Gem State Airlines

Gem State Airlines
Convair 580 in 1980
IATA ICAO Call sign
GS – –
Founded1978
Ceased operations1980
Focus citiesBoise, Idaho,
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Fleet size9
Destinations12
HeadquartersCoeur d'Alene, Idaho, U.S.
Key peopleTom Soumas, Jr.
Justin S. Colin
(1924–2012)

Gem State Airlines was a United States airline founded in 1978 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.[1][2][3][4] It carried passengers for 11 months, from December 1978 to November 1979,[5][6] and merged in January 1980 with Air Pacific to become Golden Gate Airlines.[7][8][9][10][11]

Founded by Thomas D. "Tom" Soumas, Jr. (b. 1953) of Coeur d'Alene,[12][13] its primary investor was Justin S. Colin (1924–2012), a New York financier.[14][15][16][17]

Idaho's nickname is the Gem State, with origins back to its territorial years.[18]

  1. ^ Roche, Kevin (July 9, 1978). "Gem State is more than a paper airline now". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1A.
  2. ^ Harrell, Sylvia (November 1, 1978). "Gem State swoops into Lewiston". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1A.
  3. ^ Roche, Kevin (November 1, 1978). "Gem State stockholders squeezed out". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 16A.
  4. ^ "Gem State Airlines". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (advertisement). November 30, 1978. p. 12A.
  5. ^ "Airline's demise day away". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 8, 1979. p. 3.
  6. ^ Harrell, Sylvia (November 10, 1979). "Goodbye". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  7. ^ airlines
  8. ^ Golden Gate Airlines Image Gallery
  9. ^ Harrell, Sylvia (January 30, 1980). "Gem State Airlines? Oh, you mean Golden Gate". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  10. ^ "Gem State: Idaho refugee buys California airline". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 10, 1980. p. 9C.
  11. ^ "Gem Airlines' financial savior files for personal bankruptcy". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). August 25, 1982. p. 2B.
  12. ^ "Airline just needs a plane". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. December 25, 1974. p. 8Z.
  13. ^ Roche, Kevin (August 27, 1978). "Takeoff". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  14. ^ "Gem State Airlines 'remarkable'". Ellensburg Daily Record. (Washington). UPI. August 1, 1979. p. 24.
  15. ^ "Soumas still wants air carrier in Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). January 9, 1980. p. 10.
  16. ^ Roche, Kevin (October 25, 1978). "New York financier invested heavily in Gem State Airlines". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 5A.
  17. ^ "Justin Colin". legacy.com. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  18. ^ "Idaho, the Gem State" (PDF). Idaho Geological Survey. November 2002.