Allegheny Airlines was a local service carrier, a scheduled airline that operated out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1953 to 1979, with routes primarily located in the Eastern United States. It was the direct predecessor of USAir, which was subsequently renamed US Airways, which itself merged with American Airlines. Its headquarters were at Washington National Airport in Arlington County, Virginia."World Airline Directory". Flight International. April 22, 1978. p. 1134.
History Allegheny Airlines began as All American Aviation Company providing mail delivery starting on March 7, 1939. It was founded by du Pont family brothers Richard C. du Pont and Alexis Felix du Pont Jr.
Allegheny before 1979
In 1949, the company was renamed All American Airways as it switched from air mail to passenger service. That year, it also moved its headquarters from Pittsburgh to Washington National Airport. The airline kept its headquarters in or near the airport for 64 years through numerous renamings, until US Airways was acquired by American Airlines in 2013; American kept its own headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, near Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.
On January 1, 1953, the company was again renamed, to Allegheny Airlines. Like other local service airlines, Allegheny was subsidized; in 1962 its revenue of $23.5 million included $6.5 million in "public service revenue".Moody's Transportation Manual 1964
In 1953, Allegheny's network blanketed Pennsylvania, reaching from Newark, New Jersey, to Cleveland, Ohio, and Huntington, West Virginia. It added Detroit (YIP) in 1956, Boston in April 1960, La Guardia in 1964, Norfolk in 1966, Toronto in 1967, and Louisville-Nashville-Memphis in 1968. The Lake Central Airlines merger in July 1968 added Chicago and St Louis, and the Mohawk Airlines merger in April 1972 added Montreal, Minneapolis, and many New York cities. Also added were Houston in 1978, Florida at the end of 1978 (TPA-MCO-PBI), and Phoenix in 1979.
In 1959, Allegheny debuted its first turbine airliner, a Convair 540, a Convair 340 with the piston engines replaced by Napier Elands. When Rolls-Royce bought Napier it dropped the Eland, so 540s in the United States reverted to piston; Allegheny's last 540 flights were in 1962. The airline bought new Fairchild F-27Js that the company named "Vistaliner". The F-27J was a U.S.-built version of the Fokker F27. The airline switched to General Motors/Allison turboprops in the Convair 580 which the carrier named the "Vistacruiser"; the first CV580 flight was in June 1965. The last DC-3 flights were in 1962 and the last piston flights were in 1967.
In 1965, Allegheny announced it would add the first jet aircraft type to its fleet—the Douglas DC-9-10—which the airline stated would be placed into service in 1966. Allegheny then added other jets, notably the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30, which the company named the "Vistajet". Later jets included Boeing 727-100s and 727-200s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50s. The Mohawk merger added British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets to the fleet as well. Allegheny Airlines was also the first airline with a network of affiliated regional airlines, the Allegheny Commuter system, which began with Henson Airlines in 1967.
As deregulation dawned, Allegheny, looking to shed its regional image, changed its name to USAir on October 28, 1979.
+ Revenue passenger-miles (millions)+(sched. service only) Allegheny Mohawk Lake Central 1951 30 16 5 1955 56 49 17 1960 131 116 36 1965 289 348 95 1970 1683 566 (merged 1968) 1975 3272 (merged 1972)
USAir and US Airways After Allegheny Airlines rebranded itself as USAir, the company retained its earlier name for its Allegheny Commuter service until 1989 when it became USAir Express.
Under USAir, which eventually renamed itself US Airways, the Allegheny name continued to be used by the parent company, keeping the trademark under US Airways' control. Suburban Airlines was originally headquartered at the Reading Airport in Reading, Pennsylvania, and flew a large fleet of Short 330s and Short 360s, being the launch customer for the Short 360. It had three Fokker F27s, and was the last US operator of passenger F27s. After replacing much of its Short fleet with de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8s and retiring the F27s, Suburban merged with another wholly owned USAir subsidiary, Pennsylvania Airlines, which was headquartered at Harrisburg International Airport near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The combined airline retained the historic Allegheny Airlines name until it was merged with another wholly owned subsidiary, Piedmont Airlines."Lower Swatara township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania ." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on March 2, 2010."World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 16–22, 2004. 83. The subsequent airline retained the Piedmont Airlines name. After retiring earlier aircraft, Allegheny, before and after its mergers, mainly flew De Havilland Canada Dash 8s to 35 airports in the northeastern United States, and eventually Canada, from hubs at Boston and Philadelphia. Its activities and Activities Dash 8 fleet were incorporated into a regional airline, Piedmont Airlines, in 2004.
, an American Airlines Airbus A321, registered N579UW, is painted in Allegheny colors. It recently was on an Airbus A319 registered N745VJ, before being repainted into standard American livery in March 2023 and US Airways also operated this aircraft with a retro Allegheny Airlines paint scheme.
Destinations This is a list of cities served by Allegheny Airlines until October 1979. It does not include destinations served before that year. Allegheny flew to dozens more cities at some point, including Erie, Providence, and the Wyoming Valley.
Allegheny Airlines
Akron, Ohio - Akron–Canton Airport Albany, New York – Albany County Airport Allentown, Pennsylvania – Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton International Airport Baltimore, Maryland – Baltimore–Washington International Airport Binghamton, New York – Broome County Airport Boston, Massachusetts – Logan International Airport Bradford, Pennsylvania – Bradford Regional Airport Bridgeport, Connecticut – Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport Buffalo, New York – Greater Buffalo-Niagara Falls International Airport Burlington, Vermont – Burlington International Airport Charleston, West Virginia – Kanawha Airport Chicago, Illinois – O'Hare International Airport Cincinnati, Ohio – Greater Cincinnati International Airport Cleveland, Ohio – Hopkins International Airport Columbus, Ohio – Port Columbus International Airport Dayton, Ohio – James M. Cox International Airport Denver, Colorado – Stapleton International Airport Detroit, Michigan – Metro Airport DuBois, Pennsylvania – DuBois-Jefferson County Airport Elmira, New York – Chemung County Airport Erie, Pennsylvania – Erie International Airport Evansville, Indiana – Evansville Regional Airport Glens Falls, New York – Warren County Airport Hagerstown, Maryland – Hagerstown Regional Airport Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Harrisburg International Airport Hartford, Connecticut – Bradley International Airport Huntington, West Virginia -Tri-State Airport Indianapolis, Indiana – Weir Cook Airport Islip, New York – Islip Airport Ithaca, New York – Tompkins County Airport Jamestown, New York – Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport Keene, New Hampshire – Dillant–Hopkins Airport Kingsport, Tennessee – Tri-Cities Regional Airport Lawrenceville, Illinois - Lawrenceville-Vincennes International AirportAllegheny Airlines timetable Dec 15, 1969 Lima, Ohio – Lima Allen County Airport Lock Haven, Pennsylvania – William T. Piper Memorial Airport Louisville, Kentucky – Standiford Field Mansfield, Ohio – Mansfield Lahm Regional AirportAllegheny Airlines Timetable April 27, 1969 Memphis, Tennessee – Memphis International Airport Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota – Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Nashville, Tennessee – Berry Field Newark, New Jersey – Newark International Airport New Haven, Connecticut – Tweed New Haven Airport New Orleans, Louisiana – Moisant Field New York, New York – John F. Kennedy International Airport New York, New York – LaGuardia Airport Norfolk, Virginia - Norfolk International Airport Omaha, Nebraska – Eppley Airfield Parkersburg, West Virginia – Wood County Airport Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia International Airport Phoenix, Arizona – Sky Harbor International Airport Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Greater Pittsburgh International Airport Portsmouth, Ohio - Greater Portsmouth Regional AirportAllegheny Airlines Timetable April 26, 1970 Providence, Rhode Island – Theodore Francis Green State Airport Rochester, New York – Greater Rochester International Airport St. Louis, Missouri – Lambert Field Syracuse, New York – Hancock International Airport Toledo, Ohio – Toledo Express Airport Trenton, New Jersey – Trenton–Mercer Airport Utica, New York – Oneida County Airport Washington, District of Columbia – Washington National Airport Wheeling, West Virginia - Wheeling Ohio County Airport Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport Williamsport, Pennsylvania – Williamsport Regional Airport Wilmington, Delaware – New Castle Airport Worcester, Massachusetts – Worcester Regional Airport York, Pennsylvania – Olmstead State Airport Youngstown, Ohio – Youngstown–Warren Regional Airport Zanesville, Ohio – Zanesville Municipal Airport
Canada Montreal, Quebec – Montreal International Airport Toronto, Ontario – Toronto International Airport
Allegheny Commuter
Albany, New York – Albany County Airport Allentown, Pennsylvania – Lehigh Valley International Airport Altoona, Pennsylvania – Altoona–Blair County Airport Atlantic City, New Jersey – Bader Field Bloomington, Indiana – Monroe County Airport Boston, Massachusetts – Logan International Airport Burlington, Vermont – Burlington International Airport Charleston, West Virginia – Kanawha Airport Charlottesville, Virginia – Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport Clarksburg, West Virginia – North Central West Virginia Airport Clarksville, Tennessee -- Clarksville - Montgomery County Regional Airport Cleveland, Ohio – Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Danville, Illinois – Vermilion Regional Airport Dubois, Pennsylvania – DuBois Regional Airport Elkins, West Virginia – Elkins Randolph County Airport Flint, Michigan -- Bishop International Airport Franklin, Pennsylvania – Chess Lamberton Field Galion, Ohio – Galion Municipal AirportAllegheny Commuter Timetable Sept. 5, 1979 Glens Falls, New York – Warren County Airport Hagerstown, Maryland – Hagerstown Regional Airport Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Harrisburg International Airport Hartford, Connecticut – Bradley International Airport Hazleton, Pennsylvania – Hazleton Municipal Airport Islip, New York – Long Island MacArthur Airport Jamestown, New York -- Chatauqua County/Jamestown Airport Johnstown, Pennsylvania – Cambria County Airport Lafayette, Indiana – Purdue University Airport Lancaster, Pennsylvania – Lancaster Airport London-Corbin, Kentucky -- London-Corbin Airport Lynchburg, Virginia – Preston Glenn Field Manchester, New Hampshire – Manchester-Boston Regional Airport Mansfield, Ohio – Mansfield Municipal Airport Massena, New York – Richards Field Millville, New Jersey – Millville Airport Morgantown, West Virginia – Walter L. Hart Field Mount Vernon, Illinois -- Mount Vernon Airport Muncie, Indiana – Johnson Field Nashville, Tennessee -- Nashville International Airport Newark, New Jersey – Newark Liberty International Airport New London, Connecticut – Trumbull Airport New York, New York – JFK Airport and La Guardia Airport North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Northeast Philadelphia Airport Ocala, Florida – Ocala International Airport Ogdensburg, New York – Ogdensburg International Airport Owensboro, Kentucky -- Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport Paducah, Kentucky -- Barkley Regional Airport Plattsburgh, New York – Plattsburgh Airport