page_title: Air Wisconsin
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Air Wisconsin / History
caption_attribution_description: English: US Airways Express (Bombardier CRJ200) at Portland International Jetport.
context_page_description: Air Wisconsin Airlines is a regional airline based at Appleton International Airport in the town of Greenville, Wisconsin, United States, near Appleton. Air Wisconsin originally operated as one of the original United Express partners in 1986, and operated then as US Airways Express on behalf of US Airways prior to becoming an American Eagle regional air carrier. Since March 2018, Air Wisconsin operates exclusively as a United Express regional air carrier once again with primary hubs located at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.
context_section_description: In 1963 investors from the Fox Cities raised $110,000 to start a new airline. The airline was established as an independent commuter air carrier in 1965 and started operations on August 23, 1965, just one day after the brand new Outagamie County Regional Airport was opened using de Havilland Dove commuter aircraft configured with nine passenger seats. It was founded to connect Appleton with Chicago and initially had 17 employees and two de Havilland Dove aircraft.  According to the August 23, 1965 Air Wisconsin timetable, the airline was flying one route between Appleton and Chicago O'Hare Airport with four round trips on weekdays and two round trips on Saturdays and Sundays operated with the British-manufactured Dove twin prop aircraft.
  By the mid 1970s, Air Wisconsin was flying two small commuter turboprop airliner types, being the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and Swearingen Metro, and was operating a small hub at Chicago O'Hare Airport with service primarily to destinations in Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin as well as to Minneapolis/Saint Paul from several small cities in Wisconsin.
  In September 1978 the airline was certified by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) as a regional air carrier (Air Wisconsin previously had commuter air carrier status with the CAB).  In October 1978 it had over $10 million in assets. Joining Air Wisconsin in 1965 as traffic manager and eventually becoming president, Preston H. Wilbourne's leadership oversaw Air Wisconsin grow to an airline serving 29 cities in an eleven state area with 32 aircraft boarding over 10,000 passengers daily. Air Wisconsin gained the nicknames "Air Willy" and "Rag Tag" and more recently "Air Wis" and "Air Wisky".
  By 1985, Air Wisconsin had become a large independent regional air carrier operating British Aerospace BAe 146-200 and British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets as well as de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 turboprops with flights as far west as Grand Island, Nebraska and Minneapolis/Saint Paul, and as far east as Bridgeport and New Haven, Connecticut with a large connecting hub located at Chicago O'Hare Airport (ORD).  By early 1986, the airline was serving sixteen airports with its British-manufactured jets with flights to Appleton, Bridgeport, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Chicago O'Hare Airport, Flint, Michigan, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Grand Island, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Lincoln, Nebraska, Moline, Illinois/Quad Cities, New Haven, South Bend, Indiana, Toledo, Ohio, Waterloo, Iowa and Wausau/Stevens Point, Wisconsin with other flights and destinations in its route system being served with the Canadian-manufactured four engine Dash 7 turboprop.
  Air Wisconsin pioneered the concept of code sharing as a United Express carrier operating on behalf of United Airlines.  As an independent air carrier prior to its business agreement with United to provide passenger feed, Air Wisconsin rapidly became the nation's largest regional airline in the 1980s. In 1985 it merged with Mississippi Valley Airlines (MVA) and continued to operate under the Air Wisconsin name.
  By late 1989 Air Wisconsin was operating United Express code share service from two United hubs: Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).  According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG) at this time, United Express flights were operated with British Aerospace BAe 146-200 jets and Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops nonstop to Chicago O'Hare from Akron/Canton, Ohio, Appleton, Cedar Rapids, Champaign, Illinois, Fort Wayne, Green Bay, Kalamazoo, La Crosse, Wisconsin, Lansing, Michigan, Lexington, Kentucky, Moline/Quad Cities, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Peoria, Illinois, Roanoke, Virginia, South Bend, Toledo, and Wausau, and with BAe 146-200 jets and Short 360 turboprops nonstop to Washington Dulles from Charleston, West Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, and Richmond, Virginia, as well as Harrisburg, Reading, and State College, Pennsylvania.
  In 1990 Air Wisconsin acquired Denver-based Aspen Airways and was itself bought by United Airlines a year
caption: US Airways Express Bombardier CRJ200 operated by Air Wisconsin at Portland (Maine)
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