Winning the West with Style
Ralph Olson explores the history of this successful 1960s US
start-up airline which slugged it out with the competition and
emerged as a major carrier in the Western US market.Ralph Olson explores the history of this successful 1960s US Ralph Olson explores the history of this successful 1960s US Ralph Olson explores the history of this successful 1960s US
start-up airline which slugged it out with the competition and
emerged as a major carrier in the Western US market.Ralph Olson explores the history of this successful 1960s US Ralph Olson explores the history of this successful 1960s US Ralph Olson explores the history of this successful 1960s US Ralph Olson explores the history of this successful 1960s US
start-up airline which slugged it out with the competition and
emerged as a major carrier in the Western US market. emerged as a major carrier in the Western US market.start-up airline which slugged it out with the competition and
emerged as a major carrier in the Western US market.start-up airline which slugged it out with the competition and start-up airline which slugged it out with the competition and
emerged as a major carrier in the Western US market.Ralph Olson explores the history of this successful 1960s US
D
uring the mid 1960s, Orange County, California
was a rural region south of Los Angeles where
agricultural fields and orange groves stretched
for miles. With a slowly but steadily growing
population and small towns beginning to sprout, the area was
ripe for additional airline service.
The Orange County – Santa Ana airport, located southwest
of Santa Ana was a one runway operation with Bonanza Airlines
being the only air transport option. Bonanza flew the Fokker
F-27 and offered direct services to the nearby cities of San Diego,
Ontario and Los Angeles. Connections to other destinations
meant a transfer on Bonanza or a 40-mile (25km) drive north
to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). With Orange
County tourist attractions such as Disneyland and Knott’s
Berry Farm also growing, five local businessmen met to discuss
the idea of forming a hometown airline to meet the new air
travel demands.
Prior to 1978 the only operational freedom open to a new
US airline was to fly intra-state. Few states in the USA were
therefore large enough to support an airline of any size, but
California certainly could.
The new airline was named Air California and in 1966 its
route application for intra-state operations was approved by the
California Public Utilities Commission. Air California sought tocompete on the highly competitive and heavily travelled north-
south route between Southern California and the San Francisco
Bay area which, at the time, was dominated by Pacific Southwest
Airlines (PSA), United and Pacific. The new carrier therefore
acquired two former American Airlines Lockheed L-188 ‘Prop-
Jet’ Electras and on January 16, 1967, they entered service;
completing five daily flights between Orange County Airport
and San Francisco (SFO).Carving a Niche
The opening of the new Orange County to SFO route was
immediately popular and Air California made it even more
attractive by charging only $14.95 plus a modest 5% tax for a
one way ticket.
By April 1967 the carrier was operating 48 non-stop Electra
flights per week between the two airports. Expansion was
inevitable and later that year an additional two Electras were
acquired from Australia and flights added from Orange County
to San Jose and Oakland.
With mainline jet services now in operation with competing
airlines (and in demand by the public) Air California entered the
jet age in 1968 with two former Continental Airlines Douglas
DC-9-14 aircraft, which were leased from McDonnell Douglas.
The jets arrived in March and were immediately placedO • Former
American Airlines
Electra N6111A joined
Air California in
1966 as N278AC and
is seen here at SFO
in February 1968.
Two months later it
was sold to VAR IG
as PP-V NJ and the
airframe would
enjoy a nomadic life
with TAME Linea
Aerea del Ecuador
(HC-A Z L) a nd
Interlink Airlines
(H R-A M L) be fore
joining Austrian cargo
carrier Amerer Air in
1998 as EL-W WS. It
was last reported in
storage in Linz.
A M B
C
60 AIRLINER Classics 2018
B737-293 N464GB
was one of the original
four aircraft f lown
by Air California.
It stayed with the
carrier’s f leet and f lew
for American Airlines
as N464AC after the
1987 merger. A
S T
C
A
.