Bonanza Air Lines

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Bonanza Air Lines was a regional airline in operation from the 1940s to the 1960s, with routes in the Western United States.

The airline began scheduled operations in the late 1940s, with service between the Nevada communites of Las Vegas, Reno, Tonopah and Hawthorne. The airline grew to include routes in Arizona, Southern California and Southern Utah with the hub cities of Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. Additionally, Bonanza was the only certificated airline to fly from Las Vegas to Reno.^{[citation needed]}

The airline suffered its first and only fatal incident on November 15, 1964 when Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 crashed into a mountain south of Las Vegas, Nevada during poor weather. There were no survivors among the 26 passengers and three crewmembers.

Bonanza Air Lines merged with Pacific Air Lines and West Coast Airlines to form Air West on July 1, 1968. Air West, later re-named Hughes Airwest, would ultimately be acquired by Republic Airlines in 1980. At the time of the merger, Bonanza operated McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Fairchild F-27 aircraft.

[edit] External links

• Bonanza Airlines Historical Website - bonanzaairlines.com
• Photographs of Bonanza Air Lines planes - airliners.net
• Bonanza Air Lines timetable cover, showing Nevada destinations in February 1948 - airtimes.com
• Gallery of Bonanza Air Lines timetables - timetableimages.com
• Gallery of Bonanza Air Lines timetables from the 1950s - airtimes.com
• Gallery of Bonanza Air Lines postcards - williamdemarest.com
• Bonanza Air Lines records - lists artifact collection stored at the Minnesota Historical Society