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Archives at The Museum of Flight


Western Airlines

 Organization

Historical Note

Western Airlines first incorporated in 1925 as Western Air Express. The company reincorporated in 1928 as Western Air Express Corp. and was then purchased by Standard Air Lines in 1930 and merged with Transcontinental Air Transport to form Trans World Airlines (TWA). In 1934, Western Air Express was severed from TWA and briefly changed its name to General Air Lines, but then returned to the name Western Air Express after several months. It merged with National Parks Airways in 1937. In 1941, Western Air Express changed its name to Western Air Lines (WAL) and later to Western Airlines. The airline ceased operations in 1987 when it merged with Delta Air Lines.

Found in 13 Collections and/or Records:

Arthur Wayne Byron Airline Pilot Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 2009-06-05
Contents of the Collection The Arthur Wayne Byron Airline Pilot Collection is comprised of primarily textual materials with some photographs that document Byron's commercial pilot career with Western Airlines and Delta Airlines. Materials date from mid-1940s through the 1980s.Textual materials include pilot logs dating from 1955-1987; organizational records for Western Airlines, including documents related to the merger of Western Airlines and Pacific Northern Airlines in 1967, as well as the merger of...

Mary Christensen Commercial Airlines Collection

 Collection — Folder: 1
Identifier: 2000-09-13
Contents of the Collection The collection includes route maps, schedules, and brochures by Northwest Airlines and Western Air Lines, circa 1940s. Materials from both airlines feature the Douglas DC-4 and DC-3 aircraft in their promotional art. Also included is a Souvenir Air Log by Northwest Airlines, which unfolds to a reversible map that features domestic and international routes along with trivia about the science of air travel.

Robert Dempster Airline Ephemera Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 2012-03-28
Contents of the Collection The Robert Dempster Airline ephemera is a small collection comprised of assorted airline schedules/timetables and safety cards ranging from the 1950s through the 1980s. The collection also contains a poster for a parade for Astronaut Dick Gordon through Seattle, Washington in 1966.

Lorraine C. (Coccio) Ditsworth Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Box: One
Identifier: 2009-02-20
Contents of the Collection The Lorraine C. (Coccio) Ditsworth Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection is comprised of texual materials and sixteen (16) photographs. The bulk of the material was collected by Ditsworth during her 1953-1956 service as a Western Airlines (WA) flight attendant, although five (5) of the photographs appear to be unrelated to Ditsworth directly and of a later date (circa 1970s). The textual materials include three (3) logs which contain notes about Ditsworth's flights, 1953-1956;...

Philip G. Feeley Western Airlines and Boeing Model 720B Collection

 Collection — Folder: 1
Identifier: 2000-08-31
Contents of the Collection This small collection is comprised of textual materials related to aircraft maintenance and systems, 1961-1966. It includes handwritten notes, photocopied clippings, and technical diagrams that are apparently related to general aircraft systems and maintenance. There are also a series of Western Airlines checklists and documents related to the Boeing Model 720B. It is unknown how Philip G. Feeley gathered the materials or if they were his original materials. His name never appears on any of the...

Doris Hanson Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 2021-06-25-A
Content Description The Doris Hanson Flight Attendant Collection is a small collection consisting of materials related to Hanson's career as a flight attendant. She worked as a flight attendand for Western Airlines from 1956-1959 and in Communications for Pan Am in 1954, but other airlines are represented in the collection as well. Materials related Hanson's work with Western Airlines include: "The Californian Champagne Flights" menu used as postcard, 1957; a 1959 ticket; a business card/badge...

Carolyn B. Haugen Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Folder: 1
Identifier: 2009-04-05
Contents of the Collection The Carolyn B. Haugen Western Airlines (WA) Collection relates to Haugen's 1966-1985 career with Western Airlines. It is comprised of three (3) color snapshots depicting Haugen in her WA flighth attendant uniform; several WA envelopes (blank); a 1985 WA timetable; a newspaper clipping from an unidentified publication about the Boeing 707; a Pacific Horizon Service Free Cocktail invitations (3 copies); and an undated letter to flight attendants from Holiday Inn Management.

Esther (Hutchings) Hebrew Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2021-12-10
Contents of the Collection The Esther (Hutchings) Hebrew Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection consists of textual and visual materials gathered by Hebrew during her career as a stewardess for Western Airlines (WAL) in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The materials illuminate the work and life of flight attendants in the mid-twentieth century. The collection is organized in two series: Western Airlines career-related materials and other airlines. There are several files of textual materials related to...

Rebecca (Blodgett) Knight Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Folder: 1
Identifier: 2009-03-19
Contents of the Collection The Rebecca (Blodgett) Knight Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection is comprised of four (4) items collected by Knight during her 1970s career. There are two (2) color photographs; Knight is depicted in both. One also includes a partial view of a Western Airlines aircraft. There are no captions. Additional material includes a "Fly! Western Airlines" decal and a business card for "B. Blodgett."

Richard J. McWhorter Stearman Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2010-06-06
Abstract Richard J. McWhorter (1921-2007) was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho and had a long standing and multi-faceted interest in aviation, including owning and restoring vintage airplanes. The collection includes manuscript materials, ephemera, audio-visual materials, and approximately three hundred (300) photographs documenting the restoration of a Stearman C-3B (#NC7550), on display at The Museum of Flight, as well as a Stearman C-3R (#NC656K).

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