Private company

Cal Sierra Airlines

US regional airline, San Diego 1980–1981

Cal Sierra Airlines was a start-up commuter airline based in San Diego, California. The airline was founded by retired Pan Am Captain E. D. Perry and his business partner Alan Goddard.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1980Founded1
  • HeadquartersSan Diego1
Convair 440 Metropolitan, Cal Sierra Airlines AN1895759
Photo: Perry Hoppe, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons4

Cal Sierra Airlines was a start-up commuter airline based in San Diego, California. The airline was founded by retired Pan Am Captain E. D. Perry and his business partner Alan Goddard.2

The story

The airline started in December 1980 with a route between San Diego and South Lake Tahoe, California, operating Convair 440 aircraft, which were chosen partly to meet noise restrictions standards at Lake Tahoe Airport. The flights were stopped on Jan 21 1981, and resumed later in June when the FAA certified its only remaining operating aircraft.

A planned expansion was halted with the PATCO strike in the United States. Because of the shortage of air traffic controllers in the United States, airlines were not given the authority to add new routes. The new airline was short-lived without the chance to expand. It ceased operations after less than nine months of service in 1981.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cal Sierra Airlines, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1981Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1980Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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