Empire Air Lines

For the current freight airline, see Empire Airlines. For the defunct passenger airline from the 1970s and 1980s, see Empire Airlines (1974–1986).

Empire Air Lines was a United States local service carrier that was founded in July 1944 by Bert Zimmerly at Lewiston, Idaho.^[1] The founder had formerly been operating Zimmerly Airlines, a commercial charter service that had been operating since 1943.^[1] Empire was inactive until early in 1946, when it purchased the assets of Zimmerly Airlines, including ten Boeing 247 aircraft.^[1][2] Starting as an intrastate airline in Idaho, it operated daily round trip service between Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Pocatello, Idaho with four intermediate stops.^[2] The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) granted temporary permission to the airline to offer interstate feeder lines between Spokane, Washington and locations in Idaho and eastern Oregon.^[3][4]

Empire Air Lines

Founded	1944; 81 years ago (1944)
Ceased operations	1952; 73 years ago (1952)
Hubs	Lewiston
Focus cities	Boise Spokane
Headquarters	Lewiston, Idaho, U.S.
Key people	Bert Zimmerly (President)

A Douglas DC-3 operated by Empire Air Lines at Boise, Idaho in 1952.

In 1952, the CAB approved the sale of Empire Air Lines to West Coast Airlines for about $500,000 (equivalent to $2,700,000 in 2024).^[5]

See also

• List of defunct airlines of the United States