Air Wisconsin has been hiding its identity on the aircraft for over 35 years, because since 1985 they have been flying for larger airlines as feeders in its colors. Air Wisconsin currently flies in the colors of United Airlines as United Express with a fleet of 63 Bombardier CRJ200 regional jets.
Just one day after the then brand new Appleton Airport opened, an Air Wisconsin aircraft took off for the first time on August 23, 1965. 56 years ago, the nine-seater deHavilland Dove was used for four daily flights to Chicago-O'Hare. Soon the aircraft were replaced by larger deHavilland Canada DHC-6 TwinOtter and later supplemented with Swearingen Metroliner. In the years that followed, Air Wisconsin constantly expanded its fleet and the first jets could also be operated. With BAC One-Eleven, later BAe 146-200 and deHavilland Canada DHC-7, it became one of the largest independent regional airlines in the United States.
But from 1985 they began to use their own aircraft for other airlines. For the time being, there were such contracts with United Airlines (as United Express). AirTran (as AirTranJetConnect), US Airways (as US Airways Express), and American Airlines (as American Eagle) will follow later. Since March 1, 2017, Air Wisconsin has been flying to around 75 destinations exclusively as United Express.
But now the first Bombardier CRJ200 has been given its own colors again. The future N498AW will not fly around passengers, but cargo. With this, AirWis, as the airline is often called, is opening a new business area. This is mainly due to the fact that passenger numbers have been falling continuously since 2014, while the size of the fleet has remained practically unchanged.
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