Pacific Air Lines was a regional airline in the Western United States that began operations in the 1940s under the name Southwest Airways. During its quarter-century of operation the company served as a feeder airline, linking smaller communities in California and Oregon with major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland. Regional airlines are a type of airline service that is intended to feed a larger airline or larger aircraft. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Official language(s) (none)[1] Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Nickname: Location in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Coordinates: , Country United States State Oregon County Multnomah County Incorporated February 8, 1851 Government  - Mayor Tom Potter Area  - City  145. ...

Founded with an influx of money largely from wealthy Hollywood investors, from its earliest days the airline employed operational procedures and safety practices that were innovative for the time. Even so, the company endured two fatal crashes; the cause of the first remains a mystery, and the second occurred when a suicidal passenger took the lives of all 44 on board, likely the first such instance of a deliberate murder/suicide on a U.S. passenger flight. Rebounding from that incident, a need for bigger and faster planes resulted in the ordering of modern turbojet aircraft, but within several years an unconventional ad campaign resulted in discord between stockholders and executives. The controversy subsided after a management shake-up, but the name Pacific Air Lines passed into history in 1968 when it merged with Bonanza Air Lines and West Coast Airlines, forming what was to become Hughes Airwest. ... Turbojets are the simplest and oldest kind of general purpose jet engine. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1968: Events January January 21 - a US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashes in the sea near Thule AFB Greenland, carrying four nuclear weapons. ... Bonanza Air Lines was a local service airline linking smaller communities in Arizona, Southern California and Southern Utah with the hub cities of Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. ... West Coast Airlines was a U.S. local service airline linking smaller communities in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana. ... Hughes Airwest (IATA: RW, ICAO: n/a , and Callsign: Airwest) was an airline that was backed by multi-millionaire Howard Hughes. ...

Southwest Airways (1946-1958)

The origins of the airline began in early 1941, when John Howard Connelly and noted Hollywood agent/producer Leland Hayward formed a business partnership. Neither man was a stranger to aviation; Connelly was a former test pilot, airplane salesman, and inspector for the 1930s-era Civil Aviation Authority. Hayward was an active private pilot and was on the board of directors of Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA). Together, under the name Southwest Airways, the two men founded the Thunderbird I, Thunderbird II, and Falcon cadet flying schools in Arizona, as well as a maintenance depot for overhauling training aircraft, and a wartime air cargo line.^[1] By the end of World War II, Southwest Airways was the largest training contractor in the United States, and trained more than 17,000 pilots from over two dozen countries.^[2] Leland Hayward (September 13, 1902 - March 18, 1971) was a popular, powerful and wealthy Hollywood and Broadway agent and theatrical producer. ... Test pilots are aviators who fly new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated. ... Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... The Twa, also known as Batwa, are a pygmy people who were the oldest recorded inhabitants of the Great Lakes region of central Africa. ... A cadet is a future officer in the military. ... Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

After the war Connelly and Hayward saw the time was right for starting a scheduled service airline, and after raising $2,000,000 (in 1946 dollars) from investors, including Hollywood notables such as Jimmy Stewart and Darryl Zanuck, they were awarded a three-year experimental charter from the Civil Aeronautics Board on May 22, 1946 for their feeder service.^[3] This is a list of aviation-related events from 1946: // Events January January 1 - a British South American Airways Avro Lancastrian becomes the first commercial flight to depart Heathrow Airport January 10 - a Sikorsky R5 sets an unofficial helicopter altitude record of 6,400 m (21,000 ft) at Stratford... Jimmy Stewart, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American film actor beloved for his persona as an average guy who faces adversity and tries to do the right thing, an image which was largely reflected in his own... Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902 - December 22, 1979) was one of the major figures in the Hollywood studio system and the longest survivor of that system. ... Governments have played an important part in shaping air transportation. ... May 22 is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Scheduled passenger service under the name Southwest Airways began on December 2, 1946, using plentiful and affordable war surplus C-47s (the military version of the Douglas DC-3) converted to civilian standards. Early bases of operation were the California cities of San Bernardino, Sacramento and San Francisco,^[4] with feeder flights to other communities in California, and a smaller number of flights to Oregon. December 2 is the 336th day of the year (337th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The Douglas DC-3 is a fixed-wing, propeller-driven aircraft, which revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s and is generally regarded as one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made (also see Boeing 707 and Boeing 747). ... The San Bernardino skyline viewed from Grand Terrace, California San Bernardino is the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. ... Location of Sacramento in California County Sacramento Government  - Mayor Heather Fargo Area  - City  99. ... Nickname: Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: , Country United States of America State California City-County San Francisco Government  - Mayor Gavin Newsom Area  - City  47 sq mi (122 km²)  - Land  46. ...

Connelly, president, and Hayward, board chairman, were the majority owners of the airline, and as such could hold sway on how the company would operate. Running on slim operating margins, Southwest Airways was a "no-frills" airline in its earliest years; quoting from a 1948 issue of Time magazine: Time (whose trademark is capitalized TIME) is a weekly American newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. ...

Southwest knew that keeping a plane on the ground meant less revenue, so they optimized ground operations to the point where it was claimed a DC-3 could discharge passengers, load new ones, and begin taxing to take off again 90 seconds after coming to a stop (adding six more minutes if refueling is required).^[3] In a cost-saving move, the airline had their own pilots do the refueling, instead of paying airport personnel to do it. To reduce the time on the ground, one engine was kept running while a male purser hurried the passengers off the plane. The airline also shaved time off their ground operations by modifying their DC-3s to include an 'airstair', a door that doubled as a staircase for the passengers (photo). The airstair eliminated waiting for a ground crew to roll a wheeled staircase up to the plane. The name given to the built in staircase found in the rear underbelly of a Boeing 727 jet airliner. ...

The airline's innovative spirit extended into the safety realm as well; in December 1947 a Southwest Airways DC-3 flying into the coastal town of Arcata, California made the world's first blind landing on a scheduled commercial airliner using Ground-Controlled Approach (GCA) radar, Instrument Landing System (ILS) devices and Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO) oil-burning units adjacent to the runway.^[3] By the following year the airline had made 1,200 routine instrument landings at the often fog-shrouded Arcata airport. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1947: Events March March 14 - Saudi Arabian Airlines begins regular services. ... Map of California showing the location of Arcata Country United States State California County Humboldt Incorporated Government type Mayor-council  - Mayor  - City manager Time zone PST (UTC-8)  - Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7) ZIP codes Area code(s) 707 Arcata is a city, adjacent to Humboldt Bay, in Humboldt County... In aviation a ground-controlled approach (GCA), is a type of precision instrument approach, used to guide aircraft to a safe landing in adverse weather conditions. ... The Localizer station at Hanover/Langenhagen International Airport in Hanover, Germany. ... Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO) was an extraordinary system used for dispersing fog from an airfield so that aircraft could land safely. ...

Southwest had a fleet of ten planes by 1948, all of them DC-3s, flying between 24 California and Oregon small towns, becoming the second biggest feeder airline in the United States.^[3] For a brief period circa 1950, flights to southern Arizona were included on the company's schedule. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1948: Events January January 17 - BOAC begins to replace flying boat routes with the Lockheed Constellation March the Israeli Air Force is formed, with the new state of Israel March 10 - VF-5 becomes the first US Navy carrier squadron to... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1950: Events Arrow Air is founded March March 20 - Royal Air Force Avro Lincoln bombers are sent to Singapore to be used against the Communist guerillas of Malaya in the Malayan Emergency. ...

The airline flew without any fatal mishaps until the evening of April 6, 1951, when Southwest Airways Flight 7 crashed, killing all 22 aboard. The DC-3 was flying too low and struck a ridge in the Refugio Pass region near Santa Barbara, California. The plane had impacted into an upward slope of the Santa Ynez Mountains at a height of 2,740 feet (835 m), far below the minimum nighttime altitude of 4,000 feet (1219 m) prescribed for the plane's route over that rugged stretch of mountains. An investigation by the Civil Aeronautics Board was unable to determine a reason why the plane's altitude was too low.^[5] April 6 is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1951: Events February February 21 - an English Electric Canberra becomes the first jet to make an unrefuelled crossing of the Atlantic, taking 4 hours 37 minutes March March 6 - the Martin aircraft company gains production rights to the English Electric Canberra... Nickname: Santa Barbara is situated on the southward-facing coast at far right. ... The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America, and are one of the northernmost mountain ranges in Southern California. ...

To handle the post-war increase in passenger travel, the airline's inventory grew in late 1952 to include the piston-engined Martin 2-0-2, which carried more passengers than the DC-3. ^[6] By 1953 the airline decided it could do better by concentrating on California routes, so the flights to Oregon and Arizona were dropped. The airline's literature from that period stated it was serving 33 California locales, and flight timetables published by the company in the mid-1950s boasted that Southwest Airways "serves more California cities than any other scheduled airline."^[7] This is a list of aviation-related events from 1952: // Events January January 5 - Pan Am commences trans-atlantic freight services. ... Components of a typical, four stroke cycle, DOHC piston engine. ... The Martin 2-0-2 was one of the first of the modern airliners. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1953: Events The first year in which the worlds airlines carried more than 50 million people (ICAO statement, 29 December) January January 26 - The first meeting of the Experimental Aircraft Association takes place at Milwaukee, Wisconsins Curtis-Wright Field. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Pacific Air Lines (1958-1968)

To better reflect the territory covered by their flights, the company name was changed to Pacific Air Lines on May 6, 1958. In a move possibly designed to prevent the flying public from confusing the newly-named Pacific Air Lines for a brand-new airline, company timetables published in 1959^[8] asserted that the company was in its "17th year of scheduled service".^[9] Image File history File links Logorw58pacificairlines. ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1958: Events Gulfstream Aerospace founded in Savannah, Georgia, USA. London Gatwick Airport opens after two years of extensive reconstruction. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1959: // Events Unknown The Canadian Golden Hawks aerobatic team is formed. ...

Before the advent of the 1960s, the company had made San Francisco International Airport their hub of operations, and at about this time operations outside of California were resumed, with flights to Nevada added to the schedule. In 1959 the fleet of airplanes was increased with the addition of the pressurized Martin 4-0-4 airliner, and Pacific's first non-piston-engined aircraft, the turboprop-powered Fairchild F-27 (a U.S.-built version of the Fokker F-27 Friendship.) . The slow and unpressurized DC-3s and Martin 2-0-2s were of an earlier generation and were now showing their age, so in 1960 a gradual phase-out of the venerable planes began; the last of them were gone from Pacific's fleet by mid-1964.^[10] The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... FAA diagram of SFO “SFO” redirects here. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1959: // Events Unknown The Canadian Golden Hawks aerobatic team is formed. ... Cabin pressurization is the active pumping of air into the cabin of an aircraft to increase the air pressure within the cabin. ... Martin 4-0-4 (Martin 404, Martin 4. ... A schematic diagram showing the operation of a turboprop engine. ... 1944 Fairchild Argus III Fairchild was an aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York, Hagerstown, Maryland and San Antonio, Texas. ... The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1960: Events January January 1 - Fiji Airways is reconstituted, becoming equally owned by BOAC, QANTAS, and Tasman Empire Airways. ...

A dark day in the airline's history was May 7, 1964, when Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 crashed near San Ramon, California. All 44 aboard the Fairchild F-27 were killed when the aircraft dove into a hillside at nearly a 90 degree angle. Investigators found a gun in the wreckage, and the FBI determined that a suicidal passenger shot both of the pilots, and them himself, causing the plane to dive out of control. The traveling public kept their faith in the airline that served as an important lifeline for many smaller communities, and on September 13, 1965, Pacific Air Lines announced that it would acquire six Boeing jets, leasing two and placing orders for the remainder, to be delivered in early 1968.^[11] May 7 is the 127th day of the year (128th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1964: // Events February February 7 - The Canadian Golden Hawks aerobatic team is disbanded. ... Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 was a Pacific Air Lines Fairchild F-27A airliner that crashed at 6:49 a. ... San Ramon is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1965: Events January January 2 - Denis Healey, the UKs Secretary of Defence cancels the nations fighter and military transport programmes and orders the purchase of the US-built F-4 Phantom and C-130 Hercules in their place. ... The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA, TYO: 7661 ) is an aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ...

In 1967 the airline embarked on a controversial advertisement campaign, including a full-page ad in the New York Times on April 28, 1967, that highlighted the fear of flying, a subject not commonly emphasized by the commercial aviation industry. Philip H. Dougherty, writing in the Business and Finance section of the May 1 edition of The New York Times, described the full-page advertisement as "rather shocking".^[12] Objections to the unorthodox campaign were raised at a May 1967 stockholders meeting, and two Pacific Air Lines executives resigned in the wake of the controversy.^[13] This is a list of aviation-related events from Canadian Golden Centennaires aerobatic team is formed and performs all year to celebrate the Canadian centennial year. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Fear of flying is a fear of air travel. ...

Merger

When the Boeing jet order was optimistically announced by the airline in 1965, it was unforeseen that a change in the business climate was on the horizon, and economic realities would dictate that some of the jets would not actually end up flying under the Pacific Air Lines banner. Stiff competition from large rival Pacific Southwest Airlines was a factor in Pacific Air Lines joining forces with Bonanza Air Lines and West Coast Airlines in a three-way merger, forming Air West in 1968. Air West, later Hughes Airwest, merged into Republic Airlines in 1980. At the time of the Air West merger, Pacific's fleet included 11 of their workhorse Fairchild F-27s, five Martin 4-0-4s, and three turbojet-powered Boeing 727s.^[10] The increasingly-obsolete Martins were not carried forward into the Air West fleet.^[14] PSA logo from the 1980s Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) (IATA: PS, ICAO: PSA, and Callsign: PSA) was an airline headquartered in San Diego, California. ... Hughes Airwest (IATA: RW, ICAO: n/a , and Callsign: Airwest) was an airline that was backed by multi-millionaire Howard Hughes. ... RC timetable, April 1985 Republic Airlines (IATA: RC, ICAO: REP, and Callsign: Republic) was an airline formed on 1 July 1979 by the merger of North Central Airlines and Southern Airways. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1980: Events January January 8 - a Mooney 231 lands in San Francisco, after flying coast to coast non-stop, setting a record by completing the flight in 8 hours and 4 minutes. ... The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine commercial jet airliner. ...

The two co-founders of Southwest Airways died within nine months of each other in 1971. John (Jack) Connelly was 71,^[15] and Leland Hayward was 68.

References and notes

February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... A Cessna 152 with a tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear describes a kind of aircraft undercarriage, or landing gear, arranged in a tricycle fashion. ... September 14 is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year (130th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

External links

• Thunderbird Man, Time, February 8, 1943 - describes the early efforts in financing Southwest Airways
• Small-Town Big-Timer, Time, October 18, 1948 - article about the earliest years of Southwest Airways
• Stars and the Sky, Hollywood and the Makings of Thunderbird - describes the Hollywood connections in the founding of the flight schools run by Southwest Airways
• Period photographs from the Ed Coates collection:
  • Southwest Airways — DC-3, DC-3s, Martin 2-0-2
  • Pacific Air Lines — DC-3, Martin 2-0-2, Martin 4-0-4, Fairchild F-27, Boeing 727
• Photographs of Pacific Air Lines planes - airliners.net
• Gallery of timetable covers for Southwest Airways and Pacific Air Lines - timetableimages.com
• Southwest Airways and Pacific Air Lines timetable covers from the 1940s 1950s 1960s - airtimes.com
• Southwest Airways / Pacific Air Lines aircraft fleet - lists registration numbers, aircraft types, dates of service
• Southwest Airways records - inventory of artifacts stored at the Minnesota Historical Society
• Pacific Air Lines records - inventory of artifacts stored at the Minnesota Historical Society