Allegheny had 41 Convair 580s in 1975.BAC 1-11Douglas DC-9Nord 262 as Allegheny CommuterBAC 1–11 in new livery in 1975
In 1949 the company was renamed All American Airways as it switched from air mail to passenger service. On 1 January 1953 it was again renamed, to Allegheny Airlines. Like other local service airlines, Allegheny was subsidized; in 1962 its revenue of $23.5 million included $6.5 million in "public service revenue".[4]
In 1953 Allegheny's network blanketed Pennsylvania, reaching Newark NJ to Cleveland and Huntington WV. It added Detroit (YIP) in 1956, Boston in April 1960, La Guardia in 1964, Norfolk in 1966, Toronto in 1967, and Louisville-Nashville-Memphis in 1968. The Lake Central Airlines merger in July 1968 added Chicago and St Louis, and the Mohawk Airlines merger in April 1972 added Montreal, Minneapolis and many New York cities. Houston in 1978, then Florida at the end of 1978 (TPA-MCO-PBI) and Phoenix in 1979.
In 1959 Allegheny debuted its first turbine airliner—a Convair 540, a Convair 340 with the piston engines replaced by Napier Elands. When Rolls-Royce bought Napier it dropped the Eland, so 540s in the United States reverted to piston; Allegheny's last 540 flights were in 1962. The airline bought new Fairchild F-27Js that the company named "Vistaliner". The F-27J was a U.S.-built version of the Fokker F27. The airline switched to General Motors/Allison turboprops in the Convair 580 which the carrier named the "Vistacruiser", the first CV580 flight was in June 1965. The last DC-3 flights were in 1962 and the last piston flights were in 1967.
As deregulation dawned, Allegheny, looking to shed its regional image, changed its name to USAir on October 28, 1979.[9]
Revenue passenger-miles (millions)
(sched. service only)
Allegheny
Mohawk
Lake Central
1951
30
16
5
1955
56
49
17
1960
131
116
36
1965
289
348
95
1970
1683
566
(merged 1968)
1975
3272
(merged 1972)
USAir and US Airways
After Allegheny Airlines rebranded itself as USAir, the company retained its earlier name for its Allegheny Commuter service until 1989 when it became US Airways Express.
Under USAir, which eventually renamed itself US Airways, the Allegheny name continued to be used by the parent company, keeping the trademark under US Airways' control. Suburban Airlines was originally headquartered at the Reading Airport in Reading, Pennsylvania, and flew a large fleet of Short 330s and Short 360s, being the launch customer for the Short 360. It had three Fokker F27s, and was the last US operator of passenger F27s. After replacing much of its Short fleet with de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8s and retiring the F27s, Suburban merged with another wholly owned USAir subsidiary, Pennsylvania Airlines, which was headquartered at Harrisburg International Airport near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The combined airline retained the historic Allegheny Airlines name until it was merged with another wholly owned subsidiary, Piedmont Airlines.[10][11] The subsequent airline retained the Piedmont Airlines name. After retiring earlier aircraft, Allegheny, before and after its mergers, mainly flew De Havilland Canada Dash 8s to 35 airports in the northeastern United States, and eventually Canada, from hubs at Boston and Philadelphia. Its activities and Activities Dash 8 fleet were incorporated into a regional airline, Piedmont Airlines, in 2004.
As of October 2023[update] an American Airlines Airbus A321, registered N579UW, is painted in Allegheny colors.[12] It recently was on an Airbus A319 registered N745VJ, before being repainted into standard American livery in March 2023 and US Airways also operated this aircraft with a retro Allegheny Airlines paint scheme.
Destinations
This is a list of cities served by Allegheny Airlines until October 1979. It does not include destinations served before that year. Allegheny flew to dozens more cities at some point, including Erie, Providence and the Wyoming Valley.[13][14]
On November 14, 1955, an Allegheny Airlines Martin 2-0-2 was undertaking training flights at Wilmington Airport in New Castle County, Delaware, when the No. 1 engine caught fire during a single engine approach. On landing, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft was withdrawn from service and used for spare parts.[19]
On December 1, 1959, Allegheny Airlines Flight 371, a Martin 2-0-2, crashed into a mountain on approach to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States. There were 25 fatalities.[20][21]
On November 2, 1963, an Allegheny Airlines Martin 2-0-2 was damaged beyond repair under unknown circumstances while taxiing at Newark International Airport.[24]
On July 23, 1965, Allegheny Airlines Flight 604 crashed northeast of the Williamsport Regional Airport due to a right engine failure and subsequent failure to follow engine out procedures by the flight crew. None of the 40 occupants on board were killed, but 23 were injured.
On November 29, 1966, Allegheny Airlines Flight 305, operated by a Convair 440, suffered a complete electrical failure on takeoff from Capital City Airport in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The pilots attempted to abort the takeoff, but the reversers did not work, and the aircraft overran the runway, striking an approach light tower. The cause of the failure was later determined to be an improperly installed heater.[25]
On January 6, 1969, Allegheny Airlines Flight 737, a Convair 580, also crashed on approach to Bradford, Pennsylvania, killing 11 of the 28 people on board.[27]
On June 7, 1971, Allegheny Airlines Flight 485, a Convair 580, en route from Washington, D.C., to New Haven, Connecticut (via New London, Connecticut) crashed short of the runway at New Haven. 26 passengers and two crew members were killed; two passengers and one crew member survived. Pilot error was the cause of the crash.[28]
On June 23, 1976, Allegheny Airlines Flight 121, a DC-9, crashed on the runway due to windshear at Philadelphia International Airport. There were 86 injuries and no fatalities.[29]
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