Before the rise of low-cost airlines, there were eight major airlines in the US, Western Airlines being one of them. At its height, Western regularly traded places for being the largest airline in the US.
However, this did not last. Eventually, Western was bought out by Delta and became one of their many acquisitions. But what was Western Airlines like to fly on? How safe was Western to fly on?
Pre-Formation
Following the Wright Brothers’ first flight in 1903, and the beginning of the mass production of aircraft, saw the beginning of air mail airlines. Many of the oldest airlines in the world started out transporting mail from place to place.
In 1925, the US Government and the United States Postal Service (USPS) began awarding air mail airlines contracts to transport mail between two cities. This created an outlet for many aviators to begin their own airlines.
One of the people who was inspired to start their own airline was Harris Hanshue. As such, he incorporated Western Air Express in 1925, the direct predecessor of what would eventually become Western Airlines.
In April 1926, Western Air Express began operating air mail flights between Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, using Douglas M-2 aircraft. By May 1926, Western Air Express also began using their M-2s for passenger flights.
By 1930, Western Air Express had gotten so big that it had began buying other airlines. In 1930, Western Air Express bought Standard Air Lines, a similarly sized air mail and passenger airline.
In the mid-1930’s, Western Air Express took possession of a fleet of Boeing 247s. This began the process of Western Air Express expanding their operations, including adding more flights per day and more routes in total.
Formation of Western Airlines
Despite operating flights that both carried people and mail, the airline was still legally incorporated (and marketed) as Western Air Express. In 1937, Western merged with National Parks Airways, which expanded many of its existing routes.
Due in part to the merger, as well as the name falling out of fashion, Western Air Express decided to change its name. In 1941, Western Air Express officially became Western Airlines.
1941 also saw Western extend their routes beyond the US and into Canada. This route was between Salt Lake City and Lethbridge, Alberta, marking one of the first major international routes of a major US airline.
Under Hanshue’s leadership, Western acquired Inland Air Lines in 1944, using it as a subsidiary airline until fully integrating it with Western in 1952. Despite being in the middle of WWII, Western was also able to expand rapidly.
Over the course of the early 1940’s, Western acquired new routes to places such as San Francisco, San Diego and Denver. In 1947, Western acquired routes to Minneapolis to compliment their other routes.
The post-WWII climate caused financial issues for Western, which forced them to sell a newly acquired route (Los Angeles to Denver via Las Vegas) in 1947, as well as several order places for the newly released Douglas DC-6.
1950’s
At the start of the 1950’s, things seemed to be looking good for Western. They’d sold one route, as well as some DC-6s, which had hurt their pride, however, they were more financially healthy than ever before.
Western began to take possession of the few DC-6s they still had orders for, allowing Western to retire some of their original aircraft that were becoming too small and too expensive to reasonably operate.
Due to its newfound financial health, Western was able to expand its routes as well. By 1950, Western had covered most of the Western United States, as well as much of the north by 1953, even resuming flights from Denver in 1956.
However, the late 1950’s yielded some issues for Western. In 1947, Western had appointed a new president in the form of Terrell “Terry” Drinkwater (father of the famed CBS correspondent of the same name).
By the late 1950’s, he’d seen much success, even receiving phone calls from the newly-elected President, Dwight D. Eisenhower. One of these phone calls had a devastating impact on Western for years to come.
Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted all US airlines to operate an all-US made fleet of aircraft, rather than buying from Europe. When he told Terry Drinkwater this, he responded with the now infamous phrase:
Mr. President, you run your country and let me run my airline!
This exchange upset President Eisenhower and resulted in the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) not awarding Western new routes throughout the remainder of his presidency. This is despite Western operating an all-US made fleet when their competitors did not.
The Golden Age of Aviation
After Eisenhower’s departure from the White House in 1961, the Golden Age of Aviation properly began. This was good news for Western, because despite the setbacks, were still one of the largest US airlines.
Following the example of Morris Air and other airlines, Western began to offer seasonal destinations, mostly in the summer to places such as West Yellowstone, Montana.
The 1960’s saw Western become an all-jet airline, which allowed Western to stay one step ahead of the competition, whilst retiring or selling off most of their L-188s and Boeing 247s.
1967 proved to be a good year for Western in particular. In 1967, Western acquired Pacific Northern Airlines, which allowed Western to expand more into Canada, including into Anchorage (flying over Canada) and to Vancouver.
1978 also proved to be somewhat of a good year for Western. In 1978, Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act, which allowed airlines to choose their own routes and set their own pricing.
In one way, it allowed Western to consolidate itself using its two main hubs of Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. However, this also came with the problem of closing down many of Western’s smaller hub airports.
The Problem
During the late 1970’s, Western were one of the biggest airlines in the Western United States. This began to threaten many of the larger airlines in the East- one day, Western may expand beyond the West, and to their territory.
The result was several airlines wanted to buy the airline outright, or at least buy a controlling stake in it. The main airline that was interested was Continental.
In fact, this merger was so important to Continental that Robert Six, the founder of Continental Airlines, personally oversaw the merger. At one point, it looked highly that Continental and Western would combine forces.
Everything for the merger was set, minus the name and branding. When Six and Drinkwater came to deciding on the name, there were two options: Continental-Western or Western-Continental.
Neither side would agree on a name. As such, Six decided that to settle it, they’d do a coin toss- tails, it would be Continental-Western, heads, it would be Western-Continental. Heads won. So annoyed, Six decided to call off the entire merger.
The rise of low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines also hurt Western’s bottom line. Southwest in particular was able to fly several routes that Western operated, for a much cheaper price (and arguably better service).
The Sale
After the failed Western-Continental merger, Western and Continental continued to compete with one another. Other major airlines continued to contemplate a merger or an acquisition of Western Airlines.
Only months after the failure of the Western-Continental merger, low-cost carrier Air Florida began trying to buy out Western Airlines completely. However, they only managed to buy 16% of the airline.
In September 1986, Delta Air Lines and Western Airlines announced that they’d entered into an agreement to begin planning a merger. At the time, the idea of a Western-Delta merger was highly talked about in the aviation community.
On December 11 1986, the Department of Transportation approved the merger. On December 16 1986, Western Airlines called a shareholder meeting to discuss the merger, and put it to a vote, with the resulting being yes for the merger.
Western Airlines officially ceased to be, and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta. By April 1987, the Western brand was ceased entirely and the former-Western employees became Delta employees.
For a brief period, former-Western aircraft were painted in a half-Western, half-Delta livery, bearing the Western name. After a while, all former-Western aircraft bared a Delta livery and interior, including their famous DC-10s.
What Was it Like to Fly on Western Airlines?
For the most part, Western Airlines was just like any other airline. It wasn’t designed to be super-luxurious like Trump Shuttle was, or super cheap like their rival Southwest.
An integral part of their marketing pre-merger was their DC-10-10s. Following the example of American Airlines, Western gave their DC-10s a nickname. Where American chose “LuxuryLiners”, Western chose “Spaceships”.
I was able to interview a man who had flown on several Western Airlines aircraft, including the DC-10-10, as well as their 727, 720, 707 and L-188. According to him, Western was:
Western Airlines was a good airline. For those who lived through, and remember, the Golden Age of Aviation, Western is often the airline they think of. It’s truly iconic in many ways.
Looking back on it now, the amenities you get now on other airlines are much better. However, this was the 1970’s and 1980’s I’m talking about.
How Safe Was Western Airlines?
When it comes to the reasons why many airlines fail, it is often due to safety. As a legacy carrier, Western prided itself on having the safest aircraft in its fleet and rarely, if ever, having crashes.
Indeed, in its 62 year history, Western Airlines only had 12 accidents resulted in 127 fatalities, as well as roughly 63 serious injuries, which made Western one of the safest airlines of its day.
With that being said, however, Western has had its fair share of dangerous aircraft, including the DC-6 and 737-200. However, when these aircraft were in service with Western, these aircraft were safer than others on the market.
Legacy
Western Airlines impacted both the airline industry and Delta in many different way
Delta
After Delta merged with Western in April 1987, all of Western’s fleet and aircrews became Delta ones. Although, there was a brief period where Western aircraft flew under their own livery.
Some of the now-former Western aircraft were used to fill routes that Song Airlines 757s were taken off. The last of the former Western aircraft were retired from Delta service in 2006, after more than 40 years in service.
Today, many high ranking Delta captains and aircrew began their career with Western Airlines before the merger. Many of Delta’s most profitable routes came when Delta and Western merged, too!
Airline Industry
As said before, many Western aircraft became Delta ones. Many of these former-Western/Delta aircraft were sold after their service with Delta, some of which are still in service today.
Delta’s merger with Western also reduced the number of major US airlines, and increased Delta’s market share. At the time, this wasn’t too much of an issue, However, has set a precedent that has resulted in the Big Four US airlines.
Some former Western executives, pilots and aircrew have since left Delta. Many of these people have still worked in the airline industry, just for different airlines, both in the US, and abroad, making those airlines more efficient.
Did you ever fly on Western Airlines? What were your thoughts on it? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Eduard Marmet via Flickr.