section_path: History/Vee Neal Airlines
section_name: Vee Neal Airlines
paragraph_text: Vee Neal Airlines
  
  Named after its owner Vee Neal Frey, Vee Neal Airlines was established in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and received an air operator's certificate in 1979. At first, the company operated as a fixed-base operator, and later added scheduled service between Latrobe and Pittsburgh with a Cessna 402 in May 1980.
  
  Following the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, nearby Erie, Pennsylvania, saw a decline in service, and Vee Neal saw an opportunity. The company made several unsuccessful attempts to start a new airline operation out of Erie International Airport using Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante aircraft. A breakthrough would finally come in April 1983 when USAir announced it would further reduce frequencies out of Erie and would discontinue nonstop service to Chicago from Erie. Vee Neal Airlines was able to raise venture capital from a group of civic and business leaders, investors and corporations in the Erie area. The money was used to purchase six British Aerospace Jetstream 31 aircraft, which would operate out of Erie.