PIA: A History - Events of 2001

It is hard to believe that more than 20 years have passed since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. My generation will always remember that day, which will live in infamy just as December 7, 1941 did to an earlier generation. 

The world of commercial aviation was much different prior to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Flight 93. At PIA, before 9-11, you didn't have to be a ticketed passenger to go through security for a closer look at commercial airliners parked at their terminal gate. I took advantage of that freedom many times. So I will remember what was best about 2001 as I continue Peoria's commercial aviation history. 

Despite the terror of late summer, the year 2001 was much improved over 2000. Let's review events by airline.

AMERICAN EAGLE (American Eagle Airlines Inc.)
American Airlines' regional partner offered five weekday roundtrips between Peoria and Chicago-O'Hare, all on 50-seat Embraer 145s. This was a good offering for a city like Peoria, with jets on all flights, frequencies convenient for business travelers and good connections at American Airlines' second-largest hub. 

Post-9/11, American Eagle reduced service to three roundtrips, and replaced 50-seat Embraer 145s on two of those with the 44-seat Embraer 140, which had entered the fleet a few months prior. A fourth roundtrip returned December 16, reflecting recovering passenger traffic. 

DELTA CONNECTION (Atlantic Southeast Airlines)
In mid-April, we learned that Delta Connection would offer three daily roundtrips between Peoria and Delta Air Lines' Atlanta hub starting August 1. Peoria-based Caterpillar used its influence to help snatch this new service. All flights were operated with 40-seat CRJ200s. 

Accommodating the new service required more space, and the concourse was extended east by 3,000 sq. ft. The terminal's baggage handling area was expanded by 2,000 sq. ft.

Ozark Air Lines had offered Peoria-Atlanta nonstops from December 1, 1978 through April 26, 1980, but lack of connecting service, fuel shock, recession and post-deregulation route and pricing freedom doomed the flights. Atlanta could be reached via a connection at Ozark's St. Louis hub. But times changed, and William B. Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport - Delta Air Lines' largest hub - had become the world's busiest airport. 

AirTran Airways' service out of Bloomington-Normal's Central Illinois Regional Airport demonstrated that the region could support service to the southeast via Atlanta. Peoria could now offer competition. Two weeks after startup, the Peoria Journal Star reported Delta's flights were mostly full, a good sign for new service. 

NORTHWEST AIRLINK (Mesaba Airlines)
Mesaba Airlines began the year with four weekday roundtrips to Minneapolis/St. Paul and three to Detroit, one nonstop, and one each stopping at Bloomington/Normal and Champaign/Urbana. There were also three Bloomington/Normal tag-ons offering one-stop Minneapolis/St. Paul service for that city. 

A few days after the Delta announcement, Mesaba released plans to increase Detroit nonstops from one to three, eliminating the one-stops. Minneapolis/St. Paul service dropped from four to three roundtrips, reducing Bloomington/Normal tag-ons from three to two. This new schedule began on June 1. So weekday departures dropped from ten to eight, but the Detroit upgrade made it a positive change overall. 

The Official Airline Guide's October 2001 North American Edition has Mesaba ending its Minneapolis/St. Paul to Peoria RON (Remain Overnight) flights on October 26, but this cutback isn't shown in Northwest Airlines timetables.

TW EXPRESS (Trans States Airlines)
At the start of the year, Trans States Airlines maintained nine weekday roundtrips between Peoria and St. Louis using 68-seat ATR-72s, 50-seat Embraer 145s, 48-seat ATR-42s and 30-seat Jetstream 41s.

Trans World Airlines filed for bankruptcy a third time on January 10, 2001 as part of a deal to sell most of its assets to AMR Corporation, parent of American Airlines. A U. S. Bankruptcy court approved the $2 billion deal in April.

Slot restrictions at busy Chicago-O'Hare were being phased out, but American Airlines viewed TWA's St. Louis hub as a much-needed reliever. The airline scrutinized former TWA and TW Express routes for retention, making downstate airport officials nervous. A strong market for both carriers, Peoria worried less about reduced flights than reduced competition. Upon merger, American Airlines would handle nearly 60 percent of local passengers and half the flights. 

Another issue was that American Airlines viewed Trans States Airlines as sub-standard, and only worthy of a separate partnership called "American Connection." 

By early May, Peoria learned of the merger's first consequences: A scope clause in American Airlines' pilots' contracts forced Trans States Airlines dba TW Express to drop both roundtrips operated with 50-seat Embraer 145s on June 30. At least the flights were replaced with larger commuter planes, adding seats to St. Louis. 

Massive financial losses and public fear of flying in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks hurt TWA more than most carriers, and American Airlines absorbed it on December 2. TW Express had reduced service to eight roundtrips for the fall season, eliminating two more after the 9/11 attacks. TW Express was re-branded as "American Connection" on December 2. A seventh roundtrip resumed on December 16. 

UNITED EXPRESS (Air Wisconsin, Atlantic Coast Airlines)
Throughout 2001, Peoria to Chicago-O'Hare service was stable with Atlantic Coast Airlines and Air Wisconsin offering two daily roundtrips each on 50-seat CRJ200s and 32-seat Dornier 328s.

I'm unsure where I obtained United Express flight information for the schedule below. It shows a single Peoria-Moline-Denver roundtrip on an 86-seat BAe-146 quad jet. But United Air Lines' Timetable 2001, Vol. 2 (Feb. 15 to Mar. 31) also shows an afternoon Denver-Peoria-Moline-Denver flight on a BAe-146. 

The Official Airline Guide's October 2001 North American edition shows this afternoon flight operating as a Denver-Peoria nonstop in both directions using a 50-seat CRJ200. I don't know if I omitted this one or it had been suspended for some reason. A threatened walkout by Air Wisconsin's pilots on August 11 was averted, but it is possible the afternoon flights were canceled for part of the month as a precaution. 

NEW DIRECTOR
After serving two years, Fred Traub retired as Airport Director on June 30, 2001. Traub began his airport operations career in 1967 as an aircraft mechanic. He worked up the ladder as interim field supervisor, airport fire chief, public safety director, operations director and finally assistant airport director, succeeding Bruce Carter in June 1999. 

Traub's announcement triggered the search for a new director. Airport business manager Mary DeVries served as interim director until the position was filled. 

AIR CARGO
A record trend in air freight growth, which began in 1993, ended in 2001. Volume for the year stood at 58.6 million pounds, slightly less than the 60.8 million pounds handled in 2000. The loss was due to Airborne Express's decision to relocate its planes to Bloomington-Normal. 

That's because PIA's two largest cargo operators - Emery Worldwide Airlines and FedEx Express -  saw growth during 2001. DHL Express and United Parcel Service (via Air Cargo Carriers) operated flights here but handled far smaller volume compared to the other two. 

FedEx Express operated Madison (WI)-Peoria-Memphis flights five days a week and Des Moines-Peoria-Indianapolis four days a week using Boeing 727-200Cs.

Peoria was a stop for DC-8s operated by Emery Worldwide Airlines between one of various western cities (Austin, TX, Portland, OR, Sacramento, CA and as of January 2000, Salt Lake City, UT) and its Dayton, Ohio heavy freight hub. Caterpillar used this service for shipment of emergency tractor and engine parts. 

DHL flew Fairchild Metroliners five days a week on a Cincinnati-Peoria-Moline routing. UPS contractor Air Cargo Carriers flew Shorts 360s on a Louisville-Peoria-Moline routing. 

On August 13, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pulled Emery's certificate and grounded its fleet. This action came after investigators determined that a fatal crash involving a DC-8 at Sacramento's Mather Field on February 16, 2000 was due to improper maintenance. Emery's cargo fleet was old, and the carrier had already begun contracting out flights to other carriers, namely Ryan International Airlines, which used Boeing 727-200Cs at Peoria. 

SEPTEMBER 11 NOTES
Following the terrorist attacks, the FAA closed U. S. air space, initiated a ground stop at all airfields and ordered all aircraft in flight to land at the closest facility which could handle them. 

Peoria had two diversions: a National Airlines Boeing 757-200 and a Continental Airlines Boeing 737-300. I don't remember any others. 

Flights resumed on September 13. Initially, diverted planes resumed flights to their intended destinations. It took several days to reposition aircraft for normal schedules. Load factors were light for awhile, but passengers did return over time. 

NEWSPAPER SILLY SEASON
The Peoria Journal Star's April 17 edition bungled details of Northwest Airlink partner Mesaba Airlines' June 1 service changes. The reporter assumed two new Detroit nonstops were in addition to the existing three (one nonstop, two one-stops), bringing frequency up to five weekday roundtrips! Service to Minneapolis/St. Paul was reduced from four to three nonstops, but the article assumed four would continue from the June 1 date! No doubt Mesaba kept quiet on reduced Minneapolis/St. Paul frequencies, but a check through the airline's timetables would have shown this change as well. 

In its March 29 edition, announcing Fred Traub's retirement, the writer asserted that 

And last year, annual ridership tumbled to fewer than 400,000 passengers. That was a sharp drop from 1998, when the airport hit a 19-year ridership high of 440,000 travelers.

That is a strange line considering PIA handled 448,592 passengers in 1997, nearly 8,000 higher than 1998's 440,984! This "19-year ridership high" had been broken at least once (446,167 passengers in 1986) before and probably a third time in 1990 which saw an estimated 448,000 passengers. 

(Journalistic laziness was apparent 21 years ago, and it is worse today.)

THE COMPETITION SUFFERS: CENTRAL ILLINOIS REGIONAL AIRPORT
As 2001 began, CIRA was still on a role, seeking to capitalize on rapid growth and the new terminal scheduled to open later in the year. 

Frontier's January announcement that it was ending a single daily CIRA-Omaha-Denver roundtrip by the end of March was bad news, but airport officials were optimistic that the other carriers would benefit. The American-TWA merger deal caused concern over future of St. Louis hub connections, but there was no shortage of ideas for new service. In March, CIRA officials revealed hopes for Dallas/Ft. Worth nonstops. Capacity constraints at the Texas hub doused any hopes of such service for the near future, however. 

During April and May, a year after Northwest Airlink started Detroit jet service, 69-seat AVRO RJ85s were replaced by 50-seat CRJ200s. 

In August, CIRA and Decatur Airport signed a 120-day agreement for talks regarding an exclusive partnership. Talks were in regard to FAA funding, as the Decatur Park District, rather than an airport authority, ran that city's airport. Decatur Airport's Foreign Trade Zone status held potential for Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America's global parts sourcing.  

Then, as airport traffic growth seemed to be a long-term pattern, 9/11 happened. September traffic dipped 41 percent, but October was only off 25 percent, indicating a recovery trend. Year-end figures were 444,360, a 6.7 percent drop from 2000's record 476,063. It was the first decline since 1993 when an American Airlines strike forced the cancellation of many flights. 

When the new, 103,000 sq. ft. passenger terminal began operation November 5, airlines were still reeling from public concerns over flying. Here's a rundown of CIRA services at that time:

- AirTran Airways maintained three daily Atlanta nonstops on Douglas DC-9-30s, and apparently began using new Boeing 717-200s at CIRA to inaugurate flights to the new terminal. 

- American Eagle had cut service from four to three O'Hare roundtrips, and used smaller Embraer 140 or 135 jets on some flights. 

- Northwest Airlink maintained four departures to Detroit. Two to Minneapolis/St. Paul roundtrips operated via Peoria. 

- TW Express offered seven St. Louis roundtrips on a mix of ATR-72, ATR 42 and Jetstream 41 equipment, reducing to five after the attacks. Fortunately, a sixth was restored on November 1. 

- United Express had reduced from four to three O'Hare roundtrips on Dornier 328 equipment.

SCHEDULES AND ROUTE MAP

Greater Peoria Regional Airport handled 400,920 passengers in 2001, a 4.2 percent gain over 2000's 385,815. New service by Delta Connection to Atlanta, expanded Detroit nonstops, lower fares and free parking contributed to the rise in traffic. If not for 9/11, volume would have been much higher. 

Schedules below show American Eagle with five weekday departures, Delta Connection with three, Northwest Airlink with eight, TW Express with nine and United Express with five (possibly six) for a total of 30 or 31 departures, 11 or 12 on jets. These five carriers offered nonstops to six hubs - Atlanta, Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul and St. Louis, as well as tag-ons or stopovers at Bloomington/Normal and Moline. 

- David P. Jordan