Low-cost commuter line sends its final flights aloft

Monday, Aug. 30, 1999 | 8:53 a.m.

At 9:22 p.m., one flight will head north to Portland, Ore., and another will wing south to San Diego.

After that, all flights will be under the name of American Airlines, which bought the struggling company in February.

By Tuesday, all Reno Air signs at the airport will be gone. Pilots, flight attendants and ticket-takers will be wearing American uniforms.

Reno Air's familiar mountain range logo will be painted over and replaced with American's markings by the end of the year.

The brave startup airline - some said it was more upstart than startup - began July 1, 1992, with a flight to Seattle.

In its best years, 1995 and 1996, Reno Air made $1.8 million and $2 million, respectively - essentially breaking even at a time when carriers enjoyed record profits.

At the height of Reno Air's local service, with about 45 departures a day in 1997, the Airport Authority was preparing to expand its terminal and gates to accommodate the airline's promised growth.

But that was the year that deep problems were evident as the company lost $12.3 million and struggled with parts shortages, unprofitable routes, labor unrest, poor on-time performance and reservations problems.

Chief Executive Robert Reding was ousted in February 1998 and Joe O'Gorman, a bottom-line-minded official who had just retired from United Airlines was brought in to stem losses and save the airline.

He cut hundreds of jobs and replaced longtime executives, dropped money-losing cities, consolidated corporate operations, reduced the fleet and stabilized the balance sheet.

And then he sold the airline.

Krys Bart, executive director of the Airport Authority of Washoe County, said community leaders should have considered financial assistance for Reno Air the way Phoenix rallied for America West Airlines and Minneapolis backed Northwest Airlines during their troubles.

While Bart believes American will do good things for Reno, "I think it's very sad that the community did not do something in a financial matter to assist Reno Air."

Geno Menchetti, chairman of the Airport Authority's board of trustees, said Reno Air's demise is a significant loss to the community.

"I think Reno lost a lot just by having those green-and-white airplanes parked on the ground at airports all over," he said.