Shuttle America Corporation was 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 Nort ...

based in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

, USA. It fed

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

flights at

Chicago O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business ...

(ORD) and

Houston Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/ U.S. Highway ...

(IAH) under the

United Express United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...

brand, as well as

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along wi ...

flights at

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

(ATL), New York-LaGuardia (LGA), and New York-JFK under the

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a regional airline brand name for Delta Air Lines, under which a number of individually owned regional airlines primarily operate short- and medium-haul routes. Mainline major air carriers often use regional airlines to oper ...

brand. Shuttle America also operated two of three

Delta Shuttle Delta Shuttle is the brand name for Delta Air Lines' air shuttle service in the Northeastern United States. History New York Air In 1980, airline industry entrepreneur Frank Lorenzo, through his holding company Texas Air Corporation, ...

East Coast routes, serving

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

from New York-LaGuardia. Shuttle America merged into

Republic Airways Republic Airways Inc. is a regional airline subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings that operates service as American Eagle, Delta Connection, and United Express using a fleet of Embraer 170 and Embraer 175 regional jets. It is headquarter ...

on January 31, 2017.

History

Shuttle America was established in 1995 by former CEO David Hackett, and began operations on November 12, 1998 as a low-fare commuter airline, headquartered in

Windsor Locks, Connecticut Windsor Locks is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,613. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region and occupies approx ...

, the location of Hartford's

Bradley International Airport Bradley International Airport is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, it is the second-largest airport in New England. The airport is about half ...

. Shuttle America's first route was Hartford, Connecticut, to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. Shuttle America got much publicity for their launch because of their "super-low $29 fares". Shuttle America's first aircraft; registered N801SA, was a 50-seat Bombardier Dash 8-300 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. In 1999, Shuttle America made a controversial move to reach the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

market. Instead of choosing the busy

Logan Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...

in East Boston, Shuttle America chose a nearby regional airport, Hanscom Field. Located in

Bedford, Massachusetts Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,383 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History ''The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on informatio ...

, just west of

, 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 LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia ...

in New York,

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city, capital city (New Jersey), city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.

, and

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, via Trenton. At that time

, was acting as a hub because of its central location in their route network. At the peak time of their operation without codeshares, the airline was flying six Dash 8-300 aircraft and transported over 3000 passengers per day. Additional destinations in their route network during this time period include

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Ci ...

Islip, New York Islip ( ) is a town in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the south shore of Long Island. The population was 335,543 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous city or town in the state. The Town of Islip also contains ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 cen ...

, and

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

. Despite the success in quickly expanding throughout the region, the airline attained financial trouble with its growth. In 2001, Shuttle America was purchased by Wexford Holdings LLC., who at the time also owned

Chautauqua Airlines Chautauqua Airlines, Inc. was an American regional airline and a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings based in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Prior to the shut down of operations, it operated scheduled passenger services to 52 airport ...

. Shuttle America then started flying as

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 ...

in a codeshare agreement, adding service to

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

hubs as well as 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 former Chautauqua

Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30-36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 different op ...

aircraft. The Dash 8-100's had been leased from

Allegheny Airlines Allegheny Airlines was a regional airline that operated out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1952 to 1979 with routes primarily located in the eastern U.S. It was the forerunner of USAir that was subsequently renamed US Airways, which itself ...

and were a temporary stop gap measure to allow for the spool up of the Saab 340 fleet. Eventually, the Dash 8-300's were sold to various airlines including Caribbean Star and

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

while the independent branding of Shuttle America was phased out in lieu of a full network of codeshares with US Airways and

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

with subsequent route changes to feed those carriers. In 2002, Shuttle America moved its headquarters to

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. In spring 2005, it was purchased by

Republic Airways Holdings Republic Airways Holdings, Inc. is an American airline holding corporation based in Indianapolis, Indiana, that owns Republic Airways, an American regional airline operating in the United States, and LIFT Academy, the only flight training acad ...

for $1 million. Headquarters were moved from Fort Wayne to Republic's Indianapolis base shortly afterwards, and the Saab 340 fleet was replaced by

Embraer 170 The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding E ...

aircraft operating for

and

In October 2008, a short-lived operating partnership was established with

Mokulele Airlines Southern Airways Express, doing business as Mokulele Airlines, is an American Regional airline, commuter airline operating in Hawaii. The airline operates scheduled inter-island and charter flights among all Hawaiian islands with airports. Mok ...

to feed their hub in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

with three aircraft. These Embraer 170 aircraft operated in the livery of Mokulele Airlines until October 2009, when Republic entered into a new joint venture agreement with

Mesa Air Group Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 700 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airline ...

, with the latter airline's

Canadair Regional Jet The Bombardier CRJ or CRJ Series (for Canadair Regional Jet) is a family of regional jets introduced in 1991 by Bombardier Aerospace. The CRJ was formerly manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace with the manufacturing of the first CRJ generation, t ...

aircraft operating jet flights within Hawaii. In an effort to reduce costs, parent company Republic Airways Holdings announced in 2014 that it would begin the process of merging subsidiaries Republic Airlines, Shuttle America and Chautauqua Airlines. Republic Airways Holdings merged Shuttle America and

by the end of 2014 to reduce costs. As Republic Airways Holdings entered bankruptcy protection in February 2016, they announced that they would be merging the Shuttle America certificate into Republic Airlines operations. Shuttle America operated its last

Embraer ERJ-145 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenger ...

service on September 30, 2016. On the evening of January 30, 2017, Shuttle America ceased operations and all remaining aircraft and crew were transferred to the Republic Airways Inc. certificate. This was intended to allow reduced costs as Republic Airways Holdings operates a single airline, with a single aircraft type, for the 3 major codeshares, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines.

Operations

Shuttle America had five crew member bases at the time of its merger into Republic: Columbus, Chicago O'Hare, Indianapolis, Newark, and New York-LaGuardia. Its fleet was made up solely of Embraer E170 jetliners with a two-cabin seating configuration. For United Airlines, Shuttle America operated the E170 in a two-class configuration of 6 First Class seats, and 64 economy. For Delta Air Lines, Shuttle America operated the E170 and the larger E-175 aircraft. Both of these aircraft consisted of a two-class configuration, with the E170 consisting of 9 first class seats, and 60 economy seats, while the larger E175 aircraft consists of 12 first class seats and 64 economy. These aircraft were initially operated by sister company

, but Chautauqua was forced to transfer their 170s to Shuttle America after the pilots' union at

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passenge ...

claimed the aircraft violated a " scope clause" regulating the size of regional aircraft operated by airlines that also operate under the

IATA airline designator code. Beginning in July, 2008, slightly larger Embraer E175 aircraft began to replace the Embraer E170 fleet in service with Delta. Towards the end of 2008, the airline achieved a major feat by being chosen to replace

's MD-88 operations between New York's

and Washington Reagan National Airport on the same hourly schedule that Delta has operated with larger aircraft for decades. Beginning June, 2010, new flights by Shuttle America on behalf of Delta Shuttle served Chicago's

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop busines ...

from New York-LaGuardia with 11 round trips per day.

Callsign

On July 3, 2007, Shuttle America received approval from the ICAO to change its ATC callsign from Shuttlecraft to Mercury. However, prior to the changing of the callsign to Mercury it was changed to Crossroads, but the word "cross" caused confusion between aircraft and air traffic control ("cross" being a common phrase when taxiing aircraft, i.e. "Cross runway 25L"). This change was necessary due to the similar-sounding Air Shuttle callsign used by

Mesa Airlines Mesa Airlines, Inc., is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an FAA Part 121–certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air ...

. The IDENT code remained the same as TCF. The IATA code of the airline has remained S5 through this time.

Destinations

;Operated as United Express ;Operated as Delta Connection

Crew Bases

*Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Pittsburgh Intl Airport 2001-2005, USAir Express SF-340A *Trenton, New Jersey - Mercer County Airport 2001-2004, USAir Express SF-340A *Fairfax, VA - Dulles Intl Airport 2004-2005, United Express SF-340A *Chicago, Illinois -

*Columbus, Ohio -

John Glenn Columbus International Airport John Glenn Columbus International Airport is an international airport located east of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formerly known as Port Columbus International Airport, it is managed by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which also over ...

*Indianapolis, Indiana -

Indianapolis International Airport Indianapolis International Airport is an international airport located seven miles (11 km) southwest of downtown Indianapolis in Marion County, Indiana, United States. It is owned and operated by the Indianapolis Airport Authority. Th ...

*Newark, New Jersey -

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Cou ...

*New York City-LaGuardia, New York -

Fleet

As of January 2017, the Shuttle America fleet consisted of the following aircraft:

Incidents

Although Shuttle America was never involved in a fatal accident, it has been involved in several mishaps, notably: *8 June 2005: Shuttle America flight 7534, a

Saab 340A reported undercarriage problems on approach to Washington Dulles International Airport. Undercarriage collapsed on landing, aircraft skidded off the runway, and onto grass. No fatalities were reported but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. *On February 18, 2007, Shuttle America flight 6448, a

Embraer E-170 aircraft skidded off the snow covered 6,017 foot runway due to pilot error/fatigue and crashed through a fence while landing on runway 28 at 3:14pm at

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is an international airport in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the primary airport serving Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, the largest and busiest airport in the state, and the 43rd busiest ...

. The flight was arriving from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. None of the 70 passengers and four crew on board the flight were reported injured. *On February 27, 2012, Shuttle America flight 5124, a

Embraer E-170 aircraft operating a flight from Atlanta made an emergency landing at

after the pilots received an unsafe nose gear indication on approach; a fly-by of the tower confirmed the nose gear was retracted. The aircraft subsequently came to rest on runway 22L supported only by its main landing gear. The 66 passengers and 4 crew escaped uninjured. *On June 13, 2013, a Shuttle America Embraer E-170 aircraft departing

was involved in a near-miss with a

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...

arriving at

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Ne ...

. Both aircraft were turning away from each other when they lost the required separation distance.FAA investigates near-miss by 2 planes over NYC
CBS News (2013-06-21). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.

References

11. https://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR08-01.pdf
Washington Post

External links

Official website

Republic Airways Holdings
{{Navboxes , list = {{Republic Airways Holdings {{Airlines of the United States {{Delta Connection Carriers {{United Express Carriers {{US Airways Express Carriers Defunct regional airlines of the United States Regional Airline Association members Airlines established in 1995 Defunct companies based in Indianapolis Republic Airways Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines disestablished in 2017