Bonanza Air Lines was an airline (known at the time as a "local service" air carrier as defined by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board) in the Western United States (and eventually Mexico) from 1945 until it merged with two other local service airlines to form Air West in 1968.[1] Its headquarters was initially Las Vegas, Nevada, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1966.[2][3]
The company began operations in 1945 and was based in Las Vegas. It was known as Bonanza Air Services in Las Vegas. Bonanza was part of a Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) effort to develop "local service airlines." Interstate flights started in December 1949 and Bonanza's flight schedules appeared in the Official Airline Guide.
In October 1951, its Douglas DC-3s served eight airports from Reno to Phoenix. By July 1952 Bonanza added seven airports west from Phoenix to Los Angeles. In 1968 it began flights to Mexico from Tucson, and by that May the airline scheduled flights to 22 airports.
Like other local service air carriers, Bonanza was subsidized by the federal government. In 1962 its operating revenues of $11.0 million included $3.2 million "Pub. serv. rev."[5]
In 1959, Bonanza introduced Fairchild F-27s and unsuccessfully applied for routes to Texas.[6] The F-27 was a U.S. built version of the Dutch built Fokker F27 Friendship. The last scheduled DC-3 flight was in late 1960, and Bonanza became the first all-turbine airline in the U.S. Bonanza F-27s flew to Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN) in northern Arizona with flights to Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Tucson.
Bonanza ordered three BAC One-Elevens in October 1962; this request was denied by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), although U.S. authorities allowed American Airlines, Braniff International Airways, Aloha Airlines and Mohawk Airlines to purchase the same aircraft.[7][8] An order was then placed for the U.S. built equivalent, the Douglas DC-9 series 10. Deliveries of the DC-9 began in late 1965 and flights commenced on March 1, 1966. The DC-9s, dubbed Funjets,[9] flew the following routes in the first year: Las Vegas—Reno, Las Vegas—Los Angeles, Reno—Los Angeles, Salt Lake City—Phoenix, and Reno—Las Vegas—Phoenix.[10] The headquarters moved to Phoenix during 1966.[11][12]
Bonanza's April 28, 1968, timetable listed DC-9 flights on the following:[13]
A McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 (construction number 47246/registration N9333) was ordered by Bonanza but was delivered to Air West after the merger. It flew with Bonanza's successors until about 2009.[15]
Destinations in 1968
The Bonanza route map in their April 28, 1968 timetable lists the following destinations.[16] Cities in bold were served with DC-9 jets and F-27 turboprops or only by DC-9s while other destinations were served only by F-27s:
Guaymas, Mexico (GYM) is shown on this map; however, Bonanza was not serving Guaymas at this time although it had the authority to do so. Earlier in 1968, the airline served Apple Valley, California (APV) with F-27s.[17]
The airline's only fatal incident was on November 15, 1964, when Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114, flying from Phoenix, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada, crashed into a mountain south of Las Vegas during poor weather. There were no survivors among the 26 passengers and three crew on board the F-27.
