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Cochise Airlines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cochise Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
DP
Founded1971 Tucson, Arizona
Ceased operationsc. 1982
DestinationsArizona and southern California
HeadquartersTucson, Arizona, United States

Cochise Airlines was a commuter airline which was founded in 1971 in Tucson, Arizona.[1] It operated until the early 1980s. Cochise linked small cities in Arizona with Phoenix, Arizona and Tucson, Arizona and also served southern California and New Mexico at one point.[2]

History

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According to the February 1, 1976 edition of the Official Airline Guide (OAG), Cochise was operating de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprop aircraft as well as Cessna 402 prop aircraft.[3] By 1979, the airline was flying Swearingen Metroliner (Metro II) turboprops. One route served with the Metro II at this time was Tucson (TUS) - Phoenix (PHX) - Yuma (YUM) - Imperial, CA (IPL) - Los Angeles (LAX) while another route served Phoenix (PHX) - Flagstaff (FLG) - Winslow (INW) - Gallup (GUP).[4]

Besides serving Phoenix, Tucson, Imperial and Yuma, the February 1, 1976 OAG listed scheduled service operated by Cochise into the following destinations in Arizona: Flagstaff (FLG), Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN), Kingman (IGM), Lake Havasu City (LHU), Page (PGA), Prescott (PRC) and Winslow (INW).

By 1981, Cochise was flying a Convair 440 propliner nonstop between Tucson (TUS) and San Diego (SAN)[5] and also on the Tucson - Phoenix - Yuma - El Centro - Los Angeles route in addition to Metro II propjet service on the latter route.[6] The Convair 440 was the largest aircraft type ever operated by the airline. Also in 1981, Cochise was flying a Phoenix (PHX) - Blythe, CA (BLH) - Los Angeles (LAX) route in addition to operating its other routes within Arizona and southern California.[7]

The air carrier's two letter airline code in the OAG was "DP".

Destinations in 1974

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According to its April 15, 1974 route map, Cochise was serving the following destinations:[8]

Destinations in 1979

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According to its November 15, 1979 route map, Cochise Airlines was serving the following destinations:[9]

The airline also served San Diego, California during the early 1980s.

Cochise ceased all operations on June 2, 1982.

Fleet

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Piston aircraft:

Turboprop aircraft:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ airlines
  2. ^ Cochise Airlines
  3. ^ Feb. 1, 1976 Official Airline Guide
  4. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Nov. 15, 1979 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tucson flight schedules
  5. ^ http://www.airliners.net, photos of Cochise Airlines Convair 440 at Tucson and San Diego
  6. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, April 1, 1981 Official Airline Guide, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tucson flight schedules
  7. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, April 1, 1981 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Phoenix schedules
  8. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, April 15, 1974 Cochise Airlines route map
  9. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Nov. 15, 1979 Cochise Airlines route map