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A Boyhood Joy: Watching a Homegrown Airline

© John L. Hoh, Jr.

My love of observing aircraft and noting the livery each jet wore came from my formative years in Appleton, Wisconsin. It was here that an airline was born in 1965, two years after my birth. This airline formed because North Central Airlines (after a series of mergers now a part of Northwest Airlines) pulled out of serving Appleton to focus exclusively on its Oshkosh operation. Ironically, Northwest Airlink is now serving Appleton.

Air Wisconsin, formed in 1965, was originally founded to provide service between the airline's hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois. Air Wisconsin quickly grew over the next two decades to become one of the most successful regional airlines in the country.

The airline was a pioneer in code sharing, forming a marketing partnership with United Airlines. That relationship and mergers with Mississippi Valley Airlines and Aspen Airways (in 1985 and 1991, respectively) made the airline the largest regional carriers in the United States.

Air Wisconsin was the first U.S. regional airline to introduce regional jet service with its purchase of British Aerospace 146 aircraft. It developed a route network that stretched from Colorado to the eastern seaboard.

The company did fall on hard times by the early 1990's, a victim of problems that plagued the U.S. airline industry during that period, and aggressive over-expansion. United Airlines purchased the company (now flying as United Express) in 1992 to lend financial stability to its partner. Air Wisconsin was restructured as an all jet carrier and United transitioned the turboprop operations to other United Express carriers.

In 1993, a privately held corporation, CJT Holdings, Inc., purchased the streamlined airline and began operation as a new company with 12 BAe-146 jets.

The new Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation (AWAC) is again successful and is once again a standard bearer in the industry. Its fleet of BAe-146 jets grew from 12 to 18. With the acquisition of Mountain Air Express in 1998 the airline added a fleet of modern Dornier 328 high-speed turbo-prop aircraft. That same year, the company introduced the state-of-the-art Bombardier CL-65 (CRJ) and had created a solid base for continued expansion.

In 2001, Air Wisconsin ordered 51 firm, 24 conditional, and options for an additional 75 CL-65 aircraft from Bombardier. This was the largest order for regional jets in the history of Bombardier.

In 2002, Air Wisconsin sought to cushion any fallout from the United Airlines bankruptcy filing. Air Wisconsin signed a marketing agreement with AirTran Airways to feed AirTran primarily at its largest hub in Atlanta, Georgia, as AirTran JetConnect. This arrangement lasted until AirTran discontinued the agreement in March of 2004.

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