TranStar Airlines

Muse Air was a domestic U.S. airline founded in 1981, headquartered near Dallas Love Field in Dallas, Texas, later moving to William P. Hobby Airport in Houston. Southwest Airlines acquired Muse Air in 1985 and later renamed it TranStar Airlines, but it was unprofitable, and was shut down in 1987. History The company was first established as a Texas-based intrastate airline named Muse Air for its founder, but much like Southwest Airlines, it only operated larger mainline jet aircraft and began to initiate new service to destinations outside of the state of Texas. Muse Air's name originates from its founder and the one time president of Southwest Airlines, Marion Lamar Muse. The airline's first flights consisted of nonstop service between Dallas Love Field (DAL) and Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) in 1981 with two McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft. An air traffic controller's strike almost immediately made things difficult for the company, and Muse stepped down as CEO to let his son Michael take over the company. By the end of 1984 the company was still struggling, and actively looking for a merger to keep it afloat. At the end of the year, Harold Simmons, president of the Amalgamated Sugar Company offered the airline the money to continue, on the condition that Michael Muse resign, and that his father return as CEO. Despite the new influx of cash and Lamar Muse in charge again, the company was not able to generate a consistent profit despite its use of non-union labor and competitive fares. Besides MD-80 jetliners, the airline added McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 and DC-9-50 aircraft to its fleet. During its existence, Muse Air attempted to operate new nonstop routes with jet aircraft that were not being flown by other airlines at the time, including Austin (AUS) - Los Angeles (LAX), Lubbock (LBB) - Los Angeles (LAX), Midland/Odessa (MAF) - Los Angeles (LAX), Houston Hobby (HOU) - Ontario (ONT) and Midland/Odessa (MAF) - Las Vegas (LAS). Muse Air alliance with AirCal In 1984, Muse Air entered into an alliance with California-based AirCal (formerly known as Air California) with connections being listed in its April 29, 1984 system timetable via Los Angeles (LAX) to and from AirCal flights serving Oakland, California (OAK), Portland, Oregon (PDX), Reno, Nevada (RNO), Sacramento (SMF), San Francisco (SFO), and San Jose, California (SJC) and Seattle, Washington (SEA).