Conquest Airlines
| |||||||
Commenced operations | April 1988 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ceased operations | July 28, 1997 | ||||||
Operating bases | Air L.A. Inc. after 1995 | ||||||
Headquarters | Austin, Texas, United States | ||||||
Key people | Rafael Rivas(Executive vice president) and Victor Rivas | ||||||
Employees | 78 in 1989 |
Conquest Airlines was an American regional airline initially headquartered in Jefferson County, Texas, and later headquartered in Austin, Texas. Conquest operated primarily on routes within Texas from its hub in Austin (at the now closed Robert Mueller Municipal Airport).
History
In 1983 Rafael and Aggie Rivas began discussing the need to improve transportation for Texans, which led to Rafael Rivas' vision of a commuter he called Conquest. Soon after Rafael Rivas and Victor Rivas, brothers from
Conquest originally had its headquarters on the grounds of
In 1991, the Airline expanded its network and began international flights between San Antonio, TX and Monterrey, Mexico. The company promoted John W. Jones as the Director of Stations, who was instrumental in mapping the company's growth as an international airline. Unfortunately the economic conditions generated by the first Gulf War prevented the airline from continuing flights into Mexico and the international service was suspended. Aeromexico's regional airline, Aerolitoral was already operating flights between San Antonio, TX and Monterry, Mexico. The market was not large enough to sustain the additional capacity offered by Conquest Airlines. Jones later went on in 1994 to manage the international operations for Aerolitoral (today known as Aeromexico Connect).
The airline expanded throughout the Southeastern United States and in 1993 opened a hub in Birmingham, Alabama. From Birmingham, the company offered flights to Little Rock (AR), Mobile (AL), Atlanta (GA), Greenville (SC) and Charleston (SC). The airline connected both hubs with service via an Austin-Tyler-Little Rock-Birmingham route. In 1993 the airline had 16 aircraft and 300 employees. Afterwards the airline's business declined. During a point in which the airline had about one and one half years of the abatement left, officials from the airline and the City of Austin acknowledged that the airline may fail as a company. In an attempt to survive, the airline removed 100 employees and 10 aircraft. In 1994 Conquest's tax base was appraised at $4.7 million.[4]
In 1995 Conquest Industries sold the airline subsidiary to
The former Conquest Airlines building in Austin is now a Baháʼí Faith building.[8][9]
Fleet
Originally the airline operated 19-seat
Destinations
It served the following Texas cities: Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Dallas Love Field, Greenville/Spartenburg SC, Charleston SC, Birmingham, AL, Harlingen, Houston (Sugar Land Regional Airport),[10] Laredo, McAllen, Nacogdoches (service to Austin), San Antonio, San Angelo, and Tyler. Conquest also served New Orleans.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Patoski, Joe Nick. "Filling a Niche." Texas Monthly. November 1989. 82.
- Securities and Exchange Commission. March 8, 1989. 6 (6/8). Retrieved on October 26, 2009. "Conquest Airlines Corp, Jefferson County Airport, 2748 Viterbo Rd, Beaumont, TX 77705"
- Austin Business Journal. July 30, 1990. Retrieved on October 24, 2009.
- ^ a b c De Marban, Alex. "Let Them Eat Cake." The Austin Chronicle. May 5, 1995. Retrieved on October 26, 2009.
- ^ a b World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 22–28, 1995. 64 (PDF). "2215 Redwood Avenue, Austin, Texas 78723" Retrieved on October 3, 2009.
- ^ "Article: CONQUEST INDUSTRIES SELLS AIRLINE SUBSIDIARY TO AIR L.A.[dead link]" PR Newswire. June 30, 1995. Retrieved on October 3, 2009.
- U.S. Department of Transportation. September 23, 1997. 2/9. Retrieved on October 26, 2009.
- ^ "SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHA (sic)." Travis County Property Information. Retrieved on October 25, 2009. "BAHAIS (sic) OF AUSTIN THE % CONQUEST AIRLINES CORP 2215 E M FRANKLIN AVE AUSTIN, TX 78723-5896 "
- ^ "Street Name Origins." Austin Public Library. Retrieved on June 9, 2016. "E.M. Franklin Avenue Renamed in 1995 in honor of the popular pastor in East Austin (previously Redwood Avenue)."
- ^ "Conquest Airlines to add 21 flights to Sugar Land schedule." Austin American-Statesman. October 14, 1993. F1. Retrieved on June 17, 2009.