PSA Airlines, Inc. is an American

regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

headquartered at Dayton International Airport in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of the

American Airlines Group American Airlines Group Inc. is an American publicly traded airline holding company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It was formed on December 9, 2013, by the merger of AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, and US Airway ...

and it is paid by fellow group member

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 ...

to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on American Eagle flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by American Airlines. PSA Airlines operates a fleet consisting of exclusively Bombardier regional jet aircraft. The company has a team of more than 5,000 employees, operating more than 800 daily flights to nearly 100 destinations. The airline is named after

Pacific Southwest Airlines Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) was a low-cost carrier, low-cost US airline headquartered in San Diego, California, that operated from 1949 to 1988. It was the first substantial scheduled low-cost carrier, discount airline. PSA called itself "Th ...

(commonly known as PSA), one of the predecessors of today's American Airlines, to protect the trademark.

History

Vee Neal Airlines

Named after its owner Vee Neal Frey, Vee Neal Airlines was established in

Latrobe, Pennsylvania Latrobe ( ) is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,060 as of the 2020 census. A part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, it is located near Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ridge. Latrobe was incorpo ...

, and received an

air operator's certificate An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial air transport purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets and s ...

in 1979. At first, the company operated as a

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down, and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction ...

, and later added scheduled service between Latrobe and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

with a

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplanes, Second Edition'', page 108. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. All seats are easily removable so ...

in May 1980. Following the

Airline Deregulation Act The Airline Deregulation Act is a 1978 United States federal law that deregulated the airline industry in the United States, removing federal control over such areas as fares, routes, and market entry of new airlines. The act gradually phase ...

of 1978, nearby

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

, saw a decline in service, and Vee Neal saw an opportunity. The company made several unsuccessful attempts to start a new airline operation out of

Erie International Airport Erie International Airport Tom Ridge Field is a public airport southwest of Erie, in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Airline service at Erie faces stiff competition from the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Toronto airports, ...

using

Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante The Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (English: ''pioneer'') is a Brazilian twin-turboprop light transport aircraft designed by Embraer for military and civil use. The EMB 110 was designed by the French engineer Max Holste; it had been designed in ...

aircraft. A breakthrough would finally come in April 1983 when

USAir US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it was renamed Allegheny Airlines an ...

announced it would further reduce frequencies out of Erie and would discontinue nonstop service to Chicago from Erie. Vee Neal Airlines was able to raise

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

from a group of civic and business leaders, investors and corporations in the Erie area. The money was used to purchase six

British Aerospace Jetstream 31 The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the Britis ...

aircraft, which would operate out of Erie.

Jetstream International Airlines

In December 1983, the airline was renamed to Jetstream International Airlines (JIA) after it took delivery of its first two Jetstream aircraft. The next year, the company relocated its maintenance department and corporate headquarters from Latrobe to Erie. Jetstream established a network of routes between Erie and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

, Newark,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In addition, Jetstream provided service between

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

, and both airports in Detroit. The airline struggled financially, but on September 26, 1985, it secured a deal with

Piedmont Airlines Piedmont Airlines, Inc. ( ) is an American regional airline headquartered at the Salisbury Regional Airport in Wicomico County, Maryland, near the Salisbury, Maryland, city of Salisbury. The airline is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American ...

to operate flights under the Piedmont Commuter brand connecting Erie with Piedmont's Baltimore and Dayton hubs and Youngstown with Baltimore. Still suffering financially, the next year Piedmont offered to buy Jetstream in a deal that closed on August 1, 1986. Piedmont immediately pivoted Jetstream's business model, making it a Piedmont Commuter feeder for their Dayton hub on September 15, 1986. In 1987, Jetstream once again moved its corporate headquarters, this time to its new base of operations in Dayton. Parent company Piedmont Airlines was purchased by USAir in November 1987 and was fully merged into the airline on August 5, 1989. After the merger, Jetstream International Airlines started to operate under the USAir Express brand.

PSA Airlines

In the early 1990s, the airline began to replace its namesake Jetstream aircraft, first with leased

Embraer EMB 120 The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a twin-turboprop 30-passenger commuter airliner designed and manufactured by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The EMB 120 began development during 1974. While initially conceived as a modular series o ...

aircraft, and later with the purchase of

Dornier 328 The Dornier 328 is a turboprop-powered commuter airliner. Initially produced by Germany company Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH, the firm was acquired in 1996 by US firm Fairchild Aircraft. The resulting firm, named Fairchild-Dornier, manufactured the ...

aircraft. Reflecting that change, USAir announced in November 1995, that it would rename Jetstream International Airlines "PSA Airlines" and move the headquarters to

Vandalia, Ohio Vandalia is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Dayton. Its population was 15,209 during the 2020 census. In addition to being the city closest to Dayton International Airport, Vandalia lies at the crossroads of I ...

. The name change allowed USAir to protect the brand

(commonly known as just PSA), which USAir had purchased at about the same time that it purchased Piedmont. USAir had already assigned the name Piedmont Airlines to Henson Airlines in 1993. By March 1996, the last Jetstream aircraft was replaced and PSA's stable of 25 Dornier 328 aircraft was the largest Dornier fleet in the world.In February 1997, USAir changed their name to

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

, and PSA transitioned to operating under the name of

US Airways Express US Airways Express was the brand name for the regional affiliate of US Airways, under which a number of individually owned commuter air carriers and regional airlines operate short and medium haul routes. This code sharing service was previously ...

. On August 11, 2002, US Airways filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

bankruptcy protection. During the reorganization, PSA was chosen to transition to a fleet of regional jet aircraft, including the

Bombardier CRJ200 The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) are regional jets designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family. The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) pr ...

and

CRJ700 The Bombardier CRJ700 series is a family of regional jet airliners that were designed and manufactured by Canadian transportation conglomerate Bombardier (formerly Canadair). Officially launched in 1997, the CRJ700 made its maiden flight on 27 ...

. The last Dornier 328 was retired from the PSA fleet in September 2004. US Airways entered a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 12, 2004, and was acquired by

America West Airlines America West Airlines was an airline in the United States that operated from 1981 until it merged with US Airways in 2007. It was headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. Its main hub was at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, with secondary hubs ...

in 2005 in a

reverse merger A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public compa ...

. In February 2005, PSA opened its Charlotte crew base. The recently opened Philadelphia crew and maintenance bases also closed in September 2005. The Philadelphia crew base has since reopened, but maintenance is provided on-site by contract maintenance company STS Aviation Group. In January 2008, US Airways flight activity at the Pittsburgh International Airport was significantly reduced due to market condition changes. US Airways mainline employees took over the US Airways Express flight operations at the airport and PSA ceased providing ground-handling services at the airport. In 2015, after the merger of American Airlines and US Airways, PSA became part of

and started to operate American Eagle flights. In August 2015, PSA Airlines announced a maintenance base would be established at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. In August 2016, PSA Airlines announced a new 45,000-square-foot maintenance base would be opening in late 2016 at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP). On January 29, 2025, hours before their first crash, PSA Airlines announced that it plans to move its corporate headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina from Dayton, Ohio by January 2026; most daily departures are from, and almost all training is in Charlotte. The new headquarters is to have 400 employees; all 350 Dayton headquarters staff have until the end of April 2025 to accept an invitation to move there. The airline will maintain a maintenance hangar and flight crew location in Dayton, with a total of 550 employees.

Fleet

Gallery

File:N522AE - KPHN - 27-10-23.jpg,

File:American Eagle-PSA CRJ900 N603NN BWI MD1.jpg,

CRJ900 The Bombardier CRJ700 series is a family of regional jet airliners that were designed and manufactured by Canadian transportation conglomerate Bombardier (formerly Canadair). Officially launched in 1997, the CRJ700 made its maiden flight on 27 ...

Fleet

As of January 2025, the PSA Airlines fleet consists of these aircraft: In December 2013, American Airlines announced that it had ordered 30 Bombardier CRJ900 jets and was assigning them to PSA Airlines. The airline began taking deliveries of them in the second quarter of 2014 to finish initial delivery in 2015. In addition, American acquired options to purchase up to 40 additional CRJ-900 aircraft scheduled to be delivered in 2015 through 2016. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the

CRJ200 The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) are regional jets designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family. The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) pro ...

fleet consisting of 35 aircraft was retired at an accelerated rate.

Crew bases

As of January 2025, PSA Airlines uses these airports as crewmember domiciles: *

Charlotte Douglas International Airport Charlotte Douglas International Airport is an international airport serving Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, located roughly west of the city's central business district. Charlotte Douglas is the primary airport for commercial and m ...

* Dayton International Airport *

Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary international airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It served 30.8 million passengers annually in 2024, making it the busiest airport in Pennsylvania and the 21st-busies ...

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport in Arlington County, Virginia, United States, from Washington, D.C. The closest airport to the nation's capital, it is one of two airports owned by the federal government and ope ...

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas region, in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Airlines, which is headquartere ...

Maintenance bases

As of April 2024, PSA Airlines has maintenance bases at the following airports: * Akron-Canton Airport *

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is a public international airport located in Boone County, Kentucky, United States, around the community of Hebron. The airport serves the Cincinnati tri-state area. The airport's code, CVG, i ...

* Dayton International Airport * Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport *

Norfolk International Airport Norfolk International Airport is northeast of downtown Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk, within the boundaries of the independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Airport Au ...

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport The Upstate, historically known as the Upcountry, is a region of the U.S. state of South Carolina, comprising the northwesternmost area of the state. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the ...

Pensacola International Airport Pensacola International Airport , formerly Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport and Pensacola Regional Airport (Hagler Field), and temporarily branded Pensacola Intergalactic Airport each February in recognition of the local Pensacon convent ...

Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport is a commercial and military-use airport in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Savannah/Hilton Head International provides travelers with access to Savannah, Georgia, and Hilton Head Island, South Car ...

Accidents and incidents

*January 29, 2025:

American Eagle Flight 5342 On January 29, 2025, a Bombardier CRJ700 series, Bombardier CRJ700 airliner operating as American Airlines Flight 5342 (operated by PSA Airlines as American Eagle (airline brand), American Eagle) and a United States Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black H ...

, from

Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport is a commercial airport west of downtown Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is the largest and busiest airport in Kansas. Located south of US-54 in southwest Wichita, it covers 3,248 acres (1, ...

, a Bombardier CRJ701ER, operated by PSA Airlines, collided with a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift military utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted a design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS ...

helicopter on final approach to Reagan Airport. The Blackhawk flew into the path of the CRJ-700, causing both to crash into the Potomac River, killing all 60 passengers and 4 crew on board along with 3 crew on board the helicopter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:PSA Airlines Companies based in Dayton, Ohio Airlines established in 1980 Regional Airline Association members Regional airlines of the United States Airlines based in Ohio Airlines for America members American Airlines Group Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004 1980 establishments in Pennsylvania American companies established in 1980

History

Vee Neal Airlines

Jetstream International Airlines

PSA Airlines

Fleet

Gallery

Fleet

Crew bases

Maintenance bases

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

External links