Mississippi Valley Airlines (IATA--XV) was a regional air carrier serving the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It was founded by Herb Lee, Norm Elsy and Charles A. ("Chuck") Draine[2] as Gateway Aviation, and had its headquarters in La Crosse, Wisconsin.[3] Chuck Draine served as chairman and chief executive officer.[4] It began scheduled flight operations on July 22, 1968 between La Crosse Municipal Airport and both Chicago (O'Hare International Airport) and Milwaukee (General Mitchell International Airport).[5] The carrier changed its name to Mississippi Valley Airways in October 1969. It became Mississippi Valley Airlines (MVA) and moved its headquarters to Quad City Airport in Moline, Illinois in January 1982.[6][7] The airline merged into Air Wisconsin on May 17, 1985 in a $10 million share exchange transaction. At the time of the merger, Mississippi Valley Airlines was the United States' eighth-largest regional airline in terms of ridership.[8]
| |||||||
| Commenced operations | July 22, 1968 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 1985 | ||||||
| Operating bases | La Crosse Municipal Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | See Fleet below | ||||||
| Destinations | See Destinations below | ||||||
| Headquarters | La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States Moline, Illinois, United States | ||||||
Destinations
editMississippi Airlines had the following destinations:[9]
- Alexandria, Minnesota
- Benton Harbor, Michigan
- Burlington, Iowa
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
- Chicago, Illinois (O'Hare)
- Clinton, Iowa
- Columbia, Missouri
- Dubuque, Iowa
- Kansas City, Missouri
- La Crosse, Wisconsin
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Marshall, Minnesota
- Mason City, Iowa
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Moline, Illinois
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Ottumwa, Iowa
- Peoria, Illinois
- Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Springfield, Illinois
- Willmar, Minnesota
- Winona, Minnesota
Turboprop fleet
editAccidents
editAlthough the airline had no fatal accidents, it lost one aircraft during in-flight operations, a Twin Otter which hit trees upon landing at La Crosse, Wisconsin.[15]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Aircraft Accident Report, Mississippi Valley Airways, Inc., DeHavilland DHC-6, N956SM, La Crosse, Wisconsin, November 9, 1970" (PDF). NTSB. NTSB. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ Pyrek, Emily (Sep 23, 2019). "Pilots and co-pilots from La Crosse's former Mississippi Valley Airline reunite for the first time in decades". La Crosse Tribune. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. July 26, 1980. 330. "Head Office: 2763 Reed Road, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601, USA." Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "MVA seeks support of businesses here". Cedar Rapids Gazette. November 25, 1979.
- ^ "Gateway Opens New Air Taxi Routes Monday". The Milwaukee Journal. July 18, 1968. p.19
- ^ Davies, Ronald Edward George; Quastler, I.E. (1995). Commuter Airlines of the United States. Smithsonian Press. p. 372. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 30, 1985. 98." Retrieved June 17, 2009. Archived October 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Jouzaitis, Carol (July 24, 1985). "Air Wisconsin taking off nationally, thanks to merger". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Airline Timetable Images". Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- ^ a b c d "Mississippi Valley Airlines - MVA". airliners.net. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "msn-203 (N956SM)". twinotterworld. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "msn-756 (N126AS)". twinotterworld. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "msn-768 (C-GFJC)". twinotterworld. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "N5302M at Chicago O'Hare". airhistory.net. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 200 N956SM la Crosse Municipal Airport, WI (LSE)". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
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