United Express

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

United Express is a brand name under which eight regional airlines operate feeder flights for United Airlines. They primarily fly between small markets and United's domestic hub airports, but also have “focus cities” at Portland International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, as well as routes which do not include any of these airports such as St. Louis to New Orleans and Sacramento to Eureka. United announced a new Express focus city at San Antonio International Airport in 2006, but the experiment was short-lived.

As of August 1, 2006, these carriers are the following:

Airline	United flight number range
Chautauqua Airlines	UA7775-7874
Colgan Air	UA5200-5279
GoJet Airlines	UA5550-5699
Mesa Airlines	UA7000-7449
Shuttle America	UA7500-7774
SkyWest Airlines	UA5700-6999
Trans States Airlines	UA7875-8099

Major airlines in the United States had long maintained relationships with regional carriers which fed passengers from small markets to larger towns. 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. By the mid-1980s, United was partners with Air Wisconsin, Aspen Airways, and WestAir, 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. WestAir itself experienced turmoil; in 1991 it spun off the new division into an independent company, Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA), and the following year was acquired by Mesa Airlines.

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 left Continental Airlines to become a United Express partner as well. Great Lakes left the United Express system in 2001, although it continues to codeshare some routes with United.

When United declared bankruptcy in 2002, it pressured its regional partners for reduced fees. In 2004, ACA canceled its contract and reinvented itself as low-cost carrier Independence Air. The next year, Air Wisconsin canceled its flying contract but still ground-handling all United Express operations. To compensate, United has initiated new service agreements with Colgan Air, Trans States subsidiary GoJet Airlines, and Republic Airways Holdings subsidiaries Chautauqua Airlines and Shuttle America.

In 2005, United announced that service levels on major United Express routes would be upgraded to a new product called explus. Routes with explus service offer first class seats and meal service on larger, 70-seat Embraer 170 and 66-seat Bombardier CRJ-700 aircraft.

United Express inaugurated service in September 2006 on the following routes: