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Great Lakes Aviation, LTD. COMPANY HISTORY |
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1977 Great Lakes Aviation traces its success back to April 15th with the creation of Spirit Lake Airways. Founded by Doug Voss and Ivan Simpson in Spirit Lake, Iowa, the company offered flight instruction, charter service, and aircraft maintenance. 1979 Great Lakes Aviation officially incorporated on October 25th; the Company name change reflected its expansion in the Iowa Great Lakes Region of Northwest Iowa. 1981 First scheduled passenger flight began on October 12th between Spencer and Des Moines, Iowa. 1983 On June 15, the Company acquired its first of eight Beechcraft 99 Turboprop airliners. 1985 In August, the company acquired its first Chicago O�Hare landing slots at a FAA slot lottery. This event allowed the beginning of scheduled service to Chicago O�Hare. In October, Great Lakes Aviation was selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide service to its first subsidized Essential Air Service routes. 1987 Great Lakes Aviation took delivery of their first Beechcraft 1900 Turboprop airliner with 19-seat capacity. 1988 April 1st Great Lakes acquired Alliance Airline�s route structures and its Chicago O�Hare landing slots, greatly enhancing the companies presence at Chicago O�Hare. 1991 In June, Great Lakes began providing scheduled air service to Denver�s Stapleton Airport from cities in Iowa, Nebraska, and North Dakota. 1992 On April 25th Great Lakes Aviation inaugurated service as a United Express carrier through a comprehensive marketing agreement with United Airlines 1994 On January 20, the Company completed an initial public offering of its stock trading on the NASDAQ exchange under GLUX. The proceeds allowed the acquisition of larger aircraft. In May, Great Lakes Aviation purchased its first of twelve Embraer Brasilia aircraft, which provide 30-seat capacity and in-flight service. The company also took delivery of its first Beechcraft 1900D airliner, which features a stand-up cabin enhancing passenger comfort. 1998 Great Lakes Aviation was selected by United Airlines to provide regional air service at 20 locations in Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas and Nebraska to feed the Denver Hub. 1999 Great Lakes Aviation signed a lease with the Cheyenne Airport in May that facilitated a move from Spencer, Iowa to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The state of Wyoming provided funding to build a new maintenance facility and corporate headquarters for Great Lakes Aviation. Construction began in August. 2000 The move into the final phase of the new Cheyenne Corporate Headquarters was complete creating approximately 150 new positions in Wyoming. 2001 On May 1,Great Lakes Aviation announced a re-branding from United Express to its own independent identity �Great Lakes Airlines�. A new code-share agreement with United Airlines was negotiated, allowing the company to arrange similar code-sharing relationships with other airlines. On July 9, a code-share agreement began with Frontier Airlines bringing their affordable fares to communities served by Great Lakes. 2002 In August, Great Lakes welcomes new CEO, Chuck Howell. Mr. Howell came to Great Lakes from Nashville, Tennessee, where he served the previous six years as President/ CEO of Corporate Airlines � a regional airline that has code-share agreements with Midway, Trans World and American Airlines. 2004 Celebrating 25 years of Service 2005 In March, Great Lakes began providing service to Sierra Vista, AZ along with Enid and Ponca City, OK. Great Lakes will continue its expansion to include three more cities in New Mexico; Clovis, Silver City and Albuquerque; as well as Show Low, Kingman and Prescott, Arizona. Revised as of 5/02/05 |
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