on the Orange County to SFO route to better compete with
passenger demands. The Electra was pulled from this route but
continued to fly between Orange County, Oakland and San Jose.
However, the DC-9s were merely a stopgap until the first
of four Boeing 737-200s arrived in July 1968. The jets were
brand new aircraft and fell right into the waiting hands of Air
California, which leased them when Pacific Airlines cancelled its
order due to the pending merger into AirWest.
The 737s were immediately put to work with routes from
Orange County to SFO, Ontario, San Jose, Oakland and the
California desert resort of Palm Springs. Air California would
become an all jet operator in early 1969 when the Electras (and
the DC-9s) were removed from the fleet. By now the 737 fleet
had grown to six, and this aircraft proved a perfect fit for the
passenger loads the airline was experiencing. With air travellers
and revenues rising, Air California was set to establish itself as a
solid, respected and successful intra-state carrier.
Turf Wars and Expansion
In May 1970, with Air California’s fortunes on the up, its
arch rival, PSA, placed a bid to acquire Air California. This was
overwhelmingly rejected after Air California employees firmly
voted against the takeover.
The staff were supported by both the public and the California
Public Utilities Commission – the latter stating that a second
airline within California serving these routes was a benefit to the
public by offering healthy competition.
That same year, Air California was acquired by investment
firm Westgate California. This enabled the airline to accept the
delivery of its first purchased Boeing 737-200, which brought
the fleet total to seven jets. With this new fleet came more
destinations such as San Diego in late 1970 and the state capital
of California, Sacramento in late 1971.
Orange County was also growing with agricultural fields
making way for housing tracts and shopping malls. Air
California continued to win the hearts of local travellers,
marking a milestone with one million passengers carried in 1972.
The airline also promoted itself with the local community by
offering field trips for inner city school children in Los Angeles
to the state capital of Sacramento for $25 per student. Once in
Sacramento the students were taken on tours of the California
State Capital Building and the Governor’s Mansion before the
return flight home.
The airline was always on the hunt for new cities to serve
within the state. In 1975 it was granted authority to begin
passenger service to the mountain resort city of South Lake
Tahoe which is located in California near the Nevada border.
Lake Tahoe airport is designated a general aviation airport
but has had limited airline service since 1963. Situated in a
narrow canyon at an elevation of over 5,000ft (1,524m) above
sea level and with a single 1,798m (5,900ft)-long runway, it was
considered to be one of the most difficult airports to operate
from in the USA.
Pacific Airlines had operated Boeing 727-100 flights for about
a year during the mid 1960s, but when Pacific pulled the service,
the noise sensitive airport placed a ban on all further passenger
jet services. This, of course, put Air California in a difficult
position but opportunity arose again in September 1975 when
Air California purchased the routes and operating certificate ofAir California
acquired additional
737s in the late 1970s
to meet passenger
demand. Among
those was B737-159,
N471GB, one of two
of the type f lown by
the carrier. It is seen
here in the second
incarnation of the
airline’s colour scheme.T • Air California
entered the jet age in
March 1968 with two
former Continental
Airlines Douglas
DC-9-14s, which
were leased from
the manufacturer.
T W
C
A The f irst of four Boeing
737-200s arrived in
July 1968. N463GB is
shown between f lights
at the Air California
home base; Orange
County Airport.62 AIRLINER Classics 2018
“THE airline was always on the
hunt for new cities to serve within
the state”