Misplaced Pages

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71-535: The company started as Bonanza Air Service , a charter operator in Las Vegas, before becoming a Nevada intrastate carrier in 1946 operating between Las Vegas and Reno. In 1949 it obtained Federal certification as a local service (or feeder) airline, starting service between Phoenix and Reno the same year. In the 1950s and early 1960s the airline expanded into Arizona, Southern California and Utah, including Phoenix , Los Angeles and Salt Lake City . Until 1978 Bonanza had

142-448: A CAB certificate. The results of such investigations were not necessarily a foregone conclusion. In 1976, the CAB ended a long investigation by deciding ZIA was, in fact, not a common carrier (and thus did not require certification), going against the decision of its own administrative law judge. Ironically, this happened only a year before ZIA separately applied for and received certification as

213-643: A bigger impact on the CAB. The 1966 Act established the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as part of DOT, which absorbed the CAB safety function, which was to investigate most airline accidents. Unlike the FAA, which (renamed as the Federal Aviation Administration) became part of DOT in the 1966 Act, the CAB remained an independent government agency. While CAB regulation suppressed free competition , it provided security for

284-555: A handful of states, intrastate carriers tended to be tiny, a reflection of the fact that the economic opportunity was limited except in larger states. But such state regulation tended to be lighter than that exerted by the CAB. Moreover, state regulators had an interest in seeing "their" airlines succeed. The CPUC allocated non-overlapping routes between Air California and PSA, ensuring the survival of Air California (a new entrant in 1967) against interstate airlines competing on Air California routes. In Texas, enabling legislation specified that

355-526: A large Indiana-based air travel club. Voyager, which had a fleet comprising a Boeing 720 , two Lockheed Electras and some piston aircraft and its own terminal at Indianapolis Airport , unsuccessfully appealed to the federal courts. The chief pilot of Voyager was George Mikelsons , who left to found what later became ATA Airlines . The CAB went on to shut two other large clubs in 1974 and 1975. Notwithstanding these enforcement actions, in November 1979 (within

426-614: A large portion of the US airline industry. At year-end 1978 (the end of the regulated era), the fleets of PSA, Air California and Southwest numbered 34, 13 and 13 aircraft respectively against a total of 2,263 aircraft in US air carrier fleets. A 1976 report for the US Department of Transportation said such airlines accounted for less than 2% of all US airline revenue-passenger miles . Nonetheless, these carriers had an outsized impact because of their prominent success. Despite being much smaller than

497-424: A major role in the advent of US airline deregulation and thus airline deregulation globally, and the subsequent growth of low cost and ultra-low cost carriers . Further, US airline deregulation was merely the first in a wave of general economic deregulation by the federal government, eventually extending to railroads, trucking, energy, communications and finance. In aggregate, US intrastate carriers never comprised

568-610: A mountain south of Las Vegas during poor weather. There were no survivors among the 26 passengers and three crew on board the F-27. Intrastate carrier Intrastate airlines in the United States were air carriers operating solely within a single US state and taking other steps to minimize participation in interstate commerce , thus enabling them to escape tight federal economic airline regulation prior to US airline deregulation in 1979. These intrastate carriers therefore amounted to

639-661: A routing in the name of safety. The "high seas" were otherwise reserved for CAB certificated carriers. Geographical intrastate operation alone did not imply legal intrastate status. Prior to 1979, airlines with such status were economically regulated, if at all, by their home state. For example, prior to 1965, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regulated ticket prices for California intrastate carriers like PSA and Air California under pre-existing legislation pertaining to intrastate transportation generally. Only in that year did legislation increase

710-444: A small unregulated, or less regulated, sector within what was otherwise then a tightly regulated industry. As detailed below, flying within the geographic boundaries of a single state was a necessary but not sufficient condition to qualify as an intrastate carrier. Despite providing a small proportion of US airline capacity, the success of these airlines, in particular Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA), and Southwest Airlines , played

781-525: A supplemental air carrier. Air travel clubs were membership organizations, nominally private, that had their own aircraft and ran trips for members. In 1968, the FAA instituted Part 123 of the Federal Aviation Regulations under which air travel clubs had their own operational requirements. Starting in the early 1970s, the CAB went after some of the largest air travel clubs for being de-facto common carriers. In 1973, it shut down Voyager 1000,

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852-411: A very poor decision to buy wide-bodied aircraft, leading to significant financial distress. Air California was the one other notable California intrastate airline, not so much a rival to PSA as a complement, because its success was in large part due to being protected from PSA competition by its state regulator and by being part of a duopoly (from which PSA was excluded) at its main base. Air Florida

923-518: A week, increasing up to daily by 2 September 1947, requiring another DC-3. In 1947 the airline applied to the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) for a certification as a feeder or local service airline. In June 1947, the airline announced a proposed merger with Arizona Airways , then also operating as an intrastate carrier, but within Arizona. However, there is no mention of such a merger in either of

994-585: Is a consequence of the Commerce Clause - one aircraft is the same as any other in matters such as air navigation, and it would make no sense for both state and federal agencies to both provide services like air traffic control. Courts have long viewed safety as a federal responsibility. The first intrastate carrier to make a substantial impact was California Central Airlines (CCA) from 1949 to 1955. CCA slightly preceded PSA (which started later in 1949) and during its existence flew many more passengers than PSA. CCA

1065-544: Is no railroad between Las Vegas and Reno, and roads were primitive. Las Vegas and Reno were isolated from each other, with Las Vegas being better connected to Southern California and Reno to Northern California than to each other. Bonanza was credited with bringing the two parts of the state together. It also did a better job of the Vegas to Phoenix route than TWA had done, also credited with building traffic and bringing those two cities together. The founder and first president of Bonanza

1136-539: Is now the largest airline in the US by domestic passengers carried. Southwest was fortunate that deregulation occurred when it did, almost at the exact time the airline ran out of Texas cities to which to expand. Southwest had swept Texas of competition but had not had a chance to lose its competitive fire, its focus nor discipline. It simply kept methodically expanding nationally the same way it had within Texas. Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board ( CAB )

1207-418: Is shown on this map; however, Bonanza was not serving Guaymas at this time although it had the authority to do so. Earlier in 1968, the airline served Apple Valley, California ( APV ) with F-27s. Bonanza Air Lines operated the following aircraft: The airline's only fatal incident was on November 15, 1964, when Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 , flying from Phoenix, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada , crashed into

1278-521: The Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States , under which the US federal government may only regulate interstate commerce, leaving states considerable leeway to regulate companies that operate solely within a single state, so long as that operation has minimal interstate impact. Prior to PSA's launch in 1949, it was not obvious that such a niche existed for airlines - PSA had to assert

1349-497: The Federal Aviation Administration just like any other carrier. Uncertificated carriers , known by a variety of names over time, such as contract carriers or Part 45 carriers , were airlines which escaped CAB regulation by not being common carriers - in other words, they did not hold themselves out to the public as a carrier. Zantop Air Transport was an example of such a company, flying aircraft on behalf of

1420-589: The Watres Act , which had regulated commercial aviation since the mid-1920s, and created a new agency, the Civil Aeronautics Authority. The agency was renamed in 1940, due to a merger with the Air Safety Board. It became an independent agency under Reorganization Plans Nos. III and IV of 1940, effective on June 30, 1940. The Air Safety Board had formed in 1938. Other predecessor agencies included

1491-625: The Aeronautics Branch (1926–1934), the Bureau of Air Commerce (1934–1938), and the Bureau of Air Mail, Interstate Commerce Commission (1934–38). The first air accident investigation led by the CAB was the 1940 Lovettsville air disaster . Some duties were transferred to the Federal Aviation Agency in 1958. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was established in 1967, taking over air accident investigation duties. Under

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1562-532: The CAB allowed interstate carriers competing on such routes (e.g. United Airlines and Western Airlines ) to match the lower fares of PSA, such fare matching applied only to tickets sold within the state of California - on purchases of tickets outside of California on United on a route within California that competed with PSA, normal (higher) CAB fares applied. The CAB took the requirement for minimal impact on interstate commerce extremely seriously. As an example, in

1633-399: The CAB allowed local service carriers to compete on some routes with trunklines and some local service carriers became sizeable airlines. However, as shown in the table below, in 1978, just prior to deregulation, the largest local service carrier Allegheny (soon to rename itself USAir ) was still smaller in revenue terms than the smallest trunk, National , and basic operating statistics show

1704-412: The CAB cases that awarded local service certificates to Arizona Airways and Bonanza. In June 1949, the CAB awarded Bonanza a feeder certificate from Reno to Phoenix via intermediate points including Las Vegas. The award was unusual in that it involved the transfer of Las Vegas to Phoenix authority from trunk carrier Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) to Bonanza. In 1945, Arizona Airways had asked

1775-401: The CAB from regulating certain things: frequency, equipment, accommodations and facilities. It was up to the carrier to determine what aircraft it flew and how often and what airport or ticket facilities it built/rented, and so forth. However, the CAB did generally require a minimum adequate service, e.g. often two flights/day, in a market. The Civil Aeronautics Authority Act of 1938 superseded

1846-579: The CAB saw as making them common carriers. For instance, in February 1961, the issued a cease-and-desist order to, among others, Trans Global Airlines, Inc. aka Golden State Airlines, a Part 45 carrier, for carrying passengers to the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas for "free". The fact that transportation was provided as part of the cost of accommodation did not make the airline any less a common carrier, and therefore guilty of providing interstate air transportation without

1917-459: The CAB to approve of a deal by which TWA would sell that route to Arizona Airways for $ 100,000 and the right to be a 20% owner. The CAB had deferred any decision until it awarded the feeder certification for the state of Arizona. In November 1949, the CAB approved a deal by which Bonanza bought the rights from TWA for $ 672.09, significantly less than what Arizona Airways had proposed to pay in 1945. Certificated operations began 19 December 1949. There

1988-481: The CAB's taxonomy of certificated scheduled airlines (see "Airline categories" below). However, in 1972 the CAB expanded this category to include aircraft of 30 passengers or fewer, with a payload of less than 7,500 lbs. Such carriers did have to obtain Federal Aviation Administration operational/safety certification but were otherwise able to fly wherever they pleased. The CAB would, on occasion, also exempt air-taxi or commuter operators to operate aircraft larger than

2059-438: The CAB, notwithstanding that the route itself was between two California points. Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines are examples of airlines that, prior to 1979, operated solely within a single state yet for several reasons remained regulated by the CAB. First, the carriers did participate in interstate commerce by, for instance, selling connecting tickets to the rest of the United States. Moreover, at times in their history

2130-709: The CPUC's authority to airline certification, market entry/exit and service quality. Southwest Airlines was certified by the Texas Aeronautics Commission (TAC). Air Florida was overseen by the Florida Public Service Commission . By 1976, 25 US states regulated intrastate carriers within their borders. Of the 25 requiring certification for intrastate airlines, 15 regulated flight schedules, 17 regulated quality of service, 19 regulated market entry/exit and 19 regulated prices. However, other than in

2201-586: The Civil Aeronautics Authority Act that created the CAB. These were carriers such as United Air Lines , American , TWA , etc, all with origins going back to the 1920s and 1930s. For a summary, see the table below. After World War II, the CAB certificated a second set of scheduled carriers, the local service carriers . In theory, local service airlines served smaller routes than the trunklines, though most trunklines tended to have some legacy points on their networks that were quite small. Over time,

Bonanza Air Lines - Misplaced Pages Continue

2272-634: The Civil Aeronautics Board to regulate airlines was established by the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938. The 1938 Act was amended by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, but the main effect of that was to establish the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA), which among other things regulated (as it still does) airline operations and safety. The 1966 Department of Transportation Act, which established the US Department of Transportation (DOT), had

2343-492: The Commerce Clause against the US Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the federal agency responsible for economic airline regulation, and the CAB's requirement that PSA's service not have a material impact on interstate commerce required, among other things, that PSA not sell joint tickets to/from out-of-state cities and that PSA not sell tickets on its routes to anyone located outside California. It also meant that when

2414-544: The TAC was to encourage and develop intrastate air service. Lamar Muse , Southwest's first CEO, saw the TAC as "anxious to have a real airline ... under the TAC's jurisdiction." In Florida, the Public Service Commission likewise sought to increase service by intrastate carriers. During the regulated era, certification of new domestic scheduled passenger carriers by the CAB was extremely rare. From 1950 until 1974, there

2485-598: The US automakers on a private basis (before it acquired a supplemental certificate in 1962). "Part 45" was a reference to the then Civil Aviation Regulations under which the then Federal Aviation Agency regulated the operations/safety of such non-common carrier operators. Over time, the Civil Aviation Regulations (subsequently the Federal Aviation Regulations ) changed. Instead of Part 45, such uncertificated carriers were moved to being regulated under Part 42. They then became known as Part 42 carriers . Finally,

2556-449: The case of Hawaii, flying overwater between the islands, which was upheld in court as being intrinsically interstate commerce because the Federal government had domain over the seas. Note that the Federal government, while not providing economic regulation over intrastate carriers, did regulate them from an operational/safety standpoint. For those purposes intrastate airlines were regulated by

2627-448: The case of air taxis, the CAB chose not to regulate. In the case of intrastate airlines, it was legally unable to. Restriction of flying to a single state was not sufficient to avoid CAB regulation; the additional measures to avoid interstate commerce were critical. Furthermore, flying within a single state was generally interpreted strictly. An aircraft flying outside the boundaries of that one state could trigger CAB authority, including, in

2698-520: The chairmanship of John Robson, the Civil Aeronautics Board "in April 1976 did the unthinkable, becoming the first regulatory body to support deregulation," which President Gerald Ford first spurred in February 1975 with a proposal to abolish the CAB altogether. In the late 1970s, during the administration of President Jimmy Carter , and under the guidance of his economic advisor Alfred E. Kahn (who had specialized in regulatory economics, having written one of

2769-461: The dying days of the regulated era, the CAB was still engaged in a fight with PSA and Air California over the service of these carriers to Lake Tahoe Airport . This airport is located in California, right next to Nevada, and clearly many travelers used such flights to travel between California and Nevada. In the eyes of the CAB, this constituted a more-than-incidental impact on interstate commerce, which therefore meant such service should be regulated by

2840-496: The existing airlines, avoided gluts and shortages of passengers on certain routes, and (partly by allowing airlines to carry air mail ) secured airline service for communities that would have otherwise been served less, or not have been served at all (due to low passenger traffic or other reasons). CAB authority included: Airlines had no ability to make competitive decisions, absent CAB approval, on choice of route or fare charged on any particular route. The Act also prevented

2911-506: The federal Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), although U.S. authorities allowed American Airlines , Braniff International Airways , Aloha Airlines and Mohawk Airlines to purchase the same aircraft. An order was then placed for the U.S. built equivalent, the Douglas DC-9 series 10. Deliveries of the DC-9 began in late 1965 and flights commenced on March 1, 1966. The DC-9s, dubbed Funjets , flew

Bonanza Air Lines - Misplaced Pages Continue

2982-404: The federally-regulated carriers, PSA and Air California came to dominate intra-California air travel, and Southwest the same in Texas. Moreover, the fares of such carriers were notably lower than federally regulated fares, leading to substantial increases in passenger traffic on the routes on which they competed, despite which the financial results of these carriers were far superior. The contrast

3053-470: The first federal regulatory regime, since the 1930s, to be totally dismantled — and this happened on January 1, 1985. The remaining tasks were transferred to the Secretary of Transportation except for a few going to the U.S. Postal Service . The CAB regulated almost all air transportation in the US, but there were some exceptions. The CAB chose not to regulate airlines flying "small aircraft". This

3124-441: The first year of deregulation) there were still 11 air travel clubs operationally regulated under Part 123, though by May 1980 it had dropped to seven. The CAB divided the airlines it regulated into categories according to the roles they were meant to play. The following draws from the CAB's FY 1977 Report to Congress dated May 1978, and so reflects the state of CAB airline certification just prior to deregulation. The first split

3195-483: The following routes in the first year: Las Vegas—Reno, Las Vegas—Los Angeles, Reno—Los Angeles, Salt Lake City—Phoenix, and Reno—Las Vegas—Phoenix. The headquarters moved to Phoenix during 1966. Bonanza's April 28, 1968, timetable listed DC-9 jet service on the following routes: With Civil Aeronautics Board approval on April 17, 1968 Bonanza Air Lines merged with Pacific Air Lines and West Coast Airlines to form Air West on July 1. Bonanza's DC-9-10s and F-27As joined

3266-617: The limits. For instance, in 1971, it exempted Executive Airlines and Air New England (at that time a commuter carrier) to fly propeller aircraft up to 44 seats to expand service in New England. On five occasions, the CAB certificated former air taxi/commuter airlines to fly larger aircraft. These airlines were then regulated by the CAB like any other CAB carrier: An airline that restricted flying to within one state and took other steps to minimize participation in interstate commerce could avoid CAB regulation and fly as an intrastate airline . In

3337-593: The local service carriers as flying distinctly less capacity, smaller aircraft and shorter routes than the trunks. Local service carriers were also the biggest recipients of CAB subsidies, as shown below. In 1978, the CAB paid a total of $ 66.3 million in subsidies to airlines (over $ 275 million in 2024 dollars) of which $ 58.5 million was paid to local service carriers, equivalent to over 40% of local service carrier operating profits that year. Other CAB domestic categories included intra-Alaskan , Hawaiian , helicopter , regional , air taxi , and cargo . Historically there

3408-530: The most consistently successful airline in the United States, in turn inspiring many copycats worldwide. The advent of airline deregulation globally, and in particular such carriers as Ryanair and EasyJet in Europe and IndiGo and Air Asia in Asia, can therefore be traced back, in significant part, to these intrastate pioneers. The opportunity for intrastate carriers to escape federal economic regulation arose because of

3479-482: The new Air West fleet. A McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 (construction number 47246/ registration N9333) was ordered by Bonanza but was delivered to Air West after the merger. It flew with Bonanza's successors until about 2009. The Bonanza route map in their April 28, 1968 timetable lists the following destinations. Cities in bold were served with DC-9 jets and F-27 turboprops or only by DC-9s while other destinations were served only by F-27s: Guaymas, Mexico ( GYM )

3550-595: The only scheduled nonstop flights between Las Vegas and Reno. It became an international airline just before it merged with Pacific Air Lines and West Coast Airlines to form Air West, flying Douglas DC-9s to Mexico from Phoenix and Tucson. Bonanza Air Service began charter operations in 1945 in Las Vegas with a single-engine Cessna. In 1946 it acquired a C-47 from Flying Tiger Line and had it converted to civilian Douglas DC-3 configuration. The airline started intrastate airline service from Las Vegas to Reno on 5 August 1946 as Bonanza Air Lines, initially three times

3621-482: The populations of California, Texas and Florida were 20.0mm, 11.2mm and 6.8mm respectively. The highest profile intrastate carrier was PSA, the acknowledged inspiration for the other three. PSA became super dominant within California, with a market share as high as 70% and playing a substantial role in the life of the state. However, in the late 1960s and early 1970s it became distracted by ill-conceived diversification into hotels, rental cars and radio stations, and made

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3692-457: The regulations were completely revamped, with most commercial operations moved to Part 121. Such operators were then known as Part 121 commercial operators or simply just commercial operators . A prominent example of such a carrier was Zantop International Airlines (ZIA), which started in 1972 as a Part 121 commercial operator, uncertificated by the CAB. The CAB regularly enforced its powers against uncertificated carriers engaged in activities

3763-421: The same kind of proceedings as huge airlines like United and American. 1975 certification proceedings for Munz Northern were memorialized in 32 pages of CAB reports, encompassing the deliberations of the (usually five but in this case four) member CAB board itself, plus the earlier deliberations of an administrative law judge in front of whom six people appeared, representing Munz and two other interested parties. At

3834-428: The same legislation). Further, it protected federally certified air carriers from attempted state economic regulation. Federal, not state, certification now provided the most economic freedom for intrastate airlines, which left state regulatory bodies with no airlines to regulate. For safety purposes, intrastate carriers were regulated, as with any other US carrier, by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This too

3905-642: The scheduled carriers. Scheduled carriers were split between domestic and international. Two carriers were exclusively international: Air Micronesia (a subsidiary of Continental Airlines ) and cargo carrier Seaboard . One carrier was almost exclusively international: Pan Am and, until deregulation, was not permitted to sell tickets for transport within the continental US. While it could fly aircraft from, say, New York to Los Angeles, it could not sell tickets between New York and Los Angeles despite having significant international operations in both cities. All other international carriers were also domestic carriers. There

3976-576: The standard texts and previously been chairman of the New York Public Service Commission , the body regulating utilities in New York State , and was appointed CAB Chairman), the CAB continued to be the focus of the early deregulation movement, and its dissolution was one of the most conspicuous pioneering events of the movement. The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 specified that the CAB would eventually be disestablished —

4047-401: The state they were certified within. PSA became superdominant within California, hitting a market share of 70% of passengers flying within California, but until deregulation had no ability to go beyond California. The 1978 Airline Deregulation Act effectively abolished federal economic regulation of domestic air travel in the United States starting in 1979 (the CAB was dissolved in 1985 under

4118-547: The time, Munz had six aircraft, each carrying 10 people or fewer. Further, Munz then had the same reporting requirement as carriers like United, all the usual reams of data that had to be sent to the CAB, for a carrier a tiny fraction of the size. The agency had its headquarters in the Universal Building in Dupont Circle , Washington, D.C. The agency had moved there by May 1959. Previously it had been headquartered in

4189-538: The two carriers were directly subsidized by the CAB, including participating in CAB aircraft finance programs. Further, when the State of Hawaii attempted to certificate an intrastate carrier, Island Airlines, the CAB challenged it on the basis that the channels between the Hawaiian islands were under CAB jurisdiction and therefore no airline could fly from one Hawaiian island to another without engaging in interstate commerce. This

4260-461: Was Edmund Converse, who also funded much of its development. In July 1952, the airline started service on a new route from Phoenix to Los Angeles via many intermediate points. Like other local service air carriers, Bonanza was subsidized by the federal government. In 1962 its operating revenues of $ 11.0 million included $ 3.2 million "Pub. serv. rev." In 1959, Bonanza introduced Fairchild F-27s and unsuccessfully applied for routes to Texas. The F-27

4331-522: Was a territorial category, superseded by Hawaiian and Intra-Alaskan after Hawaii and Alaska became states. Some carriers had more than one domestic status. For instance, Alaska Airlines was listed as both an Alaska carrier and a trunk, however, for the purposes of 1978 CAB statistics it was counted as an Alaska carrier. The wide variety of carriers in the table below hints at problems with just one facet of CAB regulation. Tiny Alaskan back-country carriers like Munz Northern and Kodiak-Western were subject to

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4402-510: Was a U.S. built version of the Dutch built Fokker F27 Friendship. The last scheduled DC-3 flight was in late 1960, and Bonanza became the first all-turbine airline in the U.S. Bonanza F-27s flew to Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN) in northern Arizona with flights to Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Tucson. Bonanza ordered three BAC One-Elevens in October 1962; this request was denied by

4473-410: Was a split within international between passenger airlines (which were always free to carry cargo and sometimes flew pure cargo aircraft) and cargo airlines. Domestic had many subcategories. The original CAB scheduled carriers were known as trunkline carriers , trunklines , trunk airlines or simply just trunks, with most (but not all) such carriers having certificates dating back to 1938, the date of

4544-554: Was an agency of the federal government of the United States , formed in 1940 from a split of the Civil Aeronautics Authority and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services (including scheduled passenger airline service ) and, until the establishment of the National Transportation Safety Board in 1967, conducted air accident investigations. The agency was headquartered in Washington, D.C. The authority of

4615-475: Was between scheduled and non-scheduled (charter carriers). The CAB referred to non-scheduled carriers, in 1978, as supplemental air carriers . Prior to 1955, the CAB called them irregular air carriers . Scheduled carriers were also free to offer charters. Throughout the history of the CAB, the supplementals constantly attempted to become scheduled carriers and the CAB constantly rejected them. There were also tight restrictions on supplementals, designed to protect

4686-493: Was credited to moving most transport between Los Angeles and San Francisco from ground to air, which was noticed nationally. Intrastate carrier success required a state that was physically large and had a substantial population. Unsurprisingly, the four intrastate airlines that acquired jet equipment were from California (PSA and Air California), Texas (Southwest Airlines) and Florida (Air Florida). Air California first flew in 1967, Southwest in 1971 and Air Florida in 1972. In 1970,

4757-562: Was formalized in Part 298 of the Board's economic regulations, which in 1952 gave a blanket authorization for any airline operating an aircraft with a maximum gross takeoff weight of 12,500 lbs or less. Such airlines were originally known as "air taxis", later as commuter airlines or Part 298 carriers . Confusingly, "air taxi" was also the term by which the CAB referred to Aspen Airways and Wright Air Lines (after they became certificated carriers) within

4828-426: Was only one certification ( Air New England ). Only in the last year of regulation (1978) did the CAB relax and award economic certificates. Until deregulation it was impossible for an intrastate airline to swap its state certificate for a CAB certificate. Therefore, while intrastate carriers were one of the few ways to start a scheduled carrier, there was a natural limit bounded by the geography/demography/economics of

4899-434: Was stark. The success of these small carriers stood out among a US economy that, in the 1970s, was generally stagnant. They therefore helped inspire the 1979 deregulation of the US airline industry. While PSA and Air California had minor impact thereafter, choosing to become effectively traditional carriers and being swept up in the first decade of post-deregulation consolidation, Southwest stuck to its business model and became

4970-605: Was unsuccessful for most of its intrastate existence, finally turning it around in the last year of regulation (1978). Air Florida thereafter expanded extremely rapidly in the early years of deregulation and was celebrated as the "little airline that could" until a devastating accident in early 1982 , after which it fell on hard times until its bankruptcy in 1984. After being grounded for three months, it operated in Chapter 11 as Midway Express, flying under contract to Midway Airlines until being acquired by that airline in 1985. Southwest

5041-461: Was upheld in court. So intrastate Hawaiian carriers were limited to flying within the boundaries of each individual island. For similar reasons, California intrastate airlines could not fly too far offshore. In 1967, the CAB provided Pacific Southwest Airlines with a specific exemption to allow it to fly between Los Angeles and San Francisco more than three miles offshore. Federal Aviation Administration asked PSA to request CAB permission to use such

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