United Express Airlines

## What is United Express Airlines!?

**United Express** also known as **United Express Airlines** is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which eight individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights.

On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged to form United Continental Holdings, the holding company for the newly merged United Airlines. On Thursday June 27, 2019 United Express Airlines changes its parent company name from United Continental Holdings to United Airlines Holdings. As Continental and United merged, Continental Connection and Continental Express gradually adopted the United Express brand name, bringing the number of operators to twelve and the number of aircraft to over 550. The first aircraft painted into the new United Express Airlines livery was an Embraer ERJ-145 operated by ExpressJet.

As of November 30, 2011, after United had received its Single Operating Certificate following its merger with Continental Airlines, over 575 aircraft fly under the United Express brand.

## Early Days..

Major airlines in the United States had long maintained relationships with regional carriers which fed passengers from small markets to larger cities. The Airline Deregulation Act spurred industry consolidation both vertically and horizontally, and as the hub system became more pronounced, airlines formalized these relationships through code sharing, shared branding, and listing regional partners in computer reservations systems. On May 1, 1985, United formally partnered with Air Wisconsin, Aspen Airways, and WestAir as United Express, feeding its hubs at Chicago-O'Hare, Denver-Stapleton, and San Francisco International Airports. Air Wisconsin and Aspen would merge in 1991.

In 1988, Presidential Airways became a United Express carrier for United's new hub at Washington Dulles International Airport, but soon floundered. In response, WestAir formed an eastern division to serve Dulles.[2] WestAir itself experienced turmoil; in 1991 it spun off the new division into an independent company, Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA), which years later would go on to become Independence Air.

In 1992, Great Lakes Airlines became a United Express partner, followed by Trans States Airlines the following year. In 1997, as United officially designated Los Angeles International Airport one of its hubs, SkyWest Airlines became a United Express partner as well. Great Lakes left the United Express system in 2001, although it continued to do codeshare flights until they ceased operations in 2018.

In 1993, Trans States Airlines started United Feeder Service, to operate British Aerospace BAe ATP aircraft for United Airlines. The aircraft, originally owned by Air Wisconsin, were transferred and subsequently owned by United. UFS operated routes to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) from close markets in the U.S. Upper Midwest. UFS was eliminated from the United Express carrier network in 1999, and disappeared.

On February 27, 2017, United Airlines announced the return of their partnership with Air Wisconsin as a United Express carrier. They would be flying a fleet of 65 Bombardier CRJ-200 beginning second-half 2017.

In September 2017, the Q300 was phased out and in January 2018, the Q200 was phased out.

On April 16, 2018, United Airlines announced the end of its partnership with Cape Air. Services ended on May 31, 2018, which marked the end of United Express operations in Guam, along with the retirement of the last turboprop aircraft in the United Express fleet.

## Other Notes

On July 30, 2020, it was announced that United Airlines had decided to end its contract with ExpressJet and transferred these operations to CommutAir. ExpressJet continued its operations until September 30, 2020 and CommutAir became the sole operator of the United Express Embraer ERJ-145 fleet.

At the beginning of 2021, six airlines remain as United Express feeder carriers: Air Wisconsin, CommutAir, GoJet, Mesa Airlines, Republic Airways, and SkyWest Airlines. Most of these carriers now have routes spanning the entire United States with regional jets. SkyWest serves a number of small cities that are subsidized by the federally funded Essential Air Service program as well as other local and state governments