Misplaced Pages

#585414

36-798: Continental Express, operated by ExpressJet and Chautauqua, offered service to approximately 150 destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, from Continental's hubs in Houston, Newark and Cleveland. ExpressJet operated as a Continental Express and United Express carrier, while Chautauqua also operated flights as Delta Connection , US Airways Express , Frontier Airlines , Midwest Connect , Trans World Express , America West Express , and AmericanConnection . Continental Express operated more flights to Mexico more than any other airline from its hub George Bush Intercontinental Airport . Following

72-467: A Continental Express carrier until November 30, 2011. The Continental Express brand, through its various regional and commuter airline partners, operated a variety of twinjet aircraft over the years including the following types: The Continental Express brand, through its various regional and commuter airline partners, operated a variety of twin turboprop aircraft over the years including the following types: Delta Connection Delta Connection

108-448: A Delta Connection carrier on April 1, 1987, primarily operating from their hub at Salt Lake City International Airport , which Delta inherited from Western. Trans States Airlines operated Delta Connection flights from March 1998 to March 31, 2000, mainly from their focus cities in Boston and New York. In 2002, Chautauqua Airlines became a Delta Connection carrier and replaced Comair as

144-406: A code-share on behalf of Continental Airlines but was not known as Continental Connection. Pioneer Airlines of Denver, CO and Royale Airlines of Shreveport, LA operated as Continental Commuter carriers from 1983 through 1986 and were the first code-sharing feeder carrier's on behalf of Continental Airlines. Pioneer was the feeder at Continental's Denver hub but ceased operations in mid-1986. Royale

180-844: A fully owned regional subsidiary of Northwest Airlines that operated flights as Northwest Airlink with turboprop aircraft and also with regional jet aircraft, announced that the seven CRJ900 aircraft previously operated by Freedom as well as eight new-order aircraft would be operated for Delta Connection beginning February 12, 2009. Citing cost reductions, Delta Air Lines sold former Northwest Airlines regional subsidiary Mesaba Airlines on July 1, 2010, to Pinnacle Airlines Corp. for $ 62 million. Its headquarters were moved to Pinnacle's in Memphis on December 26, 2011. Mesaba merged its operations into Pinnacle on January 4, 2012. The same day, Trans States Holdings purchased Compass Airlines from Delta for $ 20.5 million. It has maintained both regional operations with

216-556: A new contract, in which Chautauqua Airlines would provide and operate regional jets as a Continental Express carrier. As of 2009, Continental Express consisted of 214 aircraft operated by ExpressJet Airlines, and 20 aircraft operated by Chautauqua Airlines. All Express flights were then operated with regional jet aircraft; however Continental Connection flights were operated with prop aircraft configured with as few as nine seats. By 2008 however, ExpressJet then decided to end all of its independent flying and operate all flights once again as

252-455: A sense a predecessor of CALite – started in 1985, operating an hourly shuttle between Los Angeles and San Jose with Boeing 737-300 jets. Both airlines were started by Continental's holding company, Texas Air, in an effort to operate low cost flights, and both were folded into Continental in 1986. In addition, a third independent air carrier, Emerald Air of Austin, TX, operated the "Houston Proud Express" Douglas DC-9-10 jet shuttle service on

288-420: A short, crosstown route between Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) in the mid 1980s. ExpressJet Holdings announced on December 28, 2005, that it received notice from Continental Airlines of its intention to reduce by 69 the number of aircraft ExpressJet will operate for Continental under the companies' capacity purchase agreement. Per the agreement, ExpressJet could return

324-701: A spokesperson with Continental Airlines Holdings in 1991, said that Continental Express was formed because, from a business standpoint, having one subsidiary airline for Continental was preferable to the previous scenario of numerous agreements with various smaller airlines. In the 1990s the airline was headquartered in the Gateway II office complex near the grounds of Houston Intercontinental Airport in Houston. On Thursday, September 4, 1997, Continental Express had its first regional jet flight. On Sunday September 7, 1997 Continental Express moved its operations at Bush Intercontinental Airport from Terminal C to Terminal B. In

360-567: Is a brand name for Delta Air Lines , under which a number of individually owned regional airlines primarily operate short- and medium-haul routes. Mainline major air carriers often use regional airlines to operate services via code sharing agreements in order to increase frequencies in addition to serving routes that would not sustain larger aircraft as well as for other competitive or operational reasons. Delta Connection flights are operated by Delta-owned Endeavor Air and contractors Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines . Delta Connection

396-551: The 50 seat market before the CRJ550s entered service. The airframe was put into storage in September. A scope clause agreement between Delta Air Lines and its mainline pilots union limits the number and size of aircraft that may be flown by Delta Connection. The current agreement allows up to 125 airplanes with 50 seats or fewer, 102 airplanes with between 51 and 70 seats, and 223 airplanes with up to 76 seats. As of October 2024 ,

SECTION 10

#1732858471586

432-591: The Britt Airways operating certificate until November 2011, at which time all ExpressJet operations became part of the Atlantic Southeast Airlines certificate. Continental Express also served Continental's Denver and Guam hubs until the early 1990s. Continental Express was formed in 1986. Since the 1978 deregulation of the U.S. airline industry, U.S. carriers increasingly contracted flying to smaller destinations with small regional carriers; David Messing,

468-585: The Delta Connection banner. Since then, it has been announced that the Republic Airways subsidiary Shuttle America would operate the flights. The initial flight took place on September 1, 2005. On May 4, 2005, Delta Air Lines announced that Mesa Air Group subsidiary Freedom Airlines would operate up to 30 Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft under the Delta Connection banner beginning in October 2005. Shortly after

504-481: The Delta Connection, Inc., holding company from May 11, 1999, to September 7, 2005, when it was purchased by SkyWest, Inc. , the parent company of SkyWest Airlines . Ransome Airlines operated Delta Connection flights in the northeast from March 1, 1984, to June 1, 1986, when it was purchased by Pan Am . Comair began Delta Connection service on September 1, 1984. Comair primarily operated from Delta's hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport which

540-630: The Shuttle America certificate. The conclusion of this service also removed the last operating three seat wide aircraft from the Delta Connection fleet. On August 9, 2017, it was announced that Delta and ExpressJet would terminate their agreement early with all operations ended in late 2018. The remaining dual-class aircraft financed by Delta would be transferred to Endeavor while ExpressJet would redistribute their financed aircraft to other flying partners. Delta cited ExpressJet's lacking operational performance and focus on trimming their 50-seat fleet as

576-455: The aircraft to Continental, or lease them from Continental at a higher rate and operate as a regional feeder for another airline. As announced by Continental, the withdrawal of aircraft from the agreement was expected to begin in January 2007 and be completed during summer 2007. Simultaneously, Continental announced its intention to request proposals from other regional carriers to lease and operate

612-526: The airlines as of January 1, 2012. Delta announced that it would add in-flight WiFi to 223 Delta Connection aircraft beginning in 2011. Regional carrier GoJet Airlines , also owned by Trans States Holdings, began operations from Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport to cities in the Midwest using 15 CRJ700 aircraft on January 11, 2012. Following a merger between Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) and ExpressJet , Delta Connection flights operated under

648-583: The announcement, the decision was made for Freedom Airlines to operate the Embraer ERJ 145 for Delta Connection instead of the CRJ. After a legal battle with Mesa Air Group, Delta and Freedom Airlines terminated their contract, ending all flights on August 31, 2010. On December 21, 2006, Delta announced that Big Sky Airlines would become a Delta Connection carrier, using eight Beechcraft 1900D turboprops out of Boston Logan International Airport . On March 1, 2007, it

684-405: The combined Delta Connection-branded fleet consists of the following regional jet aircraft: The Delta Connection brand, through its various regional and commuter airline partners, operated a variety of jet aircraft over the years including the following types: The Delta Connection brand, through its various regional and commuter airline partners, operated a variety of twin turboprop aircraft over

720-476: The larger CRJ variants. In November 2023, Delta announced that they would add Wi-Fi to their current regional aircraft, and their mainline Boeing 717s starting from mid 2024. In May, Skywest announced the conversion of 19 expired CRJ700s from American Eagle into CRJ550s that would operate under Delta. The CRJ550s were introduced in the summer of 2024. One CRJ200 was reactivated in June 2024 as temporary service to fill in

756-591: The latter's name and ceased operations as ASA. All routes remained the same, but the flights began operating as ExpressJet beginning in 2012. On July 25, 2012, Delta announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Comair would cease all operations at midnight on September 28, 2012. On May 1, 2013, as a condition of exiting bankruptcy, Pinnacle Airlines became a subsidiary of Delta and was subsequently renamed Endeavor Air. On December 31, 2014, Chautauqua Airlines operated its last flight for Delta Connection. All aircraft and crew and maintenance bases would be absorbed by

SECTION 20

#1732858471586

792-627: The main Delta Connection carrier at the Dallas/Fort Worth hub. Business Express Airlines operated Delta Connection flights in the northeastern US and Canada from June 1, 1986, to March 15, 2000. The company was purchased by AMR Corporation in 1999 and integrated into the American Eagle Airlines system in 2000. Following the acquisition of Western Airlines by Delta Air Lines, SkyWest Airlines , which had been operating codeshare service flying as Western Express for Western, became

828-602: The main provider of regional flights at the Orlando hub. On November 2, 2004, Atlantic Coast Airlines ended service as a Delta Connection Carrier. Atlantic Coast Airlines reinvented itself as a low fare carrier called Independence Air , based at Washington Dulles International Airport . Atlantic Coast Airlines operated over 30 Dornier 328JET aircraft as part of its Delta Connection service from 2000 until 2005. On December 22, 2004, Delta Air Lines announced that Republic Airways would order and operate 16 Embraer 170 aircraft under

864-528: The main reason for terminating the contract early. In August 2019, Delta announced that the regional fleet would be consolidated from 5 carriers to 3, eliminating GoJet Airlines and Compass Airlines . The Delta Connection aircraft and routes would be transferred to the Delta-owned Endeavor Air and contractors Republic Airway and SkyWest Airlines . Endeavor, Republic, and SkyWest would each focus on different geographic regions with SkyWest becoming

900-703: The merger of Continental with United, the "Continental Express" brand was discontinued and such flight services were renamed as United Express . Continental Express/ExpressJet was at one time a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines, Inc. In this previous incarnation before its divestiture various air carriers operating as Continental Express flew turboprop aircraft such as the ATR 42 , ATR 72 , Beechcraft Model 99 , Beechcraft 1900 , Convair 580 , de Havilland Canada Dash 7 , Embraer EMB 110 , Embraer EMB 120 , Fairchild F-27 , Fairchild Metroliner , Grumman Gulfstream I and NAMC YS-11 . Continental Express/ExpressJet

936-450: The mid 1990s. The "Continental Connection" brand name was used to identify non-jet, hosted codeshare airlines, while "Continental Express" was used as the marketing name for regional jet and some turboprop hosted codeshare operations. For example, ATR 42 , ATR 72 and Embraer EMB 120 propjet flights were operated from the Houston hub as "Continental Express". American Eagle Airlines , of Los Angeles, CA also operated turboprop aircraft as

972-1121: The past, Trans-Colorado Airlines of Denver, CO, Royale Airlines of Shreveport, LA, Air New Orleans of Birmingham, AL, Mid Pacific Airlines of Honolulu, HI, City Express of Toronto, Ontario, Colgan Airways of Manassas, VA, Southern Jersey Airways of Atlantic City New Jersey, and Gull Air of Hyannis, MA, have operated non-jet aircraft (primarily turboprops) using the Continental Express brand name. Emerald Air of Austin, TX and Royale Airlines also operated Douglas DC-9-10 jet service while Mid Pacific Air operated Fokker F28 jets and Presidential Airways of Herndon, VA flew British Aerospace BAe 146-200 jets on behalf of Continental. Continental Airlines had contracted with other airlines such as Cape Air , of Barnstable, MA, Colgan Air , of Manassas, VA, CommutAir , of South Burlington, VT, GP Express Airlines , of Grand Island, NE, Gulfstream International , of Dania Beach, FL, and SkyWest Airlines , of St. George, UT to operate non-jet aircraft as Continental Connection on short-haul routes beginning in

1008-530: The primary partner in Los Angeles , Salt Lake City , and Seattle ; and Endeavor growing in Cincinnati , Detroit , and Raleigh–Durham . In September 2020, Delta announced in an SEC filing that it planned to retire all Delta-owned CRJ200 aircraft by December 2023. This was due to the uncomfortability of the aircraft, and the lack of any premium seats. The final CRJ200 flight flew on December 1 being replaced by

1044-455: The returned aircraft, beginning in January 2007. Continental announced in April 2006 that Chautauqua Airlines had been awarded a contract to operate the 69 aircraft owned by Continental. ExpressJet later announced its intention to operate the 69 aircraft independently, at increased lease rates. As a result, Chautauqua was forced to add a new fleet type. In July 2006, Continental Airlines announced

1080-668: The years including the following types: Delta Connection Academy was an airline flight school established in October 1989. The academy was located in Sanford, Florida , on the grounds of the Orlando Sanford International Airport . It contained a fleet that had 73 aircraft and over 550 flight students who attended the academy. On January 13, 2010, it was acquired by Flight Training Acquisitions for $ 50 million. Today, it operates as L3Harris Flight Academy. Mid Pacific Air Too Many Requests If you report this error to

1116-483: Was announced that ExpressJet would operate 10 Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft under the Delta Connection banner beginning in June 2007 on flights from Los Angeles International Airport . It was later announced that ExpressJet would operate an additional eight aircraft as Delta Connection. On July 3, 2008, Delta and ExpressJet announced that they had terminated their agreement and that ExpressJet operations as Delta Connection would end by September 1, 2008. On April 30, 2007, it

Continental Express - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-504: Was announced that Pinnacle Airlines would operate 16 Bombardier CRJ900 under the Delta Connection banner starting in December 2007. The merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines meant that Northwest's regional brand, Northwest Airlink , would be merged into Delta Connection. The new Delta Connection would include the regional airlines from both the original Delta and Northwest. On November 8, 2008, Delta and Mesaba Airlines ,

1188-415: Was established the same year. Comair also began operating Delta Connection service from Delta's hub at Orlando International Airport in 1987. In January 2000, Comair became a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines. Rio Airways operated Delta Connection flights from their hub in Dallas/Fort Worth from June 1, 1984, to December 14, 1986, when the airline declared bankruptcy. ASA subsequently became

1224-668: Was formed through the merger of four separate commuter airlines that were wholly owned by Continental: Provincetown-Boston Airlines , of Hyannis, MA, Bar Harbor Airlines , of Bangor, ME, Britt Airways , of Terre Haute, IN, and Rocky Mountain Airways , of Denver, CO. As part of the consolidation of the four commuter operations, the PBA and Rocky Mountain operating certificates were retired. The Bar Harbor certificate went to Eastern Airlines for its Florida Eastern Express division. The combined company that became Continental Express/ExpressJet operated under

1260-483: Was founded in 1984 as a means of expanding the Delta network to smaller markets via partnerships with regional airlines. Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) began Delta Connection service on March 1, 1984, from their hub at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , and soon had a substantial presence at Delta's hub at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport . ASA was a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines under

1296-618: Was the feeder at the Houston hub utilizing Douglas DC-9-10 jets as well as Grumman Gulfstream I propjets in addition to other commuter turboprop aircraft types and was reclassified as Continental Express by the fall of 1986. Two additional airlines worthy of note, which operated in connection with Continental Airlines, were New York Air and Continental West, of Los Angeles, both of which operated mainline jet aircraft. New York Air began operations in 1980 between Boston, New York/LaGuardia, and Washington/National, flying McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 and MD-80 jetliners, while Continental West – in

#585414