Aviation in Alaska has a central importance In the vast, lightly populated state with severe weather issues. The short highway system links a few major population centers; railroads are of even lesser importance. [1] Ocean ports, islands and river towns are served by ocean-going vessels. Air service makes up the rest. Air service by "bush pilots" to the Interior and western Alaska, as well as the Aleutian Islands, allowed for the influx of settlers, the year-round contact of villages with the state's larger cities and services, mail and supplies, and rapid transportation of people and goods throughout the state. [2] [3]
Commercial service in Alaska began with Wien Air Alaska in 1927. It expanded in the 1930s with Pacific Alaska Airways, Barnhill & McGee Airways, McGee Airways and Star Air Service, with the latter two eventually becoming the core of Alaska Airlines in 1944. Federal subsidies enable Essential Air Services in Alaska to continue, provided by airlines such as PenAir, Warbelow's Air Ventures, Wings of Alaska, Taquan Air, and Servant Air.
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Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the fifth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried. Alaska, together with its regional partners Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines, operates a route network primarily focused on connecting cities along the West Coast of the United States to over 100 destinations in the contiguous United States, Guatemala, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, and Mexico.
A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North America, most regional airlines are classified as "fee-for-departure" carriers, operating their revenue flights as codeshare services contracted by one or more major airline partners. A number of regional airlines, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s, were classified as commuter airlines in the Official Airline Guide (OAG).
Patty Wagstaff is an American aviator and U.S. national aerobatic champion.
Frontier Flying Service was an American airline headquartered in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. It operated an extensive network of year-round scheduled commuter services and postal services to Alaska bush communities, primarily north of Fairbanks, as well as charter services to the lower 48 and Canada.
Carl Benjamin "Ben" Eielson was an American aviator, bush pilot and explorer. Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, Carl Ben Eielson Middle School Fargo, ND and Carl Ben Eielson Elementary School Grand Forks, ND as well as Ben Eielson Junior-Senior High School Eielson AFB, AK are named in his honor.
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 that has no direct road access to the outside world. The airport serves as a regional hub for all air travel, from bush carriers to major U.S. air carriers such as Alaska Airlines.
Wien Air Alaska (IATA: WC) was a United States airline that was the result of a merger of Northern Consolidated Airlines(NCA) and Wien Alaska Airways (WE). It initially used the name Wien Consolidated Airlines (WC) following the merger in July 17, 1968. In August 1, 1973, Wien Consolidated became Wien Air Alaska. The company was famous for being the first airline in Alaska, and one of the first in the United States. It ceased operations on 23 November 1984, at which point it was operating as Wien Airlines.
Noel Wien was an American pioneer aviator. He was the founder of Wien Alaska Airways.
Ralph Wien Memorial Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located on the south side of Kotzebue, a city on the Baldwin Peninsula in the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska.
Maxwell William Ward was a Canadian aviator and founder of Wardair Airlines, at one time the third-largest air carrier in Canada.
McGee Airways was an American airline, founded in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1932 by Linious "Mac" McGee. Starting with a single three seat Stinson airplane, the company grew and the fleet of aircraft expanded to seven Stinsons.
The Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker was a six-seat utility aircraft, built primarily in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. It was a development of the Bellanca CH-200, fitted with a more powerful engine and, like the CH-200, soon became renowned for its long-distance endurance.
Robert Campbell Reeve was an American pilot, who was the founder of Reeve Aleutian Airways. He was the Republican nominee for the 1952 House election against incumbent Bob Bartlett.
Barnhill & McGee Airways, one of the earliest air services in Alaska, was founded in Anchorage as a partnership between Harvey W. Barnhill and Linious "Mac" McGee in 1932. The airline served McGee’s fur business and offered service between Anchorage and Bristol Bay. Although Barnhill & McGee Airways lasted for only two years, it was the forerunner of McGee Airways which was the forerunner of Alaska Airlines.
Linious "Mac" McGee was an Alaskan aviation pioneer and founder of McGee Airways, the predecessor company to Alaska Airlines.
Star Air Service, later Star Air Lines and Alaska Star Airlines was an American air service in Alaska from 1932 to 1944. With financial help from a wealthy Alaska miner, three pilots who had started a flying school and charter business in Seattle, shipped an open-cockpit biplane by steamship to Alaska in March 1932. Star Air Service was incorporated in April, 1932 in Anchorage with capitalization of $4,000. The company had some early success training student pilots, but their airplane was destroyed in a crash. Their financial backer helped them purchase a larger plane with an enclosed cabin which supported winter operations.
The Hamilton H-45 and H-47 were six-passenger-seat, all-metal, high-wing monoplanes powered by single Pratt & Whitney radial engines. They were built for passenger and mail-carrying work in the US in the late 1920s.