Gem State Airlines
 Convair 580 in 1980 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 1978 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 1980 | ||||||
| Focus cities | Boise, Idaho, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho | ||||||
| Fleet size | 9 | ||||||
| Destinations | 12 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, U.S. | ||||||
| Key people | Tom Soumas, Jr. Justin S. Colin (1924–2012) | ||||||
Gem State Airlines was a United States airline founded in 1978 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.[1][2][3][4] It carried passengers for 11 months, from December 1978 to November 1979,[5][6] and merged in January 1980 with Air Pacific to become Golden Gate Airlines.[7][8][9][10][11]
Founded by Thomas D. "Tom" Soumas, Jr. (b. 1953) of Coeur d'Alene,[12][13] its primary investor was Justin S. Colin (1924–2012), a New York financier.[14][15][16][17]
Idaho's nickname is the Gem State, with origins back to its territorial years.[18]
Cities served[edit]
- Boise, Idaho
- Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
- Idaho Falls, Idaho
- Lewiston, Idaho
- Pocatello, Idaho
- Pullman, Washington (& Moscow, Idaho)
- Reno, Nevada
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Seattle, Washington
- Spokane, Washington
- Sun Valley, Idaho
- Twin Falls, Idaho
Fleet[edit]
Gem State operated the following turboprop aircraft:
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Roche, Kevin (July 9, 1978). "Gem State is more than a paper airline now". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1A.
- ^ Harrell, Sylvia (November 1, 1978). "Gem State swoops into Lewiston". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1A.
- ^ Roche, Kevin (November 1, 1978). "Gem State stockholders squeezed out". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 16A.
- ^ "Gem State Airlines". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (advertisement). November 30, 1978. p. 12A.
- ^ "Airline's demise day away". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 8, 1979. p. 3.
- ^ Harrell, Sylvia (November 10, 1979). "Goodbye". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
- ^ airlines
- ^ a b Golden Gate Airlines Image Gallery
- ^ Harrell, Sylvia (January 30, 1980). "Gem State Airlines? Oh, you mean Golden Gate". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
- ^ a b "Gem State: Idaho refugee buys California airline". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 10, 1980. p. 9C.
- ^ "Gem Airlines' financial savior files for personal bankruptcy". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). August 25, 1982. p. 2B.
- ^ "Airline just needs a plane". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. December 25, 1974. p. 8Z.
- ^ Roche, Kevin (August 27, 1978). "Takeoff". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
- ^ "Gem State Airlines 'remarkable'". Ellensburg Daily Record. (Washington). UPI. August 1, 1979. p. 24.
- ^ "Soumas still wants air carrier in Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). January 9, 1980. p. 10.
- ^ Roche, Kevin (October 25, 1978). "New York financier invested heavily in Gem State Airlines". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 5A.
- ^ "Justin Colin". legacy.com. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
- ^ "Idaho, the Gem State" (PDF). Idaho Geological Survey. November 2002.
- ^ Gem State Airlines
- ^ Shelledy, Jay (March 14, 1979). "Gem State adds plane, Sun Valley flights". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 14A.
- ^ "Gem State buys bigger planes". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). April 17, 1979. p. 10A.
- ^ Pettit, Diane (September 22, 1979). "Gem State says it will return to Moscow-Pullman". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
- ^ "Gem State: airline in the red". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 28, 1979. p. 6B.
 | This article relating to a United States airline is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |