PIA - A History: Events of 1986
Believe me, the events of 1986 will leave your head spinning! Signs of an air service boom came early in the year. The Peoria Journal Star reported January 7 on Republic Airlines' interest in serving Peoria, as well as plans by an unnamed carrier to offer jet service to Chicago. More on those later. By 1986, the American economy was booming. From November 1985 to July 1986, the oil price per barrel dropped from $30 to $12. Thus, airlines also benefitted from reduced expenses. A simultaneous surge in capacity brought lower fares. Peoria shared in this prosperity. Better yet, locally-based Caterpillar returned to profitability and sales were growing again. Here's a run-down of happenings by airline for the year. AIR WISCONSIN Beginning March 2, four roundtrips were operated on weekdays (fewer on weekends) between Peoria and Chicago-O'Hare. In mid-year, all four operated to and from Springfield, giving the carrier eight weekday departures out of Peoria. When ...