CommutAir

CommutAir, operating as United Express, is a U.S. regional airline founded in 1989, and is majority-owned by Champlain Enterprises, Inc. Today, CommutAir operates more than 1600 weekly flights to 56 U.S. destinations and 3 in Mexico, with Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft, from its bases at Denver, Newark, Washington Dulles, and Houston Intercontinental.

History[]

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United Express Bombardier Q200 operated by CommutAir

Facing forward in the passenger cabin of a CommutAir Beechcraft 1900D

The airline was established in 1989, with headquarters at Clinton County Airport in Plattsburgh, New York. Operations began on August 1, 1989 as a marketing affiliate of USAir.^[2][3]

The airline changed affiliations to Continental Airlines in January 2000, when US Airways and CommutAir failed to reach a mutually acceptable extension agreement, and CommutAir decided not to renew the codeshare agreement. In July 2001, the company announced plans to downsize its fleet and workforce by approximately half and change the route structure of the airline. In early 2002, the company began a "micro-hub" operation based in Albany, New York. At its high point in 2003 and 2004, the hub served 21 cities within the Northeast and Canada with a fleet of Beechcraft 1900s. Service was also provided out of Boston's Logan International Airport to several Northeast cities.

In January 2003, CommutAir announced an agreement with Continental to feed the latter's Cleveland, Ohio hub. Service commenced on March 16, 2003, serving Kalamazoo, Michigan and Elmira, New York. Two cities were added the following month and by August 2003, CommutAir served 12 cities from the Cleveland hub.

CommutAir leased sixteen Bombardier Q200 aircraft from Horizon Air in 2006. The following year, the Beech 1900s were phased out.

On October 30, 2007, the company moved all remaining operations from Clinton County Airport, due to the closure of the airport. All operations were then conducted out of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.^[4]

On October 2, 2008, the company began operations out of Newark Liberty International Airport, following Continental Airlines plan to adjust to the softening industry.^[5]

Commutair's pilot group voted for union representation by the Air Line Pilots Association in 2008.^[6] That same year, Continental Airlines announced that it would cut flights and more than 3,000 jobs.^[7] Subsequently, it was announced that some of CommutAir's Cleveland flights would be eliminated as part of Continental's cutbacks.^[8]

In 2011, following the merger of Continental and United, CommutAir became a United Express carrier and United Airlines asked CommutAir to obtain five Bombardier Q300s. Two of the aircraft were allocated to Cleveland services and three aircraft were allocated to Newark services.

In 2012, CommutAir opened a hub at Washington-Dulles International Airport.

In July 2014, CommutAir closed its pilot base at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, after United Airlines withdrew its Cleveland hub.^[9] CommutAir also closed its Cleveland maintenance base, and replaced it with a new maintenance base in Albany, New York.^[10]

On November 9, 2015, CommutAir announced that it has reached an agreement with United Airlines to significantly increase the number of airplanes flown under the United Express brand by adding Embraer ERJ-145 jet operations to the company's existing fleet of Bombardier turbo-prop aircraft.

In July 2016, CommutAir began commercial service with its inaugural flight on the ERJ-145XR jet from Washington, D.C. to Columbia, SC.^[11]

In September 2017, the Q300 was phased out and in January 2018, the Q200 was phased out, marking the end of turbo-prop operations.

On July 30, 2020, it was announced that United Airlines had decided to end its contract with fellow United Express affiliate ExpressJet and transferred these operations to CommutAir. CommutAir became the sole operator of the United Express ERJ-145 fleet.^[12]

On Sept 30, 2020, CommutAir started servicing United's Houston hub and on March 28, 2021, it began service out of Denver International Airport. The latter marks the return of the ERJ-145 to the Denver United Express fleet since COVID and the cessation of operations by Trans States Airlines.^[13]

Destinations[]

Crew bases[]

• Denver, Colorado - Denver International Airport
• Newark, New Jersey - Newark Liberty International Airport
• Washington, D.C. - Washington Dulles International Airport
• Houston, Texas - George Bush Intercontinental Airport

Maintenance bases[]

• Albany, New York - Albany International Airport. This is CommutAir's main maintenance base. The airline has had a maintenance base in Albany since 2014 and the base has expanded significantly since then.^[15]
• Houston, Texas - George Bush Intercontinental Airport
• Lincoln, Nebraska - Lincoln International Airport
• Newark, New Jersey - Newark Liberty International Airport
• Washington, D.C. - Washington Dulles International Airport

Fleet[]

A CommutAir ERJ-145XR operating as United Express approaching Newark Liberty International Airport

As of August 2021, the CommutAir fleet includes the following aircraft:^[16][17]

As of January 2020, CommutAir average fleet age was 15.2 years old.^[18]

Historical fleet[]

The CommutAir fleet was once composed entirely of Beechcraft 1900D aircraft, operated for US Airways Express and later for Continental Connection.

CommutAir operated the final turboprop flight for United Express on Sunday, January 7, 2018.^[19]

This flight, UCA4909/C54909 between Syracuse Airport and Dulles Airport was operated by tail number N363PH.^[20][21] It marked the end of an era for both CommutAir and United Express. The Bombardier Q200 was subsequently ferried to Roswell International Air Center for retirement.^[22][23]

• Beechcraft 1900C
• Beechcraft 1900D
• Bombardier Q200
• Bombardier Q300

Incidents and accidents[]

CommutAir Flight 4821[]

On January 3, 1992, CommutAir Flight 4821, a Beechcraft 1900C operating for USAir Express was flying from Plattsburgh, New York to Newark, New Jersey, with stops in Saranac Lake and Albany in New York, crashed into a wooded mountaintop as it was landing at Adirondack Regional Airport.^[24] Of the four people on board (two passengers and two crew), two were killed while the other two sustained serious injuries.^[25]

The cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error in establishing a stabilized approach and cross-checking instruments. Factors related to the accident were: weather conditions and possible precipitation static interference, caused by inadequate grounding between the radome and fuselage that could have resulted in unreliable glide slope indications."^[25]

CommutAir Flight 4933[]

On March 4, 2019, United Express Flight 4933, operated by CommutAir, landed off the runway during its second attempt at landing in Presque Isle International Airport in Presque Isle, Maine.^[26] The front landing gear were torn from the plane and embedded in one of the two rear engines. Passengers and crew were evacuated from the main door, with three passengers requiring treatment for minor injuries as well as one pilot.^[27]

See also[]

• Air transportation in the United States

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to CommutAir.

• Official website
• Airline Pilot Central
• ESOP Litigation^{[permanent dead link]}