Hughes Airwest

Hughes Airwest
IATA ICAO Call sign
RW — HUGHES-AIR
FoundedApril 17, 1968;
56 years ago (1968-04-17)
(amalgamation; as Air West)
Commenced operations1970; 54 years ago (1970)
(as Hughes Airwest)
Ceased operationsOctober 1, 1980;
44 years ago (1980-10-01)
(acquired by Republic Airlines)[1]
HubsSan Francisco
Focus cities
HeadquartersSan Mateo County, California, United States
Key people
Air West Fairchild F-27A in 1970
at San Francisco International Airport

Hughes Air Corporation, doing business as Hughes Airwest, was a local service carrier from 1970 to 1980 in the Western United States. It was backed by Howard Hughes' Summa Corporation. Its original name in 1968 was Air West and the air carrier was owned by Nick Bez. Hughes Airwest flew routes in the western U.S. and to several destinations in Mexico and Canada; its headquarters were on the grounds of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in unincorporated San Mateo County, California.[2]

With distinctive all-yellow aircraft, the company slogan was Top Banana in the West;[3][4][5] Hughes Airwest was purchased by Republic Airlines in 1980, which in turn was merged into Northwest Airlines in 1986. Northwest Airlines was then merged into Delta Air Lines in 2010.[1][6]

  1. ^ a b "Republic Airlines takes over Hughest Airwest on Oct. 1". Deseret News. UPI. September 18, 1980. p. 10B.
  2. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. April 28, 1979. 1379.
  3. ^ "Now, "Top Banana" service". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah). (advertisement). June 29, 1976. p. 16A.
  4. ^ "Top Banana in the West". Deseret News. (advertisement). June 22, 1976. p. back.
  5. ^ "Go Bananas to Reno". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). (advertisement). March 1, 1977. p. 23.
  6. ^ "Herman is in, the Big Yellow Banana is out". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 30, 1980. p. 1B.