US Airways: All-American Airline Story

Most airlines today are the result of mergers and buyouts between smaller regional airlines into national or international carriers. Today's U S Airways is the result of the mergers and acquisitions of many airlines: US Airways, USAir, Piedmont, Allegheny, Lake Central, Mohawk, Pacific Southwest Airlines, Poor Sailor's Airline, Oneida County, and All American Airline.

In the news today one cannot help but notice that the airline industry is going through some turbulence. Several carriers are in or near bankruptcy, either in protection or in liquidation. Some major carriers have attempted to start low-cost airlines to compete with upstart cost savers, but it may be too little, too late. And when you look at it, the airlines in deepest trouble are the ones attempting to create such low-cost subsidiaries.

One airline that recently entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time is US Airways. This airline is the prototypical story of almost any industry in America, where small companies serving regional interests begin consolidating until you have a national presence.

US Airways began life as All American Airlines and after various mergers and name changes became today's US Airways. The legacy airlines involved are Piedmont Airlines, Pacific Southwest Airlines (formerly Friedkin Airlines, an airline with an interesting story that will be told in the future), Allegheny Airlines, Lake Central Airlines (formerly Turner Airlines), Mohawk Airlines (formerly Robinson Airlines), and Empire Airlines (formerly Oneida County Airlines). How these various airlines became today's US Airways goes like this.

All American Aviation/Allegheny Airlines

All American Aviation began mail service in May 1939 to the Allegheny Mountain region of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and eastern Ohio using single-engine Stinson Reliants. On 7 March 1949 All-American began passenger service with a fleet of 11 DC-3's. The first flight was between Washington and Pittsburgh, with several stops in between. All-American became Allegheny Airlines in 1953 and operated a fleet of 13 DC-3's and a route network expanded to include Erie, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Ohio; and Parkersburg and Huntington, West Virginia. In October 1979 the name of the airline was changed to USAir.

Mohawk Airlines

Robinson Airlines, predecessor of Mohawk, started operations in 1945, principally in New York State, later expanding to other points in New England. Mohawk flew DC-3's, but later moved up to Convair 240s and 440s and the similar Martin 404. The airline was purchased by Robert Peach in 1956 and the name was changed to Mohawk in (US Airways web site cites the name change effective in 1952). The airline also flew its first jets, British Aircraft Corporation BAC-1-11's, by the time it merged with Allegheny Airlines in 1972.

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