Arizona Airways
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Airline |
| Founded | 1942-09-08 |
| Founder | H.O. "Rocky" Nelson |
| Defunct | 1950-06-01 |
| Fate | Merged with Monarch Air Lines and Challenger Airlines to form Frontier Airlines |
| Headquarters | Phoenix, Arizona , United States |
Key people | H.O. "Rocky" Nelson (Founder and President), Robert Goldwater (Board Member) |
| Products | Passenger air service, air freight (briefly) |
Arizona Airways operated as an intrastate airline within Arizona from 1946 until 1948, during which it experienced significant financial losses. Shortly before ceasing operations, the airline obtained federal authorization from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB)—the principal federal authority overseeing U.S. aviation at the time—to function as a local service carrier. This certification allowed it to serve smaller routes across Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Despite this approval, Arizona Airways was unable to restart its services and eventually merged on June 1, 1950, with Monarch Air Lines and Challenger Airlines, resulting in the formation of the original Frontier Airlines.
Formation
Arizona Airways was established on September 8, 1942, under the leadership of H.O. "Rocky" Nelson, an engineer and aviator who served as founder and president. The company initially focused on training Navy pilots during World War II and held the local franchise for Ercoupe aircraft through Nelson. After transitioning into a commercial airline, Robert Goldwater—brother of prominent businessman Barry Goldwater—joined the board of directors. The board's composition was designed to represent major regions within Arizona, thereby strengthening its local presence.
Prior to commencing service in July 1945, Arizona Airways negotiated to purchase a dormant Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) route connecting Phoenix and Las Vegas—markets with limited population at the time. The agreement involved a $100,000 payment plus a 20% equity stake in Arizona Airways. Since TWA had suspended this route during the war and showed no intention to resume it, this arrangement aimed to broaden Arizona Airways’ market reach pending CAB approval for interstate operations.
Operations began on March 17, 1946, with a 21-passenger DC-3 featuring a Thunderbird-themed paint scheme. The airline operated a circular route including Tucson and Phoenix. However, CAB hearings delayed approval of the TWA route transfer; by July 1946, a CAB examiner opposed the transfer, and in February 1947 the CAB postponed its decision pending further evaluation of air service in Arizona and New Mexico. Concurrently, Arizona Airways sought designation as a subsidized local service carrier.
In June 1947, Arizona Airways proposed merging with Bonanza Air Lines, which was operating intrastate flights in Nevada at that time; nevertheless, this merger did not come to fruition through subsequent CAB approvals. Despite pursuing growth through acquisitions and alliances, Arizona Airways faced ongoing financial and operational challenges until its eventual integration into Frontier Airlines in 1950.
Peak operations, financial challenges, and acquisition
Throughout 1946 and 1947, Arizona Airways expanded its network within Arizona and briefly tested air freight services to Kingman in July 1947. However, unprofitable southern routes were discontinued later that year. By January 1948, the airline concentrated its operations on a single northern route originating from Phoenix. Frequently covered by the Arizona Republic, the carrier was often referred to as the "State Airway." In February 1948, the CAB awarded four routes to Arizona Airways from Phoenix—three within Arizona and one extending to El Paso, Texas—acknowledging its expertise in local markets and support from influential Arizona businessmen. Certification required improvements at airports along with financial restructuring since the airline had limited assets and offset losses through capital injections.
Operations were suspended on March 1, 1948, to facilitate transition to federally authorized services. Although airport enhancements were completed and federal certification granted in June, raising capital proved difficult without diluting existing shareholders who had invested $335,000. In May 1949, the CAB ordered service resumption by July 1. By late June, Monarch Air Lines agreed to purchase Arizona Airways. The acquisition was filed with the CAB on July 7, 1949, and approved on April 10, 1950; however, it was complicated by Monarch’s simultaneous acquisition of Challenger Airlines. Shareholders of Arizona Airways received 6,000 shares of Monarch stock while Monarch assumed $150,000 in liabilities—resulting in approximately $65,000 equity value against the original $335,000 investment—and Monarch issued about 30,000 shares for Challenger at $10.78 each. Monarch completed control of Arizona Airways by April 26.
At the same time, Bonanza Air Lines secured local service certification in June 1949 contingent upon TWA transferring the Las Vegas-Phoenix route it had attempted to sell to Arizona Airways in 1945. Bonanza acquired this route in November 1949 for $672.09—significantly less than TWA’s earlier agreement with Arizona Airways.
The three-way consolidation forming Frontier Airlines closed on June 1, 1950; Frontier commenced operation of routes originally assigned to Arizona Airways over two years earlier. Rocky Nelson became a Vice President at Frontier but passed away less than one year later at age 46.
Fleet
At the time of the merger, Arizona Airways was not functioning as an independent entity but contributed a total of three DC-3 aircraft to the combined fleet.
Destinations
The November 10, 1946 schedule highlights Arizona Airways' primary service locations, emphasizing its concentration on regional routes:
- Bisbee
- Clifton
- Flagstaff
- Globe
- Grand Canyon
- Kingman
- Nogales
- Phoenix
- Prescott
- Safford
- Tucson
- Winslow
- Yuma