View source for America West Express

{{Short description|Defunct regional airline of the United States (1985–2007)}}
{{Infobox airline 
| airline         = America West Express
| logo            = America West Express Logo, March 2001.svg
| logo_size       = 275
| fleet_size      = 
| destinations    = 
| IATA            = {{ubl|YV|RP}}
| ICAO            = {{ubl|ASH|CHQ}}
| callsign        = {{ubl|AIR SHUTTLE|CHATAUQUA}}
| parent          = {{nowrap|[[America West Holdings]]}}
| founded         = {{start date|1992||}}
| commenced       = {{start date|1992||}}
| ceased          = {{end date|2007|09|25}}<br />{{small|(merged into [[US Airways Express]])}}
| headquarters    = [[Tempe, Arizona|Tempe]], [[Arizona]], [[United States]]
| key_people      = {{bulleted list|
  | [[Doug Parker (airline executive)|Doug Parker]] ([[Chief executive officer|CEO]])
  | Derek Kerr ([[Chief financial officer|CFO]])}}
| hubs            = {{nowrap|[[Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport|Phoenix–Sky Harbor]]}}
| secondary_hubs  = {{ubl|class=nowrap
  | [[John Glenn Columbus International Airport|Columbus–Glenn]] {{small|(1993–2003)}}
  | [[Harry Reid International Airport|Las Vegas]]}}
| frequent_flyer  = FlightFund
| alliance        = 
| website         = 
}}

'''America West Express''' was the [[brand name]] for [[America West Airlines]] commuter and regional flights operated by [[Chautauqua Airlines|Chatauqua Airlines]] and [[Mesa Airlines]] under a [[code share|code-sharing]] agreement.

[[Mesa Airlines]] operated America West Express from hubs at [[Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport|Sky Harbor International Airport]] in [[Phoenix, Arizona]] and [[Harry Reid International Airport]] in [[Las Vegas|Las Vegas, Nevada]] to regional destinations.

[[Chautauqua Airlines]] also operated America West Express regional jet service via a [[code sharing]] agreement in support of the America West hub in [[Columbus, Ohio]].

America West Express' [[#Fleet|fleet]] consisted of 61 [[turboprop]] and [[regional jet]] aircraft.

==History==
[[Image:AmericaWestExpress.jpg|left|thumb|A traveler boards an America West Express [[Bombardier CRJ200#CRJ-200|CRJ200]] regional jet operated by [[Mesa Airlines]] at the Las Vegas airport.]]
America West Express started as a regional carrier in association with America West Airlines with a hub at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. The name "America West Express" was taken from the old America West Airlines cargo service which had begun in 1985.
America West initially operated [[de Havilland Canada Dash 8]] turboprop aircraft with its own flight crews; however, on November 30, 1992, America West signed a codeshare agreement with [[Mesa Airlines]] to operate [[America West Airlines]]' regional and commuter services as America West Express.
  
In the mid-1990s, with the opening of the America West Airlines hub at [[Port Columbus International Airport]] in [[Columbus, Ohio]],  America West Airlines used Mesa Airlines first with CRJ200s for 8 years with a crew base of pilots and flight attendants and then both [[Chautauqua Airlines]] to provide [[Embraer ERJ family|Embraer ERJ 145]] regional jet service to feed the hub.  When the Columbus hub was shut down, the Chautauqua Airlines code share was discontinued, leaving Mesa as the sole operator of AW Express services.

In 2003, America West greatly increased the size of its express operation by starting new routes operated by regional jets from its hub at [[McCarran International Airport]] in [[Las Vegas|Las Vegas, Nevada]].

In 2007, America West Express was branded as [[US Airways Express]] following the merger of America West with US Airways.

==Operators and fleet==
===Fleet===
[[Image:N7305VatLAX.jpg|thumb|America West Express [[Bombardier CRJ100/200#CRJ-200|CRJ200]] on a murky Los Angeles morning.]]
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+ America West Express fleet
! Type || Aircraft || Seats
|-
|[[Bombardier CRJ100/200#CRJ-200|Bombardier CRJ200]]
|align=center|18
|align=center|50
|- 
|[[Bombardier CRJ700 series#CRJ900|Bombardier CRJ900]]
|align=center|37
|align=center|90
|-
|[[De Havilland Canada Dash 8#Series 100|de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100]]
|align=center|6
|align=center|37
|-
|[[Embraer ERJ family|Embraer ERJ 145]]
|align=center|9
|align=center|50
|}

===Historical regional jet fleet===

The America West Express brand, through its various regional and commuter airline partners, operated a variety twinjet aircraft over the years including the following types:

* [[Fokker 70]]

===Historical turboprop fleet===

The America West Express brand, through its various regional and commuter airline partners, operated a variety of twin turboprop aircraft over the years including the following types:

* [[Beechcraft 1900#1900D|Beechcraft 1900D]]
* [[De Havilland Canada Dash 8#Series 200|Bombardier Q200]]
* [[Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia|Embraer EMB 120]]

==Services==
America West Express operated all of its fleet in a single coach class configuration. However, the CRJ-700s and CRJ-900s did offer dual class service at one point with separate first and coach class cabins. This dual class service was then subsequently dropped when it was determined that customers were not willing to pay extra for limited ''first class'' amenities on these short flights.  Increasing the number of coach seats thus resulted in increased revenue.

== Identifying codes ==
Since these were code share flights, the [[America West Airlines#Identifying Codes|America West Airlines]] codes were used for customer purposes.  ''HPX'' indicates America West Express flights.  However, the flights were actually operated under the Mesa Airlines and Chatauqua Airlines codes, depending on the operating airline.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|America West Express}}
* [http://www.americawest.com/ America West Airlines website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060521174110/http://www.americawest.com/ |date=2006-05-21 }}
* [http://www.mesa-air.com/ Mesa Airlines website]

{{Portalbar|United States|Companies|Aviation}}
{{Airlines of the United States|state=collapsed}}
{{US Airways Group}}

[[Category:Defunct regional airline brands]]
[[Category:Defunct regional airlines of the United States]]
[[Category:America West Holdings]]
[[Category:Airlines based in Arizona]]