Private company

GP Express Airlines

American airline

GP Express Airlines was a scheduled passenger commuter air carrier with its headquarters located in Grand Island, Nebraska The parent corporation of the airline began on-demand air charter operations in December 1975. In December 1985 the Department of Transportation notified GP AIR (the parent corporation) that its bid to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) service in the Midwest had been accepted, GP AIR subsequently created subsidiary GP Express in order to conduct these operations under 14 CFR Part 135.² It ceased to exist in 1996.¹ Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1975Founded¹

HeadquartersGrand Island¹

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Products and brands

Destinations in 1992

According to a GP Express route map, the airline was operating two different route systems in 1992 as an independent air carrier with one located in the north central U.S. stretching from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Kansas City to Denver and the other located in the southeastern U.S. with the two route systems being separately operated:

North Central U.S. Destinations

Alliance, NE

Brookings, SD

Chadron, NE

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Denver

Des Moines

Fairmont, MN

Grand Island, NE - Headquarters

Hastings, NE

Huron, SD

Kansas City

Kearney, NE

Lincoln, NE

Mankato, MN

McCook, NE

Minneapolis/Saint Paul - Hub

Mitchell, SD

North Platte, NE

Omaha

Scottsbluff, NE

Sidney, NE

Worthington, MN

Southeastern U.S. Destinations

Anniston, AL

Atlanta - Hub

Gadsden, AL

Hattiesburg/Laurel, MS

Hilton Head, SC

Muscle Shoals, AL

Tuscaloosa, AL

Continental Connection service from Denver in 1994

According to the Continental Airlines system timetable, GP Express was operating code sharing flights as Continental Connection on behalf of Continental Airlines with Beechcraft 1900C commuter turboprop aircraft flying nonstop or direct between Denver (DEN) and the following destinations on October 30, 1994:

Amarillo, TX

Casper, WY

Cheyenne, WY

Cody, WY

Durango, CO

Gillette, WY

Grand Island, NE

Grand Junction, CO

Gunnison, CO

Jackson Hole, WY

Kearney, NE

Lincoln, NE

McCook, NE

Montrose, CO

North Platte, NE

Omaha, NE

Pueblo, CO

Rapid City, SD

Riverton, WY

Rock Springs, WY

Scottsbluff, NE

Sheridan, WY

Steamboat Springs, CO (served via the Yampa Valley Airport)

Telluride, CO

The above referenced timetable also lists only four destinations served nonstop from Denver by Continental Airlines mainline jet service at this time: Chicago Midway Airport (MDW), Cleveland (CLE), Houston (IAH) and Newark (EWR), three of which were the location of Continental hubs in 1994.

From Wikipedia’s article on GP Express Airlines, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.³

Controversies and legal

Accidents

GP Express Airlines was noted for an unusually high fatal accident rate for its fleet size and received additional FAA oversight as a result.

On December 23, 1987 a GP Express Cessna 402 crashed on approach to Chadron, Nebraska. The crash resulted in fatal injuries to the two person flight crew and serious injuries to the only passenger.

GP Express Flight 861 crashed near Anniston, Alabama on June 9, 1992, only two days after operations began in the GP Express Southern Region.

On April 28, 1993, a GP Express Airlines Beechcraft Model 99 crashed near Shelton, Nebraska during execution of an aerobatic maneuver during a non-revenue check ride. Both pilots sustained fatal injuries.