Mississippi Valley Airlines
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Commenced operations | July 22, 1968 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | 1985 | ||||||
Operating bases | La Crosse Municipal Airport | ||||||
Fleet size | See Fleet below | ||||||
Destinations | See Destinations below | ||||||
Headquarters | La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States Moline, Illinois, United States |
Mississippi Valley Airlines (IATA--XV) was a regional air carrier serving the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It was founded by Herb Lee, Norm Ely and Charles A. ("Chuck") Draine[1] as Gateway Aviation, and had its headquarters in La Crosse, Wisconsin.[2] Chuck Draine served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.[3] It began scheduled flight operations on July 22, 1968 between La Crosse Municipal Airport and both Chicago (O'Hare International Airport) and Milwaukee (General Mitchell International Airport).[4] The carrier changed its name to Mississippi Valley Airways in October 1969. It became Mississippi Valley Airlines (MVA) and moved its headquarters to Quad City Airport in Moline, Illinois in January 1982.[5][6] The airline merged into Air Wisconsin on May 17, 1985 in a $10 million share exchange transaction. At the time of the merger, Mississippi Valley Airlines was the United States' eighth-largest regional airline in terms of ridership.[7]
Destinations[]
This section does not cite any sources. (June 2009) |
- Alexandria, Minnesota[8]
- Benton Harbor, Michigan
- Burlington, Iowa
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
- Chicago, Illinois (O'Hare)
- Clinton, Iowa
- Columbia, Missouri
- Dubuque, Iowa
- Kansas City, Missouri
- La Crosse, Wisconsin
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Marshall, Minnesota[8]
- Mason City, Iowa
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Moline, Illinois
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Ottumwa, Iowa
- Peoria, Illinois
- Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin[8]
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Springfield, Illinois
- Willmar, Minnesota[8]
- Winona, Minnesota[8]
Turboprop fleet[]
Accidents[]
Although the airline had no fatal accidents, it lost one aircraft during in-flight operations, a Twin Otter which hit trees upon landing at La Crosse, Wisconsin.[9]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Pyrek, Emily (Sep 23, 2019). "Pilots and co-pilots from La Crosse's former Mississippi Valley Airline reunite for the first time in decades". La Crosse Tribune. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. July 26, 1980. 330. "Head Office: 2763 Reed Road, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601, USA."
- ^ "MVA seeks support of businesses here". Cedar Rapids Gazette. No. Nov. 25, 1979.
- ^ "Gateway Opens New Air Taxi Routes Monday" 'The Milwaukee Journal' July 18, 1968 p.19
- ^ "Commuter Airlines of the United States" by R.E.G. Davies and I.E. Quastler. 1995 The Smithsonian Press. p.372
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 30, 1985. 98." Retrieved on June 17, 2009.
- ^ Jouzaitis, Carol. "Air Wisconsin taking off nationally, thanks to merger". Chicago Tribune. No. July 24, 1985. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Airline Timetable Images". Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- ^ [1]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mississippi Valley Airlines. |
- Defunct airlines of the United States
- Moline, Illinois
- Defunct companies based in Illinois
- Defunct companies based in Wisconsin
- Airlines established in 1968
- Airlines disestablished in 1985
- 1968 establishments in Wisconsin
- United States airline stubs