Gem State Airlines

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]}

Gem State Airlines

Convair 580 in 1980
IATA ICAO Call sign GS – –
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)

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

• 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

Source:^[8][19]

Fleet

Gem State Airlines Swearingen SA-226TC Metro II

Gem State operated the following turboprop aircraft:

• 6 Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
• 3 Convair 580^{[1][10][20][21][22][23]}

See also

• List of defunct airlines of the United States

References

1. Roche, Kevin (July 9, 1978). "Gem State is more than a paper airline now". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1A.
2. Harrell, Sylvia (November 1, 1978). "Gem State swoops into Lewiston". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1A.
3. Roche, Kevin (November 1, 1978). "Gem State stockholders squeezed out". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 16A.
4. "Gem State Airlines". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (advertisement). November 30, 1978. p. 12A.
5. "Airline's demise day away". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 8, 1979. p. 3.
6. Harrell, Sylvia (November 10, 1979). "Goodbye". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
7. airlines
8. Golden Gate Airlines Image Gallery
9. Harrell, Sylvia (January 30, 1980). "Gem State Airlines? Oh, you mean Golden Gate". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
10. "Gem State: Idaho refugee buys California airline". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 10, 1980. p. 9C.
11. "Gem Airlines' financial savior files for personal bankruptcy". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). August 25, 1982. p. 2B.
12. "Airline just needs a plane". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. December 25, 1974. p. 8Z.
13. Roche, Kevin (August 27, 1978). "Takeoff". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
14. "Gem State Airlines 'remarkable'". Ellensburg Daily Record. (Washington). UPI. August 1, 1979. p. 24.
15. "Soumas still wants air carrier in Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). January 9, 1980. p. 10.
16. Roche, Kevin (October 25, 1978). "New York financier invested heavily in Gem State Airlines". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 5A.
17. "Justin Colin". legacy.com. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
18. "Idaho, the Gem State" (PDF). Idaho Geological Survey. November 2002.
19. Gem State Airlines
20. Shelledy, Jay (March 14, 1979). "Gem State adds plane, Sun Valley flights". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 14A.
21. "Gem State buys bigger planes". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). April 17, 1979. p. 10A.
22. Pettit, Diane (September 22, 1979). "Gem State says it will return to Moscow-Pullman". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
23. "Gem State: airline in the red". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 28, 1979. p. 6B.