Bonanza Air Lines was a

local service carrier Local service carriers, or local service airlines, originally known as feeder carriers or feeder airlines, were a category of US domestic airline created/regulated by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now-defunct federal agency that tightly ...

, a US scheduled airline focused on smaller routes in the Western United States (and eventually Mexico) from 1949 until it merged with two other local service airlines to form Air West in 1968. Its headquarters was initially

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, and moved to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

in 1966. The company started as Bonanza Air Service, a charter operator in Las Vegas, before becoming a Nevada intrastate carrier in 1946 operating between Las Vegas and Reno. In 1949 it obtained Federal certification as a local service (or feeder) airline, starting service between Phoenix and Reno the same year. In the 1950s and early 1960s the airline expanded into Arizona, Southern California and Utah, including Phoenix,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. Until 1978 Bonanza had the only scheduled nonstop flights between Las Vegas and Reno. It became an international airline just before it merged with Pacific Air Lines and West Coast Airlines to form Air West, flying Douglas DC-9s to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

from Phoenix and Tucson.

History

Bonanza Air Service began charter operations in 1945 in Las Vegas with a single-engine Cessna. In 1946 it acquired a C-47 from Flying Tiger Line and had it converted to civilian

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

configuration. The airline started

intrastate airline Intrastate airlines in the United States were air carriers operating solely within a single US state and taking other steps to minimize participation in Commerce Clause, interstate commerce, thus enabling them to escape tight federal economic air ...

service from Las Vegas to Reno on 5 August 1946 as Bonanza Air Lines, initially three times a week, increasing up to daily by 2 September 1947, requiring another DC-3. In 1947 the airline applied to the

Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1940 from a split of the Civil Aeronautics Authority and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services (including scheduled passe ...

(CAB) for a certification as a feeder or local service airline. In June 1947, the airline announced a proposed merger with

Arizona Airways Arizona Airways was an Arizona intrastate airline that operated 1946–1948, making substantial losses. About the time it ceased operations, it was federally certificated as a local service carrier to fly smaller routes in Arizona, New Mexico an ...

, then also operating as an intrastate carrier, but within Arizona. However, there is no mention of such a merger in either of the CAB cases that awarded local service certificates to Arizona Airways and Bonanza. In June 1949, the CAB awarded Bonanza a feeder certificate from Reno to Phoenix via intermediate points including Las Vegas. The award was unusual in that it involved the transfer of Las Vegas to Phoenix authority from

trunk carrier Trunk carriers or trunk airlines or trunklines or trunks, were the US scheduled airlines certificated in the period 1939–1941 by the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) or its immediate successor, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) after the passag ...

Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) to Bonanza. In 1945, Arizona Airways had asked the CAB to approve of a deal by which TWA would sell that route to Arizona Airways for $100,000 and the right to be a 20% owner.''New State Air Line Planned'', Arizona Republic, 15 November 1945
/ref> The CAB had deferred any decision until it awarded the feeder certification for the state of Arizona. In November 1949, the CAB approved a deal by which Bonanza bought the rights from TWA for $672.09, significantly less than what Arizona Airways had proposed to pay in 1945. Certificated operations began 19 December 1949. There is no railroad between Las Vegas and Reno, and roads were primitive. Las Vegas and Reno were isolated from each other, with Las Vegas being better connected to Southern California and Reno to Northern California than to each other. Bonanza was credited with bringing the two parts of the state together. It also did a better job of the Vegas to Phoenix route than TWA had done, also credited with building traffic and bringing those two cities together. The founder and first president of Bonanza was Edmund Converse, who also funded much of its development. In July 1952, the airline started service on a new route from Phoenix to Los Angeles via many intermediate points. Like other local service air carriers, Bonanza was subsidized by the federal government. In 1962 its operating revenues of $11.0 million included $3.2 million "Pub. serv. rev." In 1959, Bonanza introduced

Fairchild F-27 The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 are versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined, turboprop, passenger aircraft formerly manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to ...

s and unsuccessfully applied for routes to Texas. The F-27 was a U.S. built version of the Dutch built

Fokker F27 The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...

Friendship. The last scheduled DC-3 flight was in late 1960, and Bonanza became the first all-turbine airline in the U.S. Bonanza F-27s flew to Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN) in northern Arizona with flights to Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Tucson. Bonanza ordered three

BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (BAC-111, BAC 1-11) is a retired early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-seat airl ...

s in October 1962; this request was denied by the federal

(CAB), although U.S. authorities allowed

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

Braniff International Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until the cessation of air operations, was an American airline that operated from 1928 until 1982 and continues to ...

, Aloha Airlines and

Mohawk Airlines Mohawk Airlines was a local service carrier operating in the Mid-Atlantic states, Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, mainly in New York and Pennsylvania, from the mid-1940s until its acquisition by Allegheny Airlines in 1972. At its hei ...

to purchase the same aircraft. An order was then placed for the U.S. built equivalent, the Douglas DC-9 series 10. Deliveries of the DC-9 began in late 1965 and flights commenced on March 1, 1966. The DC-9s, dubbed ''Funjets'', flew the following routes in the first year: Las Vegas—Reno, Las Vegas—Los Angeles, Reno—Los Angeles, Salt Lake City—Phoenix, and Reno—Las Vegas—Phoenix. The headquarters moved to Phoenix during 1966. Bonanza's April 28, 1968, timetable listed DC-9 jet service on the following routes: * Las Vegas - Los Angeles * Las Vegas - Phoenix * Las Vegas - Orange County Airport (now

John Wayne Airport John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

) * Las Vegas - Reno * Las Vegas - Tucson * Los Angeles - Las Vegas - Reno * Los Angeles - Tucson - Phoenix * Los Angeles - San Diego - Tucson * Phoenix - Las Vegas - Reno * Phoenix - Orange County Airport * Phoenix - Tucson - La Paz - Mazatlan - Puerto Vallarta * Salt Lake City - Phoenix - Tucson * Reno - Las Vegas - Phoenix - Tucson With

approval on April 17, 1968 Bonanza Air Lines merged with Pacific Air Lines and West Coast Airlines to form Air West on July 1. Bonanza's DC-9-10s and F-27As joined the new Air West fleet. A McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 (construction number 47246/ registration N9333) was ordered by Bonanza but was delivered to Air West after the merger. It flew with Bonanza's successors until about 2009.

Destinations in 1968

The Bonanza route map in their April 28, 1968 timetable lists the following destinations. Cities in bold were served with DC-9 jets and F-27 turboprops or only by DC-9s while other destinations were served only by F-27s: *

Blythe, California Blythe () is a city in eastern Riverside County, California, United States. It is in the Palo Verde Valley of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River, approximatel ...

( BLH) *

Cedar City, Utah Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. Located south of Salt Lake City, it is north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 in Utah, Interstate 15. Southern Utah University is located in Cedar City. It is the home of the Ut ...

(

CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, ...

) *

El Centro, California El Centro ( Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the most populous city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core ...

( IPL) * Grand Canyon, Arizona ( GCN) *

Kingman, Arizona Kingman is a city in and the county seat of Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is named after Lewis Kingman, an engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The population was 32,693 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hi ...

( IGM) * La Paz, Mexico ( LAP) *

( LAS) *

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

( LAX) * Mazatlan, Mexico ( MZT) *

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

( ONT) *

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

( SNA) *

Page, Arizona Page is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, near the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 7,247. History Page was founded in 1957 as a housing community for workers and their f ...

( PGA) *

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

( PSP) * Phoenix Arizona ( PHX) *

Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, r ...

(

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...

) * Puerto Vallarta, Mexico ( PVR) *

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

( RNO) (

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

was served via Reno) *

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

( RAL) *

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

( SLC) *

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

( SAN) *

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

( TUS) *

Yuma, Arizona Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...

( YUM) Guaymas, Mexico (

GYM A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

) is shown on this map; however, Bonanza was not serving Guaymas at this time although it had the authority to do so. Earlier in 1968, the airline served

Apple Valley, California Apple Valley is an incorporated town in the Victor Valley of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Its population was 75,791 as of the 2020 United States census. The town is east of and adjoining to the neighboring cities of Victor ...

( APV) with F-27s.

Fleet

Bonanza Air Lines operated the following aircraft:

Legacy

* In 1970

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

buys Air West, naming it Hughes Airwest. * Republic Airlines buys Hughes Airwest in 1980. *

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...

buys Republic in 1986 *

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

buys Northwest in 2010

Incidents and accidents

The airline's only fatal incident was on November 15, 1964, when Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114, flying from

, crashed into a mountain south of Las Vegas during poor weather. There were no survivors among the 26 passengers and three crew on board the F-27.

References

External links

Bonanza Airlines Historical Website
- bonanzaairlines.com

has Bonanza timetables from 1951–1968, showing where they flew and what it cost.
Photographs of Bonanza Air Lines planes
- airliners.net
Bonanza Air Lines timetable cover, showing Nevada destinations in February 1948
- airtimes.com

- airtimes.com

- williamdemarest.com

- airlinecolors.com * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070926212043/http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00358.html#series7 Bonanza Air Lines records- lists artifact collection stored at the Minnesota Historical Society {{Portalbar, United States, Companies, Aviation Defunct regional airlines of the United States Companies based in the Las Vegas Valley Companies based in Phoenix, Arizona Airlines established in 1945 Airlines disestablished in 1968 Defunct companies based in Arizona Defunct companies based in Nevada 1945 establishments in Nevada 1968 disestablishments in Arizona American companies established in 1945 American companies disestablished in 1968 Airlines based in Nevada Airlines based in Arizona Transportation in Phoenix, Arizona