Wright Air Lines

Wright Air Lines
IATA ICAO Call sign
FW/KC WRT WRIGHT
FoundedMay 18, 1966
Commenced operationsJune 27, 1966 (1966-06-27)
Ceased operations1985 (1985)
Operating basesCleveland Burke Lakefront Airport
HeadquartersCleveland, Ohio
United States
Key peopleDon Schneller
Gilbert Singerman
FounderGerald Weller
Convair 600 at Columbus 1980

On the surface, Wright Air Lines was no different than many other many other small turboprop airlines that collapsed in the early years of the deregulated US airline industry. What set Wright apart was:

  • it was one of the few airlines to operate at Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport (BKL), where the airline was born and where it died
  • it originated as one of the airlines that made the route from BKL to Detroit City Airport (DET) one of the busiest small aircraft routes in the country in the 1960s
  • it was a rare small airline that achieved certification by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the Federal agency that tightly regulated most airline activity prior to US airline deregulation
  • the airline’s collapse was accompanied by findings of fraud