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This article is about the defunct California-based airline that operated from 1925 to 1987. For the defunct Washington state–based airline that operated through 2007, see Western (airline). For the Bahamas-based airline, see Western Air.

Western Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
WA WAL WESTERN
FoundedJuly 1925; 99 years ago (1925-07)
(as Western Air Express)
Commenced operations17 April 1926;
98 years ago (1926-04-17)
(as Western Air Express)
Ceased operations1 April 1987; 37 years ago (1987-04-01)
(merged into Delta Air Lines)
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programSkyMiles
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, United States
FounderHarris Hanshue

Western Airlines was a major airline in the United States based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mexico City, London and Nassau. Western had hubs at Los Angeles International Airport, Salt Lake City International Airport, and the former Stapleton International Airport in Denver. Before it merged with Delta Air Lines in 1987 it was headquartered at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).[1] Throughout the company's history, its slogan was "Western Airlines...The Only Way to Fly!"

History

Western Air Express

A Fokker F-10 aircraft operated by the airline's precursor, Western Air Express, in the late 1920s.

In 1925, the United States Postal Service began to give airline contracts to carry airmail throughout the country. Western Airlines first incorporated in 1925 as Western Air Express by Harris Hanshue. It applied for, and was awarded, the 650-mile long Contract Air Mail Route #4 (CAM-4) from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Los Angeles. On 17 April 1926, Western's first flight took place with a Douglas M-2 airplane.[2] It began offering passenger services a month later, when the first commercial passenger flight took place at Woodward Field. Ben F. Redman (then president of the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce) and J.A. Tomlinson perched atop U.S. mail sacks and flew with pilot C.N. "Jimmy" James on his regular eight-hour mail delivery flight to Los Angeles. By the mid-1930s, Western Air Express had introduced new Boeing 247 aircraft. Western Air Express built and owned Vail Airport in Montebello, CA from 1926 to 1930 and the Alhambra Airport in southern California from 1930 to 1931. Western Air Express operated a seaplane route out of Hamilton Cove Seaplane Base on Catalina Island, California from 1928 to 1930[3][4][5]

Transcontinental & Western Air

The company reincorporated in 1928 as Western Air Express Corp. In 1930 it purchased Standard Air Lines, a subsidiary of Aero Corp. of Ca., founded in 1926 by Paul E. Richter, Jack Frye and Walter Hamilton. WAE with Fokker aircraft merged with Transcontinental Air Transport to form Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA, later known as Trans World Airlines).

General Air Lines

In 1934 Western Air Express was severed from TWA and changed its name to General Air Lines, returning to the name Western Air Express after several months. In a 1934 press release by the company, it called itself the Western Air Division of General Air Lines.[6] Its route map ran San Diego to Los Angeles to Salt Lake City.

Western Airlines

Douglas M-2 Operated by Western Air Express

In 1937 Western merged National Parks Airways, which extended its route north from Salt Lake to Great Falls, and, in 1941, across the border to Lethbridge, Alberta. In 1941 Western Air Express changed its name to Western Air Lines and later to Western Airlines. (In 1967–69 Western called itself Western Airlines International.)

In 1944 Western acquired a controlling interest in Inland Air Lines, which became a subsidiary with Inland's schedules in Western timetables until Inland was merged into Western in 1952.[3] Western started flying Los Angeles to San Francisco in 1943, so the Western/Inland route map was a W: San Francisco south to San Diego, north from San Diego to Lethbridge, Alberta in Canada, south to Denver, and northeast to Huron. (It extended to Minneapolis in 1947.)

In 1946, Western was awarded a route from Los Angeles to Denver via Las Vegas, but in 1947 financial problems forced Western to sell the route, and Douglas DC-6 delivery positions, to United Air Lines. In 1947 Western extended the left arm of the W north to Seattle, and added San Diego to Yuma for a few years; in 1950 it extended the middle of the W north to Edmonton. It finally cut across the W in 1953 when DC-6Bs started a one-stop flight MSP-SLC-LAX; in 1956 it resumed flights west out of Denver, to San Francisco via Salt Lake. In 1957 it began Los Angeles to Mexico City nonstop DC-6Bs, and in December 1957 it began Denver-Phoenix-San Diego.

The airline's president was Terrell "Terry" Drinkwater. Drinkwater got into a dispute with the administration in Washington D.C. that hampered WAL's growth. Pressured in a famous phone call by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to "buy American made aircraft", Drinkwater reportedly responded: "Mr. President, you run your country and let me run my airline!" For years after this exchange, the federal Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) would not award Western new routes while its competitors, including United and American, grew enormous even though all Western airliners were of U.S. manufacture while its competitors' fleets included aircraft produced in Europe.

Covers of a 1940s ticket book
Restored Convair 240 in Western Airlines paint

In August 1953, Western was serving 38 airports; in June 1968 that number had grown to 42.

In June 1960, Western Airlines introduced Boeing 707s (707-139s) between Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. 720B nonstops MSP-SFO and MSP-LAX began in 1966, along with LAX-Acapulco. In 1967 WAL acquired Pacific Northern Airlines (PNA, the successor of Woodley Airways) based in Anchorage, Alaska, its primary routes being Anchorage - Seattle nonstop as well as Anchorage - Juneau - Seattle and Anchorage - Juneau - Ketchikan - Seattle with PNA flying Boeing 720 jetliners on these routes with the airline also operating nonstop Kodiak, Alaska - Seattle service with Lockheed Constellation propliners.[7] Also in 1967, Western added Vancouver, and in 1969 it began nonstop flights between several California airports and Hawaii.

In the late 1960s, Western aimed for an all-jet fleet, adding Boeing 707-320s, 727-200s and 737-200s to its 720Bs. The two leased B707-139s had been sold in favor of the turbofan-powered Boeing 720B. Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops were replaced with new 737-200s. In 1973 Western added nine McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10s, marketing its wide-body cabins as "DC-10 Spaceships". They were configured with 46 first-class seats, 193 coach, and a lower level galley.[8] From 1976 to 1981 the DC-10s flew Los Angeles to Miami nonstop.

In 1969, Western Airlines opened negotiations to merge with American Airlines.[9] However, the merger was opposed by rival airlines such as Continental Airlines and the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division under Richard Wellington McLaren.[10] President Richard Nixon's attorney Herbert W. Kalmbach suggested that the antitrust suit would be dropped in exchange for a $75,000 campaign contribution to the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, which American Airlines CEO George A. Spater agreed to.[11] However, the merger was nonetheless rejected in a 4–1 decision by the Civil Aeronautics Board in July 1972.[12]

Boeing 720B in old livery at Seattle 1972
Boeing 727

Western was headquartered in Los Angeles, California. After the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978, the airline's hubs were reduced to two airports: Los Angeles International Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport. Before deregulation, Western had small hubs in Anchorage, Alaska, Denver, Las Vegas, Minneapolis/St. Paul and San Francisco.[13] In spring 1987, shortly before Western was acquired by Delta Air Lines, the airline had two hubs, a major operation in Salt Lake City and a small hub in Los Angeles.

At its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, Western flew to cities across the western United States, and to Mexico (Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and Mazatlán), Alaska (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak and other Alaskan destinations), Hawaii (Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, and Hilo), and Canada (Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton). New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, and Miami were added on the east coast as well as Chicago and St. Louis, and cities in Texas (Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth, El Paso, Houston and San Antonio), and New Orleans in the south. Western had many intrastate flights in California, competing with Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA), Air California/AirCal, Air West/Hughes Airwest and United Airlines. In addition, Western operated "Islander" service with Boeing 707-320s, Boeing 720Bs and McDonnell Douglas DC-10s to Hawaii from a number of cities that previously did not have direct flights to the 50th state. In 1973, Western flew nonstop between Honolulu and Anchorage, Los Angeles, Oakland, California, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose, California and one-stop between Honolulu and Las Vegas, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Phoenix, Sacramento and Salt Lake City.[14] In 1981, the airline also flew nonstop DC-10s between Vancouver, British Columbia and Honolulu.[14]

One of the smallest jet destinations was West Yellowstone, Montana, near Yellowstone National Park. Western flew Boeing 737-200s to West Yellowstone Airport in the summer, replacing Lockheed L-188 Electras. In the 1970s and 1980s, Western served a number of small cities with 737-200s including Butte, Montana, Casper, Wyoming, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Helena, Montana, Idaho Falls, Idaho, Pierre, South Dakota, Pocatello, Idaho, Rapid City, South Dakota and Sheridan, Wyoming. The 737 replaced Electras to all of these cities. In 1968 the airline was operating nonstop Boeing 720Bs between the Annette Island Airport (serving Ketchikan, Alaska) and Seattle in addition to 720Bs between Juneau and Seattle, and in 1973 was flying 720B nonstops between Kodiak, Alaska and Seattle.[3][14]

In 1978, Western Airlines and Continental Airlines agreed to merge. A dispute broke out over what to call the combined airline: Western-Continental or Continental-Western, prompting an infamous coin toss. Bob Six, the colorful founder of CAL, demanded that Continental be "tails" in deference to its marketing slogan "We Really Move Our Tail for You! Continental Airlines: the Proud Bird with the Golden Tail". The coin flip turned up "heads". Six was so disappointed he called the merger off.[15]

From October 1980 to October 1981, Western flew Honolulu to Anchorage to London Gatwick Airport with a single McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30;[14] for less than a year starting in April 1981 it flew LGW to Denver, continuing to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Another international route was Los Angeles to Miami to Nassau, in the Bahamas for a year in 1980–81. Western extended its network to New York City, Washington, D.C. and Boston, as well as to Chicago and St. Louis in the midwest, Albuquerque and El Paso in the west, and Houston, New Orleans, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. In 1987 Western had four Boeing 737-300 round trips between Boston and New York LaGuardia Airport, and a major hub at Salt Lake City International Airport and a small hub at Los Angeles International Airport.[14]

Western Express

In 1986, Western entered into a code sharing agreement with SkyWest Airlines, a commuter airline. SkyWest (Western Express) Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners connected to Western mainline flights at Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego, and other Western mainline destinations.[14] In spring 1987 SkyWest/Western Express served 36 cities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. Western entered a similar code-sharing agreement with Alaska-based South Central Air, a small commuter airline that operated as Western Express as well, connecting to Western flights at Anchorage. Several cities in southern Alaska including Homer, Kenai, Soldotna were served by South Central Air operating as Western Express.[14] After the acquisition of Western by Delta Air Lines, SkyWest became a Delta Connection code sharing airline.[14]

Delta Air Lines merger

A Boeing 737 in a hybrid Western/Delta livery

In the early 1980s Air Florida tried to buy Western Airlines, but it was able to purchase only 16 percent of the airline's stock. On September 9, 1986, Western Airlines and Delta Air Lines entered into an agreement and plan of merger.[16] The merger agreement was approved by the United States Department of Transportation on December 11, 1986. On December 16, 1986, shareholder approval was conferred and Western Airlines became a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta. The Western brand was discontinued and the employee workforces were fully merged on April 1, 1987. All of Western's aircraft were repainted in Delta's livery, including twelve McDonnell Douglas DC-10s.[17] Delta eventually decided to eliminate the DC-10s from its fleet as it already operated Lockheed L-1011 TriStars, a similar type. Delta retained Western's hubs in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City; both remain major gateways and hubs for Delta.

Destinations in 1987

Western DC-10. Like American Airlines "DC-10 LuxuryLiners", Western Airlines marketed its DC-10s "Spaceships" for its widebody comfort, while Eastern Airlines promoted its L-1011 Tristars as "Whisperliners"

This mainline destination list is taken from Western's March 1, 1987, timetable shortly before the merger with Delta Air Lines.[14] The airline's main hub was Salt Lake City International Airport with a smaller hub at Los Angeles International Airport.

Western had a flight between IAD in Washington, D.C., and DCA at one point in 1985.[18] In 1987 the airline had four round trip flights a day between Boston and New York LaGuardia.[14]

Former destinations

Western timetables from the 1940s to the 1980s list service to the following at different times:[3][14]

Revenue passenger miles

Revenue Passenger Miles in Millions (Scheduled Flights Only)
Western Pacific Northern Airlines Inland Air Lines
1951 216 138 41
1955 514 123 (merged into Western in 1952)
1960 1027 116
1965 2040 198
1970 5072 (merged into Western in 1967)
1975 6998
1980 8790
1985 10422

Advertising

Western contributed to popular culture with its 1960s era advertising slogan, "It's the oooooonly way to fly!" Spoken by Wally Bird, an animated bird hitching a ride atop the fuselage of a Western airliner, and voiced by veteran actor Shepard Menken, the phrase soon found its way into animated cartoons by Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera. Another famous advertising campaign by the airline centered on Star Trek icons William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Some of the carrier's last television ads, shortly before the merger with Delta, featured actor/comedian Rodney Dangerfield.

In the 1970s Western called itself "the champagne airline" because champagne was offered free of charge to every passenger over age 21. (Actor Jim Backus uttered the "It's the only way to fly!" phrase while piloting an airplane, somewhat inebriated, in the 1963 film It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.)

Western Airlines was famous for its "Flying W" corporate identity and aircraft livery. Introduced in 1970, the scheme featured a large red "W" that fused into a red cheatline running the length of an all-white fuselage.[19] This new corporate identity was the subject of litigation by Winnebago Industries, which contended the new "Flying W" was too similar to its own stylized "W" logo. In the 1980s Western Airlines slightly modified the scheme by stripping the white fuselage to bare metal, retaining the red "Flying W" (with a dark blue shadow). This color scheme was known as "Bud Lite" due to its resemblance to a popular beer's can design.

Western Airlines was a favorite first class carrier for Hollywood movie stars and frequently featured them in its on board magazine, "Western's World". Marilyn Monroe and many other silver screen actors were frequent flyers and the airline capitalized on it. Western had a famous flyer out of Seattle: Captain "Red" Dodge. Red worked previously as a helicopter test pilot, and got involved with flying for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in his later years when he wasn't flying as captain on the DC-10. The movie Breakout starring Charles Bronson was based on his daring airlift of a CIA operative out of the courtyard of a Mexican prison. The Mexican government tried to extradite Dodge back to face charges. Red became wealthy leasing government storage units with unlimited government business but never again flew to Mexico.

The airline was promoted in the Carpenters promotional video for the track "I Need to Be in Love", released in 1976. The video shows exterior footage of a DC-10 in takeoff and landing shots, as well as seating promotions for Western's FiftyFair seating product, with shots of a cabin setting depicting what looks like business class of the DC-10.

During the 1980s, destination flights aboard Western Airlines were featured as prizes on televised game shows, including The Price Is Right and The $25,000 Pyramid.

Fleet

Boeing 737-200 landing in Salt Lake City

Fleet in 1986

In 1986 Western Airlines' fleet was 78 jets:[20]

Western Airlines Fleet in 1986
Aircraft In Service Orders
Boeing 727-200 46 —
Boeing 737-200 19 40
Boeing 737-300 3 14
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 10 —
Total 78 54
  • Western used a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 starting in 1981 to serve London, England, United Kingdom. The DC-10-30 was the largest plane type ever flown by Western.

Fleet in 1970

In 1970 Western Airlines operated 75 aircraft:[21]

Earlier piston fleet

Western used a variety of piston-powered airliners including Boeing 247Ds, Convair 240s, Douglas DC-3s, DC-4s, DC-6Bs and L-749 Constellations. The Constellations had been operated by Pacific Northern Airlines and served smaller Western Airlines destinations in Alaska such as Cordova, Homer, Kenai, King Salmon, Kodiak and Yakutat from Anchorage or Seattle in the late 1960s.

Accidents and incidents

References

Notes
  1. ^ 131 "Western Airlines". March 30, 1985. World Airline Directory. Flight International. Retrieved on June 17, 2009. "Head Office: PO Box 92005, World Way Postal Center, Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California 90009, USA."
  2. ^ Ed Betts (1997). "Maddux Air Lines 1927–1929". AAHS Journal Table of Contents. 42. American Aviation Historical Society. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "Airline Timetable Images". TimetableImages.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2023.
  4. ^ "California, Central Los Angeles area". Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023.
  5. ^ "California: Pacific Islands". Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Western Air press release photo, May 13, 1934.
  7. ^ "Pacific Northern Airlines". www.timetableimages.com. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  8. ^ "DC-10 Spaceship promotional poster". uppiluften.tumblr.com. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  9. ^ "American Airlines Reported in Talks On Western Merger". The New York Times. October 6, 1969. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  10. ^ Lydon, Christopher (July 11, 1971). "American‐Western Merger Proposal Termed Vital Test for Airline Industry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  11. ^ Graff, Garrett M. (2022). Watergate: A New History (1 ed.). New York: Avid Reader Press. pp. 146-147. ISBN 978-1-9821-3916-2. OCLC 1260107112
  12. ^ Shanahan, Eileen (July 29, 1972). "American‐Western Air Merger Rejected". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  13. ^ Wadley, Carma. "Utahns were quick to embrace aviation and help achieve mastery of the skies." Desert Morning News Thursday, December 4, 2003.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Departed Flights". DepartedFlights.com.
  15. ^ "Western Airlines: How California Ruled The Sky". International Aviation HQ. July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  16. ^ Cole, Robert J. (September 10, 1986). "Delta and Western Airline Merger Agreed To In A $860 Million Deal". The New York Times. Vol. 135, no. 46893.
  17. ^ "Aircraft By Type". www.deltamuseum.org. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  18. ^ "Western Detail Map". airtimes.com.
  19. ^ "Fifty years of firsts". Calgary Herald. (Alberta). (advertisement). January 10, 1976. p. 43.
  20. ^ "World Airline Directory 1986". Flight International. March 29, 1986. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  21. ^ World Airline Directory Flight International. 26 March 1970
  22. ^ Walker, R.W.R. (July 14, 2006). "Canadian Military Aircraft, Serial Numbers, Canadian Armed Forces, CC-137 detailed list". Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  23. ^ a b "Aircraft Accident Report." Department of Commerce.
  24. ^ "Confetti on Lone Peak." Time, June 21, 1937.
  25. ^ "17 Out Of 19 Die in Airliner Crash". The New York Times. Vol. 92, no. 31007. Associated Press. December 16, 1942.
  26. ^ "Plane Lost with 12 Reported A Wreck". The New York Times. Vol. 96, no. 32478. December 26, 1946.
  27. ^ Accident description for Douglas DC-3A, Western Air Lines, NC45395, San Diego at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on May 9, 2012.
  28. ^ "Accident Douglas DC-6B N91303, Monday 20 April 1953". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  29. ^ "Loss of control Accident Convair CV-240-1 N8407H, Friday 26 February 1954". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  30. ^ Hijacking description at the Aviation Safety Network
  31. ^ "Aircraft Accident Report Western Air Lines, Inc. Boeing 720-047B, N3166 Ontario International Airport Ontario, California March 31, 1971" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. June 7, 1972. NTSB-AAR-72-18. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  32. ^ Accident description for Boeing 720-047B N3166 Ontario International Airport, CA at the Aviation Safety Network
  33. ^ "Unlawful Interference Boeing 737-200 , Thursday 25 February 1971". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  34. ^ "Interpol: Kerkow, Catherine Marie". www.interpol.int. Retrieved October 22, 2017. Wanted by the Judicial Authorities of United States
  35. ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (July 27, 1986). "Ex-Black Panther Extradited to U.S." The New York Times. Vol. 135, no. 46848.
  36. ^ Brendan I. Koerner (July 13, 2013). "Brendan I. Koerner: The golden age of skyjacking". National Post. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  37. ^ Accident description for Boeing 727 registration unknown Algiers at the Aviation Safety Network
  38. ^ Accident description for Boeing 737-247 N4527W Casper Airport, WY (CPR) at the Aviation Safety Network
  39. ^ "678 F2d 821 Ferguson v. National Transportation Safety Board." Openjurist, 2012. Retrieved: May 9, 2012.
  40. ^ Accident description for McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 N903WA Mexico City-Juarez International Airport at the Aviation Safety Network
Bibliography
  • Pearcy, Arthur. Douglas Propliners: DC-1 – DC-7. London: Airlife, 1995, p. 14. ISBN 1-85310-261-X.

Further reading

  • Brendan I. Koerner (2013). The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking. Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-0-307-88610-1. - about the Flight 701 hijacking
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