West Coast Airlines (WCA) began operations in 1946 with a pair of DC-3s from Boeing Field in Seattle. In 1952 West Coast merged with Empire Airlines and in 1955 West Coast became one of the 13 Local Service Carriers granted permanent operating certificates. West Coast operated DC-3s, F-27s, Piper Navajo’s, and DC-9s. In 1968 a 3-way merger between West Coast Airlines, Pacific Air Lines, and Bonanza Airlines created a new carrier, known briefly as Air West, and later as Hughes Air West. Their legacy continued over the next several decades as Hughes Air West was acquired by Republic Airlines, then Northwest Airlines, and later Delta Air Lines. Ironically, Delta Air Lines now operates a growing and thriving hub at SEA, only 7 ½ miles from West Coast’s original headquarters at Boeing Field.
West Coast issued 4 known junior wings. Each of these wings are laminated plastic with a pin on the back. The wings with the WCA logo are from the 1940s and 1950s era. The wings with the newer, stylized logo are from the early to mid-1960s. A rare piece of history from a remarkable airline.
The last article I submitted dealt with the air carriers of Australia through the years. Rather than spin the globe severely, let’s just go , as the locals in Bermuda would say, “Down ‘de road a bit.” Or, in this case, a bit north in the Pacific Ocean. Our destination – New Guinea and Papua New Guinea. Because of the distances involved and the difficult topography, air travel was, and remains, a necessity. Back in the late 1970s I was going through an in-flight magazine of one of these companies. I’m not sure which one it was, but a disconcerting fact was that one of the articles dealt with the discovery f a World War II crash site and the recovery of the remains of the crew. A difficult way to reduce the unease of the passengers.
Air New Zealand NZ ANZ 1940 (as TEAL) 1965-present
Air Niugini PX ANG 1973 – present (Papua New Guinea)
Air Pacific Now Fiji Airways FJ FJI . 1947 -present
Mount Cook Airlines NM NZM 1920 – present
New Zealand National Airways Corporation NZ 1947 – 1978 Merged with ANZ
Tasman Empire Airways Limited T.E.A.L. TE 1940 – 1965 Became Air New Zealand
Just to keep our heads and globes spinning, I decided to jump from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific for this Log article. Once you have all completed your crossing the Equator ceremonies we’ll get started with looking at those lines which operated under a completely set of constellations. (celestial, not Lockheed).
Aeropelican APL PO 1971-1980 (to Ansett)
Ansett Airways AAA AN 1936-2002
Ansett Flying Boat Service 1952-1974
Ansett New South Wales 1990-1993
Compass Airlines YM CYM 1990-1993
East – West Airlines EW EWA 1947-1993
QANTAS QFA 1920-present
McRobertson Miller Airlines MV 1927-1993
Trans Australia Airlines TN TAA 1946-1994 (to QANTAS)
