Aspen Airways was named after the
aspen tree and not the town of
Aspen, Colorado, where it was originally based before moving its headquarters to
Stapleton International Airport (DEN) in Denver. Aspen Airways was founded in 1952 by
Walter Paepcke, as the flight department of the
Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. It was created to fly personnel between
Aspen (ASE) and
Denver (DEN). The airline's first aircraft were surplus
Douglas DC-3s. Prior to 1967, Aspen Airways was an “air taxi”, an airline operating aircraft less than 12,500lbs in maximum weight, and therefore escaped regulation by the
Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), a now defunct Federal agency that then tightly regulated almost all US air transport. In 1962, the CAB provided Aspen with an exemption to allow it to operate one aircraft larger than 12,500lbs between Aspen and Denver. Aspen Airways was not immediately able to take advantage of this due to airport limitations in Aspen. The exemption was extended until in 1967, the CAB certificated Aspen Airways to fly the Aspen-Denver route, the first domestic airline certificated since the
local service carriers were certificated in the late 1940s/early 1950s. From then on, until US
airline deregulation in 1978, Aspen Airways was under the same regulatory regime as any other US carrier flying large aircraft, like
American Airlines or
United. In 1963, Aspen Airways was purchased by J.W. "Bill" Ringsby. During the late 1960s, Aspen operated a
Convair 240 prop aircraft leased from
Alaska Airlines and by 1970 was operating four
Convair 340/
Convair 440 prop airliners which were purchased used from
Delta Air Lines. In the early 1970s, Aspen began operating
Convair 580 turboprop aircraft. The twin engine CV-580 propjet became the workhorse of the Aspen fleet. Other aircraft operated by Aspen Airways in the 1960s included a
Fairchild F-27 turboprop (which didn't work out very well in the high density altitude conditions that can occur at high elevation mountain airfields), and piston and turboprop variants of the
de Havilland Heron as well as
Piper Navajo and
Aero Commander 500B aircraft. A major competitor on the Aspen-Denver route for many years was
Rocky Mountain Airways (RMA) which operated
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops. RMA then introduced new
de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 four engine turboprop aircraft that were configured with 50 passenger seats. During the early 1980s, Aspen Airways expanded by providing scheduled passenger airline within California including service at
Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Convair 580 turboprops were flown on nonstop services to Burbank (BUR), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO) and San Jose (SJC) in California. At the same time, Aspen was also operating Convair 580 service between Los Angeles and Bakersfield (BFL). The airline even offered Convair 580 flights on the very short hop between
Los Angeles International Airport and
Burbank Airport as an extension of the Lake Tahoe service. The front cover of the September 1, 1980, system timetable for Aspen Airways had the message: "Specializing in service to.....Lake Tahoe, California & Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado."
Essential Air Service (EAS) was operated between San Francisco and Modesto (MOD) and Stockton (SCK), California in 1982. In 1985, Aspen Airways acquired new
British Aerospace BAe 146-100 four engine jetliners which featured quiet technology with regard to engine noise as well as short takeoff and landing performance and began operating the first commercial
jet airliner service into Aspen. It also inaugurated BAe 146 jet service from Denver to
Amarillo (AMA) and
Lubbock (LBB), from Denver to
Farmington (FMN) and
Durango (DRO), and from Denver to
Gillette (GCC) and
Sheridan (SHR). The BAe 146-100 is the smallest member of the British Aerospace 146 family of jetliners, many of which currently remain in operation in Europe as well as other parts of the world although not in the U.S. except in aerial fire fighting roles as converted
air tankers. In September 1986, Aspen Airways became a
United Express affiliate carrier, providing passenger feed to and from the
United Airlines hub in Denver (DEN). By 1986, Aspen Airways was providing seasonal BAe 146 jet service from Aspen nonstop to Dallas/Ft Worth (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Houston (IAH), Chicago (ORD) and Long Beach (LGB). Service from Denver also included flights to Colorado Springs, Durango, Gunnison, Hayden, Montrose, and Rifle in Colorado as well as to Farmington, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, Sioux City and Waterloo, Iowa, and Cheyenne, Sheridan and Gillette in Wyoming. The airline also operated nonstop service at one point between Salt Lake City (SLC) and Aspen, Jackson Hole, Wyoming (JAC), and West Yellowstone, Montana (WYS). In 1989, Aspen offered itself up for sale. Several suitors attempted to purchase the airline. Its
employees attempted to acquire the airline, but were unable to come up with the capital. Next, the Giant Group, a conglomeration of cement and recycling companies, offered to purchase the airline, but their offer fell through. In the end,
Mesa Airlines acquired Aspen's Denver hub and routes except for the Denver to Aspen route, stations and ground equipment.
Air Wisconsin Services Inc., the parent company for Air Wisconsin, acquired all of Aspen's common stock, its Aspen routes, and its BAe 146 and Convair 580 aircraft. In April 1995 during the late ski season, Air Wisconsin was operating shuttle service as
United Express with BAe 146 jets on the former Aspen Airways route between Aspen and Denver with no less than fourteen (14) daily nonstop flights in each direction. Air Wisconsin Services continued to operate Aspen Airways as a wholly owned
subsidiary separate from its Air Wisconsin airline from 1990 until April 3, 1991, when it
merged the two airlines together. And the nearly 40 year legacy of the airline that pioneered service from Aspen, Colorado, came to an end. ==Final Fleet & Replacement Air Service at Aspen==