American Southwest Airlines- Fleet History

American Southwest Airlines was a US airline headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1952 the airline started operations with Convair 440 Convairliners to smaller destinations. It was truly an airline of the southwest, and it focused on connecting the people to other towns in the Southwest instead of other airlines or regions. In 1965 ASA began service with DC-9-10 jets. They introduced a quicker service on some of the thicker routes but still kept ASA serving its population. The addition of the 727-200 in 1967 added new routes from the thickest routes, such as routes in California and between the largest cities in the Southwest. American Southwest Airlines retired their CV-440s in 1973 but continued their jet operations. In 1978, the Airline Deregulation Act was passed and multiple airlines approached ASA to build their reach. ASA was eventually won over by Aerostar, and in 1979 the two airlines merged and became the largest airline in the west. Today a 737 and 757 carry on the legacy of American Southwest Airlines with retro liveries.

N241SA was the 12th Convair 440 operated by American Southwest Airlines. She was delivered in 1957 and flew the Phoenix-Kingsman-Las Vegas-Riverside-Palm Springs-Los Angeles route on her maiden passenger flight. She was retired in 1973 after 16 years of service and was flown to Victorville California for scrapping.

N358AS was the 4th DC-9 delivered to American Southwest Airlines and began flying passengers in 1966. She frequented Denver and Phoenix in her ASA days before the merger. N358AS was transferred to Aerostar in 1979 and was assigned to the Denver hub until her retirement in 1985. She was sold in 1987 and scrapped in 1999. She was repainted in Aerostar colors in 1979 and again in 1983.

N691AS was the 3rd 727-200 delivered to American Southwest Airlines and flew coastal Californian routes in 1968. In 1979 she was reregistered as N281AR and painted in Aerostar colors. She would fly for Aerostar until 1986 and was repainted twice.