Manhattan Regional Airport
Encyclopedia
History
Since the 1960s, a variety of commercial airlineAirline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
s have offered service to Manhattan Regional Airport.
Capital Air Service
Capital Air Service, Inc. (ICAO airline designator CPX), was headquartered in Manhattan from the 1960s until the company went out of business in the late 1980s, after having twice been grounded by the FAA for multiple safety and records keeping violations. Capital Air provided point-to-point air service to cities throughout northeastern Kansas.During the 1970s Capital Air, operating as an air taxi service, suffered two crashes, each with fatalities. During the 1980s the airline suffered having one of its aircraft tipped over by a gust of wind while waiting for take off clearance, and another aircraft, a DCH-6 Twin Otter, clipped the side of a terminal building, both incidents occurring at Kansas City International Airport
Kansas City International Airport
Kansas City International Airport , originally named Mid-Continent International Airport, is a public airport located 15 miles northwest of the central business district of Kansas City, in Platte County, Missouri, United States. In 2008, 10,469,892 passengers used the airport...
.
At the height of its operations Capital Air served Manhattan; Salina, KS (SLN
Salina Municipal Airport
Salina Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located three nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Salina, a city in Saline County, Kansas, United States. It is owned by the Salina Airport Authority....
); Topeka, KS (FOE); Lawrence, KS (LWC
Lawrence Municipal Airport (Kansas)
Lawrence Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles north of the central business district of Lawrence, a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States.- Facilities and aircraft :...
); and Kansas City, MO (MCI) using two 20-passenger deHavilland Canada DCH-6 Twin Otter turboprop aircraft and one or more smaller piston-engine aircraft.
Frontier Airlines
During the mid-to-late 1970s the original Frontier Airlines flew from Manhattan to Salina (SLN); Topeka (FOE); Wichita, KS (ICTWichita Mid-Continent Airport
Wichita Mid-Continent Airport is a commercial airport located in southwest Wichita, in Sedgwick County, Kansas, USA. It is the busiest airport in the state of Kansas . In 2008, passenger traffic continued to grow despite increased fuel prices and economic troubles, with 1,615,075 passengers...
); and Kansas City, MO (MKC) using 44-seat Convair CV580 turboprop aircraft. By the early 1980s all of the cities served from Manhattan by turboprop aircraft had been dropped and replaced with a single daily non-stop flight to Denver, CO (DEN
Stapleton International Airport
Stapleton International Airport was Denver, Colorado's primary airport from 1929 to 1995. At different times it served as a hub for TWA, People Express, Frontier Airlines and Western Airlines as well as a hub for Continental Airlines and United Airlines at the time of its closure.In 1995 Stapleton...
) using a Boeing 737-200. The original Frontier Airlines went out of business in 1986.
Air Midwest
From the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, before its sale to Mesa Air GroupMesa Air Group
Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 100 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airline subsidiary: Mesa Airlines, and five supporting...
in 1991, Wichita-based Air Midwest
Air Midwest
Air Midwest, Inc., was a Federal Aviation Administration Part 121 certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number AMWA510A issued on May 15, 1965. It was headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, United States, and was a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group. It operated flights as US...
served Manhattan with flights to Salina (SLN) and Kansas City (MCI) using 19-passenger Fairchild Fairchild Metroliner III turboprop aircraft.
For several years in the mid-1980s Air Midwest served as an Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.-History:...
codeshare partner and used 30-passenger Saab 340A
Saab 340
The Saab 340 is a discontinued Swedish two-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by a partnership between Saab and Fairchild Aircraft in a 65:35 ratio...
turboprop aircraft in full Eastern Airlines livery to fly from Manhattan to Kansas City (MCI).
When, on the way to bankruptcy, Eastern Airlines closed their hub at Kansas City (MCI), Air Midwest sold their Saab 340A aircraft and signed a new codeshare agreement with the second incarnation of Braniff Airlines, which had just established a small hub at MCI, and once again began to offer flights to Kansas City on Fairchild Metroliner III turboprop aircraft.
Mesa Air Group
Mesa Airlines
Mesa Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is a FAA Part 121 certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group. It was known briefly as Mountain West Airlines from...
of Nevada. Subsequently, Air Midwest (a Mesa Air Group subsidiary), acting under a codeshare agreement with U.S. Airways and operating as US Airways Express
US Airways Express
US Airways Express is an airline brand name, rather than a fully certified airline, and as such, the US Airways Express name is used by several individually owned airlines or airline holding companies which provide regional airline and commuter service for US Airways.Operations are conducted from...
, served Kansas City, Missouri from Manhattan, Kansas with three daily flights using 19-passenger Beechcraft 1900D turboprop aircraft. The service ended with Air Midwest's bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
in 2008, when all Essential Air Service
Essential Air Service
Essential Air Service is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which, prior to deregulation, were served by certificated airlines, maintained commercial service. Its aim is to maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service to these...
contracts and flights operated by Mesa were closed.
Great Lakes Airlines
Great Lakes AirlinesGreat Lakes Airlines
Great Lakes Airlines , is an American regional airline operating domestic scheduled and charter services. Corporate headquarters are located in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with hubs at Denver International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, McCarran...
operated service to the Manhattan Regional Airport between March 30, 2008, and April 7, 2010, taking over after Mesa left and ending service after American Eagle announced additional expansion. During operations there were three daily flights, most days to Kansas City, and initially two daily flights (with one stop) to Denver. The flights to Denver were later cut back to once daily. Great Lakes utilized Beech 1900d aircraft.