Allegheny Airlines

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Allegheny Airlines was an American local service carrier, a scheduled airline that operated out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1952 to 1979, with routes primarily located in the Eastern United States.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was the direct predecessor of USAir, which was subsequently renamed US Airways, which itself merged with American Airlines. Its headquarters were at Washington National Airport in Arlington County, Virginia.<ref>"World Airline Directory". Flight International. April 22, 1978. p. 1134.</ref>

History

Allegheny Airlines began as All American Aviation Company providing mail delivery starting on March 7, 1939.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It was founded by du Pont family brothers Richard C. du Pont and Alexis Felix du Pont Jr.

Allegheny before 1979

File:Allegheny Airlines CV-580 N5828.jpg
Allegheny had 41 Convair 580s in 1975.
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BAC 1-11
File:Allegheny Airlines DC-9 N969VJ.jpg
Douglas DC-9
File:Allegheny Airlines Nord 262 N26210.jpg
Nord 262 as Allegheny Commuter
File:Allegheny Airlines BAC 1-11 N1549.jpg
BAC 1–11 in new livery in 1975

In 1949, the company was renamed All American Airways as it switched from air mail to passenger service. On 1 January 1953 it was again renamed, to Allegheny Airlines. Like other local service airlines, Allegheny was subsidized; in 1962 its revenue of $23.5 million included $6.5 million in "public service revenue".<ref>Moody's Transportation Manual 1964</ref>

In 1953, Allegheny's network blanketed Pennsylvania, reaching from Newark, New Jersey, to Cleveland, Ohio, and Huntington, West Virginia. It added Detroit (YIP) in 1956, Boston in April 1960, La Guardia in 1964, Norfolk in 1966, Toronto in 1967, and Louisville-Nashville-Memphis in 1968. The Lake Central Airlines merger in July 1968 added Chicago and St Louis, and the Mohawk Airlines merger in April 1972 added Montreal, Minneapolis, and many New York cities. Houston in 1978, then Florida at the end of 1978 (TPA-MCO-PBI) and Phoenix in 1979.

In 1959, Allegheny debuted its first turbine airliner, a Convair 540, a Convair 340 with the piston engines replaced by Napier Elands. When Rolls-Royce bought Napier it dropped the Eland, so 540s in the United States reverted to piston; Allegheny's last 540 flights were in 1962. The airline bought new Fairchild F-27Js that the company named "Vistaliner". The F-27J was a U.S.-built version of the Fokker F27. The airline switched to General Motors/Allison turboprops in the Convair 580 which the carrier named the "Vistacruiser"; the first CV580 flight was in June 1965. The last DC-3 flights were in 1962 and the last piston flights were in 1967.

In 1960, Allegheny headquarters were in Washington, D.C.<ref>"World Airline Directory". Flight International. 8 April 1960. 492.</ref>

In 1965, Allegheny announced it would add the first jet aircraft type to its fleet—the Douglas DC-9-10—which the airline stated would be placed into service in 1966.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Allegheny then added other jets, notably the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30, which the company named the "Vistajet". Later jets included Boeing 727-100s and 727-200s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50s.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Mohawk merger added British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets to the fleet as well. Allegheny Airlines was also the first airline with a network of affiliated regional airlines, the Allegheny Commuter system, which began with Henson Airlines in 1967.

As deregulation dawned, Allegheny, looking to shed its regional image, changed its name to USAir on October 28, 1979.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref>

Revenue passenger-miles (millions) (sched. service only)
Allegheny Mohawk Lake Central
1951 30 16 5
1955 56 49 17
1960 131 116 36
1965 289 348 95
1970 1683 566 (merged 1968)
1975 3272 (merged 1972)

USAir and US Airways

After Allegheny Airlines rebranded itself as USAir, the company retained its earlier name for its Allegheny Commuter service until 1989 when it became USAir Express.

Under USAir, which eventually renamed itself US Airways, the Allegheny name continued to be used by the parent company, keeping the trademark under US Airways' control. Suburban Airlines was originally headquartered at the Reading Airport in Reading, Pennsylvania, and flew a large fleet of Short 330s and Short 360s, being the launch customer for the Short 360. It had three Fokker F27s, and was the last US operator of passenger F27s. After replacing much of its Short fleet with de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8s and retiring the F27s, Suburban merged with another wholly owned USAir subsidiary, Pennsylvania Airlines, which was headquartered at Harrisburg International Airport near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The combined airline retained the historic Allegheny Airlines name until it was merged with another wholly owned subsidiary, Piedmont Airlines.<ref>"Lower Swatara township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Template:Webarchive." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on March 2, 2010.</ref><ref>"World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 16–22, 2004. 83.</ref> The subsequent airline retained the Piedmont Airlines name. After retiring earlier aircraft, Allegheny, before and after its mergers, mainly flew De Havilland Canada Dash 8s to 35 airports in the northeastern United States, and eventually Canada, from hubs at Boston and Philadelphia. Its activities and Activities Dash 8 fleet were incorporated into a regional airline, Piedmont Airlines, in 2004.

File:Airbus A321-231 (N579UW, cn 6100) (3-2-2024).jpg
N579UW at Orlando International Airport in 2024

Template:As of, an American Airlines Airbus A321, registered N579UW, is painted in Allegheny colors.Template:Citation needed It recently was on an Airbus A319 registered N745VJ, before being repainted into standard American livery in March 2023 and US Airways also operated this aircraft with a retro Allegheny Airlines paint scheme.

Destinations

This is a list of cities served by Allegheny Airlines until October 1979. It does not include destinations served before that year. Allegheny flew to dozens more cities at some point, including Erie, Providence, and the Wyoming Valley.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Allegheny Airlines

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Canada

Allegheny commuter

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Historic fleet

File:CLT 11-09-08 N745VJ (3020361154).jpg
US Airways retrojet in Allegheny livery in 2012
File:Douglas DC-9-30 Allegheny N993VJ.png
Allegheny DC-9-30, circa 1970
File:Allegheny N1136J late.png
Allegheny Airlines BAC 1-11, circa 1979
Allegheny Airlines fleet
Aircraft From To Number
Douglas DC-3 1953 1966 24
Martin 2-0-2 1955 1966 18
Convair 540 1959 1963 5
Convair 340 1960 1967 17
Convair 440 1962 1974 27
Fairchild F-27J / Fokker F27 1965 1974 27
Convair 580 1965 1978 40
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 1966 1979 89
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50 1974 1978 8
Nord 262 1968 1977 13
Boeing 727-200 1970 1971 2
Boeing 727-100 1978 1979 11
British Aircraft Corp. BAC One-Eleven 1972 1979 31
Mohawk 298 (Nord 262 version) 1975 1979 9

Allegheny also briefly operated Douglas DC-9-10 aircraft.

American Airlines introduced an Airbus A321 in Allegheny Airlines retro livery in late 2023,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with the aircraft remaining in service at least through September 2025.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Accidents and incidents

  • On November 14, 1955, an Allegheny Airlines Martin 2-0-2 was undertaking training flights at Wilmington Airport in New Castle County, Delaware, when the No. 1 engine caught fire during a single engine approach. On landing, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft was withdrawn from service and used for spare parts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • On December 1, 1959, Allegheny Airlines Flight 371, a Martin 2-0-2, crashed into a mountain on approach to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States. There were 25 fatalities.<ref name="piston">Eastwood/Roach 1991, pages 267-269</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • On July 23, 1965, Allegheny Airlines Flight 604 crashed northeast of the Williamsport Regional Airport due to a right engine failure and subsequent failure to follow engine out procedures by the flight crew. None of the 40 occupants on board were killed, but 23 were injured.
  • On November 29, 1966, Allegheny Airlines Flight 305, operated by a Convair 440, suffered a complete electrical failure on takeoff from Capital City Airport in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The pilots attempted to abort the takeoff, but the reversers did not work, and the aircraft overran the runway, striking an approach light tower. The cause of the failure was later determined to be an improperly installed heater.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • On January 6, 1969, Allegheny Airlines Flight 737, a Convair 580, also crashed on approach to Bradford, Pennsylvania, killing 11 of the 28 people on board.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • On September 9, 1969, Allegheny Airlines Flight 853, a DC-9 en route from Cincinnati to Indianapolis, collided with a small private plane and crashed into a soybean field southeast of Indianapolis, near Shelbyville, Indiana, killing all 83 people aboard both aircraft.
  • On June 7, 1971, Allegheny Airlines Flight 485, a Convair 580, en route from Washington, D.C., to New Haven, Connecticut (via New London, Connecticut) crashed short of the runway at New Haven. 26 passengers and two crew members were killed; two passengers and one crew member survived. Pilot error was the cause of the crash.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • On June 23, 1976, Allegheny Airlines Flight 121, a DC-9, crashed on the runway due to windshear at Philadelphia International Airport. There were 86 injuries and no fatalities.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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See also

Notes

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References

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