Air Wisconsin

Infobox Airline
airline=Air Wisconsin
logo=Awac.logo.gif
logo_size=250
fleet_size= 70
destinations=70
IATA=ZW
ICAO=AWI
callsign=WISCONSIN
parent =CJT Holdings
founded=1965cite book|last=Norwood|first=Tom|coauthors=Wegg|others=John|pages=p. 5|title=North American Airlines Handbook|publisher=Airways International|location=Sandpoint, ID|date=2002|edition=3rd|isbn=0-9653993-8-9|url=http://www.airwaysnews.com]
commenced=August 23, 1965
headquarters=Appleton, Wisconsin
key_people=Jim Rankin (President)
hubs=Philadelphia International Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
focus_cities=
frequent_flyer=Dividend Miles (US Airways Express)| lounge=US Airways Club (US Airways Express)
alliance=Star Alliance (US Airways Express)
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 amount of flights out of Charlotte/Douglas International Airport and LaGuardia Airport as US Airways Express.cite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work= Flight International | page= 69 | date= 2007-03-27] .

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 west. 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 2007.

Destinations

Crew Bases

*Pilots
** Philadelphia (Philadelphia International Airport)
** Arlington, Virginia (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport)
** Norfolk, Virginia (Norfolk International Airport)
** New York City (LaGuardia Airport)
** Raleigh/Durham (Raleigh-Durham International Airport)
*Flight Attendants
** Philadelphia (Philadelphia International Airport)
** Arlington, Virginia (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport)
** Norfolk, Virginia (Norfolk International Airport)
** New York City (LaGuardia Airport)
** Raleigh/Durham (Raleigh-Durham International Airport)

Fleet

The Air Wisconsin fleet includes the following aircraft as of March 2007:Fact|date=October 2007

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

References

External links

* [http://www.airwis.com/ Air Wisconsin]