Cochise Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
DP — —
Founded1971 Tucson, Arizona
Ceased operationsc. 1982
DestinationsArizona and southern California
HeadquartersTucson, Arizona, United States

Cochise Airlines was a commuter airline which was founded in 1971 in Tucson, Arizona.[1] It operated until the early 1980s. Cochise linked small cities in Arizona with Phoenix, Arizona and Tucson, Arizona and also served southern California and New Mexico at one point.[2]

History

According to the February 1, 1976 edition of the Official Airline Guide (OAG), Cochise was operating de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprop aircraft as well as Cessna 402 prop aircraft.[3] By 1979, the airline was flying Swearingen Metroliner (Metro II) turboprops. One route served with the Metro II at this time was Tucson (TUS) - Phoenix (PHX) - Yuma (YUM) - Imperial, CA (IPL) - Los Angeles (LAX) while another route served Phoenix (PHX) - Flagstaff (FLG) - Winslow (INW) - Gallup (GUP).[4]

Besides serving Phoenix, Tucson, Imperial and Yuma, the February 1, 1976 OAG listed scheduled service operated by Cochise into the following destinations in Arizona: Flagstaff (FLG), Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN), Kingman (IGM), Lake Havasu City (LHU), Page (PGA), Prescott (PRC) and Winslow (INW).

By 1981, Cochise was flying a Convair 440 propliner nonstop between Tucson (TUS) and San Diego (SAN)[5] and also on the Tucson - Phoenix - Yuma - El Centro - Los Angeles route in addition to Metro II propjet service on the latter route.[6] The Convair 440 was the largest aircraft type ever operated by the airline. Also in 1981, Cochise was flying a Phoenix (PHX) - Blythe, CA (BLH) - Los Angeles (LAX) route in addition to operating its other routes within Arizona and southern California.[7]

The air carrier's two letter airline code in the OAG was "DP".

Destinations in 1974

According to its April 15, 1974 route map, Cochise was serving the following destinations:[8]

Destinations in 1979

According to its November 15, 1979 route map, Cochise Airlines was serving the following destinations:[9]

The airline also served San Diego, California during the early 1980s.

Cochise ceased all operations on June 2, 1982.

Fleet

Piston aircraft:

Turboprop aircraft:

See also

References

  1. ^ airlines
  2. ^ Cochise Airlines
  3. ^ Feb. 1, 1976 Official Airline Guide
  4. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Nov. 15, 1979 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tucson flight schedules
  5. ^ http://www.airliners.net, photos of Cochise Airlines Convair 440 at Tucson and San Diego
  6. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, April 1, 1981 Official Airline Guide, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tucson flight schedules
  7. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, April 1, 1981 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Phoenix schedules
  8. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, April 15, 1974 Cochise Airlines route map
  9. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Nov. 15, 1979 Cochise Airlines route map


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