Hughes Airwest was a local service carrier, a scheduled airline in the Western United States from 1970 to 1980. It was backed by Howard Hughes' Summa Corporation. Its original name in 1968 was Air West and the air carrier was owned by Nick Bez. Hughes Airwest flew routes in the western U.S. and to several destinations in Mexico and Canada; its headquarters were on the grounds of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in unincorporated San Mateo County, California."World Airline Directory." Flight International. April 28, 1979. 1379.
With distinctive all-yellow aircraft, the company slogan was Top Banana in the West; Hughes Airwest was purchased by Republic Airlines in 1980, which in turn was merged into Northwest Airlines in 1986. Northwest Airlines was then merged into Delta Air Lines in 2010.
History On April 17, 1968, three earlier local service carriers in the western U.S. merged to form Air West: Pacific Air Lines, which previously operated as Southwest Airways when it was founded in 1941, was based in San Francisco, flew along the coast and California's Central Valley, linking cities from Medford, Oregon, to southern California. Pacific operated Boeing 727-100s and Fairchild F-27s in 1968. Bonanza Air Lines routes reached west from its Phoenix base to southern California and north to Las Vegas, Reno, and Salt Lake City. Bonanza flew Douglas DC-9-10s and Fairchild F-27s in 1968, with a DC-9-30 on order, delivered after the merger. West Coast Airlines, based at Boeing Field in Seattle, served the Pacific Northwest, Idaho, Utah, Montana, and northern California. West Coast operated DC-9-10s, F-27s, and Piper Navajos in 1968.
The initial Air West fleet included Boeing 727-100s, Douglas DC-9s, Fairchild F-27s, and Piper Navajos. The first new addition to the Air West fleet was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30, which had been ordered by Bonanza Air Lines.
Hungry for another adventure in the airline industry, TWA's former owner Howard Hughes sought the airline in 1968, and the US$90 million deal was finalized in April 1970. Renamed Hughes Air West, its call sign became "Hughes Air," and the airline expanded to several cities in the western United States, Canada, and Mexico. With the new yellow paint scheme, unveiled in September 1971, the airline began calling itself Hughes Airwest, two words instead of the initial three.
The airline participated in some movies in the 1970s, notably The Gauntlet with Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke in 1977. Eastwood's character arrives in Las Vegas from Phoenix on the airline and when he phones the airport for flight departure times, Locke's character sarcastically called the airline, "Air Worst." Also in 1977, the airline was operating service from both Burbank (BUR) and Orange County (SNA) to Denver (DEN) via an interchange flight agreement with the original Frontier Airlines.http://www.departedflights.com, 1977 Frontier Airlines Annual Report, route map Hughes Airwest soon introduced its own jet service to Denver from a number of locations.
Like other local service airlines in the 1970s, Hughes Airwest eliminated many stops and opened longer routes. Service expanded to resorts in Mexico; domestic routes didn't reach east of Utah and Arizona until Denver, Des Moines, Milwaukee, and Houston Hobby Airport were added in 1978. When it ended F-27 turboprop flights in 1979, Hughes Airwest became an all-jet airline with 727-200s, DC-9-10s, and DC-9-30s.
In September 1979, the airline was grounded for two months by a walkout by their ticket agents, reservations handlers, and office employees, who had been without a contract for over a year. During 1979, several airlines showed interest in buying Hughes Airwest, including Alaska and Allegheny, with the latter soon becoming USAir. The strike was resolved in late October and flights resumed in November. Four months later they were the target of a buyout by Republic Airlines, which was finalized on October 1, 1980, for $38.5 million. Minneapolis-based Republic had formed in July 1979 via the merger of North Central Airlines and Southern Airways, the first under airline deregulation.
Republic was acquired by Northwest Airlines in 1986, which merged into Delta Air Lines in 2010.
+ Revenue Passenger-Miles (Millions)+(Sched Service Only) Pacific/RW Bonanza West Coast Empire 1951 26 7 11 9 1955 47 23 35 (merged WC) 1960 103 64 93 1965 138 170 122 1970 893 (merged 1968) 1975 1497
Corporate affairs
The original headquarters were in two buildings in downtown San Mateo, California, on the San Francisco peninsula.
Its new headquarters were located in San Mateo.Standard & Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives, Volume 3. Standard & Poor's, 1976. p. 638. "Hughes Air Corp d/b/a Hughes Airwest Airlines, 3125 Clearview Way, San Mateo, Cal." The airline scheduled the move to a new headquarters in late August 1973; the complex was on a hill overlooking San Mateo and San Francisco Bay. The airline relocated two departments from the offices at San Francisco International Airport: flight control and reservations."'Big Move' under way to new international headquarters in San Mateo." (Archive) Hughes Airwest newsletter. August 1973. Vol. 5, No. 8. p. 1.
Livery Hughes Airwest's planes were recognizable by their banana-yellow fuselage and tail colors.Hughes promoted their new colors as "Sundance Yellow" and "Universe Blue." The blue has sometimes been described as purple, but this is an optical illusion when viewed on the yellow expanse of aircraft hull. Since these were not standards-compliant color names, the exact color values are uncertain, and can only be approximated by examining color photographs of Hughes Airwest aircraft. Their airplanes were often dubbed "flying bananas" and the airline launched an advertising campaign with the catchphrase "Top Banana in the West." Most nicknames given to Hughes Airwest airplanes in aviation books and magazines have to do with bananas. Apart from their all-yellow scheme, the airplanes also featured a blue logo on the vertical stabilizer (tail) that resembled three diamonds connected (possibly a reference to the initials of Howard Hughes). The name Hughes Airwest, in stylized lettering, was featured unconventionally below the front passenger windows.
This livery was devised by the southern California design firm of Mario Armond Zamparelli, following the crash of Flight 706 in June 1971, caused by a mid-air collision with a U.S. Marine Corps F-4B jet fighter near Duarte, California. In late 1971, the company launched a new marketing campaign which included new colors and repainted planes. The cabin windows also had a metallized PET film coating originally, but this proved too costly to maintain. Zamparelli also designed the uniforms of the flight attendants in the new colors, primarily in Sundance Yellow trimmed with Universe Blue.
After the sale in October 1980 the all-yellow paint scheme was gradually replaced by Republic's white with blue and green trim. Aircraft tails bore Republic's flying mallard, "Herman the Duck."
Fleet Air West and Hughes Airwest operated the following aircraft types at various times during their existence:
+ Hughes Airwest fleetAircraftTotalIntroducedRetiredNotesBoeing 727-193 3 19681972Boeing 727-2001119761980Douglas C-47A Skytrain719681969McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14519701980McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15RC1219731980McDonnell Douglas DC-9-313019701980McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32219711980Fairchild F-273419681980Piper PA-31 Navajo419681970
Destinations
Air West in July 1968 This is a list of destinations taken from the Air West system timetable dated July 1, 1968, when the merger to form Air West became effective.http://www.timetableimages.com, July 1, 1986, Air West system timetable Cities served with jets are noted in bold. Air West was operating Boeing 727-100, Douglas DC-9-10, and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jets, as well as Fairchild F-27 turboprops and small Piper Navajo twin props at this time. The majority of the destinations on this list that did not have jet service were served with Fairchild F-27 twin turboprops.
ARIZONA:
Grand Canyon (GCN) Kingman (IGM) Page (PGA) Phoenix (PHX): Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport - Hub Prescott (PRC) Tucson (TUS) Yuma (YUM)
CALIFORNIA: Bakersfield (BFL) Blythe (BLH) Burbank (BUR): Bob Hope Airport Chico (CIC) Crescent City (CEC) El Centro (IPL) Eureka/Arcata (ACV) Fresno (FAT) Inyokern (IYK) Lake Tahoe (TVL) Long Beach (LGB): Long Beach Airport Los Angeles (LAX): Los Angeles International Airport - Hub Marysville/Yuba City (MYV) Monterey (MRY) Oakland (OAK): Oakland International Airport Ontario (ONT): Ontario International Airport Oxnard/Ventura (OXR) Palmdale/Lancaster (WJF) Palm Springs (PSP) Paso Robles/San Luis Obispo (PRB) Redding/Red Bluff (RDD) Riverside (RAL) Sacramento (SMF) San Diego (SAN): Lindbergh Field San Francisco (SFO): San Francisco International Airport - Hub & airline headquarters San Jose (SJC): Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport Santa Ana aka Orange County (SNA): John Wayne Airport Santa Barbara (SBA): Santa Barbara Municipal Airport Santa Maria (SMX) Santa Rosa (STS) Stockton (SCK) Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) IDAHO:
Boise (BOI) - Hub Burley/Rupert (BYI) Idaho Falls (IDA) Lewiston (LWS) Pocatello (PIH) Twin Falls (TWF) Sun Valley/Hailey/Ketchum (SUN)
MONTANA:
Great Falls (GTF) Kalispell (FCA)
NEVADA:
Las Vegas (LAS): McCarran International Airport - Hub Reno (RNO)
OREGON: Albany/Corvallis (CVO) Astoria/Seaside (AST) Baker (BKE) Eugene (EUG) Klamath Falls (LMT) Medford (MFR) North Bend/Coos Bay (OTH) Ontario (ONO) Portland (PDX): Portland International Airport - Hub Redmond/Bend (RDM) Roseburg (RBG) UTAH:
Cedar City (CDC) Salt Lake City (SLC): Salt Lake City International Airport - Hub
WASHINGTON: Aberdeen/Hoquiam (HQM) Ephrata/Moses Lake (EPH) Olympia (OLH) Pasco/Kennewick/Richland (PSC) Pullman (PUW) Seattle (SEA): Seattle-Tacoma Airport - Hub Spokane (GEG) Tacoma (TIW) Walla Walla (ALW) Wenatchee (EAT) Yakima (YKM) CANADA:
Calgary, Alberta (YYC): Calgary International Airport
MEXICO:
La Paz (LAP) Mazatlan (MZT) Puerto Vallarta (PVR) Guadalajara (GDL) Guaymas (GYM)
Hughes Airwest in September 1980 In 1980, Hughes Airwest was an all-jet airline operating Boeing 727-200, Douglas DC-9-10, and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 aircraft. The timetable for September 1 lists service to:http://www.departedflights.com, September 1, 1980, Hughes Airwest system timetable
ARIZONA:
Grand Canyon (GCN) Phoenix (PHX): Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport - Hub Tucson (TUS)
CALIFORNIA: Burbank (BUR): Bob Hope Airport Eureka/Arcata Fresno Los Angeles (LAX): Los Angeles International Airport - Hub Oakland (OAK): Oakland International Airport Ontario (ONT): Ontario International Airport Palm Springs Redding/Red Bluff Sacramento San Diego (SAN): Lindbergh Field San Francisco (SFO): San Francisco International Airport - Hub & airline headquarters San Jose (SJC): Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport Santa Ana aka Orange County (SNA): John Wayne Airport COLORADO:
Denver (DEN): Stapleton International Airport
IDAHO:
Boise (BOI) - Hub Idaho Falls Lewiston Pocatello Twin Falls
IOWA:
Des Moines
MONTANA:
Kalispell
NEVADA:
Las Vegas (LAS): McCarran International Airport - Hub Reno
OREGON:
Eugene Klamath Falls Portland (PDX): Portland International Airport Redmond/Bend
TEXAS:
Houston (HOU): William P. Hobby Airport
UTAH:
Salt Lake City (SLC): Salt Lake City International Airport - Hub
WASHINGTON:
Pasco/Kennewick/Richland (Tri-Cities Airport) Seattle (SEA): Seattle-Tacoma International Airport - Hub Spokane Yakima
WISCONSIN:
Milwaukee
CANADA:
Calgary, Alberta (YYC): Calgary International Airport Edmonton, Alberta (YEG): Edmonton International Airport
MEXICO:
Manzanillo Mazatlan Puerto Vallarta