Waratah is formed at Tumut, New South Wales, in 1986 by Chief Pilot
G. Pickering. Employing a single Cessna 402, the small commuter begins scheduled daily return services to Sydney. Unable to establish a profitable concern, Pickering is forced to halt operations in late 1988.
WARBELOW’S AIR VENTURES: 3758 University Avenue South, Fairbanks, Alaska 99709, United States; Phone (907) 474-0518; Fax (907) 479-5054; Http://www. akpub. com/fhwag/warbe. html; Code 4W; Year Founded 1991. Arthur Warbelow founds his WAV at Fairbanks in 1991 to provide scheduled passenger and cargo flights to a number of Alaskan destinations. A staff of 16 is recruited and a fleet is assembled comprising 3 Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftains, 1 Piper PA-31-310 Navajo, 3 Cessna 207As, 1 Cessna 206, and 2 Beech 18s.
A total of 4,253 passengers are flown, along with 472,852 pounds of mail.
Operations continue apace in 1992 and destinations served in 1993 include Fort Yukon, Chalkyitsik, Utopia, Hughes, Huslia, Galena, Rampart, Tanana, Eagle, Circle, and Circle Hot Springs.
Passenger boardings increase 57% to 12,106.
Operations continue apace in 1994 as customer bookings accelerate 35% to 16,357. A total of 333,000 FTKs are also operated.
The fleet in 1995 includes 2 Cessna 207As, 1 Cessna 206, and 3 Navajo Chieftains. The company now serves 18 interior villages. Increased mining activities and the aftermath of the flooding on the Koyukuk River fuel a traffic boom.
Enplanements surge 29% during the 12 months to 21,095.
Airline employment stands at 37 in 1996 and passenger boardings accelerate 13.5% to 23,935.
While on final approach to Prudhoe Bay after a June 20, 1997 allcargo service from Nuiqsut, the Cessna 206’s aft cargo door opens and slams against the side of the fuselage, resulting in substantial damage. The pilot is able to complete his landing and is uninjured.
Enplanements during the 12 months total 26,334.
President Warbelow’s fleet in 1998 includes 8 Chieftains, 2 Cessna 207As, and 1 C-206. Passenger boardings ascend 30.7% to 38,000.
Customer bookings climb another 5.3% in 1999 to 40,000.
For the first time, the salmon runs along the entire Yukon watershed collapse. By fall, subsistence salmon fishing must be shut down and Governor Tony Knowles declares an emergency. In addition to the economic loss, thousands of dogs in rural bush areas, used to haul sleds and depend upon salmon as their food source, face starvation or liquidation. Something must be done to avert this disaster and a number of small airlines, coming off a bad year caused by rising fuel and insurance costs, are able to assist, while also enjoying renewed profits.
The key to the situation, in the eyes of many, is the transport of donated dog food and fish obtained by local governments and tribes as the result of press reports of the failed salmon returns. In late August and September, a massive food shipment is organized by Warbelow’s at Fairbanks, with support from the U. S. Postal Service and other small airlines.
Because Warbelow’s has made special arrangements with its competitors, the USPS, which will not be directly involved in distribution, agrees to allow the donated food to be classified as bypass mail, for which rock bottom postage is charged. The entire $25,000 bill will be paid by the Tanana Chiefs Conference, which also rents refrigeration to hold frozen food awaiting delivery.
Under the direction of Chief Pilot Michael Morgan, Warbelow’s, which has the only bypass mail-shipping permit in Fairbanks, runs the packages through its meter and with USPS assistance farms out this mail for delivery. The airlines involved, including Warbelow’s, Frontier Flying Service, Arctic Circle Air Service, Belair, Larry’s Flying Service, Servant Air, Tanana Air Service, Tatonduk Air Service, and Wright’s Air Service, are paid a rate per pound (between 400 and $1 depending on distance), to haul the approximately 100 tons of food to villages along the Yukon, Tanana, and Koyukuk Rivers.
WARD AIR: 8991 Yandukin Drive, Juneau, Alaska 99801, United States; Phone (907) 789-9150; Fax (907) 789-7002; Year Founded 1975. Kenneth R. Ward establishes Juneau Flying Service at Juneau, Alaska, in 1975 to offer charter passenger and cargo flights to destinations in southeast Alaska. His fleet consists of float-equipped de Havilland DHC-2 Beavers and Cessna 185s. Airline employment reaches seven.
To provide scheduled commuter services, the carrier is reformed under its owner’s name in April 1980. Employing 1 each Beech 18, de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver, and Cessna 185, revenue frequencies begin over local routes. Services continue without change for the next 13 years.
In 1993, Ken Ward and his wife Michelle sell the company and purchase Taku Glacier Lodge, a world-famous resort built in 1923. Five years later in 1998, the company mission has not changed since the days of its founder. The Beech 18 has, however, been replaced with a second Beaver.
Flights continue in 1999. Coming in from Hawk Inlet on April 27, a Cessna 185 with one pilot and one passenger, lands short of the runway at Juneau. Although the aircraft is damaged beyond repair, no one aboard is seriously hurt.
A total of 9 full-time and 3 part-time pilots are employed at the beginning of 2000 and the fleet now includes 2 Cessna 185 Skywagons, 3 Beavers, and 1 DHC-3 Otter.
World History
