American Eagle Airlines Pilot Hat Badge 2nd Issue

Dallas, TX & Nashville, TN 1984-Current

American Eagle began as a collection of regional carriers with contracts to carry the American Eagle brand name. The first American Eagle flight was operated by Metroflight Airlines, which was a spin-off company created by Metro Airlines, on November 1, 1984 from Fayetteville, Arkansas to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Other carriers that have flown in Eagle livery include Executive Airlines, Command Airways, Air Virginia, Simmons Airlines, Wings West Airlines and Chaparral Airlines. Until 1987 these third-party carriers flew under contract with American Airlines to provide regional feed to its hubs. During 1987 and 1988 AMR Corp. acquired its regional carriers, starting with Simmons Airlines. By mid-1991 AMR had consolidated the number of carriers to four. The May 15, 1998 merger of Wings West and Flagship into Simmons (and the name change of Simmons to American Eagle) reduced the number of carriers flying as American Eagle under separate operating certificates to two: American Eagle Airlines, Inc. and Executive Airlines Inc. American Eagles parent company, AMR Corp. filed for bankruptcy in November 2011.