Cochise Airlines

Cochise Airlines was a commuter airline which was founded in 1971 in Tucson, Arizona.^[1] It operated until the early 1980s. Cochise linked small cities in Arizona with Phoenix, Arizona and Tucson, Arizona and also served southern California and New Mexico at one point.^[2] According to the February 1, 1976 edition of the Official Airline Guide (OAG), Cochise was operating de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprop aircraft as well as Cessna 402 prop aircraft.^[3] By 1979, the airline was flying Swearingen Metroliner (Metro II) turboprops. One route served with the Metro II at this time was Tucson (TUS) - Phoenix (PHX) - Yuma (YUM) - Imperial, CA (IPL) - Los Angeles (LAX).^[4] Besides serving Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma, the February 1, 1976 OAG listed scheduled service operated by Cochise into the following destinations in Arizona: Flagstaff (FLG), Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN), Kingman (IGM), Lake Havasu City (LHU), Page (PGA), Prescott (PRC) and Winslow (INW). By 1981, Cochise was flying a Convair 440 propliner nonstop between Tucson (TUS) and San Diego (SAN)^[5] and also on the Tucson - Phoenix - Yuma - El Centro - Los Angeles route in addition to Metro II propjet service on the latter route.^[6] The Convair 440 was the largest aircraft type ever operated by the airline. Also in 1981, Cochise was flying a Phoenix (PHX) - Blythe, CA (BLH) - Los Angeles (LAX) route in addition to operating its other routes within Arizona and southern California.^[7] The air carrier's two letter airline code in the OAG was "DP".

Destinations in 1974

According to its April 15, 1974 route map, Cochise was serving the following destinations:^[8]

• Douglas, Arizona
• Flagstaff, Arizona
• Fort Huachuca/Douglas, Arizona
• Grand Canyon National Park Airport, Arizona
• Kingman, Arizona
• Lake Havasu City, Arizona
• Phoenix, Arizona - Hub
• Prescott, Arizona
• Tucson, Arizona - Home base and focus city
• Yuma, Arizona

Destinations in 1979

According to its November 15, 1979 route map, Cochise Airlines was serving the following destinations:^[9]

• Blythe, California
• Flagstaff, Arizona
• Fort Huachuca/Sierra Vista, Arizona
• Gallup, New Mexico
• Grand Canyon National Park Airport, Arizona
• Imperial, California - El Centro, California was served via the Imperial County Airport
• Kingman, Arizona
• Los Angeles, California (LAX)
• Phoenix, Arizona - Hub
• Prescott, Arizona
• Tucson, Arizona - Home base
• Winslow, Arizona
• Yuma, Arizona

The airline also served San Diego, California during the early 1980s.

Cochise ceased all operations on June 2, 1982.

Fleet

Piston Aircraft:

• Cessna 402
• Convair 440 - largest aircraft type operated by the airline

Turboprop Aircraft:

• de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
• Swearingen Metroliner (Metro II model)

References