Sun Aire Lines is a defunct United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 commuter airline which operated from 1968 to 1984. Sun Aire served a number of cities in Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

 and Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

.

History

Sun Aire Lines was founded as Borrego Springs Airlines in 1968, but soon thereafter changed its name to Sun Aire Lines. Its operations initially focused on services from Borrego Springs

Borrego Valley Airport

Borrego Valley Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Borrego Springs, in San Diego County, California, United States.-Facilities and aircraft:...

, but the airline later moved its headquarters to Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...

. Sun Aire operated a fleet of Cessna 402

Cessna 402

The Cessna 401 and 402 are series of 6 to 10 place, light twin, piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner...

, and Swearingen Metro

Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner

The 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....

 aircraft during its career. Its primary destinations were Palm Springs

Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...

, San Diego, Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, Borrego Springs, Yuma

Yuma, Arizona

Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....

, and Santa Maria

Santa Maria, California

Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...

. By 1984, the airline was operating a dozen Metro aircraft. Sun Aire's independent existence ended that year after the company was purchased by 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....

. The airline operated its final service on September 28, 1984.