Continental Express
Encyclopedia
Continental Express is the operating brand
name used by a number of independently owned regional airline
s providing regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines
. Currently, two carriers operate using the Continental Express brand name:
Continental Express, operated by ExpressJet and Chautauqua, offers service to approximately 150 destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, from Continental's hubs in Houston, Newark and Cleveland. ExpressJet operates as a Continental Express and United Express carrier, while Chautauqua also operates flights as Delta Connection, US Airways Express, Frontier Airlines, Midwest Connect and American Connection. Continental Express operated more flights to Mexico
more than any other airline from its hub George Bush Intercontinental Airport
.
,Convair 580, ATR 42
/72
, de Havilland Canada Dash 7
, Fokker F27
and Beechcraft 1900
. Continental Express/ExpressJet was formed through the merger of four separate commuter airlines that were wholly owned by Continental: Provincetown-Boston Airlines
, of Hyannis, MA, Bar Harbor Airlines
, of Bangor, ME, Britt Airways
, of Terre Haute, IN, and Rocky Mountain Airways
, of Denver, CO. As part of the consolidation of the four commuter operations, the PBA and Rocky Mountain operating certificates were retired. The Bar Harbor certificate went to Eastern Airlines for its Florida Eastern Express division. The combined company that became Continental Express/ExpressJet, operated and still operates under the Britt Airways operating Certificate. Continental Express also served Continental's Denver and Guam hubs until the early 1990s.
Continental Express was formed in 1987. Since the 1978 deregulation of the U.S. airline industry, U.S. carriers increasingly contracted flying to smaller destinations to small regional carriers; David Messing, a spokesperson with Continental Airlines Holdings in 1991, said that Continental Express was formed because, from a business standpoint, having one subsidiary airline for Continental was preferable to the previous scenario of numerous agreements with various smaller airlines.
In the 1990s the airline was headquartered in the Gateway II office complex near the grounds of Houston Intercontinental Airport
in Houston.
On Thursday September 4, 1997, Continental Express had its first regional jet flight. On Sunday September 7, 1997 Continental Express moved its operations at Bush Intercontinental Airport from Terminal C to Terminal B.
In the past, Trans-Colorado Airlines
of Denver, CO, Royale Airlines
of Shreveport, LA, Air New Orleans
, of Birmingham, AL, Mid-Pacific Airlines, of Honolulu, HI, City Express
, of Toronto, Ontario, Colgan Airways, of Manassas, VA, Southern Jersey Airways, of Atlantic City New Jersey, and Gull Air, of Hyannis, MA, have operated non-jet aircraft using the Continental Express brand name.
Continental Airlines now contracts with other airlines such as Cape Air
, of Barnstable, MA, CommutAir
, of South Burlington, VT, Gulfstream International, of Dania Beach, FL, and Colgan Air
, of Manassas, VA to operate non-jet aircraft as Continental Connection
on short-haul routes. The "Continental Connection" brand name is now used to identify non-jet, hosted codeshare airlines, while "Continental Express" is used as the marketing name for regional jet hosted codeshare airlines.
GP Express Airlines
, of Grand Island, NE, American Eagle Airlines
, of Los Angeles, CA, and SkyWest Airlines
of St. George, UT have operated non-jet aircraft as Continental Connection in the past.
, of New York, New York, and Continental West, of Los Angeles, CA. New York Air began operations in 1980 between Boston, New York/LaGuardia, and Washington/National, while Continental West started in 1985, operating an hourly shuttle between Los Angeles and San Jose. Both airlines were started by Continental's holding company, Texas Air, in an effort to operate low cost flights, and were both folded into Continental in 1986.
As announced by Continental, the withdrawal of aircraft from the agreement was expected to begin in January 2007 and be completed during summer 2007. Simultaneously, Continental announced its intention to request proposals from other regional carriers to lease and operate the returned aircraft, beginning in January 2007. Continental announced in April 2006 that Chautauqua Airlines had been awarded a contract to operate the 69 aircraft owned by Continental.
ExpressJet later announced its intention to operate the 69 aircraft independently, at increased lease rates. As a result Chautauqua was forced to add a new fleet type.
In July 2006, Continental Airlines announced a new contract, in which Chautauqua Airlines would provide and operate regional jets as a Continental Express carrier. As of 2009, Continental Express consists of 214 aircraft operated by ExpressJet Airlines, and 20 aircraft operated by Chautauqua Airlines. All Express flights are with small jet aircraft, however Continental Connection
flights are with turboprops with as few as 9 seats.
By 2008 however, ExpressJet decided to end all of its independent flying and operate all flights once again as a Continental Express carrier.
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
name used by a number of independently owned regional airline
Regional airline
Regional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...
s providing regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
. Currently, two carriers operate using the Continental Express brand name:
- Atlantic Southeast AirlinesAtlantic Southeast AirlinesAtlantic Southeast Airlines is an American airline based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier and, as of February 2010, commenced service as a United Express carrier. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc. ASA operates...
' carrier ExpressJet AirlinesExpressJet AirlinesExpressJet Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlantic Southeast Airlines which is in turn a subsidiary of the airline holding company SkyWest, Inc., parent company of the air carrier SkyWest...
(206 aircraft, more than 90% of Continental Express flights) - Republic Airways HoldingsRepublic Airways HoldingsRepublic Airways Holdings, Inc. is an aviation holding corporation based in Indianapolis, Indiana, which owns six airlines operating in the United States: Chautauqua Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Republic Airlines, Shuttle America, and the former Lynx Aviation....
' carrier Chautauqua AirlinesChautauqua AirlinesChautauqua Airlines, Inc. is a regional airline and a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings based in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Based on 2009 published flight schedules, it operates scheduled passenger services on more than 700 flights daily to 98 airports in 31 states, Washington, D.C...
(14 aircraft, just under 10% of Continental Express flights)
Continental Express, operated by ExpressJet and Chautauqua, offers service to approximately 150 destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, from Continental's hubs in Houston, Newark and Cleveland. ExpressJet operates as a Continental Express and United Express carrier, while Chautauqua also operates flights as Delta Connection, US Airways Express, Frontier Airlines, Midwest Connect and American Connection. Continental Express operated more flights to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
more than any other airline from its hub George Bush Intercontinental Airport
George Bush Intercontinental Airport
George Bush Intercontinental Airport, is a Class B international airport in Houston, Texas, serving the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Located north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and U.S. Highway 59...
.
History of Continental Express
Continental Express/ExpressJet was at one time a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines, Inc. In this previous incarnation before its divestiture Continental Express flew turbo-prop aircraft such as the Embraer EMB 120 BrasiliaEmbraer EMB 120 Brasilia
-Accidents:*Brazilian Air Force on July 8, 1988 an Embraer EMB 120RT Brasília registration FAB-2001 crashed during and engine-out landing at São José dos Campos. Five of the 9 occupants died....
,Convair 580, ATR 42
ATR 42
-Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
/72
ATR 72
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop short-haul regional airliner built by the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR. ATR and Airbus are both built in Toulouse, and share resources and technology...
, de Havilland Canada Dash 7
De Havilland Canada Dash 7
The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with STOL capabilities. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, de Havilland Canada, was purchased by Boeing and was later sold to Bombardier...
, Fokker F27
Fokker F27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...
and Beechcraft 1900
Beechcraft 1900
The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop airplane manufactured by the Beechcraft Division of the Raytheon Company . It was designed, and is primarily used, as a regional airliner...
. Continental Express/ExpressJet was formed through the merger of four separate commuter airlines that were wholly owned by Continental: Provincetown-Boston Airlines
Provincetown-Boston Airlines
Provincetown-Boston Airline , or better known as PBA, was an airline that operated between 1949 and 1989. The airline operated a route network in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida, and at one time was the largest commuter airline in the United States before its purchase by People...
, of Hyannis, MA, Bar Harbor Airlines
Bar Harbor Airlines
Bar Harbor Airlines was a comparatively large commuter airline headquartered at Bar Harbor Airport in Trenton, Maine and later in Houston, Texas.- Early history :...
, of Bangor, ME, Britt Airways
Britt Airways
Britt Airways was a United States commuter airline based in Terre Haute, Indiana.In 1985, the founder and owner of Britt Airways, Bill Britt, sold the airline to People Express. Frank Lorenzo's holding company, Texas Air Corporation, acquired People Express, following Texas Air's acquisition of...
, of Terre Haute, IN, and Rocky Mountain Airways
Rocky Mountain Airways
Rocky Mountain Airways was an American commuter airline headquartered in Hangar No. 6 of Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. It was sold to Texas Air Corporation/Continental Airlines in 1986....
, of Denver, CO. As part of the consolidation of the four commuter operations, the PBA and Rocky Mountain operating certificates were retired. The Bar Harbor certificate went to Eastern Airlines for its Florida Eastern Express division. The combined company that became Continental Express/ExpressJet, operated and still operates under the Britt Airways operating Certificate. Continental Express also served Continental's Denver and Guam hubs until the early 1990s.
Continental Express was formed in 1987. Since the 1978 deregulation of the U.S. airline industry, U.S. carriers increasingly contracted flying to smaller destinations to small regional carriers; David Messing, a spokesperson with Continental Airlines Holdings in 1991, said that Continental Express was formed because, from a business standpoint, having one subsidiary airline for Continental was preferable to the previous scenario of numerous agreements with various smaller airlines.
In the 1990s the airline was headquartered in the Gateway II office complex near the grounds of Houston Intercontinental Airport
George Bush Intercontinental Airport
George Bush Intercontinental Airport, is a Class B international airport in Houston, Texas, serving the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Located north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and U.S. Highway 59...
in Houston.
On Thursday September 4, 1997, Continental Express had its first regional jet flight. On Sunday September 7, 1997 Continental Express moved its operations at Bush Intercontinental Airport from Terminal C to Terminal B.
In the past, Trans-Colorado Airlines
Trans-Colorado Airlines
Trans-Colorado Airlines, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States operated from August 1980 until July 1988. The airline operated flights for Continental Airlines under the Continental Express banner beginning in 1986.-Early history:...
of Denver, CO, Royale Airlines
Royale Airlines
Royale Airlines was a regional / commuter airline with headquarters on the grounds of Shreveport Regional Airport in Shreveport, Louisiana.Royale that operated in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florida from the 1960s to the late 1980s. It flew mainly turboprop aircraft such as the...
of Shreveport, LA, Air New Orleans
Air New Orleans
Air New Orleans was an airline based in Birmingham, Alabama that was conceived as a regional airline to provide service to cities throughout the Southeastern United States from Texas to Florida...
, of Birmingham, AL, Mid-Pacific Airlines, of Honolulu, HI, City Express
City Express
City Express , also known as Air Atonabee Ltd., was an Ontario, Canada based airline that operated passenger service in eastern Canada,the northeastern United States and the center and eastern Mexico from 1971 to 1991.- Fleet :...
, of Toronto, Ontario, Colgan Airways, of Manassas, VA, Southern Jersey Airways, of Atlantic City New Jersey, and Gull Air, of Hyannis, MA, have operated non-jet aircraft using the Continental Express brand name.
Continental Connection
Cape Air
Hyannis Air Service, Inc., operating as Cape Air, is an airline headquartered at Barnstable Municipal Airport in Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It operates scheduled passenger services in the Northeast, Florida, the Caribbean, Mid-Atlantic States, Midwest, and Micronesia...
, of Barnstable, MA, CommutAir
CommutAir
Champlain Enterprises, Inc., operating name CommutAir, is an American regional airline with its headquarters in South Burlington, Vermont and its operations center in North Olmsted, Ohio. It operates under the name Continental Connection for United Continental Holdings, with its main bases at...
, of South Burlington, VT, Gulfstream International, of Dania Beach, FL, and Colgan Air
Colgan Air
Colgan Air, Inc. is an American certificated regional airline subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. The headquarters of Colgan Air are located in Memphis, Tennessee....
, of Manassas, VA to operate non-jet aircraft as Continental Connection
Continental Connection
Continental Connection is a brand name under which several commuter airline carriers and their holding companies operate services marketed exclusively by Continental Airlines...
on short-haul routes. The "Continental Connection" brand name is now used to identify non-jet, hosted codeshare airlines, while "Continental Express" is used as the marketing name for regional jet hosted codeshare airlines.
GP Express Airlines
GP Express Airlines
GP Express Airlines was a regional airline with its headquarters in Grand Island, Nebraska The parent corporation of the airline began on-demand air charter operations in December 1975...
, of Grand Island, NE, American Eagle Airlines
American Eagle Airlines
American Eagle Airlines is a brand name used by American Eagle Airlines, Inc. , based in Fort Worth, Texas, and Executive Airlines based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the operation of passenger air service as regional affiliates of American Airlines. All three airlines are wholly owned subsidiaries...
, of Los Angeles, CA, and SkyWest Airlines
Skywest Airlines
Skywest Airlines Pty Ltd is a regional airline company based in Perth, Western Australia, Australia; servicing key towns in the state of Western Australia, Darwin, Northern Territory and Melbourne, Victoria; as well as charter flights to Bali, Indonesia....
of St. George, UT have operated non-jet aircraft as Continental Connection in the past.
Other Continental Subsidiary Airline Operations
Two additional airlines worthy to note here which operated in connection with Continental Airlines were New York AirNew York Air
New York Air was a 1980s startup airline owned by Texas Air Corporation and based at LaGuardia Airport in Flushing, Queens, New York City.-History:...
, of New York, New York, and Continental West, of Los Angeles, CA. New York Air began operations in 1980 between Boston, New York/LaGuardia, and Washington/National, while Continental West started in 1985, operating an hourly shuttle between Los Angeles and San Jose. Both airlines were started by Continental's holding company, Texas Air, in an effort to operate low cost flights, and were both folded into Continental in 1986.
Fleet
ExpressJet Holdings announced on December 28, 2005 that it received notice from Continental Airlines of its intention to reduce by 69 the number of aircraft ExpressJet will operate for Continental under the companies' capacity purchase agreement. Per the agreement, ExpressJet could return the aircraft to Continental, or lease them from Continental at a higher rate and operate as a regional feeder for another airline.As announced by Continental, the withdrawal of aircraft from the agreement was expected to begin in January 2007 and be completed during summer 2007. Simultaneously, Continental announced its intention to request proposals from other regional carriers to lease and operate the returned aircraft, beginning in January 2007. Continental announced in April 2006 that Chautauqua Airlines had been awarded a contract to operate the 69 aircraft owned by Continental.
ExpressJet later announced its intention to operate the 69 aircraft independently, at increased lease rates. As a result Chautauqua was forced to add a new fleet type.
In July 2006, Continental Airlines announced a new contract, in which Chautauqua Airlines would provide and operate regional jets as a Continental Express carrier. As of 2009, Continental Express consists of 214 aircraft operated by ExpressJet Airlines, and 20 aircraft operated by Chautauqua Airlines. All Express flights are with small jet aircraft, however Continental Connection
Continental Connection
Continental Connection is a brand name under which several commuter airline carriers and their holding companies operate services marketed exclusively by Continental Airlines...
flights are with turboprops with as few as 9 seats.
By 2008 however, ExpressJet decided to end all of its independent flying and operate all flights once again as a Continental Express carrier.
- Embraer ERJ 145Embraer ERJ 145 familyThe Embraer ERJ 145 family is a series of regional jets produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace company. Family members include the ERJ 135 , ERJ 140 , and ERJ 145 , as well as the Legacy business jet and the R-99 family of military aircraft. The ERJ 145 is the largest of the group...
(ExpressJet Airlines and Chautauqua Airlines) - Embraer ERJ 145 XREmbraer ERJ 145 familyThe Embraer ERJ 145 family is a series of regional jets produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace company. Family members include the ERJ 135 , ERJ 140 , and ERJ 145 , as well as the Legacy business jet and the R-99 family of military aircraft. The ERJ 145 is the largest of the group...
(ExpressJet Airlines)
Incidents and accidents
- Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286: A Fairchild Metro IIIFairchild Swearingen MetrolinerThe Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner or the Fairchild Aerospace Metro is a 19-seat, pressurised, twin turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas, United States....
crashed near Bayfield, ColoradoBayfield, ColoradoBayfield is a Statutory Town in La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,549 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bayfield is located at , along U.S...
on January 19, 1988, operated by Trans-Colorado AirlinesTrans-Colorado AirlinesTrans-Colorado Airlines, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States operated from August 1980 until July 1988. The airline operated flights for Continental Airlines under the Continental Express banner beginning in 1986.-Early history:...
. Both crew members and 7 of 15 passengers died. Of the surviving passengers one received major injuries and 6 received minor injuries, and one received no injuries. - Continental Express Flight 2574Continental Express Flight 2574Continental Express Flight 2574 was a scheduled domestic passenger airline flight operated by Britt Airways from Laredo International Airport in Laredo, Texas to Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. On September 11, 1991, the Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, registered , crashed as it was...
, flown by Britt AirwaysBritt AirwaysBritt Airways was a United States commuter airline based in Terre Haute, Indiana.In 1985, the founder and owner of Britt Airways, Bill Britt, sold the airline to People Express. Frank Lorenzo's holding company, Texas Air Corporation, acquired People Express, following Texas Air's acquisition of...
, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Laredo International AirportLaredo International Airport-Air cargo operators & destinations :* ABX Air * FedEx Express * UPS Airlines -Accidents and incidents:...
in Laredo, TexasLaredo, TexasLaredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
to Houston Intercontinental Airport in Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. On September 11, 1991, the Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia crashed as it was approaching the runway for landing, killing all 14 people on board. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety BoardNational Transportation Safety BoardThe National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
found that an improperly-maintained horizontal stabilizer failed during approach, causing a severe nose-down pitchover and breakup of the plane.
External links
- ExpressJet Airlines
- Chautauqua Airlines (now a subsidiary of Republic Airways)
- Continental Airlines
- Continental Express (Archive)