Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport is a public airport six miles (10 km) east of downtown Amarillo, in Potter County, Texas, United States. The airport was renamed in 2003 after NASA astronaut and Amarillo native Rick Husband, who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in February of that year.
History Early years The first recorded landing of aircraft in Amarillo occurred on 27 April 1918, when two Army Signal Corps planes, commanded by a Lt. R. Gray, landed in a pasture located in the 500 block of N. Polk. They refueled at the corner of NE 4th and N. Polk, before taking off again. In 1919, pilot-mechanics Fred W. Hinds and Jack Hiller, stationed at Call Field, flew W.K. Whipple to the same pasture. Whipple met with Porter Whaley, the head of Amarillo's Board of City Development, about starting an aviation company. The result was the Panhandle Air Service and Transportation Co.
Panhandle Aerial Service and Transportation Co. was based at Amarillo's first aerodrome, Bivins Field, which started operation on 1 January 1920. Located in the Bivins Addition of southwest Amarillo, the two runways now form North and South Julian Boulevard. The company was financed by H.E. Fuqua and Lee Bivins, which included building a $30,000 six-plane hangar located near 15th and Crockett. The operation eventually moved to the north of Amarillo, west of the current Ross Rogers Municipal Golf Course. In 1928, the field was renamed Bivins-English Field, when Harold English took over management.
The City of Amarillo opened a municipal airport, referred to as "Old Muny" or "Old Municipal Airport", on 29 May 1929, located 4 miles west of the current Amarillo International Airport. Western Air Express air service was inaugurated here on 1 June 1929. Charles Lindbergh and wife were in attendance. Old Muny closed in 1951.
Also in 1929, Bivins-English Field was relocated further 7 miles east of Amarillo on Highway 60, and renamed English Field. Amarillo Airport Corporation, formed by Harold English and Thornton Oxnard, had bought out Lee Bivins' interest. Western Air Express had merged to become TWA and moved operations from Old Muny to English Field in 1930. Southern Air Transport soon followed. By 1935, Braniff Airways was also operating from English Field. In the winter of 1937 a fire destroyed the hangar, administration building, and cafe. Operations continued though, and English Field was rebuilt between in 1939–43, which included paved runways and taxiways when the city took over in 1941.
Historical airline service Western Air Express began passenger airline service to Amarillo on June 1, 1929 with an eastbound flight to Wichita and Kansas City and a westbound flight to Albuquerque and Los Angeles. In mid 1930, these routes for Western Air Express were merged with Transcontinental Air Transport to become Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA) and Amarillo became a stop on a coast-to-coast service between Los Angeles and New York City using Ford Trimotor aircraft. The airline's timetable stated this transcontinental flight could be accomplished in 36 hours with an "overnight hotel stop" being made in each direction on a routing of Los Angeles – Kingman, Ariz. – Winslow, Ariz. – Albuquerque – Amarillo – Wichita – Kansas City – St. Louis – Indianapolis – Columbus, Ohio – Pittsburgh – Philadelphia – New York City (via Newark Airport). In 1934 TWA upgraded its service using Douglas DC-2 aircraft which were then upgraded to Douglas DC-3s in 1937. Transcontinental & Western Air changed its name to Trans World Airlines (still keeping the TWA letters) in 1946 and, by 1950, began using much larger four-engine Lockheed Constellation aircraft at Amarillo. In 1955 TWA partnered with Braniff International to operate an interchange flight between San Francisco and Houston stopping in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Amarillo, and Dallas, Amarillo being the junction point for the interchange. In 1964 TWA began operating the first jet aircraft through Amarillo which included the Boeing 707, Boeing 727, and the Convair 880. Most eastbound flights first stopped at Wichita and continued onto Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, and New York. Westbound flights first stopped at Albuquerque then continued to Los Angeles. Nonstop service to Phoenix was added in 1970. After airline deregulation was passed in late 1978, TWA added nonstop flights to Kansas City, St. Louis, and Las Vegas while dropping service to Albuquerque. All TWA service to Amarillo was discontinued on December 15, 1982.
Southern Air Transport (1929) initiated service on an Amarillo – Wichita Falls – Dallas route in 1929. The company was one of many airlines merged to become American Airways in 1930. American continued the route to Dallas until late 1933. The American Airways name was later changed to American Airlines and service returned to Amarillo in 1981
Western Air Express briefly returned to Amarillo in 1933 operating a route to Dallas as well as a route to Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and Denver, Colorado.
Dallas-based Long & Harman Air Lines began service in 1934 with a route from Amarillo to Dallas making stops in Wichita Falls and Fort Worth.http://www.timetableimages.com, Long & Harman Air Lines timetables In 1935, Long & Harman, and the route to Amarillo, were acquired by Braniff Airways. This route made Amarillo an important crossroads center as passengers traveling on TWA from Los Angeles and Albuquerque could connect with Braniff flights to Dallas. By 1945 Braniff introduced a new route from Denver to Memphis with stops at Colorado Springs, Pueblo CO, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Muskogee OK, Fort Smith AR, and Little Rock. In 1952 an interchange agreement was made with Eastern Airlines which extended the Denver-Memphis service onto Miami, Florida by linking with Eastern's route from Memphis to Miami, stopping in Birmingham, Atlanta, and Orlando. In 1955 an interchange flight was also operated with TWA on a San Francisco – Los Angeles – Las Vegas – Amarillo – Dallas – Houston routing. By the 1960s, many of the stops on the Denver – Memphis route, including Pueblo and Muskogee, had been eliminated as well as the stops on the Amarillo-Dallas route although some flights to Dallas began stopping in Lubbock, Texas. In the 1970s the flights to Denver and Oklahoma City were discontinued and Amarillo was no longer included on the interchange route to Miami. All Braniff service ended on May 12, 1982 when the carrier declared bankruptcy and shut down. Over the years Braniff operated a variety of aircraft at Amarillo including the Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior, Douglas DC-3, Convair 240, and Lockheed L-188 Electra. By 1968 Braniff International had introduced jet service to Amarillo with the Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200, and British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets.
Pioneer Air Lines, a local service airline, began service in 1945 as "Essair" with a route from Amarillo to Houston Hobby Airport, stopping in Plainview, Lubbock, Abilene, San Angelo, and Austin, Texas. In 1948 the carrier had changed its name to Pioneer and a new route to El Paso began with stops in Clovis, Roswell, and Las Cruces, New Mexico. The El Paso route was discontinued in 1950 and Pioneer merged into Continental Airlines in 1955 which retained operating the route to Houston. Pioneer operated Douglas DC-3 and Martin 2-0-2 aircraft.
Continental Airlines began its service to Amarillo upon merging with Pioneer Air Lines in 1955 and acquiring the route to Houston. By 1959, nonstop service to Dallas was added along with one-stop flights via Lubbock. Continental operated Douglas DC-3, Convair 340, and Vickers Viscount prop aircraft during this time. The carrier added jet service in the late 1960s beginning with the Douglas DC-9-10 followed by the Boeing 727-200 on the following routes: Amarillo-Lubbock-Midland-San Angelo-Houston Intercontinental Airport, Amarillo-Lubbock-Midland-El Paso-Los Angeles, and Amarillo-Lubbock-Dallas. All service was discontinued in 1977 but would return in late 1982 when Continental merged with Texas International Airlines.
Central Airlines, a local service airline, began Amarillo service in 1950 with a route to Dallas and Fort Worth making stops in Tulsa and ten other communities in Texas and Oklahoma. In 1956 the carrier added new routes to Denver and Wichita, each making several stops, and new nonstop service to Oklahoma City was added by 1961. Central operated Douglas DC-3, Convair 240, and Convair 600 aircraft. In 1967 Central merged into Frontier Airlines which retained its routes from Amarillo.
Frontier Airlines (1950–1986) began Amarillo service upon merging with Central Airlines in 1967 and retaining that carriers routes. Service was scaled back over the next few years and by 1974 Frontier was only operating a Denver-Colorado Springs-Pueblo-Lamar CO-Amarillo-Oklahoma City-Tulsa-Fort Smith-Little Rock-Memphis route which was essentially the route that Braniff began in the mid-1940s. Frontier operated Convair 580 aircraft and all service was discontinued in 1981.
Trans-Texas Airways, also a local service airline, began service from Amarillo to Houston in 1963 with stops in Lubbock, Abilene, and Austin. Douglas DC-3, Convair 240, and Convair 600 aircraft were used. In 1969 the carrier changed its name to Texas International and began operating Douglas DC-9-10 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jets to Dallas with a stop in Wichita Falls, Nonstops jets also began to Denver and to San Antonio, continuing to Houston. The original route to Houston with prop aircraft had been discontinued. Nonstop flights to Dallas were added in 1973 and a flight to Clovis, Roswell, and Hobbs, New Mexico was briefly operated with a Convair 600. In 1974 the Houston flights began stopping in Lubbock and Austin rather than San Antonio. The Dallas flights ended in 1981 and a nonstop flight to Austin was added in 1982 shortly before all service ended when Texas International merged into Continental Airlines in late 1982.
Southwest Airlines began operating nonstop Boeing 737-200 service to Dallas Love Field in 1978. Service to Albuquerque and Phoenix was added in 1982 and nonstop flights to Las Vegas were added in 1996. The Albuquerque/Phoenix flights ended in 2009 and Southwest has continually upgraded their aircraft with later versions of the Boeing 737 including the Boeing 737-300 and Boeing 737-700.
American Airlines returned service to Amarillo in 1981 with Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200, Fokker 100 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 mainline jets operating nonstop to Dallas/Fort Worth. During the 1990s American began converting some flights to American Eagle prop aircraft and later to regional jets. Most of American's service today is operated by American Eagle. American Eagle operated a nonstop flight to Phoenix for a short time in 2018 and 2019.American Airlines timetables
Continental Airlines briefly returned to Amarillo following its merger with Texas International in 1982 but ended less than a year later when the airline declared bankruptcy. Continental used Douglas DC-9-10 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 nonstops to Austin and Denver as well as one stop DC-9 service to Houston Intercontinental airport. Continental service returned in 1988 with flights to Denver operated by commuter airlines as Continental Express however these Denver flights ended in early 1995. In 1998 Continental returned for a fourth time with regional jet flights to Houston operated by ExpressJet Airlines as Continental Express. Continental merged into United Airlines in 2012 and now United Express operates the nonstop flights to Houston.