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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 3 Collections and/or Records:

Robert Dempster Airline Ephemera Collection

 Collection
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.

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...

Kenneth E. Schultz Western Airlines Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 1995-06-28
Overview Kenneth E. Schultz was a Douglas DC-6B aircraft flight engineer for Western Airlines from the 1950s to 1960s. This small collection is comprised of materials related to the Western Airlines Chapter of Flight Engineers’ International Association and Shultz’s labor disputes with Western Airlines while he was employed with the company as a flight engineer.

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