CommutAir

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CommutAir

IATA C5	ICAO UCA	Callsign COMMUTAIR
Founded		1989
Alliance		Continental Airlines
Fleet size		16
Destinations
Headquarters		Plattsburgh, New York, USA
Key people
Website: http://www.commutair.com/

CommutAir is an American regional airline based in Cleveland, Ohio. It operates under the name Continental Connection for Continental Airlines. Its main base is Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. It flies to destinations mainly in the Midwest and Northeast United States.

1 History
2 Future Expansion Plans
3 Relocation
4 Services
5 Fleet
6 Incidents and accidents
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

CommutAir Beech 1900D

Facing forward in the passenger cabin of a CommutAir Airlines Beechcraft 1900D

The airline was established in 1989 and started operations on August 1, 1989. It had a marketing affiliation with US Airways since its inception, but changed affiliations to Continental Airlines in December 2000, when US Airways did not renew the codeshare agreement. In July 2001 the company announced plans to downsize its fleet and workforce by approximately half and begin a reorganization of the airline. In early 2002 the company began a "micro-hub" operation based in Albany, New York. At its high point in 2003 and 2004 the hub served the following cities: Allentown, Harrisburg, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Burlington, Manchester, Portland, Bangor, Providence, Islip, Hartford/Springfield, White Plains, Ottawa and Montreal, all with a fleet of Raytheon Beech 1900Ds. Service was also provided out Boston's Logan International Airport to Rutland, White Plains, Allentown, Burlington, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Islip, Sarana Lake, and Plattsburgh. Following unprofitable operations as Continental's regional affiliate in Albany and Boston, all operations were gradually shifted towards the midwest in 2005.

In January 2003, CommutAir announced an agreement with Continental to feed the latter's Cleveland, Ohio hub. Service was commenced on March 16, 2003 with service to Kalamazoo, Michigan and Elmira, New York. Two cities were added the following month and by August 2003, CommutAir served 12 cities from the Cleveland hub. As of May 2007 the company has expressed plans to move operations from Plattsburgh to the Cleveland area, according to News Channel 5, WPTZ.

On May 20 2008, Commutair's pilot group voted, 107 out of 118 eligible voters, for union representation by the Air Line Pilot's Association.^[1]

[edit] Future Expansion Plans

On September 12, 2006, CommutAir announced that it would lease sixteen Bombardier Q-200 Dash 8 aircraft from Horizon Air. They will operate these 37-passenger turboprop aircraft under the Continental Connection name from Continental's Cleveland hub.^[2]

[edit] Relocation

On October 30, 2007, the company ceased operations at Plattsburgh International Airport. All operations are now conducted out of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport^[3].

[edit] Services

CommutAir operates services to the following domestic scheduled destinations (As of June 2008):

[edit] Fleet

The CommutAir fleet includes the following aircraft (as of March 2008):

16 Bombardier Q200

[edit] Incidents and accidents

January 3, 1992: CommutAir Flight 4821, a Raytheon Beech 1900C Airliner operating for USAir Express was flying from Plattsburgh to Saranac Lake when it crashed into wooded mountaintop as it was landing at Adirondack Regional Airport. Of the 4 people onboard (2 passengers and 2 crew) 2 were killed while the other 2 sustained serious injuries. The cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error in establishing a stabilized approach and cross-checking instruments. [1]