History
The airline was established by Doug Voss and Ivan Simpson and started operations on April 5, 1977. It began scheduled services on October 12, 1981, with flights between Spencer, Iowa, and Des Moines, Iowa. In February 1988, Great Lakes acquired Alliance Airlines, adding six cities around Lake Michigan to the route network. In the following years it continued to expand and in February 1992 signed a codesharing agreement with United Airlines. On January 19, 1994, the airline went public trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange. In October 1995, Great Lakes began operating under the Midway Connection banner at Raleigh/Durham through a marketing agreement with Midway Airlines, but this ceased in 1997. Prior to the relocation of the headquarters to Cheyenne, Great Lakes was headquartered in Summit Township, Clay County, Iowa, by Spencer Municipal Airport and near the city of Spencer.
Its status with United Express was downgraded to a codeshare agreement in 2001 and on May 1, 2001, it became an independent carrier. Great Lakes has code sharing agreements with United Airlines and Frontier Airlines.
The airline added service to a new hub serving Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 7, 2010. Also the airline created a hub at Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 17, 2012.
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