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America West Holdings history
America West Holdings company history timeline
The first flight for America West Airlines took place on August 1, 1983, using a leased Boeing 737.
America West expanded rapidly in its first months of operation, adding two more planes and service to Omaha, Nebraska, and Ontario, California, outside of Los Angeles, on October 1, 1983.
Republic cut back service at Phoenix drastically in 1984, with a total revision of their route structure, making additional room for America West's growth (as well as Southwest).
Opening in mid-1985, it provided six new gates for the operation.
Mesa assumed the name "America West Express", taking it from the original cargo service started in 1985, and brought their existing Phoenix Essential Air Service routes into the America West system.
1985: First profit is posted.
Northwest and America West aligned their schedules, allowing easier passenger connections until the agreement was ended in October 1986.
On the people side, America West started a 24-hour child care program for all employees in 1986, as well as a free shuttle service to Scottsdale.
The cost of this expansion, coupled with an expensive fare war the airline was waging with Southwest Airlines, cut back profits in 1986 to $3 million, less than a third of the previous year's total.
FlightFUND, the frequent flyer program, started on June 10, 1987.
"Fast Check", another innovation, was added in 1987.
By the end of 1987 America West had added 3,200 employees, 23 aircraft, and ten new destinations in just one year, becoming the nation's tenth largest airline.
America West started to participate in industry consolidation during 1988.
During 1988, America West Captain Pat Lynch founded Operation Freedom Bird, a program designed to transport Vietnam Veterans to Washington to see the Vietnam Memorial, discuss any unresolved issues and participate in Veterans Day ceremonies.
In May 1989 America West lost a hard-fought bid to provide service to Tokyo, the first of its planned Pacific Rim destinations.
In September 1989, America West took over security screening in Terminal 3, using company security officers.
A Phoenix Club would be built atop this room in 1989.
America West's inflight CSRs first had a union election in 1989.
In keeping with this philosophy, America West made a bid in the spring of 1989 to acquire Eastern Airlines' shuttle service between Washington, D.C., New York City, and Boston.
November 11, 1990 brought the opening of Terminal 4.
Fast Check would be relocated through the years, ending up in both west and east remote lots by 1990.
The 747 service to New York Kennedy lasted until the end of 1990.
1990: AWA reaches major airline status with $1 billion in revenues.
Although the airline had grown to the point of serving 54 cities with a fleet of 109 planes, 87 of those aircraft were leased from their owners; the lack of cash to make payments on these planes forced the airline to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 27, 1991.
Even with these measures, America West ended 1991 $213.8 million in the red.
By March 1, 1992, 26 flights left Columbus daily, and the company had made its entry into the Florida market.
Four new cities were added in the first half of 1992, including Mexico City on June 1.
Dash 8 service ended on November 30, 1992, made possible through a new code-share agreement with Mesa Airlines.
On the positive side, America West Arena opened in 1992, conveniently visible to passengers on final approach to Runway 8L at Sky Harbor.
Beauvais ran the company until he resigned in 1992.
Conway would be ousted from the airline on December 31, 1993, replaced by A. Maurice Myers.
The two airlines began conducting joint flights in October 1994.
Fast Check survived until 1994.
For enthusiasts, 1994 brought some color to the previously uniform fleet.
The pilots signed their first contract on May 4, 1995, signing the first labor contract in the company and giving five years of stability with that workgroup.
The company began to outsource its heavy maintenance to BF Goodrich's Tramco unit in December 1995.
All of the growth in the fleet from 1995-98 came through these 'put' options.
The beginning of 1995 brought major changes to the airline.
1995: Record profits allow AWA to expand again.
Unveiled January 18, 1996, the new pearl white, orange and turquoise colors would give a new, southwestern image to the airline.
America West Vacations added America West Golf Vacations in 1996, and a code-share agreement was signed with British Airways.
The last of the Conway employee programs disappeared between 1996-97, when free child care was eliminated.
After proving to be unprofitable, the Fokker 70 aircraft were removed in 1997, and replaced by new Canadair Regional Jet aircraft.
AWA's travel package offerings grew handsomely, warranting the creation of a separate subsidiary, The Leisure Company (TLC), in January 1998.
TLC launched FareBusters, a ticket consolidator, in April 1998 and acquired The Vacation Store (TVS), a $30 million-a-year business, in October.
Negotiations came rapidly, for this would have been a fatal blow to Mesa, and a new contract was announced in September 1998.
The Fleet Service Agents (ramp CSRs) voted to unionize in December 1998, and the flight attendant contract - now 10 years after the initial unionization attempt - was still open.
The beginning of 1998 would prove to be a high point for America West.
The airline collectively breathed a sigh of relief when the Summer of 1998 was over.
1998: Growth in travel business prompts restructuring.
February 1999 brought an interesting announcement.
America West sought to distance itself from any budget carrier connotations with a $10 million advertising effort in 1999.
Franke did keep the financial side of the airline in excellent shape, reducing long-term debt to $145 million in 2000.
N902AW, Teamwork, was repainted into a new scheme in 2000.
Profits were dramatically affected by the summer of 2000, and years of operational problems.
America West was literally days from bankruptcy when the Loan Guarantee was approved on January 18, 2002.
America West repainted N902AW with a large American flag over the World Trade Center image to commemorate 9/11, unveiling the repainted aircraft on April 1, 2002.
By 2002, a majority of the airline's tickets were electronic.
Surprising the industry, America West posted the first annual profit in three years for 2003.
In December, 2004, America West Holdings Corporation announced interest in buying part of ATA Airlines, but did not submit a bid.
A new pilot base was opened in Las Vegas in January 2005, marking the first time in many years that there were multiple crew bases at America West.
2. America West Holdings was merged into Barbell Acquisition Corporation, a subsidiary of the new US Airways Group, on September 27, 2005.
On November 4, 2007, all America West flights listed in the Official Airline Guide and airline computer reservation systems were converted to operating under the US code at which time the former HP code was retired.
The merger was completed on December 9, 2013, making little old America West part of the largest airline in the world.
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America West Holdings competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AirTran Holdings | 1992 | $2.6B | 8,330 | - |
| Navis | 1988 | $12.9M | 200 | 2 |
| Ncourt, Llc | - | - | - | - |
| Video Professor | - | $7.3M | 74 | - |
| Humach | 1988 | $24.0M | 50 | 3 |
| Accretive Commerce | 1996 | $1.4M | 30 | - |
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| TicketNetwork | 2002 | $56.0M | 180 | - |
| Mass Markets | 2003 | $5.7M | 750 | 318 |
| SkyMall | 1990 | $10.0M | 50 | - |
America West Holdings history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of America West Holdings, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about America West Holdings. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at America West Holdings. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by America West Holdings. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of America West Holdings and its employees or that of Zippia.
America West Holdings may also be known as or be related to AMERICA WEST HOLDINGS CORP, America West Holdings and America West Holdings Corp.