AIR WISCONSIN

'Air Wisconsin' is an airline based in Appleton, Wisconsin, USA. Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation, or 'AWAC', 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.^[1].

Contents

History

Destinations

Crew Bases

Fleet

Incidents and accidents

External links

References

History

The airline was established in 1965 and started operations on 23 August 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 handles 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

Main articles: Air Wisconsin Destinations

Crew Bases

★ Pilots

★
★ Philadelphia

★
★ Washington D.C.

★
★ Norfolk

★ Flight Attendants

★
★ Philadelphia

★
★ Washington D.C.

★
★ Norfolk

Fleet

' Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation holds the operating certificate of '	'IATA'	'ICAO'	'Callsign'	'Fleet Size and aircraft type'	'Seats'	'Flys for or in the brand colors of:'
Air Wisconsin Airlines	ZW	AWI	Air Wisconsin	4 Canadair CRJ-200ER 66 Canadair CRJ-200LR	50	US Airways Group Usairwaysexpress.gif

The Air Wisconsin fleet includes the following aircraft (at March 2007) :

★ 4 Canadair CRJ-200ER

★ 66 Canadair CRJ-200LR

Incidents and accidents

'Air Wisconsin Incidents and Accidents'

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)	Pilot of Air Wisconsin flight failed to see and avoid other aircraft [2]
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 in 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 [3]

External links

★ Air Wisconsin

References

1. Directory: World Airlines
2. [1]
3. NTSB Report