Shuttle America

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Shuttle America Airlines

IATA S5	ICAO TCF	Callsign MERCURY^[1]
Founded		1995
Hubs		As United Express: Washington Dulles International Airport Denver International Airport O'Hare International Airport As Delta Connection: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Frequent flyer program		SkyMiles (Delta Connection) Mileage Plus (United Express)
Member lounge		Crown Room Club (Delta Connection) Red Carpet Club (United Express)
Alliance		SkyTeam (Delta Connection) Star Alliance (United Express)
Fleet size		41
Destinations		See Below
Parent company		Republic Airways Holdings
Headquarters		Indianapolis, Indiana
Key people		Bryan Bedford (CEO)
Website: http://www.shuttleamerica.com

Shuttle America Corporation is a regional airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. It feeds United Airlines flights at Chicago, Denver, and Washington (Dulles) as United Express, and feeds Delta Air Lines flights at Atlanta and New York as Delta Connection.

1 History
2 Operations
3 Callsign
4 Destinations
- 4.1 Operated as United Express
- 4.2 Operated as Delta Connection
5 Fleet
6 Incidents
7 External links
8 References

[edit] History

Shuttle America was established in 1995 and began operations on November 12, 1998 ^[2] as a low-fare commuter airline, headquartered in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, the location of Hartford's Bradley International Airport. Shuttle America's first route was Hartford, Connecticut to Buffalo, New York. Shuttle America got much publicity for their launch because of their "super-low $29 fares". Shuttle America's first aircraft was a 50-seat Bombardier Dash 8-311 with leather seats and a very creative and patriotic paint scheme. Shuttle America had rapid growth in its first year, adding more aircraft and destinations.^{[citation needed]}

In 1999, Shuttle America made a controversial move to reach the Boston market. Instead of choosing the busy Logan Airport in East Boston, Shuttle America chose a nearby regional airport, Hanscom Field. Located in Bedford, Massachusetts, just 12 miles west of Boston, it had amenities not found at the larger Logan Airport. With free parking, rental cars, and convenience to the I-95 highway, it was promoted as "Hassle-free Hanscom Field". From Hanscom, Shuttle America served Buffalo, LaGuardia Airport in New York, Trenton, New Jersey, and Greensboro, North Carolina via Trenton. At that time Trenton, NJ was acting as a hub because of its central location in their route network.

Just before the September 11, 2001 attacks, Shuttle America went into bankruptcy and was purchased by Wexford Holdings LLC., who at the time also owned Chautauqua Airlines. Shuttle America then started flying as US Airways Express in a codeshare agreement, adding service to US Airways' hub in Philadelphia and seasonal service to Martha's Vineyard, MA. At the same time, Shuttle America was transitioning to the smaller Dash 8-100 and started taking deliveries of all the former Chautauqua Saab 340's. The Dash 8-100's had been leased from Allegheny Airlines and were a temporary stop gap measure to allow for the spool up of the Saab 340 fleet. The Dash 8-300's were eventually sold to various airlines including LIAT and Piedmont Airlines. In 2002, Shuttle America moved its headquarters to Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Bankruptcy led Shuttle America to transition from a local independent Airline to a nationwide regional partner with major airlines. In spring 2005, it was purchased by Republic Airways Holdings.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Operations

Shuttle America currently has four crew member bases: Atlanta; Columbus; Chicago; and Indianapolis. Its fleet comprises Embraer 170 jetliners with a two-cabin seating configuration, allowing for 6 seats in First Class and 64 seats in coach. These aircraft were initially operated by sister company Chautauqua Airlines, but Chautauqua was forced to transfer their 170s to Shuttle America after the pilots' union at American Airlines claimed the aircraft violated a "scope clause" regulating the size of regional aircraft operated by airlines that also operate under the American Airlines brand.^{[citation needed]} Beginning in July, 2008, slightly larger Embraer 175 aircraft will begin to replace the Embraer 170 fleet.

[edit] Callsign

On July 3, 2007, Shuttle America received approval from the ICAO to change its ATC callsign from Shuttlecraft to Mercury. This change was necessary due to the similar sounding Air Shuttle callsign used by Mesa Airlines. The IDENT code remained the same as TCF.

[edit] Destinations

As of June 2008 ^[3]

[edit] Operated as United Express

[edit] Operated as Delta Connection

Atlanta, Georgia – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Austin, Texas – Austin-Bergstrom International Airport June 1-4,29

Boston, Massachusetts – Logan International Airport
Charleston, South Carolina – Charleston International Airport select dates
Charlotte, North Carolina – Charlotte/Douglas International Airport select dates
Chicago, Illinois – Chicago Midway International Airport
Cincinnati, Ohio – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
Cleveland, Ohio – Cleveland Hopkins International Airport select dates
Columbus, Ohio – Port Columbus International Airport
Detroit, Michigan – Detroit Metropolitan Airport
El Paso, Texas – El Paso International Airport ended June 4
Guadalajara, Mexico – Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport
Houston, Texas
- Houston Hobby Airport
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport select dates
Huntsville, Alabama – Huntsville International Airport select dates
Indianapolis, Indiana – Indianapolis International Airport
Kingston, Jamaica – Norman Manley International Airport 4x per week
Knoxville, Tennessee – McGhee Tyson Airport select dates
León, Mexico – Del Bajío International Airport
Louisville, Kentucky – Louisville International Airport
Memphis, Tennessee – Memphis International Airport
Milwaukee, Wisconsin – General Mitchell International Airport select dates
Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota – Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
Monterrey, Mexico – General Mariano Escobedo International Airport
New Orleans, Louisiana – Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport ended June 4
New York City, New York – LaGuardia Airport
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Pittsburgh International Airport Wed & Sat
Querétaro, Mexico – Querétaro International Airport
Sarasota, Florida – Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport select dates
St. Louis, Missouri – Lambert-St. Louis International Airport select dates
Washington, D.C. – Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
White Plains, New York – Westchester County Airport

[edit] Fleet

Illustration of the Embraer series of aircraft amongst Shuttle America's fleet. Shuttle America no longer uses it's own aircraft livery as in the '90s but instead, the colour scheme and corporate image of the organizations it is operating under the name of.

^{[citation needed]}

Type	Total	Passengers (First Class/Economy)	Routes
Embraer E-170-100SE	41	6/64	Domestic & International short to medium haul routes

[edit] Incidents

On February 18, 2007, Shuttle America, operating as Delta Connection flight 6448, skidded off the runway and crashed through a fence while landing on runway 28 at 3:14pm at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport at the end of the Delta Connection flight from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. None of the 70 passengers and four crew on board the Embraer 170 were reported injured.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

^ ICAO8585 Edition 141
^ Flight International 12-18 April 2005
^ [1]Republic Airways fact sheet

v • d • e Delta Connection Carriers

Current	Atlantic Southeast Airlines • Chautauqua Airlines • Comair • ExpressJet Airlines • Freedom Airlines • Pinnacle Airlines • Shuttle America • SkyWest

Former	Air Midwest • Atlantic Coast Airlines • Big Sky Airlines • Business Express Airlines • Ransome Airlines • Rio Airways • Trans States Airlines

v • d • e United Express Carriers

Current	Chautauqua Airlines · Colgan Air · GoJet Airlines · Mesa Airlines · Shuttle America · SkyWest · Trans States Airlines

Former	Air Wisconsin · Aspen Airways · Atlantic Coast Airlines · Great Lakes Airlines · North Pacific Airlines · Presidential Airways · WestAir