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| Founded | 1992; 33 years ago (1992) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 1992; 33 years ago (1992) | ||||||
| Ceased operations | September 25, 2007; 17 years ago (2007-09-25) (merged intoUS Airways Express) | ||||||
| Hubs | Phoenix–Sky Harbor | ||||||
| Secondary hubs |
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| Frequent-flyer program | FlightFund | ||||||
| Parent company | America West Holdings | ||||||
| Headquarters | Tempe,Arizona,United States | ||||||
| Key people |
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America West Express was thebrand name forAmerica West Airlines commuter and regional flights operated byChatauqua Airlines andMesa Airlines under acode-sharing agreement.
Mesa Airlines operated America West Express from hubs atSky Harbor International Airport inPhoenix, Arizona andHarry Reid International Airport inLas Vegas, Nevada to regional destinations.
Chautauqua Airlines also operated America West Express regional jet service via acode sharing agreement in support of the America West hub inColumbus, Ohio.
America West Express'fleet consisted of 61turboprop andregional jet aircraft.
America West Express started as a regional carrier in association with America West Airlines with a hub at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. The name "America West Express" was taken from the old America West Airlines cargo service which had begun in 1985.America West initially operatedde Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprop aircraft with its own flight crews; however, on November 30, 1992, America West signed a codeshare agreement withMesa Airlines to operateAmerica West Airlines' regional and commuter services as America West Express.
In the mid-1990s, with the opening of the America West Airlines hub atPort Columbus International Airport inColumbus, Ohio, America West Airlines used Mesa Airlines first with CRJ200s for 8 years with a crew base of pilots and flight attendants and then bothChautauqua Airlines to provideEmbraer ERJ 145 regional jet service to feed the hub. When the Columbus hub was shut down, the Chautauqua Airlines code share was discontinued, leaving Mesa as the sole operator of AW Express services.
In 2003, America West greatly increased the size of its express operation by starting new routes operated by regional jets from its hub atMcCarran International Airport inLas Vegas, Nevada.
In 2007, America West Express was branded asUS Airways Express following the merger of America West with US Airways.
| Type | Aircraft | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Bombardier CRJ200 | 18 | 50 |
| Bombardier CRJ900 | 37 | 90 |
| de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 | 6 | 37 |
| Embraer ERJ 145 | 9 | 50 |
The America West Express brand, through its various regional and commuter airline partners, operated a variety twinjet aircraft over the years including the following types:
The America West Express brand, through its various regional and commuter airline partners, operated a variety of twin turboprop aircraft over the years including the following types:
America West Express operated all of its fleet in a single coach class configuration. However, the CRJ-700s and CRJ-900s did offer dual class service at one point with separate first and coach class cabins. This dual class service was then subsequently dropped when it was determined that customers were not willing to pay extra for limitedfirst class amenities on these short flights. Increasing the number of coach seats thus resulted in increased revenue.
Since these were code share flights, theAmerica West Airlines codes were used for customer purposes.HPX indicates America West Express flights. However, the flights were actually operated under the Mesa Airlines and Chatauqua Airlines codes, depending on the operating airline.
