Western Air Lines
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| Founded | July 1925 | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | April 17, 1926 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | April 1, 1987 (merged with Delta Air Lines) |
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| Fleet size | 78 | ||||||
| Destinations | 56 | ||||||
| Company slogan | The Only Way to Fly | ||||||
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States | ||||||
| Key people | Harris Hanshue (Founder) | ||||||
Western Airlines (IATA: WA, ICAO: WAL, Call sign: Western) was a large airline based in California, with operations throughout the western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington D.C. and Miami on the U.S. east coast and also into Mexico. The airline also served other international destinations such as London, England and Nassau, Bahamas during its existence. 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 it was headquartered at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The company's slogan for many years was "Western Airlines....The Only Way To Fly!"
In 1925, the United States Postal Service began to give airlines contracts to carry air mail 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. 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.
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