Commuter Airlines

Commuter Airlines

Commenced operations	1964
Ceased operations	October 1984
Operating bases	Broome County Airport
Fleet size	See Fleet below
Destinations	See Destinations below
Headquarters	Binghamton, New York, United States
Key people	Jerry Winston (Owner) Irene Winston (President)

Commuter Airlines was a commuter airline based in Binghamton, New York from the 1960s to 1984.

Broome County Aviation

Broome County Aviation, Inc, took over as the fixed-base operator (FBO) at Greater Binghamton Airport, New York in 1957, selling aviation fuel, operating a flight school and a charter service. In 1964 they began FAR part 135 scheduled flights with a Piper Aztec between Binghamton, NY and Washington National Airport D.C. During the next two decades the operation was renamed Commuter Airlines, and finally Freedom Airlines, expanding to serve Washington D.C., White Plains, LaGuardia and JFK in New York City, Newark, New Jersey, Boston Logan, Massachusetts, Wilkes Barre/Scranton, and Allentown Pennsylvania and Ithaca and Elmira, New York.

Commuter Aircraft Manufacturing Corp

The Dumod Corporation was one of a number of companies that specialised in upgrading Beech 18s, primarily featuring a tricycle undercarriage replacement for the original tailwheel design. Their most ambitious project was the Dumod Liner, and the manufacturing rights for this conversion were purchased by Winston on behalf of BCA/Commuter Airlines. The Dumod Liner had a stretched fuselage allowing 15 seats, a nose wheel/tricycle undercarriage, and a triple tail similar to the Lockheed Constellation. Five conversions were planned, but only three were completed, and all three of this unique design were operated by Commuter Airlines.

Fleet

N5835 in 1976, recently retired from Allegheny, pending sale to Commuter Airlines

The company began with a single Piper Aztec and over the years added Piper PA-31 Navajo/ Navajo Chieftains, de Havilland Doves, Beechcraft Model 18s and of course the three Dumod Liners, before expanding with four Swearingen Metroliners from 1973. In 1978, with the advent of deregulation, Commuter Airlines dramatically increased capacity by purchasing five Convair 580s from Allegheny/(USAir).

Accidents and Incidents

• On 22 March 1970, Commuter Airlines Flight 502 from Binghampton to Washington D.C., operated by Beech 18 (Dumod Liner) N497DM, crashed after a rejected take-off from Binghamton-Broome County Airport killing the Captain and two passengers. The co-pilot and seven remaining passengers survived.

After taking off in snow conditions, the aircraft became airborne, but was difficult to control even after the landing gear was raised. The captain elected to reject the take-off, and made a smooth wheels-up landing. The aircraft slid the remaining length of the runway, over an embankment, and into approach light structures, where it subsequently caught fire and was written off. The NTSB report determined the probable cause of the accident was the attempt of the pilot-in command to take off with snow adhering to the airfoil surfaces, causing a degradation of aircraft performance and loss of control following lift-off.

Overview

In 1980, Jerry Winston entered into an agreement with United Airlines to provide a commuter feeder service to United's Cleveland Hopkins Hub in Ohio. He decided to operate that under the newly formed corporate entity of Freedom Airlines. The five Convairs were repainted with the Freedom Airlines name and flew from Flint, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, and Lansing Michigan to Cleveland, Ohio. United Airlines terminated the feeder agreement after about a year, but Freedom continued to operate those routes on its own, adding flights from those same Michigan cities to Chicago, O'Hare. Over the next two years a Cleveland, Ohio to Harrisburg and Allentown, Pennsylvania flight was added. In 1982, Jerry Winston pulled out of Binghamton, NY, moved the company headquarters to Cleveland, OH, completely, sold off the Piper Navajos, dropped the Commuter Airlines name and repainted the Metroliners in the Freedom Airlines colors. A route from Chicago O'Hare to Escanaba, Iron Mountain, and Ironwood, Michigan was added in 1983 when those cities were dropped by Republic Airlines.

In the summer of 1984, Jerry Winston died of cancer and the airline was put up for sale. Air Ontario purchased the Convair 580s in October 1984 and the airline ceased operations and the assets were sold off.

Freedom Airlines and Commuter Airlines impacted aviation in various ways. As recognized by a proclamation signed by Cleveland's Mayor, Justin Bibb, on November 18, 2022, Jerry Winston "foresaw what the jet age would mean to smaller cities." In addition, Irene Winston specifically was recognized in that proclamation for her role as a "Cleveland Trailblazing Aviator....having played a senior executive role at CLE-based Freedom Airlines, a pioneering air carrier...." In 2023, Jerry & Irene Winston were inducted into the Cleveland Airport System Hall of Fame.

Destinations

• Michigan
  • Bishop International Airport, Flint
  • Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Grand Rapids
  • Capital Region International Airport, Lansing
  • Saginaw
• New Jersey
  • Newark (Newark International Airport)
• New York
  • Binghamton (Binghamton Regional Airport) - hub
  • New York (LaGuardia Airport)
  • White Plains (Westchester County Airport)
• Ohio
  • Cleveland (Cleveland Hopkins International Airport)
• Virginia
  • Washington, D.C. (Reagan National Airport)

See also

• List of defunct airlines of the United States

References

Others articles of the Topic United States : Public figure, Zoot (Software), The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, Hazbin Hotel, MTV, New York's congressional districts

Others articles of the Topic Companies : Career Education Corporation, Spümcø, Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Starbucks Corporation, Warner Music Group Corp., Univision Communications Inc.

This article "Commuter Airlines" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Commuter Airlines. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)

• Muslim Heretics Conference
• William Barker (Nottingham cricketer)
• Hunter (2025 film)
• Gvt.BHS Kanniakulangara
• Erin Clachers
• Ahammed Khabeer
• Steve Judd

---