 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Commenced operations | 1967 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | April 1983 | ||||||
| Fleet size | de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter; HFB 320 Hansa Jet; Short 330; de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 | ||||||
| Destinations | See below | ||||||
| Headquarters | Long Beach, California, U.S. | ||||||
Golden West Airlines was a commuter airline that operated flights on a high volume schedule in California. It ceased operations in 1983.
The original Golden West Airlines, headquartered at Van Nuys, California, was founded in 1968 and operated out of Terminal 4 at Los Angeles International Airport with a fleet of de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter STOL capable turboprops and at least one HFB 320 Hansa Jet aircraft, serving Pomona, Riverside, Santa Ana, and Ventura. This airline ceased operations on March 11, 1969.
Aero Commuter, was founded in December 1967 by architect William Pereira, whose son was one of the founders of Air California. Aero Commuter was, in fact, briefly known as Air California Commuter. [1] and based in Long Beach, operated flights between Long Beach, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Avalon, Burbank, and Fullerton. Aero Commuter operated de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter STOL capable aircraft. It also acquired Catalina Air Lines which had been founded in 1953 as Avalon Air Transport. By 1968 service had expanded to include Apple Valley, Bakersfield, El Monte, Ontario, Oceanside, Palm Springs, Palmdale, San Diego, and Santa Ana. In 1969, it merged with Skymark Airlines (a Sacramento-based charter and commuter airline founded in February 1968 that also operated the DHC-6 Twin Otter) and Cable Commuter Airlines (an Upland general aviation concern based at Cable Airport that had entered the scheduled commuter airline business in 1968 via a hub at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) with flights to such southern California destinations to Burbank, Colton, Inyokern, Ontario, Oxnard, Palmdale, Palm Springs, Santa Ana (Orange County Airport), Santa Barbara and Santa Maria as well as service to Lake Havasu City in Arizona with all flights operated with DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft). [2] Upon the demise of the original Golden West Airlines (see above) in early 1969, Aero Commuter acquired several assets from Golden West, including its name. Golden West also briefly operated jet service with the HFB 320 Hansa Jet, a West German manufactured business jet configured with ten passenger seats which the airline flew in scheduled service from Burbank Airport (BUR, now Bob Hope Airport) to Santa Barbara (SBA) and Palm Springs (PSP) in 1969. [3]
As Golden West Airlines it continued to expand aggressively through the 1970s, adding service to San Francisco (SFO), Oakland, Bakersfield, Fresno, Oxnard, Santa Rosa, Merced, Modesto, Monterey, San Jose, Stockton and other smaller airports—many of which no longer have commercial service—such as Van Nuys Airport, Fullerton Municipal Airport, and the Airport in the Sky on Santa Catalina Island. In 1971 it attempted to acquire Los Angeles Airways, a local helicopter commuter airline, but the deal fell through. Golden West did acquire Catalina Air Lines, a seaplane operator that served Catalina Island off the coast of southern California with the Grumman G-21 Goose. These Grumman amphibious aircraft were operated as Catalina Golden West which was a division of Golden West. [4]
Because of California's growth and tourist appeal, Golden West was able to become an interline partner with a number of domestic and international airlines. According to the January 1, 1973 Golden West system timetable, these airlines included Aer Lingus, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeroméxico, Air Canada, Air France, Alaska Airlines, Allegheny Airlines, Aloha Airlines, American, Braniff International, Continental Airlines, Delta, Eastern, Finnair, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Hughes Airwest, Japan Airlines (JAL), Lufthansa, National Airlines, Northeast Airlines, Ozark Air Lines, Pan American World Airways (Pan Am), Piedmont Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), Southern Airways, Trans World Airlines (TWA), United Airlines, Western Airlines, Wien Air Alaska and other air carriers. [5]
By the early 1980s, Golden West was the largest commuter airline in California operating a high frequency shuttle schedule between LAX and Santa Barbara and San Diego. In 1981, Golden West was the only air carrier flying nonstop between Santa Barbara and LAX with up to fourteen round trip flights a day. [6] Its fleet had grown to include larger aircraft such as the Short 330 and de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7. The 50-passenger seat Dash 7 was the largest aircraft ever operated by the airline. A huge debt service, among other factors, drove Golden West Airlines out of business in April 1983. [7]
In 2000, Pinnacle Air Charter, Inc. acquired the Air Carrier Certificate for Golden West Airlines. It ultimately operated again, under the DBA of Pinnacle Air Charter, and later, Platinum Air Charter, Inc., conducting on-demand air charter and air ambulance operations under FAR Part 135. Its base of operations was located at Pomona's Brackett Field, and conducted flight operations primarily out of San Bernardino International Airport. It suspended operations and closed in 2007.
The Golden West fleet consisted of the following aircraft models and quantities.
The July 1, 1982, Golden West timetable map includes: [8]
Before 1982, Golden West served the following destinations in California at various times: [9] [10] [11]
On January 9, 1975, Golden West Airlines Flight 261, a de Havilland Twin Otter, collided with a Cessna 150 over Whittier, California, killing 14 people in both aircraft (all 12 aboard the Golden West plane and the 2 occupants of the Cessna).
Oxnard Airport is a county-owned, public airport a mile west of downtown Oxnard, in Ventura County, California. The airport has not had scheduled passenger service since June 8, 2010, when United Express ended flights to Los Angeles International Airport. America West Express also served the airport with nonstop flights to Phoenix in the early-2000s via a code sharing agreement with America West Airlines.
Jack Brooks Regional Airport, formerly Southeast Texas Regional Airport, is near Port Arthur, Texas, nine miles (14 km) southeast of Beaumont and northeast of Port Arthur. It was Jefferson County Airport, but its name was changed to honor former U.S. Representative Jack Brooks. The airport is southwest of the city of Nederland in unincorporated Jefferson County, and is used for general aviation. Southwest Airlines ended scheduled jet service in 1980 and several other airlines have started and ended service as well including American Eagle, Continental, Delta/Delta Connection and United Express. The latest chapter is the resumption of service by American Eagle for American Airlines to Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW).
Faaʻa International Airport, also known as Tahiti International Airport, is the international airport of French Polynesia, located in the commune of Faaa, on the island of Tahiti. It is situated 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of Papeete, the capital city of the overseas collectivity. It opened in 1960. Regional air carrier Air Tahiti and international air carrier Air Tahiti Nui are both based at the airport.
Santa Barbara Municipal Airport is 7 miles west of downtown Santa Barbara, California, United States. The airfield covers 948 acres (384 ha) of land and has three runways.
Eastern Provincial Airways (EPA) was an airline that operated in Atlantic and eastern Canada. At its peak, the carrier operated jet service with Boeing 737-200 aircraft connecting many communities that today only have scheduled passenger flights provided by 18-seat commuter turboprop aircraft. The airline traces its history from Maritime Central Airways (MCA) from 1961. It merged with CP Air to form Canadian Pacific Air Lines in 1986.
Time Air was an airline in Canada founded in 1966 by businessman Walter “Stubb” Ross from Lethbridge in Alberta. It was called Lethbridge Air Service before becoming Time Airways Ltd. in 1969, which was later shortened to Time Air Ltd. In 1993 it was merged with Ontario Express to create Canadian Regional Airlines.
Tyler Pounds Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located 3 mi (4.8 km) west of Tyler, in Smith County, Texas, United States.
Inyokern Airport is a public use airport located 1 nautical mile northwest of the central business district of Inyokern, in Kern County, California, United States. It is owned by the Indian Wells Valley Airport District and serves the Indian Wells Valley area. The airport is mostly used for general aviation and was previously served by a number of commuter and regional airlines over the years with passenger flights to Los Angeles (LAX).
Santa Maria Public Airport is three miles (5 km) south of Santa Maria, in northern Santa Barbara County, California, United States.
General William J. Fox Airfield is a county-owned, public airport in Los Angeles County, California, five miles northwest of Lancaster, California, United States. Locally known as Fox Field, the airport serves the Antelope Valley. The airport is named after Brigadier General William J. Fox, "a Marine war hero, a movie stunt man, the first Los Angeles County engineer and, for 20 years after his retirement, a cowboy."
Magic Valley Regional Airport, also known as Joslin Field, is a public use airport located four nautical miles (7 km) south of the central business district of Twin Falls, Idaho. The airport is owned by the City and County of Twin Falls. It is mostly used for general aviation but is also served by one commercial airline.
Juneau International Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport and seaplane base located seven nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Juneau, a city and borough in the U.S. state of Alaska which has no direct road access. The airport is a regional hub for all air travel, from bush carriers to major U.S. air carriers such as Alaska Airlines.
Virgin Gorda Airport is an airport on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom.
Catalina Airport is a privately owned airport located 6.4 miles (10.2 km) northwest of the central business district of Avalon, California, United States, in the middle of Catalina Island. The airport is open to the public and allows general aviation aircraft to land there. One-time landing fees are $38 for Piston single, $44 for Piston twin, $55 for Turbine single, $110 for Turbine twin. Overnight fees are $22 for a single engine or $27 twin engine. Operating hours are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. The airport is primarily used for general aviation. The airport is also used for airfreight from the mainland. Supplies for the island are delivered daily.
Guyana Airways was the flag carrier of Guyana. During its operations, Guyana Airways operated services to destinations in the Caribbean, the United States and Canada. The airline was headquartered in Georgetown, Guyana. It was declared insolvent in 2001.
Brockway Air was a regional airline in the United States, which was formerly known as Air North and originally as Northern Airways.
WestAir Commuter Airlines, was a U.S.-based regional airline formed when Stol Air Commuter changed its name in 1978 to WestAir Airlines; it was renamed WestAir Commuter Airlines in 1986. One of the founders was Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr., who later acquired Allegiant Air. WestAir subsequently became a United Express air carrier via a code sharing agreement with United Airlines. It was headquartered in Fresno, California and was controlled by WestAir Holding, Inc. WestAir was sold to Mesa Air Group in 1992.
Air Pacific was a commuter airline based in the United States that operated regional flights wholly within the state of California. Founded as Eureka Aero in 1970, it was renamed Air Pacific in 1979. Its de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and DHC-7 Dash 7 turboprop aircraft were capable of STOL operations.
Cochise Airlines was a commuter airline which was founded in 1971 in Tucson, Arizona. It operated until the early 1980s. Cochise linked small cities in Arizona with Phoenix, Arizona and Tucson, Arizona and also served southern California and New Mexico at one point.
Soldotna Airport is a city-owned, public use airport located one nautical mile (1.85 km) southeast of the central business district of Soldotna, Alaska.
