Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Western Airlines shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Western Airlines offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Western Airlines at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Western Airlines? Wrong! If the Western Airlines is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Western Airlines then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Western Airlines? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Western Airlines and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Western Airlines wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Western Airlines then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Western Airlines site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Western Airlines, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Western Airlines, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
This article is about the original 'Western Airlines
. See Western (airline) for information on an unrelated airline started in 2006.
sports a Western Airlines paint scheme.
Western Airlines was a large airline based in
California, with operations throughout the Western United States, and
airline hub at Los Angeles International Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport.
History
Western Air Express
In 1925, the
United States Postal Service began to give airlines contracts to carry air mail all around the country. The company 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, California. In April of
1926, Western's first flight took place with a Douglas M-2 airplane. 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. This was the first regularly scheduled passenger airline service in U.S. History.
Transcontinental & Western Airlines
The company reincorporated in 1928 as Western Air Express Corp. Then, in 1930, purchased Standard Airlines, 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
Trans World Airlines.
General Air Lines
In 1934, Western Air Express broke off from TWA and briefly changed its name to General Air Lines, returning to the name Western Air Express after several months.
Western Airlines
In 1941 Western Air Express changed its name to Western Air Lines, which was later altered to Western Airlines.
After
World War II, Western expanded into a large
regional airline, introducing service on the
Lockheed Constellation,
Douglas DC-6, and Lockheed Electra. It merged in
1967 with Pacific Northern Airlines and in the late 60s pushed for an all-jet fleet, adding
Boeing 707s, Boeing 727 and Boeing 737 to its fleet of
Boeing 720s. In
1973, Western added McDonnell Douglas DC-10s to its fleet, naming them "Spaceships".
Western was headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its major hubs were at LAX and Salt Lake City, Utah. Prior to
airline deregulation, it had smaller hubs in Las Vegas, Nevada and Denver, Colorado.
At its peak in the
1970s and
1980s, Western flew to many cities across the Western United States, and to various destinations in
Mexico (
Mexico City,
Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and Mazatlan),
Alaska (
Anchorage and Fairbanks),
Hawaii (Honolulu,
Maui and Kona), and Canada (
Vancouver, British Columbia,
Calgary, Alberta and Edmonton, Alberta). Western also maintained a large intra-state route structure within its home state of
California as well, competing vigorously with Pacific Southwest Airlines and Air California.
In
1981, Western Airlines began international flights from Anchorage and Denver to
London Gatwick Airport with DC-10 aircraft. As it extended its network to airports on the East Coast like Washington Dulles International Airport,
Newark International Airport and
Boston Logan International Airport, Western Airlines became a prominent sponsor of the
Bob Barker television show
The Price is Right, to try to make customers from the Northeastern United States more aware of its presence.In the late 1970s, Western Airlines and Continental Airlines had merger discussions, but no definitive merger agreement was ever reached.
Delta Air Lines
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. Finally, on September 9, 1986 Western Airlines was purchased by Delta Air Lines, and was fully merged into that airline on April 1,
1987. After the merger, Delta eventually released the name Western Airlines. Delta has maintained Western's former Salt Lake City hub, but has down-sized Western's former hub at LAX.
Incidents and accidents
- On the night of April 20, 1953, Western Air Lines Flight 636, flying the last leg of a Los Angeles-San Francisco-Oakland itinerary, descended below the prescribed minimum altitude of 500 feet and crashed into the waters of San Francisco Bay, killing eight of the 10 persons on board the Douglas DC-6 airliner.
- On October 31, 1979, Western Airlines Flight 2605 crashed while landing at Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City. The crew of the DC-10 had landed on the wrong runway and the jetliner impacted construction vehicles that were on the closed runway.
Advertising
Western can also be noted for contributing to popular culture with its
1960s advertising slogan, "It's the oooooonly way to fly!" Spoken by the
Wally Bird, an animated bird hitching a ride aboard the fuselage of a Western airliner, and voiced by veteran actor
Jim Backus, 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.
During the 1970s, they promoted themselves as "the champagne airline" because champagne was offered free of charge to every adult passenger over 21 years old. (As an aside, Jim Backus uttered this phrase while piloting an airplane somewhat inebriated in the movie "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World".)
Western Airlines was also famous for its "Flying W" corporate identity. Introduced in the mid-1970s, the unique color scheme featured a large red stylized "W" which fused into a red cheatline running the length of an all-white fuselage. 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 its final years, Western Airlines slightly modified its corporate identity by stripping the white fuselage to bare metal, while retaining the red "Flying W" (albeit with a dark blue shadow). This color scheme was also affectionately known as "Bud Lite" due to its resemblance to a popular beer's can design.
Trivia
The Janet Airlines uses the colors of Western Airlines now even though some people say that they are not marked.
External links
- Historical timetables and route maps
- Historical timetable covers
-
-
-
- History of Western Airlines and the planes it operated - archive.org copy of now-defunct page
This article is about the original 'Western Airlines
. See Western (airline) for information on an unrelated airline started in 2006.
sports a Western Airlines paint scheme.
Western Airlines was a large
airline based in California, with operations throughout the
Western United States, and
airline hub at
Los Angeles International Airport and
Salt Lake City International Airport.
History
Western Air Express
In
1925, the
United States Postal Service began to give airlines contracts to carry air mail all around the country. The company 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, California. In April of 1926, Western's first flight took place with a
Douglas M-2 airplane. 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. This was the first regularly scheduled passenger airline service in U.S. History.
Transcontinental & Western Airlines
The company reincorporated in 1928 as Western Air Express Corp. Then, in
1930, purchased Standard Airlines, 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 Trans World Airlines.
General Air Lines
In 1934, Western Air Express broke off from TWA and briefly changed its name to General Air Lines, returning to the name Western Air Express after several months.
Western Airlines
In
1941 Western Air Express changed its name to Western Air Lines, which was later altered to Western Airlines.
After World War II, Western expanded into a large regional airline, introducing service on the Lockheed Constellation,
Douglas DC-6, and Lockheed Electra. It merged in 1967 with
Pacific Northern Airlines and in the late 60s pushed for an all-jet fleet, adding
Boeing 707s, Boeing 727 and
Boeing 737 to its fleet of
Boeing 720s. In 1973, Western added McDonnell Douglas DC-10s to its fleet, naming them "Spaceships".
Western was headquartered in Los Angeles,
California. Its major hubs were at LAX and
Salt Lake City, Utah. Prior to airline deregulation, it had smaller hubs in Las Vegas, Nevada and Denver, Colorado.
At its peak in the
1970s and
1980s, Western flew to many cities across the Western United States, and to various destinations in
Mexico (Mexico City,
Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and
Mazatlan), Alaska (Anchorage and
Fairbanks),
Hawaii (Honolulu,
Maui and Kona), and
Canada (Vancouver, British Columbia,
Calgary, Alberta and Edmonton, Alberta). Western also maintained a large intra-state route structure within its home state of California as well, competing vigorously with Pacific Southwest Airlines and
Air California.
In 1981, Western Airlines began international flights from
Anchorage and Denver to
London Gatwick Airport with DC-10 aircraft. As it extended its network to airports on the East Coast like Washington Dulles International Airport, Newark International Airport and
Boston Logan International Airport, Western Airlines became a prominent sponsor of the
Bob Barker television show
The Price is Right, to try to make customers from the Northeastern United States more aware of its presence.In the late 1970s, Western Airlines and
Continental Airlines had merger discussions, but no definitive merger agreement was ever reached.
Delta Air Lines
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. Finally, on September 9, 1986 Western Airlines was purchased by
Delta Air Lines, and was fully merged into that airline on
April 1, 1987. After the merger, Delta eventually released the name Western Airlines. Delta has maintained Western's former Salt Lake City hub, but has down-sized Western's former hub at LAX.
Incidents and accidents
- On the night of April 20, 1953, Western Air Lines Flight 636, flying the last leg of a Los Angeles-San Francisco-Oakland itinerary, descended below the prescribed minimum altitude of 500 feet and crashed into the waters of San Francisco Bay, killing eight of the 10 persons on board the Douglas DC-6 airliner.
Advertising
Western can also be noted for contributing to popular culture with its 1960s advertising slogan, "It's the oooooonly way to fly!" Spoken by the Wally Bird, an animated bird hitching a ride aboard the fuselage of a Western airliner, and voiced by veteran actor Jim Backus, 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.
During the 1970s, they promoted themselves as "the champagne airline" because champagne was offered free of charge to every adult passenger over 21 years old. (As an aside, Jim Backus uttered this phrase while piloting an airplane somewhat inebriated in the movie "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World".)
Western Airlines was also famous for its "Flying W" corporate identity. Introduced in the mid-1970s, the unique color scheme featured a large red stylized "W" which fused into a red cheatline running the length of an all-white fuselage. 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 its final years, Western Airlines slightly modified its corporate identity by stripping the white fuselage to bare metal, while retaining the red "Flying W" (albeit with a dark blue shadow). This color scheme was also affectionately known as "Bud Lite" due to its resemblance to a popular beer's can design.
Trivia
The Janet Airlines uses the colors of Western Airlines now even though some people say that they are not marked.
External links
- Historical timetables and route maps
- Historical timetable covers
-
-
-
- History of Western Airlines and the planes it operated - archive.org copy of now-defunct page
Western Airlines Alumni Orginization
Western-Delta Cruise Pictures! New ones added 6-2-2008. Information on the Atlanta Airline Collectibles Show October 18, 2008!>> PDF. Western Airlines Flub Stub Jingle Commercial
Western Airlines - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Western Airlines (IATA: WA, ICAO: WAL, and Callsign: Western) was a large airline based in California, with operations throughout the Western United States, and hubs at Los Angeles ...
Pacific Western Airlines - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pacific Western Airlines (IATA: PW, ICAO: PWA, and Callsign: Pacific Western) was an airline that operated throughout western Canada and around the world from the 1950s through the ...
Western Home
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Welcom to South Western Airlines
Welcome to South Western Airlines
About South Western Airlines
South Western Airlines is a quality, low cost, charter airline operating passenger and freight services from Pembrey Airport to destinations throughout ...
Western Airlines
August 1, 1930 . July 1, 1933. August 3, 1934. August 1, 1935 . January 15, 1939 . April 27, 1941 . September 15, 1943 . January 1, 1944 . February 1, 1945 . April 28, 1946
Western Airlines
Western Airlines / USA Uniform 1979 - 1983. The belt for the jacket and the hat are missing!
Western Express Air
GLOBAL JET AIR CHARTER: Requests for Refunds/Credits should be made in writing and sent to: WEA P.O. Box 40 Bullhead City, AZ 86430
Pacific Western Airlines Home Page
This website is created and managed by the former employees of Pacific Western Airlines. The target audience is that membership.
