Golden West Airlines

Golden West Airlines airline codes|GW|GWA|Golden West was a commuter airline that operated flights on a heavy schedule in California. It ceased operations in 1984.

History

The original Golden West Airlines operated out of Terminal 4 at Los Angeles International Airport with a fleet of De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and HFB-320 Hansa Jet aircraft. This airline went out of business by the mid-1980s.

Aero Commuter, based in Long Beach, operated flights between San Diego, Palm Springs, Palmdale and Oceanside. In 1968 it merged with Skymark Airlines (Sacramento) (a Sacramento-based charter and commuter airline), Cable Commuter Airlines (an Upland general aviation concern), and Catalina Airlines (founded in 1953 as Avalon Air Transport) and acquired several assets from Golden West, including its name.

It continued to expand aggressively through the 1970s, adding service to Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Oxnard (OXR), and Santa Barbara (SBA), but also to numerous smaller airports—many of which no longer have commercial airline 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 helicopter airline, but the deal fell through.

The airline suffered one fatal accident, a mid-air collision resulting in 12 fatalities, in 1975. [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19750109-1]

Because of California's growth and tourist appeal, Golden West was able to become partners with several domestic and international airlines; by 1975, these included Aer Lingus, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeroméxico, American, Delta, Eastern, Japan Airlines, Trans World Airlines and many others.

By the early 1980s, Golden West was the third largest commuter airline in California, with a heavy schedule from LAX to SBA and San Diego. Its fleet had grown to include larger aircraft, the Shorts 330 and De Havilland Canada Dash 7. A huge debt service, among other factors, drove Golden West Airlines out of business by 1984.

Fleet

The Golden West fleet consisted of:

*DHC-6 Twin Otter,
*De Havilland Canada Dash 7
*Shorts 330

References

* " [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9501E5DF1438F930A15757C0A965948260 Golden West Air Ends Operations] ," "New York Times" April 23, 1983