12 American Eagle is a American brand name
for the regional branch of American Airlines, under which nine individual
regional airlines operate short and medium haul feeder flights. Three of
these airlines, Envoy Air, Piedmont Airlines and PSA Airlines, are wholly
owned subsidiaries of American. Mainline carriers often use regional airlines to
operate services in order to increase frequency, serve routes that would not
sustain larger aircraft, or for other competitive reasons. They primarily
connect smaller cities with American's domestic hub airports, although they do
offer some point-to-point service between non-hub airports. Just like the
regional brands of the other two major airlines, American Airlines' regional
brand accounts for more than 60% of American Airlines flights.
History Prior to the Airline Deregulation Act in
1978, most major US air carriers had maintained close relationships with
independent regional carriers in order to feed passengers from smaller markets
into the larger cities, and, in turn, onto the larger legacy carriers. In the
post-regulation era, the hub-and-spoke system gained prominence, and in order
to feed traffic from smaller markets into these newly established hubs, the
major carriers outsourced regional operations to these smaller carriers.
These relationships included the use of code sharing, shared branding, and
listing regional partners in the computer reservations systems of the
mainline carrier. American Eagle commenced service on
November 1, 1984 with a flight from Fayetteville, Arkansas to Dallas/Fort
Worth International Airport. This flight was operated by Metroflight Airlines,
using a Convair 580 turboprop aircraft. Other operators contracted by American
Airlines to fly the American Eagle banner during this time included Air
Midwest, Air Virginia, Chaparral Airlines, Command Airways, Simmons
Airlines, and Wings West. On September 15, 1986, Executive
Airlines joined the American Eagle system. With hub operations at Luis
Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the addition of
Executive Airways to the American Eagle family opened up an extensive
inter-island network throughout the Caribbean.
Between 1987 and 1989 AMR Corp. gradually acquired most its regional
carriers, starting with Simmons Airlines. By 1991, AMR had consolidated
its wholly owned regional carriers into four separate entities: Executive
Airlines, Flagship Airlines, Simmons Airlines, and Wings West. AMR would
later purchase the assets of bankrupt Metro Airlines in 1993. At this point,
AMR owned all of the airlines that were operating for American Eagle.
On May 15, 1998, Flagship Airlines and Wings West were merged into Simmons
Airlines, with the new entity given the name American Eagle Airlines. Along with
Executive Airlines, these would be the only two operators using the American
Eagle brand name for the next fourteen years.
After American Airlines acquired Trans World Airlines in 2001, it retained the
contracts with the carriers that operated under the Trans World Express
banner, which, at the time, included Chautauqua Airlines, Corporate Airlines,
and Trans States Airlines. However, instead of being integrated into the
American Eagle brand, these carriers operated under a separate regional brand
known as American Connection. This brand name was used for thirteen years before
being discontinued in 2014. = Recent Developments =
As part of its restructuring and emergence from chapter 11 bankruptcy,
AMR announced that it would start contracting American Eagle flying to
carriers outside of its wholly owned subsidiaries. On November 15, 2012,
SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines, both subsidiaries of SkyWest,
Inc. began operations for American Eagle. On August 1, 2013, Republic
Airlines a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings, commenced flying
operations under the American Eagle branding as part of a 12-year capacity
purchase agreement to operate Embraer E-175 aircraft for American Eagle.
On September 12, 2012 AMR announced the discontinuation of the
AmericanConnection brand, and all operations were going to be integrated
into the American Eagle brand. However, Chautauqua Airlines, a subsidiary of
Republic Airways Holdings and the only operator of American Connection flights
at the time of the announcement, opted not to renew its contract. All
AmericanConnection flights ended on August 19, 2014.
American Eagle service operated by Executive Airlines ceased operations on
March 31, 2013. At the same time, its base at San Juan was dehubbed.
Due to the fact that an increasing number of other carriers were being
contracted to fly under the American Eagle brand, it was announced on January
15, 2014 that American Eagle Airlines would change its name to Envoy Air. The
name change took effect on April 15, 2014.
Compass Airlines, a subsidiary of Trans States Holdings, began American Eagle
operations on March 27, 2015, as part of a deal to operate 20 new Embraer E-175
aircraft on behalf of American. These aircraft are based at American’s Los
Angeles hub. Operators & Fleet
As of October 2015, the combined American Eagle branded fleet consists of
the following regional jet aircraft: American Eagle is the regional marketing
brand of American Airlines. Currently, several airlines fly as American Eagle.
Chautauqua's last scheduled flight with AmericanConnection was on August 18,
2014, and Envoy Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group,
was previously known as American Eagle Airlines prior to the merger with US
Airways. PSA Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group
and an operator for US Airways Express, started operating new CRJ-900 next-gen
aircraft in American Eagle livery since Spring 2014. As of May 20, 2014, PSA has
taken delivery of three CRJ-900. On May 19, 2014, Mesa Airlines agreed to add
another six Bombardier CRJ-900 regional jets to its fleet, and operate them as
American Eagle. American has purchased 40 Embraer E-175 regional jets to be
placed at Envoy Air. = Former Operators =
• In January 1988, Nashville Eagle became AMR Corp.’s first and only
start-up airline, using equipment acquired from Air Midwest.
• Business Express was acquired by AMR Eagle Holdings Corporation in March
1999, although it never flew under the American Eagle brand before being fully
integrated into American Eagle Airlines, Inc. in December 2000.
= Historical Fleet = The American Eagle brand, through its
various regional and commuter airline partners, operated a variety of twin
turboprop aircraft over the years including the ATR-42, ATR-72, Beech 99,
British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31 and 32 models, CASA 212, Convair 580,
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner, Grumman Gulfstream I, Nihon YS-11, Short 330,
Short 360, and the Saab 340. Currently, no turboprop aircraft are flown on any
American Eagle branded passenger services as all flights are operated
with regional jets. However Piedmont Airlines, a regional carrier wholly
owned by American Airlines Group, and acquired through the merger with US
Airways, is currently operating a fleet of Bombardier DASH-8 turbo props for the
US Airways Express regional brand. These aircraft will rebranded as American
Eagle once the merger process is fully complete.
Incidents & Accidents On May 8, 1987, American Eagle Flight
5452, operated by regional airline Executive Airlines, a CASA 212-200, was
on a domestically scheduled passenger flight between San Juan, Puerto
Rico-Mayaguez, Puerto Rico when it crashed short of Runway 09 while landing
at Mayaguez. After impacting, the plane continued through a chain-link fence and
a ditch. Of the six occupants onboard, two were killed. The cause of the crash
was determined to be improper maintenance in setting the flight idle
propeller and engine fuel flow. February 19, 1988: American Eagle Flight
3378, a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner operated by AVAir, was on a regularly
scheduled flight between Raleigh-Richmond when it crashed into a
reservoir about a mile from Raleigh-Durham International Airport,
from where it had departed, in the vicinity of Cary, North Carolina. The
aircraft departed during low-ceiling, low-visibility, and night conditions.
Analysis of radar data indicated the aircraft was in a 45-degree descending
turn. Both crew members and all 10 passengers were killed.
On June 7, 1992, American Eagle Flight 5456, operated by regional airline
Executive Airlines, was on a regular flight between San Juan, Puerto Rico and
Mayaguez, Puerto Rico when it lost control and crashed nose-down about 3/4
mile from the Mayaguez, Puerto Rico airport. Both crew and all three
passengers were killed. The aircraft involved was a CASA 212-200.
October 31, 1994: American Eagle Flight 4184, an ATR 72 operated by AMR's
regional airline Simmons Airlines, crashed near Roselawn, Indiana. The
aircraft inverted, dived, and crashed from a holding pattern at 10,000 feet
"after a ridge of ice accreted beyond the deice boots" resulting in an
unexpected aileron hinge moment reversal that subsequently resulted in the loss
of control. The four crew and 64 passengers were all killed. In the
months following the accident, American Eagle redeployed its ATR fleet to Miami
and the Caribbean where icing is not an issue. The aircraft manufacturer, ATR,
has since improved the anti-ice boots. The American Eagle aircraft were
modified with the updated deicing system. All ATR 72s were retired from
American Eagle's fleet in 2013. December 13, 1994: American Eagle Flight
3379, operated by AMR's regional airline Flagship Airlines, a Jetstream 31, was
on a regularly scheduled Raleigh-Greensboro-Raleigh service when
it crashed into a wooded area about four miles southwest of the Raleigh-Durham
International Airport in the vicinity of Morrisville, NC. Of the 20 onboard 15
were killed while the five survivors received serious injuries. The probable
cause of the crash was the pilot not following proper procedure in an
engine-failure situation. July 9, 1995: American Eagle Flight
4127, an ATR 72 operated by Simmons Airlines, experienced a loss of the rear
cabin entry door during its climb after taking off from O'Hare International
Airport in Chicago. The cabin door opened shortly after the first officer
began to pressurize the cabin; therefore, only a slight pressure
differential existed between the cabin pressure and the atmospheric pressure.
Lack of damage indicates the door was unlocked/unlatched when it opened. The
airplane was one of fifteen aircraft equipped with a new handrail and door
handle design which was different than the majority of the ATR 72 fleet. The
old handle was pulled down to latch/lock the door and pushed up to unlatch/unlock
the door. The direction of motion was reversed so that the handle was pushed
up to latch/lock the door and pulled down to unlatch/unlock the door. A
private citizen located the separated door in approximately two feet of water
in the Des Plaines River on July 10, 1995. Following this incident, ATR
designed another new door handle design which returns the handle motion to push
up to unlatch/unlock, and pull down to latch/lock.
On May 9, 2004, American Eagle Flight 5401, an ATR-72 operated by Executive
Airlines, crashed in San Juan, Puerto Rico after the captain lost control of
the aircraft while landing. Seventeen people were injured, but there were no
fatalities. January 2006: American Eagle Flight 3008
from San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles, a Saab 340B+ operated by American Eagle
Airlines, encountered icing at 11,000 feet and regained control only at 6,500
feet, after some 50 seconds' descent. During the incident, in which no one was
injured, the autopilot disconnected, the stall alarm/clacker sounded, and the
plane rolled sharply left and right, experienced vibration, and pitched down.
Manual deice boots were activated and ice could be heard shedding off and
striking the fuselage. The NTSB report on this incident referenced three other
Saab 340 icing incidents, as well as the Flight 4184 incident referenced above.
The three were Nov. 11, 1998, in Eildon Weir, Victoria, Australia; June 28,
2002, in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia; and June 18, 2004, in Albury,
New South Wales, Australia. References
External links American Airlines fleet