Claim: Howard Hughes renamed an airline.

Hughes Airwest was an airline in the western United States , backed by the Summa Corporation of Howard Hughes . The original name for the airline was Air West . Hughes Airwest flew routes in the western U.S. and to a few cities in Mexico and Canada ; it was purchased by Republic Airlines on October 1 , 1980 . Its headquarters were on the grounds of San Francisco International Airport in unincorporated San Mateo County , California .