737-247 N4530W (later PP-BMS) is preserved as a restaurant in Hung Shulin, Taiwan.727-247 N2825W (now N236FE) is preserved as a trainer at USAero Tech Institute, Greenville, SC.727-247 N2824W (now N235FE) is preserved as a trainer at Fort Lauderdale, FL.727-247 N2823W (now N234FE) is preserved as a trainer at Atlantic City, NJ.727-247 N2822W (now N233FE) is preserved as a trainer at Alameda College of Aviation, CA.720-047B N93152 (now AP-AXL) preserved at Lahore Planetarium.720-047B N93151 (now AP-AXM) preserved at Karachi Planetarium, Pakistan.Douglas M-2 NC150 Preserved at National Air & Space Museum, Washington, DC.It operated hubs at the following airports:Īircraft Types Operated by Western Airlinesĭespite its merger with Delta almost 30 years ago, some of Western Airlines’ fleet is still in existence today. Western’s HQ was at Los Angeles LAX Airport in California. Western Airlines Boeing 727 (c) George Hamlin From 1985 the Boeing 737 fleet was supplemented by the new -300 model. Various east coast destinations were also added to the network such as Boston, New York and Washington DC. Initially used on high density and longer distance routes in its network, such as Honolulu, Miami and Nassau, the type was later used to introduce the first transatlantic links to London Gatwick from both Anchorage and Denver Stapleton with the addition of the longer range DC-10-30 model. In 1973 the first McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 widebody airliner arrived. Meanwhile, expansion into popular destinations in Alaska, Canada, Hawaii and Mexico followed. The 727s and 737s allowed expansion into a number of smaller cities in Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. In a push to operate an all-jet fleet, it ordered the Boeing 707-300, 727-200 and 737-200 for delivery from 1968 with the last turboprops being retired in 1972. A year later the first of 29 Boeing 720s to be operated by the airline arrived, flying on key routes between hubs up and down the west coast. Its first jet aircraft arrived in 1960 in the form of two Boeing 707-100s.

In the 1950s Western took delivery of a number of Douglas DC-6 and Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft. Following the war years Western expanded further, reaching as far as Minneapolis.īy Eduard Marmet, via Wikimedia Commons Jet Age Prior to World War II Western had acquired a number of new aircraft types to operate its expanding services, including the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-3. It would change it again, this time to Western Air Lines in 1941 (this was later shortened to Western Airlines). However, it de-merged from the airline in 1934, briefly becoming General Air Lines before reverting to its original name. Western Air Express merged with Transcontinental Air Transport to form Trans World Airlines (TWA) in 1930.

It also offered passenger service on its flights. Its first routes was from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, which it started on 17 April 1926 using a Douglas M-2 mailplane. Western Air Express was founded in 1925 to operate mail routes on behalf of the United States Postal Service, like many airlines of the era. If you have any memories of Western, please leave a comment below! In this article we’ll look back at the history of this US airline, its fleet and the routes it operated. Western Airlines was a US west coast carrier which operated from 1925 until its merger with Delta in 1987.

Douglas m2 mailplane