It was established as
Vail Airways in 1963 by Gordon Autry. The airline adopted "Rocky Mountain Airways" in 1968, shortly after service to Aspen was introduced. operating a scheduled commuter flight at Denver's Stapleton International Airport in 1971 Vail Airways began operations with
Cessna 310 piston twin aircraft, In 1969, Rocky Mountain Airways expanded with the 19 passenger
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter twin engine turboprop. On February 3, 1978, Rocky Mountain Airways took delivery as the worldwide launch customer of the larger, 50 passenger
de Havilland Canada Dash 7-102 four engine turboprop. In 1983, Rocky Mountain had placed an order for six 37-passenger
de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 twin turboprops, coincident with the type's service introduction; however, no Dash 8 aircraft were subsequently delivered to Rocky Mountain. Both the DHC-6 Twin Otter and the DHC-7 Dash 7 featured short takeoff and landing (
STOL) performance. This enabled Rocky Mountain Airways to serve destinations that otherwise would not have received scheduled passenger air service. One example was the Avon
STOLport (WHR) located near the Vail ski resort which was served with the Dash 7. Another example was the
Steamboat Springs Airport (KSBS or SBS) which was also served with the Dash 7. With a relatively short runway length of 4,452 feet and an airfield elevation of 6,882 feet, the Dash 7 was well suited for passenger operations from this small airport located near the Steamboat Springs ski resort. Rocky Mountain Airways also operated Twin Otter flights from
Lake County Airport (LXV) in Leadville, Colorado. With an airfield elevation of 9,934 feet, Leadville is the highest airport ever to have received scheduled passenger air service in the U.S. Service was also provided to Grandby, CO, elevation 8160 ft., with Twin Otters during the 1970's. The Avon STOLport, which was a private airstrip controlled by the airline at Vail, no longer exists. Airline service to Vail is now provided via the
Eagle County Airport, 35 miles to the west via Interstate 70. Steamboat Springs is now served by the
Yampa Valley Airport, 25 miles to the west via U.S. 40. Leadville no longer has airline service. Another primary route served by the airline was between
Aspen-Pitkin County Airport and Denver. RMA flew the Twin Otter between the two destinations and then introduced Dash 7 service. The major competitor at the time in Aspen was
Aspen Airways which flew
Convair 440 piston engine prop aircraft which were subsequently replaced with
Convair 580 turboprops. Aspen Airways then began operating
British Aerospace BAe 146-100 jet aircraft on the route. Rocky Mountain and Aspen Airways competed for many years from Aspen. Currently, Aspen-Denver service is flown by
SkyWest Airlines operating as
United Express with
Canadair CRJ-700 regional jets. In late 2024, SkyWest began replacing the CRJ-700's with
Embraer 175 regional jets. Upon its sale to Texas Air Corporation in 1986, Rocky Mountain Airways began serving as a
Continental Express air carrier in order to provide passenger feed at the
Continental Airlines hub operation at
Denver Stapleton International Airport at the time. The Twin Otter and Dash 7 aircraft were painted in Continental Airlines distinctive white livery with orange, red, and gold striping and "Continental Express" titles. The Continental Express
code sharing service at Denver was shared at first with
Trans-Colorado Airlines and was then greatly expanded in 1987 when Trans-Colorado ceased operating at Denver. The Twin Otters were later retired and new
ATR-42 and
Beechcraft 1900C turboprop commuter airliners were acquired which became the standard aircraft for all Continental Express regional air carriers at the time. The Dash 7s were retained for their
STOL ability to serve the Aspen airport and were also used to operate service into the
Telluride Airport with its airfield elevation of 9,070 feet. All Rocky Mountain aircraft received the new blue and gold livery introduced by Continental in 1990. Rocky Mountain was merged with fellow Continental Express subsidiary
Britt Airways in 1991. ==Destinations==