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| Founded | 1979 | |||
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| Hubs | *Los Angeles International Airport | |||
| Destinations | ||||
| Headquarters | San Luis Obispo, California | |||
| Key people | ||||
Wings West Airlines, often referred to simply as Wings West was an American regional airline headquartered at McChesney Field, San Luis Obispo, CA.
Contents |
History
Wings West was founded by Mark Morro and William Hirsch at Santa Monica Airport and began service in 1979 flying twin Cessna aircraft to destinations in Southern California. Bill Hirsch served as the first CEO of the airline while Mark Morro served as President. Their first flight on Nov 11th of that year was from Santa Monica to Mammoth Lakes. The airline expanded its route network following the demise of Swift Air Airlines, taking over many of the former routes of Swift Air and expanded service to many California cities and into Arizona, Nevada and Oregon with the addition of Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner and Beechcraft Model 99 turboprops to the fleet. During the early1980s, Carl Albert and a group he introduced invested in the airline and Carl Albert became Chairman, CEO and President. The airline became a publicly traded company (1983). In 1986 Wings West began flying under a franchise agreement under the American Eagle name, feeding passengers to American Airlines. By 1988 the airline operated 425 flights per day and in 1988 was purchased by AMR Corporation. Carl Albert remained as President following the sale to AMR until John Selvaggio became President on the retirement, in 1989, of Carl Albert. During 1991 Wings West began taking delivery of Saab 340 aircraft. During 1996 Mary B. Jordan became president of the airline. In 1998 the airline was merged with Simmons Airlines and Flagship Airlines into AMR Eagle Holdings Corporation, which is commonly referred to as American Eagle Airlines. Some of the key early officers of Wings West Airlines were Elaine Teng, CFO, Joanne Dowty, VP of Marketing, Ron Stotz, VP of operations and Bob Hanson, VP of Maintenance. Following his retirement from Wings West in 1989, Carl Albert purchased Fairchild Aircraft, the manufacturer of the Fairchild Metro, in 1990.
Note: Founder Mark Morro was elected as Chairman of The Regional airline industry in 1985.
Former Destinations Served
- California
- Arcata (Arcata-Eureka Airport)
- Bakersfield (Meadows Field Airport)
- Bishop
- Burbank (Bob Hope Airport)
- Fresno (Fresno Yosemite International Airport)
- Inyokern (Inyokern Airport)
- Los Angeles (Los Angeles International Airport)
- Long Beach (Long Beach Airport)
- Hawthorne (Hawthorne Municipal Airport)
- Mammoth
- Merced (Merced Municipal Airport)
- Modesto (Modesto City-County Airport)
- Monterey (Monterey Peninsula Airport)
- Oakland (Oakland International Airport)
- Orange County (John Wayne Airport)
- Oxnard (Oxnard Airport)
- Palm Springs (Palm Springs International Airport)
- Redding (Redding Municipal Airport)
- San Diego (San Diego International Airport)
- San Jose (San Jose International Airport)
- San Francisco (San Francisco International Airport)
- San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport)
- Sacramento (Sacramento International Airport)
- Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara Municipal Airport)
- Santa Maria (Santa Maria Public Airport)
- Santa Monica (Santa Monica Airport)
- Santa Rosa (Sonoma County Airport)
- Stockton,California (Stockton Metropolitan Airport)
- Visalia (Visalia Municipal Airport)
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Former Fleet
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Last time I checked, the Lake Tahoe airport was in California and not Nevada.
References
External links
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