PSA Airlines
Jetstream International Airlines began operating in Latrobe, PA as Vee Neal Airlines (named after owner Vee Neal Frey). Vee Neal received their certificate in 1979 and on May 1, 1980, expanded the FBO operation to include scheduled air service between LBE (Latrobe, PA) and PIT (Pittsburgh) with a Cessna 402 operating about six or seven round trips a day. They were assigned airline code designator "TF".
It was during the early years of airline deregulation that service at Erie, PA was reduced and the seeds of additional air service were planted. In June 1980 through 1982, initial, but unsuccessful, efforts were made to start an airline. Then in April 1983, USAir announced it would reduce frequencies and discontinue nonstop service to Chicago.
At that time Henry Fish and a long time friend, John P. Leemhuis, an attorney, began a "hard sell" campaign of other civic and business leaders in the Erie area to raise venture capital to expand Vee Neal Airlines. With the commitment of these and other business leaders, six British Aerospace Jetstream 31 aircraft were ordered to fashion a route system that would insure air service links on a nonstop basis to key cities. The Jetstream 31 was preferred because it was pressurized, had good passenger comforts and the air speed to reach the cities of interest.
Jetstream International Airlines (name chosen to mirror the airline's future) was launched in December 1983, with the delivery of two sleek 19-passenger aircraft becoming the second North American airline to offer Jetstream service. Over the next eight months, four more Jetstream 31's arrived and were infused into the marketplace. It was clearly a product of the free enterprise system and a deregulated airline environment.
The small commuter from Latrobe, PA (administered by Chairman Neal Frey and President Ruth Frey) moved to Erie in 1984. (The Maintenance Department moved in February 1984 and Corporate Headquarters moved in April 1984.) The goal was to begin nonstop service to major cities from Erie.
The Carrier had a basic route system from Erie to New York (Newark), Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Washington, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit. In addition, Jetstream provided daily nonstop service from Youngstown, OH to both airports in Detroit.
The residents of Northwestern Pennsylvania had alternate air service because of the willingness of some 25 Erie business and civic leaders to commit personal and corporate resources to the Airline's operation. A group of Erie investors (Erie Venture Capital), as well as various individuals and corporations, owned Jetstream International Airlines.
After some difficult economic struggles as a point-to-point carrier, Jetstream affiliated itself with Piedmont Airlines on September 26, 1985. The airline began service under the Piedmont colors connecting Erie with Piedmont's Baltimore and Dayton hubs, as well as service from Youngstown, OH to the Baltimore hub.
The Company continued to suffer from a capital drain through mid-1986 at which time Piedmont expressed an interest to buy the company. Jetstream became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Piedmont Aviation August 1, 1986, operating as Piedmont Commuter after a six year history as an Erie-based regional carrier serving points in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Maryland. The Company employed all customer services and practices of Piedmont Airlines after the acquisition. Jetstream replaced Britt Airlines as the hub feeder in Dayton on September 15, 1986.
In March 1987, Jetstream relocated its Corporate Headquarters, with Cal Humphrey as President, to Dayton, OH. Maintenance bases were established in Dayton and Hagerstown, MD to support the new route system.
With USAir's acquisition of Piedmont in November 1987, Jetstream began operating as an Allegheny Commuter in April 1988 out of USAir's hub in Philadelphia in addition to its continued feed to the Baltimore and Dayton hub for Piedmont.
On July 1, 1988 Jetstream International Airlines became a wholly owned subsidiary of USAir Group and Keith D. Houk joined Jetstream as President on December 19, 1988. Jetstream began feed service to USAir's Indianapolis hub on June 2, 1989 replacing Air Kentucky that had filed bankruptcy.
With the operational integration of Piedmont into USAir on August 5, 1989, Jetstream began operating all of its flights under the new name and colors of USAir Express. In October 1990, the maintenance base in Hagerstown, MD was moved to Indianapolis, IN thus upgrading Indianapolis from a line operation to a full maintenance facility and leaving Dayton as the other maintenance site.
Another big event for JIA was the November 27, 1991 finalization of an agreement to lease seven EMB-l20 aircraft, all of which were in service by June 1992. A galley and flight attendant introduced a new level of service along with the convenience of a lavatory. The EMB maiden flight was January 31, 1992, IND-MKE (Indianapolis to Milwaukee).
Primary maintenance for the 28-seat Brasilia was located at Indianapolis, as well as the crew domicile, with line maintenance in Dayton. The Indianapolis Airport constructed a new parking apron which accommodated up to seven Embraer and 18 J-31 aircraft at one time. Keith Houk was promoted to Vice President, USAir Express, in March 1992; however, he also continued to serve as President of Jetstream until the appointment of Richard Pfennig on May 6, 1992.
During the summer of 1992, several moves took place. In June 1992, Corporate Office moved, within Dayton, OH, from 6520 Poe Avenue to 3401 Park Center Drive. On August 15, 1992, the Indianapolis Administration office moved from Building 146 to the third floor of the Indianapolis Terminal where it remained until July 31, 1993 when Indianapolis administrative personnel moved to Dayton, OH.
For the first time in Jetstream's history, emergency maintenance was established in Pittsburgh in February 1993. One more Embraer Brasilia joined the Jetstream fleet in July 1993 with August bringing still another Brasilia, both of which were 30-passenger aircraft.
Some exciting news was announced on October 12, 1993! Jetstream was chosen to temporarily replace the USAir Express West Coast operation, StatesWest, starting Monday, October 18, 1993. Five Jetstream 31's were repositioned to California and service began in the following cities: Los Angeles (hub), Ontario, Palm Springs, Fresno (maintenance), Monterey, Orange County (Santa Ana), Santa Barbara, and San Diego. This operation successfully continued until January 14, 1994. February 1994 brought a sizable, new challenge when Jetstream began operating the USAir Express facility in Pittsburgh, PA. where Jetstream was the dominant Express carrier in USAir's fortress hub.
On May 8, 1994, Jetstream closed its Indianapolis maintenance base and crew domicile in conjunction with a further shift of flying to USAir's Pittsburgh hub. Simultaneously a major Brasilia maintenance base was established in Akron, OH. (At this time, Jetstream had 100 daily departures from Pittsburgh.)
In July 1994, Jetstream and Dornier entered into formal negotiations for the lease of 20 firm and 20 option D0328 series aircraft; on October 28, 1994 they entered into an agreement to lease the D0328; on Monday, November 14, 1994, the first aircraft arrived in Akron after a long flight from Munich, Germany; on Friday, February 17, 1995, the FAA certified Jetstream International, Inc. as a FAR Part 121 Air Carrier; and on February 15, 1995 Jetstream began operating the D0328 high-tech aircraft. The D0328, which has 32 seats and a full service galley along with an APU, is the fastest, quietest, roomiest and most sophisticated turboprop aircraft in its class. It was a milestone for Jetstream, and by March 1996 when the twentieth brand new Dornier 328 was delivered, the Company was an all Dornier 328 airline. (The Brasilias were gone by July 1995 and the Jetstream 31's were gone by March 1996.)
November 1995 brought major changes to Jetstream. On November 1, 1995, Jetstream International Airlines got a new nameǃ?PSA Airlines, Inc. (PSA was an innovative California-based carrier that became part of the USAir system in April 1988.) Changes occurring at Jetstream made this a good time to change the name as well as to preserve another famous name that is part of USAir's heritage. On November 20, 1995, PSA Corporate Headquarters relocated to a newly remodeled building at 3400 Terminal Drive, Vandalia, OH.
January 1996 found PSA Airlines, Inc. signing follow-on orders for five additional Dornier 328's, which brought the total to 25 firm orders, and 15 options.
In April 1996, the Dayton Maintenance facility moved from McCauley Drive to their temporary clamshell building at the Dayton International Airport to accommodate the D328 aircraft. Ground breaking for the new permanent hangar was August 1996.
It was on August 15, 1996 that the 25th aircraft was received and was placed in schedule August 17, 1996 making PSA the largest Dornier 328 fleet operator in the world.
In February 1997, USAir changed their name to US Airways; and shortly thereafter, PSA began operating under the name of US Airways Express.
July 1, 1997, less than a year after ground breaking, PSA's new hangar was open for business!
The Pittsburgh Express operation acquired a brand new look effective May 1, 2000. Because the "E" concourse was out of real estate which inhibited the ability of the Express operation to grow, we expanded into the nine gates (which were not being used by Mainline) at the end of the "A" concourse. This expansion allowed us to move the entire Allegheny and Piedmont Dash 8 operation to the "A" gates, which greatly improved ease of connecting to and from US Airways for Piedmont and Allegheny. PSA employees staffed the "A" operation as well as the Express operation on the "E" concourse. Due to the reduction of flight activity, the "E" concourse was closed October 2004. In November 2004, Pittsburgh was declared a key city, not a Hub; therefore, PSA staffed only the "A" concourse going forward.
In December 2001 it was announced that PSA had agreed to lease five additional Dornier 328's. Delivery started January 2002 with the last aircraft in service May 2002.
On August 11, 2002, US Airways Group, Inc. filed voluntary petitions for reorganization, including PSA, under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, which allowed the company to effect cost savings from aircraft lessors and financiers and other key stakeholders as a means of ensuring the Company's return to profitability. PSA emerged from Chapter 11 on March 31, 2003.
As a result of the emergence from Chapter 11, PSA Airlines, Inc. was chosen for placement of Bombardier CRJ-200 and CRJ-700 aircraft.
During the transition to an all-regional jet fleet, PSA retired its first Dornier 328 aircraft in September 2003 and its last one in September 2004. Scheduled RJ service started on 12/14/03 with the 50-seat CRJ 200 and the first 70-seat CRJ 700 was added on May 1, 2004. Another first was the Bahamas flight on December 18, 2004.
An exciting event took place in July 2003 when PSA opened their state-of-the-art Training Center on the second floor at the Dayton Airport Hotel next door to the Corporate Office. The Training Center, which was operational by September 2003, has been the site where many pilots, flight attendants and mechanics have received training.
On September 12, 2004, US Airways Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries (including PSA) for the second time filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
The years 2004 and 2005 brought some other major changes to PSA. In April 2004, a new crew base was opened in Philadelphia; crew bases in Akron, OH and Pittsburgh, PA were closed November 11, 2004; and the Charlotte crew base was opened February 1, 2005. A new maintenance base was opened in Philadelphia in September 2004; the Pittsburgh maintenance base was closed January 1, 2005, and the Charlotte maintenance base was opened in January 2005. The Philadelphia crew base was closed September 1 and the maintenance base was closed October 1, 2005. Therefore, PSA now has crew bases in Charlotte, NC; Dayton, OH; and Knoxville, TN, and maintenance bases in Akron, OH; Charlotte, NC; and Dayton, OH. As of March 2005, PSA boasts 35 CRJ-200 and 14 CRJ-700 aircraft.
Richard Pfennig retired January 21, 2005 and Keith D. Houk returned to PSA as President/CEO on January 24, 2005.
US Airways emerged from Chapter 11 and the America West/US Airways merger was officially made final on September 27, 2005. The new US Airways, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the LCC symbol, represents the nation's largest full-service, low-cost, low-fare airline.
In January 2008 the US Airways flight activity at the Pittsburgh International Airport was significantly reduced due to market condition changes. With the reduction of total flight activity US Airways mainline employees took over the Express flight operations at the airport. As of January 6, 2008 PSA no longer provides ground handling services.
From Latrobe, PA to Dayton, OH from Van Neal Airlines to PSA Airlines, the Company has grown from operating a few Chiefton and Cessna aircraft in the early 80's to a modern fleet of 49 Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet aircraft flying US Airways Express flights.
A handful of employees in Latrobe, PA has now grown to over 1200 employees who are based in Akron, OH; Dayton, OH; Charlotte, NC; and Knoxville, TN.
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