Defunct airline of the United States (1981?2007)
America West Airlines
was an airline in the
United States
that operated from 1981 until it merged with
US Airways
in 2007. It was headquartered in
Tempe, Arizona
. Its main hub was at
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
, with a secondary hub at
McCarran International Airport
in
Las Vegas
,
Nevada
, and
Port Columbus International Airport
in
Columbus, Ohio
. The airline merged with
US Airways
in 2005 and adopted US Airways as their brand name.
[2]
America West served about 100 cities in the US, Canada, and Mexico; flights to Europe were on
codeshare
partners. In September 2005, the airline had 140 aircraft, with a single maintenance base at
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
. Regional jet and turboprop flights were operated on a
code sharing
basis by
Mesa Airlines
and
Chautauqua Airlines
as
America West Express
.
Beginning in January 2006, all America West flights were branded as US Airways, along with most signage at airports and other printed material, though many flights were described as "operated by America West." Apart from two heritage aircraft, the only remaining America West branding on aircraft were found on some seat covers and bulkheads. The merged airline used America West's "CACTUS"
callsign
and ICAO code "AWE", but retained the
US Airways
name. As part of a merger between
American Airlines
and US Airways in February 2013,
[3]
which led to American becoming the world's largest airline, the call sign and ICAO code name was later retired on April 8, 2015, when the FAA granted a single operating certificate for both US Airways and American Airlines.
[4]
The US Airways brand continued until October 17, 2015, when it merged with American Airlines.
History
[
edit
]
de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8
series 100 in 1991
The airline was established in February 1981 and began operations August 1, 1983, using three leased
Boeing 737s
flying out of its base in
Phoenix, Arizona
(PHX), with
Ed Beauvais
, a well-known airline industry consultant, as CEO.
[5]
In the early years, passengers could purchase their tickets on the aircraft.
The airline quickly expanded, with 11 737s flying to 13 cities; in 1984, America West's fleet grew to 21 aircraft flying to 23 cities. The June 1984 timetable shows 71 weekday departures from Phoenix, non-stop to 18 cities; from 1985 to 1986, it established a second hub at Las Vegas.
[6]
Confident in its expansion, the increasingly-dominant carrier at
Phoenix Sky Harbor
influenced the development of Terminal 4. America West requested that the construction include an auxiliary power facility and an underground cavity to accommodate a future rail station, to which the airport ultimately agreed.
[7]
America West was one of the first airlines to use extensive "cross-utilization", in which employees were trained in a variety of airline jobs, such as pilots trained in dispatch, and both
baggage handlers
and
flight attendants
trained as gate agents. America West started as a "full-service" airline, in contrast with
Southwest Airlines
, a discount air carrier competing in many markets. America West used an aggressive employee stock-ownership program, in which new employees were required to invest 20% of their salary in company stock, providing a steady flow of cash as the company grew. America West pilots and other employees were paid wages far below those of competitors
[8]
Revenue Passenger-Kilometers, in millions
Year
|
Traffic
|
1984
|
2006
|
1985
|
3675
|
1990
|
17869
|
1995
|
21420
|
2000
|
30753
|
2005
|
39036
|
Source:
Air Transport World
Former logo
By 1985 America West had outgrown their gate space at
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
and during the construction of Terminal 4, approved in 1986, a temporary concourse was added to the southwest corner of Terminal 3 to give them six more gates (growing to eleven by 1990).
The airline's growth continued in 1986 and the airline expanded its fleet, mainly with
Boeing 757-200s
purchased from
Northwest Airlines
(following Northwest's acquisition of
Republic Airlines
) and a number of
de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8s
. (Unusually, the Dash 8 flights were not code-shares and Mesa code-shares replaced them in 1992?93.) The airline started
red-eye flights
from Las Vegas to improve aircraft utilization.
Boeing 747-200
at
Phoenix Sky Harbor
in 1991
America West's rapid growth led to large losses and by 1986 the company was on the verge of
bankruptcy
. Originally slated to occupy the vast majority of the gates in Terminal 4, the airline had to reduce their commitment to the city of Phoenix to just 28 gates, with the growing Southwest Airlines agreeing to lease the remainder of Terminal 4.
In June 1987
Ansett Transport Industries
purchased a 20% stake in America West, increasing it to 26% in April 1991.
[9]
[10]
In 1988, Patrick Thurston, Vice-President of Operations, Bob Russell, Chief of Pilots, and Carl Wobser, a captain, all pleaded guilty to multiple counts of narcotics trafficking.
[11]
Three America West Airlines aircraft operated services in Australia with
Ansett Australia
during the
1989 Australian pilots' dispute
.
[10]
Boeing 737-112
at
San Jose International Airport
in 1993
As they explored destinations beyond the United States, America West filed with
Department of Transportation
for a Phoenix to
Sydney
route to connect with
Ansett Airlines
in Australia. The proposal was rejected and the
Reagan Administration
awarded the route to another airline. In 1989, America West leased four
Boeing 747-200s
(formerly operated by
KLM
) and began non-stop 747 flights between Phoenix and
Honolulu, Hawaii
, and non-stop between Honolulu and
Nagoya, Japan
. The 747 was the only wide-body aircraft operated by America West. The airline also expanded narrow-body jet service to
Mexican
destinations.
In 1990, America West moved into the new Terminal 4 at Phoenix and took delivery of several
Airbus A320s
originally destined for now-defunct
Braniff Airways
. Braniff had purchased the order rights from
Pan Am
, another troubled carrier, and the A320s were sold to America West at a steep discount. Annual revenue reached a billion dollars, the threshold for the Department of Transportation to categorize America West as a
major airline
.
[5]
The July 1990 timetable shows 182 weekday departures from Phoenix non-stop to 46 airports and 132 departures from Las Vegas to 39 airports. (24 LAS departures were between midnight and 01:40.)
The airline continued to lose money: operating expenses at Terminal 4 were far higher than in the temporary Terminal 3 concourse; the Nagoya route carried almost no passengers; tensions before the
Gulf War
caused fuel costs to rise. America West filed for bankruptcy in June 1991.
In June 1995,
W. Douglas Parker
joined America West as senior vice president and chief financial officer; he would be elected chairman, president and CEO in September 2001.
[12]
The airline was fined $2.5 million for maintenance violations in July 1998, and in August 2000 the FAA was reportedly prepared to ground the airline for these violations.
[13]
[14]
Bankruptcy
[
edit
]
America West
Boeing 737-300
and
America West Express
Beechcraft 1900D
at Sky Harbor (1995)
America West operated under bankruptcy from 1991 to 1994; as part of the restructuring, employee stock became worthless, the airline's 747s and Dash8s were sold and the fleet was pared down to 87 aircraft. Hawaii and Nagoya routes were scrapped and America West feeder service to smaller cities and local markets was contracted to
Mesa Airlines
, which began flying turboprops and regional jets as
America West Express
.
On the management side, Founder
Ed Beauvais
was removed as CEO, remaining on the board of directors, and was replaced with Mike Conway, who had been with the airline since the start. Conway left the airline in 1994, replaced as CEO by A. Maurice Myers.
America West's flight attendants unionized in 1993, ending cross-utilization between
customer service agents
, flight attendants and ground agents. Several maintenance and training functions previously operated in-house by America West were outsourced during the bankruptcy.
Reorganization
[
edit
]
America West Airlines
Airbus A319
departing
Portland International Airport
In 1994, America West was finally able to secure a reorganization allowing it to come out of bankruptcy, with a large portion of the airline owned by a partnership including
Mesa Airlines
and
Continental Airlines
, resulting in
code sharing
agreements with these airlines.
To help reinvigorate the airline as they emerged from bankruptcy, a number of changes occurred, including a new color scheme and logo (used until the merger with US Airways), new
livery
,
E-tickets
, and online ticket purchasing in 1996. The airline continued ordering Airbus A320s and began gradually retiring their older
Boeing 737-200s
.
In 1993, America West opened a hub at
Port Columbus International Airport
in
Columbus, Ohio
, using
Chautauqua Airlines
and
Mesa Airlines
to provide commuter and regional flights via
code sharing
agreements in addition to mainline jets. An
America West Club
was at the hub in an area previously used for a
TWA
Ambassadors' Club.
In late 2001, America West was the first airline to apply for and receive a loan from the
Air Transportation Stabilization Board
.
[15]
As of April 2005, the remaining balance on the loan was $300 million. The ATSB loan and its guarantees were paid back by US Airways and the debt refinanced by other lenders during the merger.
[16]
On May 1, 2002, America West ended its partnership with Continental Airlines, citing low code-shared flight sales.
[
citation needed
]
In 2003, America West Airlines closed its Port Columbus hub, reducing scheduled daily flights from almost 50 to 4.
[
citation needed
]
US Airways
[
edit
]
An
Airbus A320
in the 2005-2015 America West /
US Airways
livery at
San Diego International Airport
A traveler boards an
America West Express
CRJ-200
regional jet operated by
Mesa Airlines
In the second quarter of 2005, America West entered merger negotiations with then-bankrupt US Airways. It was structured as a purchase of US Airways by
America West Holdings
; however, the internal structure was a
reverse merger
, with legacy US Airways operations taken over by those of America West.
As the holding companies merged, brand conversion began. The America West Club was renamed the US Airways Club in October 2005. All-new America West aircraft were delivered in the
new US Airways livery
, and older aircraft repainted (while retaining America West interiors). Gates and ticket counters were consolidated at airports where both airlines had operated, aided by the March 2007 transfer of all US Airways reservations to the Shares computer system used by America West (US Airways had previously used a very different
Sabre
system).
All express flights were branded as US Airways Express and aircraft were no longer confined to operations out of their pre-merger hubs (America West aircraft could fly from Philadelphia to cities other than Phoenix and Las Vegas, for example). The two airlines' operating certificates were merged on September 25, 2007. After initially using the "CACTUS" callsign for the west fleet and "USAIR" for the east fleet, all aircraft began flying under a single "CACTUS" callsign and ICAO code "AWE" in September 2008. Meanwhile, US Airways abandoned Las Vegas as its hub. Former America West aircraft were distinguished apart from US Airways pre-merger aircraft by their use of registrations ending in "-AW", while pre-merger US Airways aircraft used registrations ending in "-US". US Airways would later merge with
American Airlines
in 2013, with the former America West callsign and ICAO code retired in 2015 (alongside with the US Airways brand). America West's Phoenix hub has remained intact with American Airlines.
Fleet
[
edit
]
Final fleet
[
edit
]
An America West
Boeing 757-200
in 2006
As of September 27, 2005, at the time of the merger, America West Airlines' fleet consisted of the following aircraft:
[17]
Retired fleet
[
edit
]
America West Airlines previously operated the following aircraft:
[17]
America West Express aircraft
[
edit
]
America West Express
services primarily operated by
Mesa Airlines
via a
code sharing
agreement with America West utilized the following regional jet and turboprop aircraft.
Cancelled/Planned Orders
[
edit
]
In 1991, America West had plans for purchasing 4
Boeing 747-400
aircraft to replace the aging
747-200s
in Honolulu service, but an order of 10 further
Boeing 757-200s
was also mentioned.
[18]
Furthermore, it was in the plans to purchase 15
Airbus A318s
in the late 1990s aside with their new orders of A320s at the time but this never came to fruition.
[19]
America West had also planned on announcing an order of 60 aircraft on September 12, 2001, but this was quickly retracted after the
September 11th attacks
.
[20]
FlightFund
[
edit
]
The airline had a
frequent flyer program
called
FlightFund
.
[21]
In 2006, FlightFund was merged into the US Airways
Dividend Miles
program, which in turn merged into the American Airlines
AAdvantage
program in 2015.
Codeshare agreements
[
edit
]
Throughout its existence, America West had
codeshare
agreements with the following airlines:
Headquarters
[
edit
]
The headquarters of America West Airlines in
Tempe
, which also served as the headquarters for US Airways post-acquisition
America West had its headquarters in
Tempe, Arizona
from the airline's start in 1983 and it retained the same location when it merged with US Airways and retained the US Airways name.
[25]
The airline used the nine-story
[26]
225,000-square-foot (20,900 m
2
) building as its headquarters once America West and US Airways merged,
[27]
but the building has since been vacated when US Airways' management team took over
American Airlines
in an acquisition. Jahna Berry of the
Arizona Business Gazette
said in 2005 that the building "is one of the dominant buildings in downtown Tempe."
[25]
The City of Tempe gave America West $11 million in incentives and tax breaks so it could occupy the headquarters, which cost $37 million to construct.
[28]
The construction of the building began in January 1998; the groundbreaking ceremony was held on February 19 of that year.
[29]
The previous America West headquarters were demolished.
[30]
Other commercial interests
[
edit
]
America West had promotional partnerships with the
Phoenix Suns
NBA
team, the 2001
World Series
champion
Arizona Diamondbacks
baseball
team, and the
Arizona Cardinals
NFL
team.
In 1992, America West paid $26 million for the 30-year naming rights of the
Phoenix Suns
' home court, which it named
America West Arena
. Since the merger with US Airways, the arena was called
US Airways Center
(not to be confused with the
USAir Arena
in
Prince George's County, Maryland
, razed in 2002), until it was renamed to Talking Stick Resort arena.
Accidents and incidents
[
edit
]
America West had four in-flight incidents on its aircraft, but never had an accident resulting in a fatality. Two accidents resulted in hull loss
write-offs
.
Flight
|
Date
|
Aircraft
|
Location
|
Descriptions
|
Injuries
|
America West Airlines Flight 450
|
December 30, 1989
|
737-200
|
Tucson, Arizona
|
A fire in the wheel well burned through hydraulic conduit; consequently, during landing, braking was ineffective and the aircraft overran the end of the runway. After colliding with a concrete structure, the plane came to a stop. The aircraft was written off.
NTSB probable cause
|
10 minor
|
America West Airlines Flight 727
|
January 16, 1990
|
737-300
|
Austin, Texas
|
On January 16, 1990, America West Flight 727 was hijacked en route to Las Vegas from Houston. The hijacker forced the pilot to land the aircraft in Austin, Texas, so it could be refueled and flown to Cuba. Austin police overpowered and arrested the hijacker.
|
none
|
America West Airlines Flight 556
|
July 1, 2002
|
A319-100
|
Miami, Florida
|
The flight was halted by
Transportation Security Administration
and local police after a tip that the pilots appeared to be drunk. Sobriety tests showed that the pilots were legally intoxicated and they were eventually sentenced to prison for operating an aircraft while intoxicated.
|
none
|
America West Flight Airlines 794
|
August 28, 2002
|
A320-231
|
Phoenix, Arizona
|
The pilot failed to maintain directional control during landing, causing the aircraft to veer off the side of the runway onto a dirt infield, where the nose gear strut collapsed. The aircraft was written off.
NTSB brief
|
1 serious, 9 minor
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Norwood, Tom; Wegg, John (2002).
North American Airlines Handbook
(3rd ed.). Sandpoint, Idaho: Airways International.
ISBN
978-0965399388
. Retrieved
November 4,
2020
.
- ^
Alexander, Keith L. (May 20, 2005).
"US Airways To Merge, Move Base To Arizona"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
November 4,
2020
.
- ^
Bartz, Diane; Jacobs, Karen (July 1, 2013).
"State Attorneys General Join Probe Of American Airlines, U.S. Airways Merger"
.
The Huffington Post
. Retrieved
July 1,
2013
.
- ^
Gilbertson, Dawn (April 10, 2015).
"
'Cactus' call sign fades into US Airways history"
.
The Arizona Republic
. Phoenix.
- ^
a
b
"America West Holdings Corporation"
.
Funding Universe
. Archived from
the original
on October 6, 2008
. Retrieved
August 23,
2008
.
- ^
Timetable maps showing America West routes in 1983, 1984, and 1991
- ^
Beauvais, Ed (2016).
Up, Up And Away, From The Beginning to My Journey's End 1981-1992
. Scottsdale, AZ: Ed Beauvais. p. 28.
ISBN
978-0-692-45268-4
.
- ^
Pilot salary history, MIT Study
- ^
Ansett gets 20pc of American airline
Canberra Times
June 19, 1987, page 14.
- ^
a
b
The Story of the Rise and Fall of Ansett 1936-2002
. Fyshwick: Stewart Wilson Aerospace Publications. 2002. pp. 19, 21, 34, 37, 38.
ISBN
978-1875671571
.
- ^
Quig, Brian Downing (September 1, 1991).
"The Phoenix-Bangkok Heroin Connection"
.
Monetary and Economic Review
. Archived from
the original
on March 4, 2016
. Retrieved
December 20,
2015
.
- ^
Bounds, Jeff (July?August 2015).
"How Doug Parker Has Transformed American Airlines"
.
D Magazine
.
- ^
Wald, Matthew L. (July 15, 1998).
"America West Airline Fined $2.5 Million for Violations"
.
The New York Times
. p. A16
. Retrieved
November 4,
2020
.
- ^
"FAA May Ground America West"
.
ABC News
. January 7, 2006.
- ^
"Air Transportation Stabilization Board Conditionally Approves Application By America West"
(Press release). Department of The Treasury. December 28, 2001. Archived from
the original
on September 8, 2008.
- ^
US Air Uses Cash To Buy Back ATSB Stock
Aviation Week
October 2005.
Archived
March 13, 2017, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
"America West Airlines Fleet Details and History"
.
Planespotters.net
. August 9, 2021. Archived from
the original
on October 29, 2021
. Retrieved
August 9,
2021
.
- ^
"America West Reconsidering $1.5 Billion in Boeing Orders"
.
AP NEWS
. Retrieved
May 22,
2021
.
- ^
"America West to Sign For Up to 77 Airbus Aircraft Airline Joins Growing List of Customers for A318"
.
www.defense-aerospace.com
. Archived from
the original
on June 24, 2021
. Retrieved
June 24,
2021
.
- ^
"History of America West"
.
Archived
from the original on September 1, 2018.
- ^
"Welcome to FlightFund"
.
America West Airlines
. Archived from the original on October 22, 1996
. Retrieved
October 1,
2009
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
"British Airways ends code-share with America West"
.
Cheapflights
. September 9, 2005. Archived from
the original
on February 27, 2007.
- ^
"Continental Ends Ticket Alliance With America West"
.
The New York Times
.
Bloomberg News
. March 28, 2002.
- ^
"America West Airlines route map"
. October 23, 2020.
- ^
a
b
Berry, Jahna (June 2, 2005). "
Tempe breathes a sigh on AmWest merger plan
."
Arizona Business Gazette
. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
- ^
"
Phoenix mostly shrugs at prospect of Delta merger
."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
. November 19, 2006. A1. Retrieved on March 1, 2010. "More than 700 people work at US Airways' nine-story headquarters."
- ^
"
Article: Carey Diversified Finances America West Headquarters; $25 Million Non-Recourse Mortgage Secured by Recently Completed Facility.
[
dead link
]
"
PR Newswire
. July 27, 1999. Retrieved on March 1, 2010.
- ^
"United-America West Deal Has Implications Across The West"
.
Lodi News-Sentinel
.
Associated Press
. January 22, 1999. p. 13
. Retrieved
November 4,
2020
.
- ^
"
America West Completes Financing of New Corporate Headquarters
[
dead link
]
."
PR Newswire
. February 19, 1998. Retrieved on March 1, 2010.
- ^
Lehman, William. "
Part VII - America West
."
US Airways
. Retrieved on February 18, 2010.
External links
[
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]
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