Great Plains: The beginning in Wichita as Sunwest

Before the men who started Great Plains Airlines came to Tulsa, they tried to pitch their idea to the City of Wichita, Kansas.

A headline search on the Wichita Eagle's website turns up the following:

• On April 8, 1997, two groups announce plans to bring jet service to Wichita: SunWest Airlines Inc., headed by James C. Swartz, and AccessAir Holdings Inc., a Des Moines-based company. But they are looking for local "seed money" to make it happen.
• An October 7, 1997, story is headined: "AIRLINES TO WICHITA: ANTE UP / ACCESSAIR WON'T SERVE WICHITA WITHOUT $3 MILLION FROM LOCAL INVESTORS. AND SUNWEST AIRLINES REQUESTS A PACKAGE OF FINANCIAL CONCESSIONS THAT AIRPORT OFFICIALS DON'T EXACTLY EMBRACE."

Here's a story from the Wichita Business Journal about SunWest's business concept from June 9, 1997.

And here's a very brief and non-specific September 15, 1997, story from the Wichita Business Journal about SunWest's pitch to the Wichita Airport Authority.

About the time Wichita officials decided to take a pass, Tulsa leaders worked to get the SunWest team to come look at locating here.