 US cities. Its headquarters base is Outagamie County Regional Airport in Appleton, with hubs at Philadelphia International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Air Wisconsin also operates a large number of flights out of Charlotte/Douglas International Airport and LaGuardia Airport as US Airways Express.2.
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History
The airline was established in 1965 and started operations on August 23, 1965. It was originally founded to connect Appleton, Wisconsin with Chicago. In 1985 it merged with Mississippi Valley Airlines and continued to operate under the Air Wisconsin name. In 1990 it acquired Denver based Aspen Airways and was itself bought by United Airlines a year later. Air Wisconsin pioneered the concept of code-sharing with United Express and rapidly became the nation's largest regional airline in the 1980s. United Airlines then sold Air Wisconsin to CJT Holdings in 1993. Air Wisconsin was then renamed Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation or AWAC because UAL retained the rights to the Air Wisconsin name and sold CJT Holdings the operating certificate. In February 1998 it acquired the assets of Mountain Air Express, allowing it to expand operations in the west2. It flew as a feeder for AirTran Airways under the name AirTran JetConnect, but this relationship was discontinued in July 2004. Even after significant concessionary givebacks by all unions, the management team was unable to secure a long term deal providing service for United Airlines. The company then sought other opportunities with US Airways. The company invested $175 Million into US Airways to gain routes on US Airways Express. United ended its contract with AWAC in April 2005, and the last flight under the United code operated on April 16, 2006. During the last 3 years AWAC has been unable to acquire any extra flying except for the transfer of its 70 regional jets from UAL to US Airways. This has been due to intense competition with other regional airlines for every RFP from the mainline carriers. AWAC now flies exclusively as US Airways Express, serving US Airways' customers from bases in Philadelphia and Washington D.C.. Air Wisconsin handled ground operations for United Express in 19 cities, the largest station being at Washington Dulles International Airport; as well as for Northwest Airlines at smaller cities throughout the Midwest. They employ 2,294 staff as of March 20072.
Destinations
Crew Bases
- Pilots and Flight Attendants share crew bases at the following locations:
Fleet
The Air Wisconsin fleet includes the following aircraft as of March 2007:citation needed
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadair CRJ-200ER | 4 | 50 | Operated as: US Airways Express |
| Canadair CRJ-200LR | 66 | 50 | Operated as: US Airways Express |
Aircraft Maintenance
Air Wisconsin performs CRJ maintenance activities at the following locations:
- Milwaukee, WI (MKE)
- Philadelphia, PA (PHL)
- Norfolk, VA (ORF)
Air Wisconsin also contracts aircraft maintenance with Bombardier Aerospace (RDU, DCA) and ExelTech Aerospace (YUL).
Incidents and accidents
| Flight | Date | Aircraft | Routing | Location | Description | Injuries | Probable Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 671 | June 29, 1972 | DHC-6 | Chicago, IL- Sheboygan, WI- Appleton, WI |
near Appleton, WI | While approaching Outagamie County Regional Airport, Flight 671 was involved in a midair collision over Lake Winnebago with North Central Airlines Flight 290 (Green Bay-Oshkosh-Milwaukee-Chicago; both planes crashed into the lake and sank | 13 fatal (8 on Flight 671) (5 on Flight 290) |
Pilots of both flights failed to see and avoid the others aircraft 3 |
| Flight 965 |
June 12, 1980 | Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner | Appleton, WI- Minneapolis, MN- Lincoln, NE |
near Valley, NE | The aircraft suffered a multiple engine failure after entering a thunderstorm. The amount of water ingested into the engine caused a power interruption and a loss of control; plane hit the ground in nose-down and right wing-down; plane skidded and ended inverted | 13 fatal, 2 serious |
Improper in-flight decisions by captain, complete failure of 2 engines 4 |
References
- ^ a b c Norwood, Tom; Wegg (2002). North American Airlines Handbook, John, 3rd, Sandpoint, ID: Airways International, p. 5. ISBN 0-9653993-8-9.
- ^ a b c "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International (2007-03-27), p. 69.
- ^ http://amelia.db.erau.edu/reports/ntsb/aar/AAR73-09.pdf
- ^ NTSB Report
External links
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