Set up by Nicholas Leach at Sydney in the winter of 1995 to offer regularly scheduled services over routes to Brisbane and Melbourne. Two Boeing 737-291s are leased early in 1996 to begin operations; however, one is chartered to Air Philippines (2) in June.
The company is shut down in 1997.
PACIFIC WESTERN AIRLINES, LTD. (PWA): Canada (19531987). Having acquired five other independent operators in the previous four years, Central British Columbia Airways, Ltd. (CBCA), owned by Russell Baker and Karl Springer and based at Richmond, British Columbia, changes its name and corporate identity to Pacific Western Airlines, Ltd. on May 15, 1953.
The inaugural fleet comprises 1 Douglas DC-3, 4 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beavers, 2 Consolidated PBY-5A Cansos, 4 Noorduyn Norsemen Vs, 1 Grumman G-44 Widgeon, 2 Fairchild 71s, 1 Beech 18, and 1 Beech 17 Staggerwing. A second DC-3 is acquired in June. Competition is begun with Queen Charlotte Airlines, Ltd. (QCA) over certain routes out of Vancouver and along the British Columbia coast, particularly to Kitimat.
A stiff rivalry with QCA continues in 1954. Three Beavers and three Grumman G-73 Mallards are added to the fleet. The latter are placed into service on the route from Vancouver to Kitimat. Late in the year, the assets and routes of Edmonton-based Associated Airways, Ltd. are purchased and amalgamated. Especially important are the purchased carrier’s DEW Line transport contracts.
The fleet in 1955 comprises 85 aircraft, primarily Noorduyn Norsemen, Douglas DC-3s, and DHC-2s. During February and March, three Curtiss C-46A freighters are acquired to maintain the far north defense-related services.
A former Associated Airways Avro 685 York C.1 is lost at Yellowknife after failing takeoff on April 11; there are no fatalities. A second ex-Associated Avro 685 York C.1 freighter with two crew is lost near Edmonton on May 26; there are no survivors.
Between May and August, seven Avro Anson Vs are purchased.
Meanwhile in July, the assets and routes of the competing Queen Charlotte Airlines, Ltd. (QCA) are purchased, vastly enlarging PWA. One of the three G-73 Mallards is lost in a crash on August 3. A Bristol 170 Mk. 31 with two crew and four passengers is lost 22 km. N of Thorhild on September 17 (two dead). Another Avro 685 York C.1 freighter with two crew is lost at Thoa River on September 29 (one dead).
A Fairchild 71 floatplane is lost in a takeoff accident at Ocean Falls, British Columbia, on November 13.
Upon the final absorption of QCA in 1956, two Avro York 685 freighters, a DC-4, and four DC-3s join the fleet. Two DHC-3 Otters are acquired, one each in January and June, along with two Barkley Grows. Two Bell Model 47Gs are purchased in February. The last PBY-5A Canso joins the fleet in April, along with two Bellanca 31-55Bs, a Stinson 108-2, a Cessna 120, and a Fleet 80. Another float-equipped Fairchild 71 is lost when landing at Kitimat on August 8. Three Avro Anson Vs also arrive during August.
An Avro 685 York C.1 is lost at Cape Perry on September 13; no other details are known. In October, two Beech 17s are withdrawn. Gross revenues have increased ten-fold since 1953.
A DC-3 with 18 aboard is destroyed in a crash near Port Hardy, British Columbia, on June 23, 1957 (14 dead); the disaster is caused by an employee’s failure to remove the ground control block from the aircraft’s rudder. A Stranraer flying boat with four aboard fails its takeoff from a lake in British Columbia on October 2 and crashes; there are no survivors. Two DC-4s purchased during the summer are placed into service in October, the same month the lone Grumman G-44 Widgeon is sold.
In November, the Canadian Pacific Air Lines (CPAL) Prairie Service route is taken over from Edmonton-Moose Jaw and Regina. Cofounder Russell Baker dies in 1958. His legacy will be remembered by John Condit in his Wings over the West: Russ Baker and the Rise of Pacific Western Airlines (Vancouver: Harbour Publishing Co., Ltd., 1984).
Baker’s carrier now employs 600 people and with 22 machines, possesses the largest DHC-2 fleet in the world. One of these is lost in an August 29 crash in the Northwest Territories (four dead). Five Bell Model 47G helicopters are acquired in April and the carrier’s Beech 18A is sold in September.
As part of a major upcoming route realignment, several of the airline’s Vancouver Island services and its two Grumman G-73 Mallards are turned over on May 26, 1959 to B. C. Airlines, Ltd. In July, another DC-4 enters service. Early in the same month, CPAL’s Mackenzie Service multistop route from Edmondton to Yellowknife and 18 points further north along the Mackenzie River are assumed, along with two DHC-3s and four C-46Cs that the larger carrier had dedicated to it. The transaction, which also includes CPAL’s stocks of supplies and base facilities, is completed for C$1 million.
These markets are received in exchange for limited rights to make return flights between Montreal and Vancouver. Pacific Western begins Edmonton to Uranium City, Yellowknife, Inuvik flights on July 13, with full transfer of the 3,750-mile route up to Aklavik completed on July 30. During the year, two Anson Vs, the two Bellanca 31-55Bs, the Junkers W-34F, two Norseman Vs, the Fleet 80, the Stinson 108-2, and the Cessna 120 are sold.
Orders are placed for three DC-6Bs in 1960. Making a single-engine landing at Port Hardy on January 29, a C-46C with 3 crew and 48 passengers overshoots the runway and ends up in a swamp, damaged beyond repair; there are no fatalities. The two York 685s are withdrawn and sold in April. Helicopter operations end in the spring and all seven Bell Model 47Gs are sold in May to Pacific Helicopters, Ltd.
On August 15, a DHC-2 with four aboard crashes near Lorna Lake, British Columbia; there are no survivors. Two PBY-5A Cansos are sold, also in August, and other aircraft withdrawn during the year include a Junkers H-34F, two Norseman Vs, three Norseman IVs, two Cessna 180s.
In 1961, two DC-7s are requested and an Anson V is withdrawn in March. In April, the number of Grumman G-21 Goose aircraft is two, and the same month, a DC-4 is sold. On May 24, a DC-3 is written off after crashing at Snowdrift, Northwest Territories. It is replaced by another DC-3, which enters service in April 1962. Meanwhile, in March, three Anson Vs are sold. The first DC-6B, purchased from the American carrier Northwest Airlines on June 8, arrives in August and enters operations over the longer segments. Livery and color schemes on company aircraft are now changed.
The Edmonton-Calgary route is suspended in 1963. Three more DC-6Bs arrive and two C-46s are sold. No-reservation DC-4 Chieftain Airbus (shuttle) service is then inaugurated Calgary-Edmonton. A C$114,534 net profit is recorded for the year.
The first Canadian inclusive-tour charter service from Vancouver to Grand Cayman Island or Great Britain is begun by the DC-6Bs early in 1964, but handed over to the two DC-7s upon their arrival in February and May. Sixty-four round trips are made during the year to the U. K. alone.
Passenger boardings on the Calgary-Edmonton shuttle total 50,000 out of a systemwide enplanement total of 204,711. Revenues jump 41% to C$8.8 million and the net profit is C$331,324.
Airline employment in 1965 stands at 520. The mixed fleet comprises
49 aircraft of 15 types: 14 DHC-2s, 2 DC-7s, 2 Beech 18Ss, 4 Cessnas, 5 DC-3s, 2 DC-4s, 6 DC-6Bs, 2 Grumman G-21s, 6 DHC-3s, 1 Piper PA-23 Aztec, and 3 Sikorsky Model 47 helicopters. Two DC-7Cs join the fleet in February, replacing the two earlier DC-7s; they are followed by two DC-6s in March and May, respectively.
All overhaul activities are now centered in Vancouver and frequencies on the Chieftain Airbus shuttle service are increased, bringing in 49% greater revenues. Late in the year, the northern division’s small aircraft operations are transferred to Northward Aviation, Ltd.
Passenger boardings jump 27% to 280,426, of which 230,396 are carried on scheduled (not charter) services. Revenues of C$11.53 million are earned and the net profit nearly doubles, up to C$601,202.
Airline employment in 1966 stands at 575. Orders are placed for a Boeing 707-138B, a B-737-265, three Lockheed L-382Bs (commercial Hercules) freighters, and four Convair CV-640s. A Beech C-18S and four DHC-3 Otters are sold in January, followed by a fifth in September.
Most of the Mackenzie River routes and charter operations in the Northwest Territories are sold to Northward Aviation, Ltd. The carrier now divides its operations into two divisions: a lightplane unit based at Edmonton that flies to frontier areas, and the main element based at Vancouver that conducts operations with such heavy aircraft as DC-6Bs.
With delivery in late winter 1967 of the L-382B, Pacific Western becomes the world’s first operator of the commercial Hercules. Initially added to support the search for northern energy resources, the aircraft, following the spring ice breakup, join the main cargo fleet in worldwide charter operations. During their first year, the L-382Bs will fly to over
50 countries.
The four CV-640s are also received and placed in service on scheduled routes. Two C-46s are sold in May followed by a third in late fall. In September, a Grumman Goose is sold. The B-707-138B is delivered on November 13 and is employed to launch new inclusive-tour flights to Mexico and Hawaii.
The arrival of new aircraft in the previous year allows the sale, early in 1968, of three DC-3s, two DC-6Bs, and a DC-7C. Orders are placed for a B-737-275 and a B-737-275C. CPAL routes from Edmonton to Port Hardy via Prince George and Sandspit are taken over in late spring.
During the summer, the B-707-138B begins flying to additional European charter destinations. The last four Grumman G-21s are sold in August. The B-737-275 ordered in 1966 is delivered on November 26 and is the first of its type received by any Canadian carrier. It is employed to inaugurate Calgary-Vancouver Stampeder Service on December 17. Two DC-3s and the last Otter are withdrawn during the year.
Airline employment is 1,050 in 1969. Two more DC-6Bs are acquired in February and the last PBY-5A Canso is sold in March. Another DC-3 is sold in April, followed by the sale of a Beech D-18S in May. The first L-382B Hercules freighter is destroyed as the result of a bad landing at Caycaya, Peru, on July 16; there are no fatalities. It is later replaced.
Also in July, a second B-707-138B joins the fleet. Another transfer of license from CP Air, Ltd. (formerly CPAL) allows Pacific Western to begin flying routes throughout interior British Columbia.
While on initial approach to Campbell River airport on September 17, Flight 627, a CV-640 with 4 crew and 11 passengers, strikes a 932-ft. hill and crashes at Elk Island Park (4 dead).
A fifth DC-4 is purchased in December. The Calgary-Edmonton Chieftain Airbus shuttle service now averages some 250,000 enplane-ments per year; overall, passenger boardings total 560,434.
The employee population is increased a whopping 65% in 1970 to 3,010. The fleet now numbers 23 aircraft: 2 B-707-138Bs, 2 DC-3s, 3 DC-4s, 3 DC-6Bs, 3 Hercules, 4 B-737-275/275Cs, and 4 CV-640s.
Vancouver-Seattle via Victoria B-737-265 scheduled frequencies are opened in the spring.
One of the DC-6Bs purchased the previous year is withdrawn in September and in the fall, B. C. Airlines, Ltd., together with its two Grum-man Mallards and four Nord 262s, is purchased and merged, allowing greater expansion of British Columbia interior and coastal services.
Passenger bookings jump 37% to 889,577 and freight traffic balloons by 58%.
An order is placed in 1971 for a B-727-171C. The British Columbia coastal routes and two Mallards are sold to West Coast Air Services, Ltd. Charter flights are increased, with San Diego a new destination. Orderly retirement of larger elements in the piston-engine fleet continues with the sale of two DC-6s in January and a DC-6B in November, the same month the final CV-640 is received. Simultaneously, two Lockheed L-188As, first operated by Western Airlines, are acquired under 19-month leases, for both scheduled and charter flights.
Enplanements accelerate to 1,094,154, passing the landmark boarding mark of a million passengers in a single year for the first time.
The four Nord 262s are withdrawn and sold in 1972, along with the last three DC-4s and the final DC-6B. The fleet is enhanced by the addition of a B-707-321C, a B-727-92C, and two B-737-275s. Two Lockheed L-188As, previously flown by National Airlines (1), are leased to operate charters between Calgary and the Beaufort Sea. They will be employed only until new B-737 orders can be filled. A DC-3 is sold in March.
On September 14, an L-188A makes a successful wheels-up emergency landing at CAB Namao, north of Edmonton. Three DC-4s are sold between November and December.
Passenger and cargo charters proliferate. Passenger boardings rise 13.3% to 1,262,000 and freight soars by 41%. Consolidated revenues of C$57.5 million set a new income record.
On final approach to Edmonton Airport in heavy snow on January 2, 1973, the B-707-321C with a five-man crew lands short of the runway near Niskuand and is destroyed; there are no survivors and the 75 head of cattle aboard are also killed.
A B-707-351C replacement is purchased from Northwest Airlines on March 2 and yet another B-737-275 joins the fleet as orders are placed for three more of the latter type. A fourth Hercules is also received and the last DC-3 sold. The carrier now becomes the first Canadian regional to fully computerize its reservations system while, at the same time, introducing a new logo and aircraft livery.
A total of 45 connections in the northwestern and western sections of the nation are served as application is made for additional routes. Meanwhile, newly formed Northern Thunderbird Air, Ltd. begins to feed Pacific Western with scheduled commuter services to and from the British Columbia cities of Kamloopa, Kelowna, Penticton, Prince George, Quesnel, and William Lake. A L-382B Hercules freighter makes the first Canadian all-cargo flight into Communist China.
Bookings this year grow to 1,671,000.
The employee population in 1974 is 2,249. In order to assure the development of air transport in northern and western Canada and maintain the financial stability of the nation’s largest regional carrier, the Conservative government of Alberta Premier Peter Loughead acquires 99.8% interest in Pacific Western in August, paying C$36 million. Rhys Eyton is appointed president/CEO; he is the first Pacific Western president not to hold a pilot’s license. Meanwhile, a B-727-171C is added to the fleet.
Passenger boardings jump 15% to 1,966,198 while cargo climbs 13%.
The workforce is reduced by 45 employees in 1975. The changeover to new livery begun in 1973 is completed. Four additional B-737-275s are placed in service, allowing the return of two L-188As and two CV-640s.
In accordance with terms of a new U. S.-Canada bilateral air treaty, direct scheduled service is inaugurated from Vancouver to Seattle on a route acquired from Air Canada, Ltd.
Passenger bookings rise 9.8% to 2,148,680 and cargo advances 14.6%. Despite a 22% increase in operating expenses, a C$1.36-million profit is recorded.
The carrier begins 1976 as the nation’s third largest airline after Air Canada, Ltd. and CP Air, Ltd., a position it will hold until December 1986. The last two L-188As are returned to their lessor in April. A B-727-171C begins Vancouver-Niagara Falls charter flights while scheduled service is opened from Vancouver-Edmondton via Kamloops. The 1974 government of Alberta buyout is challenged in court.
In September, company headquarters are transferred to Calgary from Vancouver; not wishing to leave British Columbia, President Donald Watson resigns. The nation’s second cargo flight into Communist China is accomplished to Shanghai by a B-707F in October.
While on an overseas deployment, an L-382B with five crew and one passenger strikes a tree and crash-lands, stopping against a giant termite mound near Kisangani, Zaire, on November 23; there are no survivors.
Passenger boardings grow only 1.9% to 2,191,000 and cargo drops 39.4%.
An L-382B is acquired in 1977 to replace the one lost in 1976. Early in the year, the Canadian Supreme Court approves the carrier’s 1974 purchase by the provincial government of Alberta. The B-727-92C purchased in 1972 is sold to Continental Airlines in July.
Bookings advance during the 12 months to 2,526,810 and a net profit of C$14.8 million is reported.
Airline employment stands at 3,156 in 1978.
While landing at Cranbrook, British Columbia, in a snowstorm on February 11, a B-737-275 with 5 crew and 44 passengers attempts to swerve to miss a snowplow on the runway, but crashes to the left and catches fire (42 dead).
On April 30, 72% (later 96.5%) controlling interest is taken in Winnipeg-based Transair, Ltd., which is allowed to operate as a separate entity as the merger process goes forward. Meanwhile, Pacific Western begins to withdraw from long-haul charters, selling its B-707-138B and leasing an L-382B to Alaska International Airlines.
Orders are placed for four B-767-275s and a B-737-275 as two B-737-2A9Cs join the fleet and the last three CV-640s are withdrawn.
Passenger boardings rise 7% to 2,727,274 and cargo climbs 15.5%. Revenues advance 36% to C$153.5 million, while expenses grow 38.3% to C$134.8 million. The profit is up a huge 160.2% to C$7.3 million.
In February 1979, an agreement is worked out with the Canadian Transport Commission whereby the Transair, Ltd. subsidiary ceases all scheduled operations east of Winnipeg and inaugurates service from Winnipeg to Calgary and Edmonton via Regina and Saskatoon. The B-707-351C is sold in May.
An ITC (Inclusive Tariff Charters) base is established at Toronto in October, the same month nonstop Vancouver-Prince George service is launched. On December 1, all Transair, Ltd. operating licenses and routes are transferred to Pacific Western and the subsidiary is fully integrated. All that remains is amalgamation of certain personnel and aircraft.
Passenger bookings for the Calgary-based regional jump 17.2% to 3,642,000 while freight rises 5.6%. Revenues accelerate 17.2% to
C$241.5 million, expenses climb 17.5% to C$255.1 million, and a record C$15.2-million profit is recorded.
The Boeing 707-351C is sold in late winter 1980. The Transair merger is at last officially completed on March 15, at which time a new Pacific Western corporate identification program is introduced that features such revisions as redesigned aircraft exterior paint schemes, new aircraft interiors, changes in uniforms, and facilities design.
In May, a B-737-275 is sold and during the summer, nonstop service is inaugurated from Edmonton to Vancouver, Calgary to Vancouver, and Edmonton to Whitehorse.
Passenger enplanements advance 21.8% to 4 million and freight skyrockets by 62.6%. Revenues are up 19.8% to C $202.4 million and expenses rise 18.2% to C$186.3 million. Profits are C$19 million (operating) and C$10.2 million (net).
A Hercules freighter is sold to Northwest Territorial Airways,
Ltd./NWT Air in January 1981. Victoria-Kelowna nonstop flights commence along with nonstop frequencies from Vancouver to Alberta and Toronto. In competition with CP Air, Ltd. and Air Canada, Ltd., the carrier initiates nonstop services from Vancouver-Edmonton, Vancouver-Calgary, and Vancouver-Toronto via Calgary and Brandon.
Passenger boardings rise 3.8% to 4,173,000 and cargo moves ahead a slight 0.6%. Revenues jump 29% to C$266 million and expenses are up 28.4% to C$244 million. Operating profit accelerates 37.5% to C$22.47 million while net profit soars 46.5% to C$15.2 million.
The employee population in 1982 totals 3,791. The fleet now comprises 1 B-727-171C, 2 L-382Bs, 17 B-737-275s, and 5 B-737-275Cs.
Much of the carrier’s attention for the year is focused on preparations for receipt of the B-767-275s ordered in 1978. Four B-737-275s are sold to Pan American World Airways (1) and one to America West Airlines. Flights to Uranium City in Saskatchewan are halted in November.
Passenger and freight traffic fall 16% (to 3,483,767) and 14.3%, respectively. The year’s operating profit is C$19.7 million and the net falls significantly, down to C$4.9 million.
The workforce is reduced 1.5% in 1983 to 2,999. The first B-767-275 is delivered in February and is placed in revenue service on March 17 on weekday return flights from Vancouver-Winnipeg via Calgary and Regina. The second arrives in March and is employed to begin Vancouver-Saskatoon via Edmonton weekday return services. On weekends, the two new planes fly charters. An interline agreement is signed with Wardair Canada, Ltd. allowing PWA passengers to connect with Wardair charters at any PWA gateway city.
Two more B-737-275s are transferred to America West Airlines. In December, the Alberta government of Premier Loughead sells 85% of the company to the public through subscription. To prevent a takeover by eastern Canadian or other interests, the terms of the sale stipulate that no individual or group can own more than 4% of the stock. The carrier’s administration is still controlled by CEO Eyton via the newly created Pacific Western Corporation, Ltd. Also in December, another Hercules freighter is sold to Northwest Territorial Airways, Ltd./NWT Air.
As the effects of the worldwide recession continue to impact on scheduled and charter traffic, passenger boardings dip 3.9% to 3,353,000 and cargo falls 19%. Overall revenues increase 2.5% to C$255.8 million and expenses, which had gotten out of hand in 1982, are up only 2.3%. The operating profit climbs to C$21.3 million and the net profit is up significantly, to C$8.4 million.
Airline employment is cut another 6.8% in 1984 to 2,794. Another B-767-275 and a B-737-275 are placed in service and a 40% interest is taken in the Lethbridge, Alberta-based commuter Time Air, Ltd.
An uncontained engine failure is experienced by a B-737-275 with 5 crew and 113 passengers during its takeoff roll from Calgary on March 22; although the departure is aborted, debris punctures a fuel tank, causing fire. All aboard are safely evacuated onto the runway, but the Boeing is burned out.
The flight operations of Dome Petroleum, Ltd. are taken over in June, along with a B-737-2T2C and two months later, the last B-727-171C is sold to Echo Bay Mines, Ltd.
Passenger bookings fall again, down 4.5% to 2,545,000 and freight is off another 9.7%. Revenues accelerate a slight 2.5% to C$247.4 million, but expenses are up 4.4%, leaving an operating profit of C$18.7 million and a net profit of C$5.39 million.
The workforce is increased 8.9% in 1985 to 2,250. In February, scheduled service is inaugurated to Thunder Bay from Brandon and nonstop flights commence from Calgary to Winnipeg and Saskatchewan to Toronto. In April, nonstop service is initiated from Winnipeg to Toronto and Calgary and from Edmonton to Vancouver. Also in April, the carrier becomes the only major airline in Canada to standardize on the B-737, another of which is received new in May together with two leased from America West Airlines.
Toronto-Vancouver service is inaugurated in May via Thunder Bay, Brandon, Calgary, and Kelowna and also in May the two B-767-275s are sold. The last L-382B is sold to Northwest Territorial Air, Ltd. in June. “Air Canada Connector” service is opened as a joint marketing program with Air Canada, Ltd. and Time Air, Ltd. in the fall. Three major unions strike on November 20, but scheduled and charter operations are maintained, despite much bitterness.
Passenger boardings climb 4.5% to 1,567,000, and freight soars 23.9%. Revenues grow 9.9% to C$341.1 million, and expenses increase 8.3% to C$216 million. Profits are C$4.76 million (operating) and C$10.3 million (net).
The strikes end on March 31,1986 with new contracts signed and the workforce increased to 2,700. Scheduled service is inaugurated from Winnipeg to Ottawa on June 16, as the Canadian capital city finally joins the route network. With an effective opening date of September 15, the commuter airline network “Pacific Western Spirit” is established on July 14. Thompson, Manitoba-based Cal Air International, Ltd. and Time Air, Ltd. join the new “Pacific Western Spirit” commuter system on July 15-16.
A major financial arrangement is concluded on August 5. Five B-737-275s are sold to Citibank of New York for C$70 million and another 11 to a British syndicate led by Midland Bank for C$185 million. The aircraft are to be turned over to Shannon, Ireland-based GPA Group, Ltd. between 1990 and 1995, but until then will be flown by Pacific Western under lease. In November, two B-737-3Y0s are leased from Monarch Airlines, Ltd. for Toronto winter charters and another for Winnipeg tour flights.
On December 2, in something of a surprise, the nation’s third-largest carrier purchases financially troubled CPAL, paying C$217 million in cash to parent C. P., Ltd., and assuming the C$600-million debt of the country’s second largest airline while assuming its No. 2 ranking. Pacific Western’s Rhys Eyton becomes chairman/CEO, with Murray Sigler as president/chief operating officer. The purchased carrier is allowed to retain its separate identity until the merger process is completed the following spring. The year’s enplanements dip to 2.5 million and revenues slide marginally to C$269.8 million. Costs are kept down and allow the operating profit to climb up to C$19.4 million. The company goes out a shareholder’s winner as net gain balloons to C$28.4 million.
On April 26, 1987, the two amalgamated air transport companies, together with the CPAL subsidiaries Nordair, Ltd. and Eastern Provincial Airways, Ltd., are titled Canadian Airline International, Ltd. (CAI).
PACIFIC WESTERN AIRWAYS: United States (1968-1969). The
American PWA is set up as a commuter at Salt Lake City in the early summer of 1968 to provide scheduled passenger services over a route to Durango via Provo, Price, Green River, Moab, Monticelo, Blanding, and Cortez. Beech 18 revenue services, including some charters, are inaugurated on July 8, but continue for less than a year.
PACIFIC WINGS: P. O. Box 930, Paia, Hawaii 96779, United States; Phone (808) 873-0877; Fax (808) 873-7920; Http://www. pacificwings. com; Code LW; Year Founded 1998. Myron Caplan, chairman/CEO of Las Vegas-based Air Nevada (2) closes down his mainland operation in January 1998 and moves it to Hawaii, where it is renamed. Beginning in February, both scheduled and charter services to points on the Big Island as well as to other destinations throughout the island chain are offered.
Employing a fleet of 5 Cessna 402Cs and 1 C-172, scheduled roundtrip revenue flights are launched and continued. Daily flights include Kahului to Kamuela, Kalaupapa, and Hana, and Honolulu to Ka-muela; twice-daily flights are offered from Molokai to Kalaupapa and Hana, and from Honolulu to Malaupapa. Thrice-daily flights include Kahului to Honolulu and Honolulu to Hana; four-times-per-day service is offered from Kahului to Molokai and Honolulu to Molokai. In addition, charters are flown to Hana, Maui and Kalaupapa, as are Big Island Volcano air tours.
On September 30, a homepage is opened on the Internet’s World Wide Web.
Customer booking for the year skyrocket 149.3% to 17,000.
Flights continue is 1999. Passenger boardings increase to 24,000.
A total of 52 workers are employed at the beginning of 2000, a 116.7% increase over the previous 12 months. During the first quarter, a new color scheme is applied to the company’s Cessna 402s.
PACIFICA AIR, LTD.: New Zealand (1992-1993). Pacifica is established at Lyttelton in 1992 to offer regional flights with 2 Piper PA-31350 Navajo Chieftains and 1 Fairchild Metro II.
Anita Gardner is general manager and operations continue for a year.
PACIFICAIR. See PACIFIC AIRWAYS CORPORATION
PAFCO. See PRIORITY AIR FREIGHT COMPANY
PAGAS AIRLINES (PORT AUGUSTA AIR SERVICES [PTY.], LTD.): Australia (1967-1982). Registered at Adelaide in 1967 as Port Augusta Air Services (Pty.), Ltd., this carrier initially operates lightplane charter services. During the 1970s, the company is reorganized and a new airline division is formed under the operating name PAGAS Airlines. An extensive system of scheduled stops is built up throughout South Australia and Queensland, including Adelaide, Andamooka, Broken Hill, Hawker, Innaminchka, Kingscote, Leigh Creek, Mount Gun-son, Oodnadatta, Penneshaw, Port Augusta, and Port Pirie.
At the end of the decade, the fleet comprises 2 Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirantes and 3 Aero Commander 500s. In 1982, the carrier is renamed Trans Regional Airlines (Pty.), Ltd.
PAI (PANAMA AIR INTERNATIONAL, S. A.): Panama (19911993). After purchasing the assets of Air Panama International, S. A.
From the Panamanian government, PAI is formed at Tocumen International Airport in Panama on November 6, 1991. Local Coca-Cola bottling plant owner J. J. Vallarino 3rd is chairman, with former Southwest Airlines (2) founder, board member, and President Rollin W. King as president/CEO.
The company’s operating certificate is received on February 11, 1992. Employing a Boeing 727-81C first flown by Japan’s All Nippon Airways Company, Ltd., Air Panama International, S. A. routes to Bogota, Caracas, Guayaquil, Havana, Lima, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, New York, Buenos Aires, and Rio de Janeiro are maintained or added.
Unable to achieve viability, the company shuts down in 1993.
PAISA (PANAMENA DE AVIACION INTERNACIONAL, S. A.): Panama (1967-1969). Formed at Panama City on the spring of 1967 as an affiliate of VIASA (Venezolana Internacional de Aviacion, S. A.),
PAISA begins scheduled service with a DC-9-51 leased from VIASA on May 3, 1967.
Over the next year, a route network is built up including stops at Caracas, Maracaibo, and San Jose, Costa Rica. Unable to sustain its operations, the company stops flying in the fall of 1969.
PAK-AIR, LTD.: Pakistan (1948-1949). The Haroon family forms Pak-Air, Ltd. in 1948 to operate Douglas DC-3 scheduled services between Karachi and Lahore and Delhi. Hussain Malik is named managing director and a management contract is signed with the American supplemental carrier Trans-Ocean Air Lines (TAL) to provide for aircraft, flight crew, training, and maintenance.
Employing its Douglas aircraft and a Curtiss C-46 Commando supplied via TAL, the company competes with government-favored Orient Airways, Ltd. over a route from Karachi to Lahore and Delhi. It also transports Indian and Pakistani citizens being repatriated following the subcontinent’s division.
Following the spring 1949 rejection of its advice in a copilot flying-status dispute, TAL cancels its management contract. Shortly thereafter, while en route Calcutta-Karachi, a Pak-Air Douglas transport crashes into a mountaintop (25 dead); as a result of the tragedy, the company is forced to cease operations in November.
World History
