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| Founded | September 25, 1950 | |||
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| Ceased operations | October 26, 1986 (integrated into Trans World Airlines) | |||
| Hubs | Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport | |||
| Fleet size | 50 | |||
| Destinations | Mainline Cities: 57 Midwest Cities: 21 |
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| Company slogan | Go-getters go Ozark (1960s) We make it easy for you (1970s) Ozark flies your way (1980s) |
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| Parent company | Ozark Holdings, Inc. | |||
| Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri | |||
| Key people | Laddie Hamilton (President 1950-1959) Joseph A. Fitzgerald (President 1959-1963) Floyd Jones (Acting President 1963-1964) Thomas L. Grace President 1964-1971) Edward J. Crane (President 1971-1986) Lester L. Cox (Chairman of Board 1972-1986) |
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Ozark Air Lines was a commercial airline that operated in the United States from 1950 until 1986, when it was purchased by Trans World Airlines. A second, smaller airline by that same name operated in 2000-2001. Ozark, from 1950 until 1986, had its headquarters on the grounds of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in St. Louis County, Missouri.[1]
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Ozark Air Lines' origins date back to September 1943 when it was founded in Springfield, Missouri, and it began operations in January 1945 with service between Springfield and St. Louis using Beech 17 Staggerwing aircraft. Those were replaced by Cessna AT-17 Bobcat in the late 1940s. But because a license by the Civil Aeronautics Board was not forthcoming, operations had to be stopped. Another airline, Parks Air Lines, got an operating license so in 1950 Ozark took over Parks Air Lines, to include some Douglas DC-3s. Flights from St. Louis to Chicago soon followed, and by 1955 the airline had 13 DC-3s flying to over 25 destinations between Milwaukee, Wichita, Nashville and Indianapolis. Ozark's main hub was Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
In 1960, the fleet was upgraded to turboprops with the introduction of the Fokker F27 Friendship, and to increase capacity the Martin 4-0-4 was introduced in 1964.
The pure jet age came to Ozark in 1966 with the introduction of the Douglas DC-9-10 and with them the network was expanded to include: Denver, Indianapolis, Louisville, Washington, D.C., New York City, Miami, Tampa and Orlando. Soon the DC-3s and F27s were replaced by the Fairchild Hiller FH-227 until October 1978, when the fleet was composed of DC-9s only.
Over the years, Ozark's DC-9-10s were augmented with DC-9-31/32 and DC-9-40s until 1984 when the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 was introduced. The livery of the airline had three swallows painted on the vertical stabilizer of its airplanes. The swallows represented on-time performance. The symbolism was based on the legend of the swallows that return to the Mission of San Juan Capistrano, in California, each year precisely on the 19th of March.
In the mid-1980s, Ozark and TWA had a de facto duopoly at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, a hub for both. Ozark accounted for 26.3 percent of emplanements at STL in 1985, while TWA accounted for another 56.6 percent.[2] On March 1, 1986, the two airlines announced plans to merge: TWA would buy Ozark for $242 million in cash.[3] Shareholders of both airlines approved the merger by late summer, and the U.S. Department of Transportation gave its approval on September 12, 1986.[4]
Ozark ceased to exist as an independent company on October 27, 1986. The Ozark DC-9s were gradually painted with a modified paint scheme to reflect the name "TWA" in the tail. Eventually, over the next couple of years, the fifty airplanes of the Ozark fleet were freshly repainted in the TWA livery.
In 1998, the rights to the airline's name were purchased by William E. Stricker of Columbia, Missouri. The reformed Ozark Air Lines received its operating certificate on February 11, 2000, and began service 10 days later,[5] from Columbia Regional Airport to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago Midway Airport, using two Fairchild Dornier 328JET aircraft.
A year later the company ceased operations and sold its assets to the now-bankrupt Great Plains Airlines, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[6]
From the 1960s through the late 1980s, Ozark Air Lines' reservations department utilized a special toll-free WX telephone prefix in New Jersey which could be reached only in certain areas of the state by dialing 0 and asking the New Jersey Bell operator to connect to Ozark's WX number: WX-8300. The number could not be dialed directly by the customer and was only available to certain telephone exchanges where WX was available. (Direct-dial toll-free service made WX numbers obsolete, and they have been largely phased out.)
In the late 1960s, comedian George Carlin appeared in Ozark advertising as a spokesman.[7]
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March 27, 1968: At about 6 p.m., an Ozark DC-9 and an Interstate Airmotive Cessna 150F collided in flight approximately 1.5 miles north of Lambert Field. Both aircraft were in the landing pattern for Runway 17 when the accident occurred. The Cessna was demolished by the collision and ground impact, and both occupants were fatally injured. The DC-9 sustained light damage and was able to effect a safe landing. None of its 44 passengers or five crewmembers was injured.
Dec. 27, 1968: An Ozark DC-9-10 crashed upon takeoff in Sioux City, Iowa, injuring three. Although there was excessive ice buildup on the airplane, the pilot nevertheless attempted takeoff, and went off the end of the runway before becoming airborne. The right side of the cockpit collided with a tree that also removed the right wing.
On July 23, 1973, Ozark Air Lines Flight 809, a Fairchild Hiller FH-227B, crashed while on approach to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Of the 45 passengers and crew on board, only seven survived. Microburst-induced windshear and the captain's decision to land in a thunderstorm were cited as the cause.[8]
On December 20, 1983, Ozark Air Lines Flight 650, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31, struck a snow plow while landing at Sioux Falls Regional Airport. The driver of the snow plow was killed but no passenger injuries were suffered.