The Airchive-Western Timetables

		Pacific Northern Before Pacific Northern Airlines was purchased by Western, it flew a 3 B-720’s from it’s base in Seattle to points in Alaska.
		February 1, 1962 Western was America’s oldest airline, founded in 1926 as Western Express with mail flights between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. In the early 60s, Western was a prosperous airline operating up and down the west coast, east to Minneapolis, and South to Mexico City. The fleet consisted of Boeing 707s (originally ordered by Cubana), 720s, DC-6s, and Lockheed Electras.
		March 1, 1966 Special Thanks to: Chris Cummings chris@irisreg.com
		April 24, 1966 In 1966 Western celebrated its 40th Anniversary. The route map added Acapulco as conservative growth continued. The following year on July 1, 1967, Western would gain the B-720s and Alaskan routes of Pacific Northern Airlines.
		January 5, 1968 This is how the route map looked after Western added PNA’s Alaskan routes in 1967. Western introduced the 737-200 into it’s fleet in 1968. The 737 fleet grew to 58 aircraft by the time the airline was sold to Delta.
		October 25, 1969 After many years, Western finally received it’s long sought after Hawaiian flights to Honolulu and Hilo. The flights were flown by 720s and 707s with a rich in-flight service called “The Islander”. Western received the routes at the same time as its arch-rival Continental did. Calgary was added during this period to the network.
		April 30, 1972 In the early 70’s Western’s “Indian-Chief” livery changed to the “Big Red W” or “The Hockey Stick” image. This new look prevailed in it’s basic form for the rest of Western’s life. 2 years later, Miami would be added to the network giving Western it’s first transcon operations.
		September 1, 1974 Western operated interchange flights into Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana via Denver for a short time in the mid 1970s as the competitors contemplated the often on again/off again merger. Within two years, Western would launch its first transcon flights with an LAX-Miami nonstop on the DC-10 "Spaceship". Special Thanks to: Chris Cummings chris@irisreg.com
		April 28, 1981 Western was on the move in the early 80s. In January 1981, it launched non-stop service from London Gatwick to Anchorage, Alaska, flying on to Honolulu. On April 28, 1981 this was joined by a non-stop London to Denver service using the airline’s “DC-10 SpaceShips”. The London service would be removed from the network less than 2 years later. Miami had been added in 1974, DFW and Washington D.C. were added in the early 80’s. By 1981 the proposed merger with Continental was definitely off.
		March 1, 1983 The short-lived London routes lasted less than 18 months. In their place, Western expanded to New York. Special Thanks to: Chris Cummings chris@irisreg.com
		1984 - Employee Ownership insert Special Thanks to: Chris Cummings chris@irisreg.com
		July 1, 1985 Western became one of the early operators of the 2nd generation Boeing 737-300 when it was launched in 1985. In the mid-80’s, Western revised its paint scheme to an American Airlines-esque aluminum finish. The fleet was a streamlined mix of 737s, 727s, and DC-10s.
		1985 - Timetable Inserts for LAX and Volcano Drink Special Thanks to: Chris Cummings chris@irisreg.com
		1985 - February 1, 1987 Special Thanks to: Chris Cummings chris@irisreg.com
		March 1, 1987 One month after this timetable was published, at 61 years of age, Western would be acquired by Delta Airlines. Delta’s strong west coast presence and Salt Lake City merger came from Western. For more information and the merger schedule, see the Delta page. The network had changed considerably in the last few years: The Delta hub had been dismantled in favor of a Salt Lake City Hub. Miami transcon service was discontinued but there had been massive expansion in the Midwest, Texas, and the Northeast. As airline mergers go, this was one of the smoother one’s though not perfect. It was a blending of truly excellent staff’s and operations.
		March 1, 1987 - Western/Delta Merger Announcement Special Thanks to: Chris Cummings chris@irisreg.com
		April 1, 1987 The first merged timetable of Delta and Western.