Sun West Airlines was a commuter airline that flew in the
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
from 1980 through 1985.
[Sun West Airlines](_blank)
/ref> Hubs were operated at Phoenix, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
History
Sun West Airlines began in early 1980 with Piper Navajo Chieftain's on a Phoenix–Gallup–Farmington–Durango route, a route vacated by the original Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines, Inc. is a major American ultra low-cost airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 120 destinations in the United States, Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, and employs more than 5,000 staff. ...
using 50-seat Convair 580
The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inro ...
's the year prior. Flights from Albuquerque to Gallup and Farmington began by October 26, 1980, and to Durango by mid-1981. Service was expanded from Phoenix to Flagstaff and Yuma the following year as well as a Phoenix–Winslow–Gallup–Albuquerque route. More flights were added on all Albuquerque routes after Frontier exited the markets in late 1981. Sun West provided Essential Air Service for a time at Gallup, New Mexico and Winslow, Arizona. By June 1983, Sun West had introduced the 14-seat Beechcraft 99 airliner but was then faced with intense competition by Air Midwest, Mesa, Pioneer, and Trans-Colorado Airlines on the Albuquerque to Farmington and Durango routes causing the carrier to retreat from these markets the following year. Service from Albuquerque and Phoenix to Tucson was also operated for brief periods in 1983. Sun West began a Phoenix–Prescott–Bullhead City–Las Vegas route on August 1, 1984, and modified it to a Phoenix–Lake Havasu City–Bullhead City–Ontario, California route on March 1, 1985. However, the airline ceased all operations on March 5, 1985.
Destinations
* Bullhead City, Arizona/Laughlin, Nevada
Laughlin () is an unincorporated community in Clark County, Nevada, United States. Laughlin lies south of Las Vegas, in the far southern tip of Nevada. As a resort town, it is known for its gaming and water recreation. As of the 2020 census, t ...
* Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff ( ), known locally as Flag, is the county seat of Coconino County, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 76,831.
Flagstaff is the principal city of the Coconino Cou ...
* Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Lake Havasu City (, ) is a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,144, up from 52,527 in 2010. It is served by Lake Havasu City Airport.
History
The community first started du ...
* 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 ...
* 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 ...
* 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 ...
* Winslow, Arizona
Winslow is a city in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of the city is 9,005. It is approximately southeast of Flagstaff, Arizona, Flagstaff, west of Albuquerque, New ...
* 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 ...
* Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
* Farmington, New Mexico
Farmington (Navajo language, Navajo: Tóta') is a city in San Juan County, New Mexico, San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 46,624 people. Farmington (and ...
* Gallup, New Mexico
Gallup is a city in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States, with a population of 21,899 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A substantial percentage of its population is Native Americans in the United States, Native American, wi ...
* Durango, Colorado
Durango is the home rule city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 at the 2020 United States census. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College ...
* 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 ...
* 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 ...
Fleet
* Piper Seneca (3)
* Piper Navajo Chieftain (5)
* Beechcraft 99 (5)[JP Airline Fleets 1981-1985 volumes]
See also
* List of defunct airlines of the United States
The following is a list of defunct airlines of the United States. However, some of these airlines have ceased operations completely, changed identities and/or FAA certificates and are still operating under a different name (e.g. America West Ai ...
References
Defunct airlines of the United States
Airlines established in 1980
Airlines disestablished in 1985
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