Allegheny Airlines

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Allegheny Airlines

IATA AL ICAO ALO Callsign ALLEGHENY
Founded	1946 (as Reading Aviation Services)
Commenced operations	August 1957
Ceased operations	1979 (Name change to USAir)
Hubs	Allegheny County Airport, (1946-1951) Pittsburgh International Airport, (1951-1979)
Frequent flyer program	USA Airways Dividend Miles
Fleet size	315
Destinations	ABE, ALB, AVP, BDL, BFD, BGM, BOS, BTV, BUF, BWI, CHO, CRW, DTW, ELM, ERI, EVV, GSO, HPN, HVN, IND, ISP, ITH, IPT, LNS, LGA, MDT, MHT, ORH, PHF, PHL, PIT, PVD, PWM, RDG, RDU, ROA, ROC, SCE, SYR, SWF, YYZ
Parent company	US Airways
Headquarters	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Key people	Keith Houk, president

Allegheny Airlines (IATA: AL, ICAO: ALO, Callsign: ALLEGHENY) was an airline based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, from 1952 to 1979. It was a forerunner of today’s US Airways.

History

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Allegheny Airlines began as All American Aviation Company, a business founded by du Pont family brothers Richard C. du Pont and Alexis Felix du Pont, Jr. in 1939.

Allegheny before 1979

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In 1949, the company was renamed All American Airways as it switched from airmail to passenger service. The company was again renamed, to Allegheny Airlines, in 1952; the 1950s began a period of significant growth for the airline.

In 1960 Allegheny had its headquarters in Washington DC.^[1]

In the early 1960s, Allegheny added the Convair 540 turboprop to its fleet. Ihe aircraft proved to be unreliable, with many engine problems. Shortly thereafter, the airline switched to General Motors/Allison turboprops, the Convair 580. This proved to be a great aircraft and is credited with much of the airline's growth.^{[citation needed]}

Allegheny Airlines also became one of the first airlines to create an affiliated branded network of regional airline carriers operating in unison with Allegheny. This was called the Allegheny Commuter System.

Also contributing to Allegheny’s growth were the acquisitions of regional carriers Lake Central Airlines in 1968 and Mohawk Airlines in 1972.

As deregulation dawned on the industry, Allegheny — looking to shed its regional image — changed its name to USAir on October 28, 1979.^{[citation needed]}

“Allegheny” under USAir and US Airways

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Allegheny Airlines DC-9-30, circa 1970

Allegheny Airlines BAC 1-11, circa 1979

After Allegheny Airlines rebranded itself as USAir as airline deregulation took effect, the company retained its earlier name for its Allegheny Commuter service, later renamed “US Airways Express”.

Under USAir, which again rebranded itself as US Airways after a series of notable aircraft accidents^{[citation needed]}, the Allegheny name continued to be used by the US Airways parent company, keeping the trademark under US Airways' control. That Allegheny division was headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and primarily flew De Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprop aircraft serving 35 destinations in the northeastern United States, and eventually Canada, from hubs at Boston and Philadelphia. Its activities and Dash 8 fleet were incorporated into Piedmont Airlines in 2004 to consolidate operations and costs.

Fleet

Accidents and incidents

• 1 December 1959 - Allegheny Airlines Flight 371, a Martin 2-0-2, crashed into a mountain on approach Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States, 25 fatalities.^[2][3]
• On September 9, 1969, Allegheny Airlines Flight 853, a DC-9 en route from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Indianapolis, Indiana, collided with a small private plane and crashed into a soybean field southeast of Indianapolis, near Shelbyville, killing all 83 people aboard both aircraft.

Notes

References

External links

• Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 Memorial website by Dan McGlaun on the September 9, 1969 crash near Indianapolis