The Denver flights were then reverted to Convair 580 aircraft operated as Frontier Commuter before all service was discontinued in early 1985. Aspen Airways first came to Farmington for a period in 1979 and flew Convair 580s nonstop to Denver and Albuquerque. The carrier returned to Farmington in 1983 with flights only to Denver and became a United Express affiliate in 1986. Aspen Airways introduced British Aerospace BAe 146-100 jets between Farmington and Denver with a stop in Durango beginning in 1985 but ended all flights in March 1990 when the carrier was sold to Mesa Airlines. Mesa Airlines, founded in Farmington, began in 1980 with service to Albuquerque using small Piper prop aircraft. Beechcraft 99, Beechcraft 1300 and Beechcraft 1900 turboprops were introduced in the mid-1980s and new service to Phoenix was added in 1985. Nonstops to Salt Lake City were also briefly operated in 1988. Flights to Denver began in April 1990 when Mesa became a United Express affiliate after purchasing certain assets and routes of Aspen Airways. Larger Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia and de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 propjets were then acquired. In 1992 Mesa began another affiliation with America West Airlines and the Phoenix flights began operating as America West Express. Flights to Las Vegas were also briefly added and operated as America West Express in the mid-1990s. By this time Mesa was the backbone air carrier at Farmington operating over 30 departures per day at times amongst their three divisions. Mesa's independent flights to Albuquerque operated every hour. The Denver flights were discontinued in 1998 when Mesa lost its United Express affiliation to Great Lakes Airlines. Independent flights operated by Mesa Air to Albuquerque ran through 2007 and the America West Express flights to Phoenix ended in mid-2008. America West Airlines merged with US Airways in late 2007 and the Phoenix flights then began operating as US Airways Express shortly before being discontinued. Mesa has since grown into a much larger air carrier and now operates an all regional jet fleet flying for several major airlines via respective code sharing agreements. The carrier has not served Farmington since 2008. Trans-Colorado Airlines served Farmington from early 1986 through mid-1987 with flights to Denver and Albuquerque. The carrier became a Continental Express affiliate in mid-1986 and operated Convair 580 and Swearingen Metroliner propjets. Rocky Mountain Airways served Farmington from mid-1990 through late 1991 also as Continental Express with flights to Denver. The carrier operated Beechcraft 1900 and ATR-42 aircraft.