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| Founded | 1965[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | August 23, 1965[1] | |||
| Hubs | Philadelphia International Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport |
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| Frequent-flyer program | Dividend Miles (US Airways Express) | |||
| Airport lounge | US Airways Club (US Airways Express) | |||
| Alliance | Star Alliance (US Airways Express) | |||
| Fleet size | 71 | |||
| Destinations | 69 | |||
| Parent company | CJT Holdings[1] | |||
| Headquarters | Greenville, Wisconsin | |||
| Key people | Jim Rankin (President) | |||
| Website | http://www.airwis.com | |||
Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation is an airline based at Outagamie County Regional Airport in the town of Greenville,[2] Wisconsin, United States,[3] near Appleton.[4] Air Wisconsin is the largest privately held regional airline in the United States. It operates regional jet flights as US Airways Express under contract to US Airways, serving 69 cities in the US and Canada with hubs at Philadelphia International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.[5] The airline is also a ground-handler for United Express at over 30 locations.
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The airline was established in 1965 and started operations on August 23, 1965. It was 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 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. In February 1998 it acquired the assets of Mountain Air Express and expanded operations in the west.[5] 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, Air Wisconsin was unable to secure a long-term deal providing service for United Airlines. United ended its contract with AWAC in April 2005, and the last flight under the United code operated on April 16, 2006.
The company invested $175 Million into US Airways to gain routes on US Airways Express. During the last 3 years AWAC has been unable to acquire any extra routes. AWAC now flies exclusively as US Airways Express from bases in Philadelphia and Washington DC. Air Wisconsin handles ground operations for United Express in 30 cities. It employed 2,294 staff as of March 2007.[5]
Pilots and Flight Attendants share crew bases at the following locations:
The Air Wisconsin fleet includes the following aircraft as of December 2011:[6]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadair CRJ-200LR | 71 | 50 | operated as US Airways Express |
Air Wisconsin performs CRJ maintenance activities at the following locations:
Air Wisconsin also contracts aircraft maintenance with Bombardier Aerospace (DCA) and ExelTech Aerospace (YUL).
| Flight | Date | Aircraft | Routing | Location | Description | Injuries | Probable Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 671 | June 29, 1972 | DHC-6 | Chicago, IL- Sheboygan, WI- Appleton, WI |
near Appleton, WI | While approaching Outagamie County Regional Airport, Flight 671 was involved in a midair collision over Lake Winnebago with North Central Airlines Flight 290 (Green Bay-Oshkosh-Milwaukee-Chicago; both planes crashed into the lake and sank | 13 fatal (8 on Flight 671) (5 on Flight 290) |
Pilots of both flights failed to see and avoid the others' aircraft [8] |
| Flight 965 |
June 12, 1980 | Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner | Appleton, WI- Minneapolis, MN- Lincoln, NE |
near Valley, NE | The aircraft suffered a multiple engine failure after entering a thunderstorm. The amount of water ingested into the engine caused a power interruption and a loss of control; plane hit the ground nose-down and right wing-down; plane skidded and ended inverted | 13 fatal, 2 serious |
Improper in-flight decisions by captain, complete failure of 2 engines [9] |
| Flight 3758 |
December 16, 2007 | CRJ 200 | Philadelphia, PA- Providence, RI |
T. F. Green Airport | Miscommunication between the first officer and captain resulted in the first officer idling the engines on final approach. Soon a 2000ft rate of descent developed, the captain attempted to salvage the landing and stalled the aircraft. The aircraft touched down at a 9 degree bank, collapsed the landing gear and the aircraft skidded to a halt left of the runway. | 0 injuries | The captain’s attempt to salvage the landing from an instrument approach which exceeded stabilized approach criteria, resulting in a high sink rate, likely stall, and hard landing which exceeded the structural limitations of the airplane [10] |
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