Pacific Northwest Airways is established during the late summer of 1974 through the merger of Ram Airways and Valley Airlines. The company, employing the de Havilland DH 104 Doves, Convair CV-240s, and Beech 18s of the merger partners, inaugurates scheduled passenger and cargo services on December 1.
Destinations visited include Oakland, San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Monterey. The Long Beach Douglas DC-3 operator Pacific Coast Airlines (1), also organized during the fall, is taken over during the first quarter of 1975 and is renamed Pacific Airlines.
PACIFIC OVERSEAS AIRLINES CORPORATION: United States (1945-1947). Industrial Air Transport is organized at Ontario, California, in October 1945 by former personnel of Corsairway, the Con-solidated-Vultee Aircraft Corporation wartime air transport division. A two-year subcontract is obtained from United Air Lines to fly thrice-daily transpacific, all-cargo services.
Employing a fleet of 15 Douglas C-54s still technically owned by the U. S. Army Air Forces, the renamed company inaugurates flights to Tokyo on March 18, 1946. On May 31, a C-54 arrives at Ontario, California, carrying the first freight shipment from the Orient since 1941.
The subsidiary Pacific Overseas Airlines (Siam), Ltd. (POAS) is established at Bangkok on May 25, 1947. Shareholding is divided between the carrier (44%), the Thai government (26%), and Thai investors (30%). Twice-weekly revenue services commence to Ontario with a pair of leased C-54s. POA itself continues flight operations until September when the United contract is concluded. POAC is then reformed into a ground support and certified repair station, although some of its personnel are involved with POAS.
PACIFIC OVERSEAS AIRLINES (SIAM), LTD.: Thailand (19471951). POAS is established at Bangkok on May 25, 1947, to operate twice-weekly return flights to the U. S. Shareholding is divided between the Thai government (26%), the American carrier Pacific Overseas Airlines (44%), and Thai shareholders (30%). Two Douglas C-54s are leased from POA and revenue services commence to Ontario, California. Regional flights are conducted by 2 chartered DC-3s and 1 Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina.
Although POA itself retires from flight operations in September, its offspring continues its transpacific services for another four years.
A C-54 with 4 crew and 20 passengers crashes near Mount Butler near Hong Kong on March 11, 1951; there are no survivors. On November 1, the company is sold to Siamese Airways Company, Ltd. (SAC). That carrier and its prize are immediately merged to create Thai Airways Company, Ltd.
World History
