Aspen Airways
Encyclopedia
United Express
United Express is a brand name under which eight regional airlines operate feeder flights for United Airlines. They primarily connect smaller cities with United's domestic hub airports and “focus cities,” although they offer some point-to-point service such as Sacramento to Eureka.As of Sept...
and based in Hangar 5 in Stapleton International Airport
Stapleton International Airport
Stapleton International Airport was Denver, Colorado's primary airport from 1929 to 1995. At different times it served as a hub for TWA, People Express, Frontier Airlines and Western Airlines as well as a hub for Continental Airlines and United Airlines at the time of its closure.In 1995 Stapleton...
in Denver, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. It ceased operations in 1989 when it was acquired by Mesa Airlines
Mesa Air Group
Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 100 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airline subsidiary: Mesa Airlines, and five supporting...
and Air Wisconsin Services, Inc.
Air Wisconsin
Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation is an airline based at Outagamie County Regional Airport in the town of Greenville, Wisconsin, United States, near Appleton. Air Wisconsin is the largest privately held regional airline in the United States...
History
Aspen Airways was named after the aspen treeAspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
and not the town of Aspen, Colorado where it was based.
Aspen Airways was founded in 1952 by Walter Paepcke, as the flight department of the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. It was created to fly personnel between Aspen
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
and Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. The airline's first aircraft were surplus Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
s.
In 1963, Aspen Airways was purchased by J.W. "Bill" Ringsby. In about 1969 Aspen operated a CV-240 leased from Alaska Airlines and by 1970 was operating 4 Convair 340/440's which were purchased from Delta Air Lines. Sometime after 1971 Aspen began operating Convair 580s. Other aircraft operated by Aspen Airways in the 1960s included a Fairchild turboprop (which didn't work out very well in high density altitudes), De Havilland Heron
De Havilland Heron
The de Havilland DH.114 Heron was a small, propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, conventional low-wing monoplane with tricycle...
, De Havilland Dove
De Havilland Dove
The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British monoplane short-haul airliner from de Havilland, the successor to the biplane de Havilland Dragon Rapide and was one of Britain's most successful post-war civil designs...
s with turboprop conversions, Piper Navajo and Aero Commander 500B.
In 1985, the airline acquired the BAe 146
BAe 146
The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...
and began providing the first commercial jet airliner
Jet airliner
A jet airliner is an airliner that is powered by jet engines. This term is sometimes contracted to jetliner or jet.In contrast to today's relatively fuel-efficient, turbofan-powered air travel, first generation jet airliner travel was noisy and fuel inefficient...
service to Aspen. It inaugurated the airliner
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
service from Denver to Aspen, Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
, and Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
.
In September 1985, Aspen Airways became a United Express
United Express
United Express is a brand name under which eight regional airlines operate feeder flights for United Airlines. They primarily connect smaller cities with United's domestic hub airports and “focus cities,” although they offer some point-to-point service such as Sacramento to Eureka.As of Sept...
affiliate carrier, providing regional service from United's Denver hub. By 1986, Aspen Airways was providing non-stop seasonal service from Aspen to Dallas/Ft Worth, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, and Long Beach.
In 1989, Aspen offered itself up for sale. Several suitors attempted to purchase the airline. Its employees
Employee engagement
Employee engagement, also called worker engagement, is a business management concept. An "engaged employee" is one who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about their work, and thus will act in a way that furthers their organization's interests...
attempted to acquire the airline, but were unable to come up with the capital. Next, the Giant Group, a conglomeration of cement and recycling companies, offered to purchase the airline, but their offer fell through. In the end, Mesa Airlines acquired Aspen's Denver hub and routes except for the Denver to Aspen route, stations and ground equipment. Air Wisconsin Services Inc.
Air Wisconsin
Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation is an airline based at Outagamie County Regional Airport in the town of Greenville, Wisconsin, United States, near Appleton. Air Wisconsin is the largest privately held regional airline in the United States...
, the parent company for Air Wisconsin acquired all of Aspen's common stock, its Aspen routes, and its BAE 146 and Convair 580 aircraft.
Air Wisconsin Services continued to operate Aspen Airways as a wholly owned subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
separate from its Air Wisconsin airline from 1990 until 1991 when it merged the two airlines together.
Fleet
At the time of the separate sale and merger, Aspen Airways operated four BAE 146 aircraft and 10 Convair 580 aircraft. When Mesa acquired the United Express hub and field stations (except for the Denver-Aspen route), the Convair 580s were parked and eventually sold.Mesa lost its United Express status in the late 1990s, regaining it several years later following litigation settlement. Air Wisconsin, the original United Express carrier and Aspen Airways' merger partner, lost its UEx partnership following protracted negotiations with United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
. The United Express routes from Denver and other cities to Aspen are being flown by SkyWest Airlines
Skywest Airlines
Skywest Airlines Pty Ltd is a regional airline company based in Perth, Western Australia, Australia; servicing key towns in the state of Western Australia, Darwin, Northern Territory and Melbourne, Victoria; as well as charter flights to Bali, Indonesia....
(with Bombardier regional jets) and Mesa (with DeHavilland Dash 8 turboprops). The last of the BAe-146s that pioneered scheduled passenger jet service into Aspen in the mid 1980s was retired in 2006.