Pacific Western Airlines

A Hercules freighter with a drilling rig on its way to the Arctic, a Boeing 737 shuttling between Calgary and Edmonton, a DC-3 on a grass strip in British Columbia: Pacific Western Airlines, PWA for short, was the airline of the Canadian West. It began as a bush flying operation, was owned for a time by the Province of Alberta and in the end bought one of the country’s big flag carriers. Here you will learn how PWA grew, why the Hercules became its trademark, how Canadian Airlines emerged from it – and how to place old PWA photos.

Pacific Western Airlines at a glance

Pacific Western Airlines was a historic Canadian airline from British Columbia and later Alberta. Its predecessor, Central British Columbia Airways, was incorporated in July 1945 and began flight operations in 1946. It was founded by the pilots Russ Baker and Walter Gilbert, with money from the prospector Karl John Springer. The first bases were in Prince George and Fort St. James in the interior of British Columbia – bush flying country, where floatplanes and rugged piston aircraft shaped everyday life.

In 1953 the company adopted the name Pacific Western Airlines. Over the following three decades it became Western Canada’s most important regional airline, with hubs in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton and routes far into the North. On March 27, 1987 its history under its own name ended: PWA had bought Canadian Pacific Air Lines, and the two merged into Canadian Airlines International.

Codes and registrations

• IATA code PW: appeared in flight numbers, on tickets and on departure boards – for example on flight PW 314 or PW 501.
• ICAO code PWA: identified the airline in the air traffic control flight plan and was also the familiar short form of the name.
• Canadian registrations: Older aircraft carried the format CF-xxx, later ones C-Fxxx or C-Gxxx. The letters PW appear in them strikingly often, for example on the freighter CF-PWZ or the 737s C-FPWC and C-GQPW.

How registrations are built in general and what the country prefixes reveal is explained in the guide Understanding aircraft registrations. Background on unusual radio names can be found in the article on airline callsigns.

From bush flying to regional airline

Growth through acquisitions

PWA grew mainly by swallowing smaller operations. Between 1949 and 1952 Central British Columbia Airways took over seven small air services, including Kamloops Air Service, Skeena Air Transport, Whitehorse Flying Services and Port Alberni Airways. In 1955 Queen Charlotte Airlines and Associated Airways were added – the latter was tied to supply flights for the radar chain of the Distant Early Warning Line in the far North.

The big neighbor also helped growth: in 1959 Canadian Pacific Air Lines handed over an extensive network of licensed routes in Western and Northern Canada, and further route rights followed in 1969. In September 1970 PWA bought B.C. Air Lines, which brought Nord 262 turboprops into the fleet, and in 1978 Transair of Winnipeg along with its Boeing 737-200s. The Transair scheduled routes passed to PWA on December 1, 1979.

The Chieftain Airbus between Calgary and Edmonton

A special feature was the shuttle service between Alberta’s two big cities. From 1963 PWA flew as the “Chieftain Airbus” from the downtown Edmonton City Centre airport to Calgary, at first with a 66-seat DC-4. The principle was radically simple: passengers carried their own luggage to the aircraft, and an employee collected the tickets on board during the flight of just under an hour. The one-millionth passenger was reached in less than eight years – ten had been expected.

Later Convair 640s, DC-6s and finally the Boeing 737-200 came onto the route. In 1976 there were up to 14 round trips a day. For spotters in 1970s Alberta, the PWA 737 on shuttle duty was therefore an everyday sight.

Period	Event	Significance
1945/46	Central British Columbia Airways starts	Bush flying operation in the interior of BC
1953	Name Pacific Western Airlines	New identity as a regional airline
1963	Chieftain Airbus Edmonton–Calgary	Shuttle on the carry-your-own-bags principle
1967	First Lockheed L-100 Hercules	Heavy freight for the North
1968	First Boeing 737-200	First Canadian 737 airline
1974	Purchase by the Province of Alberta	Headquarters moves to Calgary
1983	Sale to private investors	Independent again
1987	Purchase of CP Air	Start of Canadian Airlines International

The Hercules: PWA as a heavy-freight airline

Why the Hercules of all aircraft?

Northern Canada experienced a boom in the search for oil, gas and ore in the 1960s. There were hardly any roads, and many camps could only be reached by air. What was needed was an aircraft that could bring drilling equipment, vehicles and building materials to basic airstrips. The answer was the Lockheed L-100 Hercules, the civilian sister of the military C-130 Hercules: a wide, tall cargo hold, a rear ramp for vehicles and four rugged turboprops.

PWA put the Hercules into service in 1967. The account of the airline’s history calls PWA the first commercial operator of the type – this is disputed, however, because the first production aircraft went to Continental Air Services as early as 1965, and Alaska Airlines is also considered an early civilian Hercules pioneer. What is undisputed: PWA was among the first airlines to deploy the type deliberately for heavy freight to remote regions.

From the Arctic Circle to the jungle

The Hercules flew for energy and mining projects in the Canadian North on the one hand, and as charter freighters around the world on the other. Curious loads are on record, such as about 21 tonnes of dimes, about 20 tonnes of Christmas cake and a shipment of electronic equipment to China, which is considered the first commercial air freight shipment there.

The worldwide operations also had their downsides. In July 1969 a PWA Hercules touched down with a wing on a go-around in fog over the Peruvian jungle. In November 1976 another aircraft, low on fuel, crashed during a night approach in fog near Kisangani in what was then Zaire; only one person aboard survived.

If you want to see civilian Hercules today, you have to look to Alaska: Lynden Air Cargo of Anchorage keeps the tradition of the Hercules freight airline alive – basically the model PWA once demonstrated in northern Canada.

The fleet over time

Era	Types	Use
1940s–1950s	Noorduyn Norseman, DHC-2 Beaver, DHC-3 Otter, Grumman Mallard, Avro Anson	Bush flying, floatplanes, coastal communities
1950s–1970s	Douglas DC-3, DC-4, DC-6/DC-6B, DC-7C, Curtiss C-46	Scheduled and charter service, freight
1960s–1970s	Convair 640, Lockheed L-188 Electra, Nord 262	Turboprops for regional routes
from 1967	Lockheed L-100 Hercules	Heavy freight in the North and worldwide
from 1968	Boeing 737-200 (also Combi), 727, 707	Backbone of the jet fleet, charter, freight
1980s	Boeing 767-200ER	Widebody, in service for only a few years

The Boeing 737-200 shaped the image of PWA. The first aircraft arrived in November 1968 – making PWA the first Canadian airline to order the 737. From December 17, 1968 the “Stampeder Service” connected Alberta with British Columbia. Besides pure passenger aircraft, PWA also flew Combi versions that could carry freight and passengers at the same time – an ideal mix in the North, with few passengers and lots of supplies. How to tell the early 737 from later generations is explained in the guide Telling the Boeing 737 Original, Classic, NG and MAX apart.

Among the propeller aircraft, the Lockheed L-188 Electra, the Douglas DC-6 and the Douglas DC-3 are especially sought after. The Convair 640 was a turboprop conversion of the piston-engine Convair CV-340/440. The DHC-6 Twin Otter from De Havilland Canada also appears in the fleet list. In the 1980s PWA also flew the Boeing 767-200ER for a time – the largest aircraft in the airline’s scheduled service and a widebody jet from Boeing. PWA gave up the 767 again in the mid-1980s.

Alberta takes over: the state-owned years 1974 to 1983

In 1974 an unusual deal made headlines: the Alberta provincial government under Premier Peter Lougheed bought PWA for $37.5 million – in an initially secret takeover bid. The background was concern that the neighboring province of British Columbia might move in itself. The consequence for flight operations: the headquarters moved from Richmond near Vancouver to Calgary, which became the central hub.

State ownership remained an interlude. In the 1982 election campaign the government promised a sale, and in 1983 the airline returned to private hands for $37.7 million. According to the airline’s history, in the mid-1980s PWA carried around three million passengers a year and had just under 3,000 employees. In 1986 marketing agreements were added with the regional airlines Calm Air and Time Air, which served as feeders under the “Pacific Western Spirit” program.

Accidents and incidents

Like many airlines operating in the North and in difficult terrain, PWA had several serious accidents. The most important jet events:

• Flight 3801, January 2, 1973: The Boeing 707-321C CF-PWZ crashed in a snowstorm on approach to Edmonton International. The aircraft was flying as a freighter on behalf of Trans International Airlines from Athens with several stops to Edmonton, with 86 cattle on board. All five people aboard died. Investigators cited fatigue and lack of experience of the crew as causes.
• Flight 314, February 11, 1978: The Boeing 737-275 C-FPWC was about to land at Cranbrook when a snowplow was on the runway. The crew went around, but the left thrust reverser deployed in the process, the aircraft lost speed and crashed beside the runway. 43 of the 49 people aboard were killed. Besides crew errors, an air traffic control error in calculating the arrival time played a role.
• Flight 501, March 22, 1984: On takeoff from Calgary to Edmonton, a compressor disk in the left engine of the Boeing 737-275 C-GQPW burst. Debris damaged a tank, and the aircraft burned out. All 119 people aboard survived the evacuation, 27 were injured.
• Flight 117, July 14, 1986: A 737-200 ran off the runway at Kelowna and stopped far beyond the runway end – with no fatalities.

1987: PWA buys CP Air – the road to Canadian Airlines

In the mid-1980s Canada opened up its air transport market. The 1984 reform deregulated most of domestic air travel, similar to what had happened earlier in the US, and the market reorganized: alongside Air Canada there was room for a second major carrier. On December 2, 1986 PWA Corp. announced the purchase of Canadian Pacific Air Lines, at a price of around $300 million. CP Air had previously taken over Eastern Provincial Airways and Nordair.

On March 27, 1987 PWA and CP Air launched together as Canadian Airlines International, headquartered in Calgary. The smaller airline from the West had thus swallowed the much larger traditional name. In 1989 Wardair joined, the legendary charter and scheduled airline of Max Ward. Canadian Airlines later joined the oneworld alliance.

Its independence did not last long. Around the turn of 1999/2000 Air Canada took control of the financially struggling Canadian, and by January 1, 2001 the integration was complete. The place of the second big airline in the West was later taken by WestJet of Calgary – of all places the city that was once PWA’s headquarters.

How to recognize PWA photos

PWA photos are well represented in collections, but often poorly captioned. Here is how to place them:

For transitional liveries after mergers, the guide Recognizing hybrid and mixed liveries is worth a look. General tips for placing old types can be found under Recognizing vintage aircraft in the sky.

If you are tracking down PWA traces in Canada today, you will find a spot at the former hub at Larry Berg Flight Path Park in Vancouver. Canadian aviation history you can touch is offered by the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa.

Common mix-ups

• Confusing PWA with PSA – Pacific Southwest Airlines was a Californian low-cost airline with a “smile” on the nose, while PWA came from Western Canada.
• Thinking Canadian Airlines was a renaming of CP Air – formally PWA Corp. was the buyer, and Canadian Airlines emerged from both companies.
• Attributing every civilian Hercules of the 1960s to PWA – Alaska Airlines, Delta and other operators also flew the L-100 at the time.
• Confusing PWA with CP Air – the orange CP Air flew long-haul from Vancouver, while PWA was mainly regional.

Conclusion

Pacific Western Airlines is one of the most fascinating stories in Canadian aviation: from a bush flying operation with floatplanes through Hercules heavy freight in the Arctic and the 737 shuttle in Alberta to the takeover of CP Air. Without PWA, Canadian Airlines would not have existed in this form. For spotters the airline remains a rewarding archive topic – with types that hardly fly anymore and registrations that often give away the abbreviation PW.