Metro Airlines

In 1969 the airline was founded to serve the Houston area with "cross-town" flights.[5] Houston Metro Airlines constructed their own 2,500 foot, short take-off and landing (STOL) airstrip along with a passenger terminal building and maintenance hangar adjacent to Clear Lake City, Texas near the NASA Johnson Space Center. The Clear Lake City STOLport was essentially Houston Metro's own private airport. The airline's initial route linked Clear Lake City (CLC) with Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) which opened in 1969. In early 1970, Houston Metro was operating two routes: Clear Lake City - Houston Intercontinental and Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) - Houston Intercontinental.[6] The February 1, 1970 Houston Metro timetable lists 24 round trip flights every weekday between the CLC STOLport and Houston Intercontinental and 14 round trip flights every weekday between Houston Hobby and Houston Intercontinental. According to the February 1976 edition of the Official Airline Guide (OAG), the airline was operating 22 roundtrip flights every weekday in its passenger shuttle operation between Clear Lake City and Houston Intercontinental. The route system was later expanded to include a number of destinations in southeast and south Texas with flights to George Bush Intercontinental Airport. At one point, the airline also flew between Laredo, TX (LRD) and San Antonio, TX (SAT). All initial Houston Metro service was operated with de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter twin turboprop STOL aircraft as the Clear Lake City STOLport was specifically designed for this aircraft. Additional new service was later extended to Lafayette, LA (LFT) and Lake Charles, LA (LCH) with flights to Houston Intercontinental (IAH) with these services being operated with larger Short 330 twin turboprop aircraft. The Short 330 was also utilized by Metro for flights between IAH and Beaumont/Port Arthur (BPT) where one was destroyed by a tornado in 1983 while sitting empty on the airport ramp (see Accidents and incidents below).

In 1972 the airline carried between 90,000 and 100,000 passengers per year. It displayed a profit of $156,510 U.S. dollars in an eight-month period.[7]

In 1978 Metro entered the "stand up widebody cabin age" when the first orders for five (5) Short 330 twin turboprops were announced. These Irish-manufactured aircraft would be used to complement the Twin Otters already in use on higher demand routes as well as new service to Lafayette, LA and Lake Charles, LA and offered far more comfortable seating for passengers. The addition of the 30 passenger Short 330 turboprops required Metro to make provisions for flight attendants and also resulted in the carrier joining the ranks of the regional airline industry via its use of larger aircraft. The company was also independently operating flights from the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW) at this time with DHC-6 Twin Otter and Short 330 aircraft with services to several destinations in east Texas with some of these flights continuing on to or originating from Houston Intercontinental (IAH). These Twin Otter and Short 330 passenger services into DFW were flown by the Metroflight Airlines division which would eventually operate American Eagle flights. Metroflight also independently served several destinations in Oklahoma and north Texas from Dallas/Ft. Worth and Oklahoma City (OKC).

In 1982 Metro purchased fourteen (14) Convair 580 aircraft from the original Frontier Airlines. These 50 passenger twin turboprops were then used to initiate the first ever American Eagle service via a new code sharing passenger feed agreement with American Airlines. The Convair 580 aircraft were operated by the Metroflight Airlines division which also flew DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft on American Eagle services.

Metro Airlines operated out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport via its wholly owned Metroflight division under the American Eagle brand beginning on November 1, 1984. In 1985 the airline announced that it would end service to Houston Intercontinental Airport (now George Bush Intercontinental Airport).[5] Royale Airlines, a commuter/regional air carrier based in Louisiana, then assumed many of the routes that were previously operated by Metro into Houston. However, in 1987 Royale declared bankruptcy and ceased all scheduled passenger flight operations.

Houston Metro and Metro

These destinations were served by Houston Metro Airlines during and after its name change to Metro Airlines from its Clear Lake City headquarters, with de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops and/or Short 330 turboprops:

* Renamed Airports

Brazoria County Airport (LBX), Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Hull Field (SGR)

** Permanently Deactivated Airports

Clear Lake City STOLport (CLC), Lake Jackson (LJN)

Metroflight destinations d/b/a American Airlines Metroflight

These destinations were initially served independently by the Metroflight division with de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft:

Metroflight would later operate codeshare services for American Airlines flying Convair 580 turboprops as American Eagle.

Metro Express II destinations d/b/a Eastern Metro Express

These destinations were served with British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31 turboprops and/or with de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100 Dash 8 turboprops:

Aviation Associates destinations d/b/a Eastern Express

After the acquisition of the airlines "Sunaire" and the subsequent name change to "Aviation Associates," de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 250 & 300 turboprops served the following destinations:

Metro (Houston, TX division) - Destinations d/b/a Eastern Express

Many of these destinations were previously served by Metro Airlines on an independent basis prior to a marketing alliance with Eastern Airlines and were operated with Metro's very own DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft:

Metro was also operating Eastern Express service at this time from San Antonio International Airport (SAT) with service to Laredo, TX (LRD)[9]

Metro Air Northeast destinations d/b/a TWExpress

After the acquisition of the airline "Brockway Air" and its subsequent name change to "Metro Air Northeast," Beech-1900C and Saab-340A commuter aircraft served the following destinations upon TWA's TWExpress network:

• See Brockway Air Destinations

• British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31 (flown by Eastern Metro Express on behalf of Eastern Air Lines and based in Atlanta, GA)
• Beechcraft Model 99
• de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter (originally operated by Houston Metro and later by Metro and Metroflight. Also operated as Eastern Express in the Caribbean and in feeder services from both Houston Intercontinental Airport and San Antonio International Airport as Eastern Express on behalf of Eastern Air Lines)
• de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100 Dash 8 (flown by Eastern Metro Express on behalf of Eastern Air Lines and based in Atlanta, GA)
• Short 330
• Convair 580 (aircraft were branded and operated as American Eagle flights)

• Beechcraft 99 crashed upon takeoff from Galveston in 1974.[12]
• Short 330 destroyed by a tornado at Beaumont, Texas on May 20, 1983.[13]
• On September 3, 1987, an Eastern Metro Express pilot fell off a Beechcraft 99 as the airplane was flying from Lewiston Municipal Airport in Lewiston, Maine to Boston Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. The plane's co-pilot was able to land at Portland International Jetport in Portland, Maine, after declaring an emergency. The pilot was hanging from some cable railings and his feet were stuck on the plane's door jamb, and he missed being decapitated by only six inches once the airplane touched down on the runway. The pilot and co-pilot were the only occupants; the pilot had a hand injury but they both survived.[14]

• List of defunct airlines of the United States

• Media related to Metro Airlines at Wikimedia Commons