Star Air Service
Encyclopedia
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.
Three air services were founded in Anchorage in 1932. There was a surplus of airplanes, and not enough business to support them all, which prompted the 1934 merger of McGee Airways
with Star Air Service. Star became the largest carrier in Alaska. A lack of financial resources and poor management continued to haunt the company. One of the founders lost his pilot’s license and another died in a plane crash in 1936. With a change in management, the company was sold to a new group of investors in 1937, and renamed Star Air Lines.
Government regulation of Alaska airline routes which began in 1938, along with continued financial instability of Alaska’s air carriers prompted a consolidation within the industry. In 1942, Star Air Lines was purchased by New York
businessman Raymond Marshall.
The new owners acquired three smaller Alaska carriers, gaining additional scheduled routes to Fairbanks
, Nome
and the Kuskokwim area. The expanded company was renamed Alaska Star Airlines. In September 1943, after narrowly beating a competitor who was also filing for the name, the company was renamed again, becoming Alaska Airlines
, which continues to operate today.
, in 1896 and moved to Seattle after serving in World War I
. He worked as a furnace inspector for the Seattle Gas Company while taking flying lessons at Washington Aircraft Company at Boeing Field
. In 1928 he went to work for the firm’s flying school and was chief instructor until he went to Alaska in 1932.
John E. "Jack" Waterworth was born in Oelwein, Iowa
, reared in Seattle and attended the University of Washington
studying to be a pharmacist. With financial help from the industrialist Norton Clapp
, Jack took flying lessons from Steve Mills at Washington Aircraft Company. Instead of becoming a pharmacist, Waterworth decided to stay in aviation and he worked as an instructor and charter pilot. He made numerous flights throughout the northwest and an occasional cross-country trip to ferry planes from the east coast to Seattle.
Charles H. "Charlie" Ruttan was a 22 year-old Canadian from Winnipeg, Manitoba
, who had moved with his family to Victoria, British Columbia
, and took flying lessons from Steve Mills.
Wesley Earl Dunkle was a wealthy Alaska mining engineer with several mining claims, as well as being superintendent of the Lucky Shot Mine in the Chugach Mountains
north of Anchorage. Dunkle was interested in aviation and went to Seattle to take flying lessons, where he became friends with Mills and Waterworth. With aviation becoming popular in Alaska, many Alaskans wanted to learn to fly, but could not afford to go to Seattle for lessons. Dunkle encouraged Mills and Waterworth to open a flying school in Anchorage and offered to make them a loan in exchange for free flying lessons when they moved to Alaska.
. Their new company was without an airplane, and they needed a new partner to help finance the purchase of another airplane.
Charlie Ruttan was an ideal prospect. He already had his transport pilot's license when the Davis crashed. He joined the company and loaned enough money to purchase a two-place Fleet
Deluxe B-5 biplane in Glendale, California
, in 1931. By then, it was too late in the year to take the plane to Alaska, so the trio kept working in Seattle through the winter.
Star Air Service had a lot of flight instruction business and also did some charter flying. Al Monsen, who flew for Pacific International Airways, the Pan American subsidiary, borrowed the Fleet for a local charter flight. When he returned to Merrill Field
, he overshot the runway by a large margin, crashing in willow brush past the field. This put Star Air Service temporarily out of business. With more financial help from Earl Dunkle, they purchased a three-place Curtiss Robin
which had an enclosed cockpit, allowing better winter operations.
Three airlines were started in 1932 in Anchorage when it was a small frontier town of about 2,200 residents. They were McGee Airways
, Woodley Airways and Star Air Service. These companies helped make Anchorage the major city in Alaska, overtaking Fairbanks
in the competition for business, government contracts and international attention. Originally these Anchorage air services were entirely unscheduled "bush" operations. They flew trappers, hunters, tourists, salesmen, sport fishermen, commercial fisherman and game hunters to destinations throughout the Territory. They flew from place to place delivering and picking up passengers and cargo, until getting a charter back to Anchorage. The pilots were often gone for weeks at a time before returning to home base.
The pilots were paid on a commission basis, and since the major industries in Alaska were seasonal, they also issued credit. The commercial fishermen, miners and trappers settled their credit accounts at the end of their seasons. When the Post Office Department began giving the air services air mail contracts, the steady income helped the companies, and expanded the flights into additional remote villages. Previously mail had been delivered by steamships in the summer and dog teams in winter. In winter months from October 1 until May 1 only letters, cards, packages of seeds weighing less than a pound, and newspapers going to libraries or newspaper publishers were carried. Packages were held in Seattle until the summer months when they could be delivered by boat.
By 1934, all the airlines were suffering financially. There was a surplus of airplanes and not enough business to allow the companies to accumulate sufficient cash reserves to survive through difficult times.
The merger made Star Air Service the largest airline in Alaska, but money was not coming in as hoped for, and McGee was called back from his Kobuk
mining operation to take over management of the company. He paid himself three percent of gross income until he accumulated all the money due him, then went back to mining. In 1935, Jack Waterworth’s pilot's license was suspended for 6 months for flying stunts over Palmer
during the fair. He left Star to work at Loussac
's Drugstore as a pharmacist, the profession he had studied in college.
In 1936, Star Air Service was operating 15 planes with a gross income of $190,000 per year. By August 1936, McGee had left Star and returned to his mining operations. Kenneth W. "Kenny" Neese, one of the Star pilots, took over management of the company, and Steve Mills was chief pilot. On Sunday August 30, 1936, Mills took a group of two married couples and a single man on an all-day fishing trip to Russian River
on the Kenai Peninsula
. They crashed on a ridge 2,000 feet above Upper Russian Lake. All were killed instantly. This was the worst aviation disaster in Alaska’s history.
Kenny Neese was attempting to put the air service on a scheduled basis. Don Goodman and Oscar Winchell, two of Star’s pilots, did not agree with this strategy, and left Star to purchase airplanes and start Alaska Interior Airlines in November 1936. In the Spring of 1937, Neese quit as Star manager and returned to flying. McGee was called back to manage the struggling company for the last time. Charlie Ruttan, the last of the Star founders, left the company. McGee bought Alaska Interior Airlines, adding two pilots and two planes to the fleet, and got the company back into good condition.
Don Goodman approached several miners and businessmen and put together a corporation to buy Star Air Service, renaming it Star Air Lines on November 27, 1937. David Strandberg, a successful miner, and his sons were the major stockholders.
At its peak before World War II, Star Air Lines had a fleet of 15 planes and had radio stations scattered across the Kuskokwim and Yukon deltas and down to Bristol Bay
. It was the largest airline in Alaska, but as usual, was chronically short of capital and unable to invest adequately in new equipment.
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) hearings in 1940 increased government control over Alaska's airlines which completely reshaped the industry. Both Star Air Lines and Woodley Airways did everything possible to obtain approval for a route from Alaska to Seattle. The CAB ruled in favor of a Seattle route for Star in March 1941, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt
vetoed the ruling. Pan American Airways started a Seattle – Ketchikan
– Juneau
service with a Sikorsky
flying boat in 1940, but the route was discontinued when World War II started.
The new owners expanded the company acquiring three active Alaska air services. On May 15, 1942, they acquired Mirow Air Service for $60,000, gaining the Nome
to Fairbanks route, and Lavery Air Service for $60,000, gaining the Fairbanks–Anchorage route. On July 6, 1942, they renamed the expanded company Alaska Star Airlines. On December 8, 1942, they acquired Pollack Flying Service for $125,000, gaining the Fairbanks to Kuskokwim area routes.
Mirow Air Service was founded by Hans Mirow, a German sailor who learned to fly in the late 1920s at Tex Rankin's Flying School in Portland, Oregon
. He went to Alaska in 1934 and started his successful operation in Nome, initiating the first scheduled flights between Nome and Anchorage. Mirow was killed when he crashed while searching for one of his pilots who had been forced down between Nome and Fairbanks with passengers. His widow continued to operate the service until selling to Star Air Lines.
Lavery Air Service was founded in Fairbanks in 1935 by William L. "Bill" Lavery who was born and raised in Fairbanks. At age 15, Bill went to California
to learn to fly, founded Lavery Air Service at age 20, and started the first scheduled service from Fairbanks to Anchorage.
Pollack Flying Service was founded in Fairbanks in 1933 by Frank Pollack who began his Alaska flying with Noel Wien
’s Northern Air Transport, flying out of Valdez
, Fairbanks and Nome. After selling his company to Alaska Star Airlines he became their operations manager in Fairbanks.
Woodley Airways changed its name to Pacific Northern Airways (PNA) in 1945, changing again in 1947 to Pacific Northern Airlines.
The company's second airplane, the Curtiss Robin, had a different three line identification painted on the side of the airplane: "STAR" in very large letters, the second line "AIR SERVICE INC.", and the third line "ANCHORAGE ALASKA", with no barnstar.
During the 1937 to 1942 Star Air Lines era, the fleet of Bellanca airplanes were all painted orange, with a large barnstar painted on the side of the airplanes. Each point in the barnstar was two colors, light brown on one half and black on the other. The star was within a black border which circled the star, with the interior the same orange color as the rest of the airplane.
When the company was sold and renamed Alaska Star Airlines, a new logo was adopted with several variations. The new logo contained a symbol of the north star directly over a partial image of the world.
Star acquired a certificate for a Nome - Fairbanks route with the purchase of Mirow Air Service in 1942.
It would not be until 1951, after the company had become Alaska Airlines, that a certificate would be granted for a route between Anchorage - Fairbanks - Seattle - Portland
.
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
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
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
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.
Three air services were founded in Anchorage in 1932. There was a surplus of airplanes, and not enough business to support them all, which prompted the 1934 merger of McGee Airways
McGee Airways
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....
with Star Air Service. Star became the largest carrier in Alaska. A lack of financial resources and poor management continued to haunt the company. One of the founders lost his pilot’s license and another died in a plane crash in 1936. With a change in management, the company was sold to a new group of investors in 1937, and renamed Star Air Lines.
Government regulation of Alaska airline routes which began in 1938, along with continued financial instability of Alaska’s air carriers prompted a consolidation within the industry. In 1942, Star Air Lines was purchased by New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
businessman Raymond Marshall.
The new owners acquired three smaller Alaska carriers, gaining additional scheduled routes to Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
, Nome
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
and the Kuskokwim area. The expanded company was renamed Alaska Star Airlines. In September 1943, after narrowly beating a competitor who was also filing for the name, the company was renamed again, becoming Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is an airline based in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac, Washington in the United States. The airline originated in 1932 as McGee Airways. After many mergers with and acquisitions of other airlines, including Star Air Service, it became known as Alaska Airlines in 1944...
, which continues to operate today.
Company founders
Steven E. "Steve" Mills was born in Dayton, WyomingDayton, Wyoming
Dayton is a town in Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 678 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dayton is located at the confluence of the Tongue River and The Little Tongue River. It is on US Highway 14, just east of the Big Horn Mountains.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000,...
, in 1896 and moved to Seattle after serving in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He worked as a furnace inspector for the Seattle Gas Company while taking flying lessons at Washington Aircraft Company at Boeing Field
Boeing Field
Boeing Field, officially King County International Airport , is a two-runway airport owned and run by King County, Washington, USA. In promotional literature, the airport is frequently referred to as KCIA, but this is not the airport identifier. The airport has some passenger service, but is mostly...
. In 1928 he went to work for the firm’s flying school and was chief instructor until he went to Alaska in 1932.
John E. "Jack" Waterworth was born in Oelwein, Iowa
Oelwein, Iowa
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,692 people, 2,808 households, and 1,819 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,395.8 people per square mile . There were 3,040 housing units at an average density of 634.1 per square mile...
, reared in Seattle and attended the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
studying to be a pharmacist. With financial help from the industrialist Norton Clapp
Norton Clapp
Matthew Norton Clapp was a Weyerhaeuser chairman who was among the private investors who built and owned the Seattle Space Needle....
, Jack took flying lessons from Steve Mills at Washington Aircraft Company. Instead of becoming a pharmacist, Waterworth decided to stay in aviation and he worked as an instructor and charter pilot. He made numerous flights throughout the northwest and an occasional cross-country trip to ferry planes from the east coast to Seattle.
Charles H. "Charlie" Ruttan was a 22 year-old Canadian from Winnipeg, Manitoba
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, who had moved with his family to Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, and took flying lessons from Steve Mills.
Wesley Earl Dunkle was a wealthy Alaska mining engineer with several mining claims, as well as being superintendent of the Lucky Shot Mine in the Chugach Mountains
Chugach Mountains
The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about 500 km long, running generally east-west. Its highest point is Mount Marcus Baker, at , but most of its...
north of Anchorage. Dunkle was interested in aviation and went to Seattle to take flying lessons, where he became friends with Mills and Waterworth. With aviation becoming popular in Alaska, many Alaskans wanted to learn to fly, but could not afford to go to Seattle for lessons. Dunkle encouraged Mills and Waterworth to open a flying school in Anchorage and offered to make them a loan in exchange for free flying lessons when they moved to Alaska.
Early history in Seattle
Mills and Waterworth were anxious to start a flying school and charter business in Seattle with hopes of expanding to Alaska. Mills, who was married and the father of two sons, mortgaged his home, and he and Waterworth purchased a two-place Davis monoplane, and started Northern Air Service. Waterworth completely destroyed the plane in a crash in Centralia, WashingtonCentralia, Washington
Centralia is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 16,336 at the 2010 census.-History:In pioneer days, Centralia was the halfway stopover point for stagecoaches operating between the Columbia River and Seattle. In 1850, J. G. Cochran came from Missouri with his...
. Their new company was without an airplane, and they needed a new partner to help finance the purchase of another airplane.
Charlie Ruttan was an ideal prospect. He already had his transport pilot's license when the Davis crashed. He joined the company and loaned enough money to purchase a two-place Fleet
Fleet Aircraft
Fleet Aircraft was a Canadian manufacturer of aircraft from 1928 to 1957.In 1928, the board of Consolidated Aircraft decided to drop their light, trainer aircraft and sold the rights to Brewster Aircraft. Reuben H. Fleet founded Fleet Aircraft in Fort Erie, Ontario, to acquire the foreign rights to...
Deluxe B-5 biplane in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, in 1931. By then, it was too late in the year to take the plane to Alaska, so the trio kept working in Seattle through the winter.
Early operations in Alaska
In the early spring of 1932, they shipped the Fleet biplane to Seward, Alaska, on the SS Yukon steamship, arriving March 26, 1932. They incorporated their new Alaska company Star Air Service in Anchorage on April 14, 1932 with capitalization of $4,000. Mills was chief pilot, Waterworth was an instructor, and Ruttan was business manager. Earl Dunkle along with a small group of miners and local flying enthusiasts made investments.Star Air Service had a lot of flight instruction business and also did some charter flying. Al Monsen, who flew for Pacific International Airways, the Pan American subsidiary, borrowed the Fleet for a local charter flight. When he returned to Merrill Field
Merrill Field
Merrill Field is a public-use general aviation airport located one mile east of downtown Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. The airport is owned by Municipality of Anchorage....
, he overshot the runway by a large margin, crashing in willow brush past the field. This put Star Air Service temporarily out of business. With more financial help from Earl Dunkle, they purchased a three-place Curtiss Robin
Curtiss Robin
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography*Bowers, Peter M. Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947. London: Putnam, 1979. ISBN 0-370-10029-8.-External links:* * ****...
which had an enclosed cockpit, allowing better winter operations.
Three airlines were started in 1932 in Anchorage when it was a small frontier town of about 2,200 residents. They were McGee Airways
McGee Airways
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....
, Woodley Airways and Star Air Service. These companies helped make Anchorage the major city in Alaska, overtaking Fairbanks
Fairbanks
Fairbanks may refer to:Places in the United States*Fairbanks, Alaska, city*Fairbanks, California, unincorporated community in El Dorado County*Fairbanks, Mendocino County, California, former settlement*Fairbanks, Indiana, unincorporated community...
in the competition for business, government contracts and international attention. Originally these Anchorage air services were entirely unscheduled "bush" operations. They flew trappers, hunters, tourists, salesmen, sport fishermen, commercial fisherman and game hunters to destinations throughout the Territory. They flew from place to place delivering and picking up passengers and cargo, until getting a charter back to Anchorage. The pilots were often gone for weeks at a time before returning to home base.
The pilots were paid on a commission basis, and since the major industries in Alaska were seasonal, they also issued credit. The commercial fishermen, miners and trappers settled their credit accounts at the end of their seasons. When the Post Office Department began giving the air services air mail contracts, the steady income helped the companies, and expanded the flights into additional remote villages. Previously mail had been delivered by steamships in the summer and dog teams in winter. In winter months from October 1 until May 1 only letters, cards, packages of seeds weighing less than a pound, and newspapers going to libraries or newspaper publishers were carried. Packages were held in Seattle until the summer months when they could be delivered by boat.
By 1934, all the airlines were suffering financially. There was a surplus of airplanes and not enough business to allow the companies to accumulate sufficient cash reserves to survive through difficult times.
Merger with McGee Airways
In the winter of 1934, "Mac" McGee, founder of McGee Airways, was anxious to return to mining the several mines he had staked and felt that a consolidation of air services in Anchorage was necessary. He approached Star Air Service, who purchased McGee Airways for $50,000. McGee stipulated that if he was not paid on time, he would return to manage the combined company until he received his full payment.The merger made Star Air Service the largest airline in Alaska, but money was not coming in as hoped for, and McGee was called back from his Kobuk
Kobuk, Alaska
Kobuk is a city in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 109.-Geography:Kobuk is located at ....
mining operation to take over management of the company. He paid himself three percent of gross income until he accumulated all the money due him, then went back to mining. In 1935, Jack Waterworth’s pilot's license was suspended for 6 months for flying stunts over Palmer
Palmer, Alaska
Palmer is the borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the state of Alaska, USA. It is part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 5,937....
during the fair. He left Star to work at Loussac
Zachariah J. Loussac
-Biography:Zachariah Joshua Loussac was born to Jewish parents in Pokrov , Russia in 1882. As an engineering student, he came under scrutiny for an interest in "some of the more liberal literature of the time."...
's Drugstore as a pharmacist, the profession he had studied in college.
In 1936, Star Air Service was operating 15 planes with a gross income of $190,000 per year. By August 1936, McGee had left Star and returned to his mining operations. Kenneth W. "Kenny" Neese, one of the Star pilots, took over management of the company, and Steve Mills was chief pilot. On Sunday August 30, 1936, Mills took a group of two married couples and a single man on an all-day fishing trip to Russian River
Russian River (Alaska)
For other uses, see Russian River.The Russian River is a 13-mile-long river on the Kenai Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows northward from Upper Russian Lake in the Kenai Mountains through Lower Russian Lake, draining into the Kenai River...
on the Kenai Peninsula
Kenai Peninsula
The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is probably derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west.-Geography:...
. They crashed on a ridge 2,000 feet above Upper Russian Lake. All were killed instantly. This was the worst aviation disaster in Alaska’s history.
Kenny Neese was attempting to put the air service on a scheduled basis. Don Goodman and Oscar Winchell, two of Star’s pilots, did not agree with this strategy, and left Star to purchase airplanes and start Alaska Interior Airlines in November 1936. In the Spring of 1937, Neese quit as Star manager and returned to flying. McGee was called back to manage the struggling company for the last time. Charlie Ruttan, the last of the Star founders, left the company. McGee bought Alaska Interior Airlines, adding two pilots and two planes to the fleet, and got the company back into good condition.
Don Goodman approached several miners and businessmen and put together a corporation to buy Star Air Service, renaming it Star Air Lines on November 27, 1937. David Strandberg, a successful miner, and his sons were the major stockholders.
Era of government regulation
In 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Act was passed, creating the Civil Aeronautics Authority. This ended the free-wheeling bush flying era of Alaska aviation, and assigned specific routes to the air carriers. The new law established a "grandfather clause" which entitled existing carriers to receive certificates for routes where the carrier could prove that it had provided continuous service on a route during the period May 14, 1938 to August 22, 1938. This regulation resulted in the consolidation of several airlines; the big ones got bigger, and the small ones disappeared. Goodman and the Strandbergs determined to make Star Air Lines one of Alaska’s major carriers.At its peak before World War II, Star Air Lines had a fleet of 15 planes and had radio stations scattered across the Kuskokwim and Yukon deltas and down to Bristol Bay
Bristol Bay
Bristol Bay is the eastern-most arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km long and 290 km, wide at its mouth...
. It was the largest airline in Alaska, but as usual, was chronically short of capital and unable to invest adequately in new equipment.
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) hearings in 1940 increased government control over Alaska's airlines which completely reshaped the industry. Both Star Air Lines and Woodley Airways did everything possible to obtain approval for a route from Alaska to Seattle. The CAB ruled in favor of a Seattle route for Star in March 1941, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
vetoed the ruling. Pan American Airways started a Seattle – Ketchikan
Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan is a city in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska, United States, the southeasternmost sizable city in that state. With an estimated population of 7,368 in 2010 within the city limits, it is the fifth most populous city in the state....
– Juneau
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
service with a Sikorsky
Sikorsky Aircraft
The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. Its parent company is United Technologies Corporation.-History:...
flying boat in 1940, but the route was discontinued when World War II started.
Consolidation and acquisition
In 1942, Art Woodley, founder and operator of Woodley Airways in Anchorage, wanted to buy Star Air Lines, and knew he could purchase the company for its debts, about $80,000. Due to the intense rivalries between the companies, he needed to be anonymous in any negotiations. He hired Homer Robinson, a New York attorney experienced in aircraft sales and aviation transactions, as a broker. Robinson was a close associate of Raymond W. Marshall, a wealthy international junk dealer who had made a fortune selling scrapped railroad equipment to South American companies, as well as other ventures. Robinson successfully concluded the negotiations, but then informed Woodley that Raymond Marshall would be the purchaser, not Art Woodley. Marshall was the new owner of the company!The new owners expanded the company acquiring three active Alaska air services. On May 15, 1942, they acquired Mirow Air Service for $60,000, gaining the Nome
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
to Fairbanks route, and Lavery Air Service for $60,000, gaining the Fairbanks–Anchorage route. On July 6, 1942, they renamed the expanded company Alaska Star Airlines. On December 8, 1942, they acquired Pollack Flying Service for $125,000, gaining the Fairbanks to Kuskokwim area routes.
Mirow Air Service was founded by Hans Mirow, a German sailor who learned to fly in the late 1920s at Tex Rankin's Flying School in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. He went to Alaska in 1934 and started his successful operation in Nome, initiating the first scheduled flights between Nome and Anchorage. Mirow was killed when he crashed while searching for one of his pilots who had been forced down between Nome and Fairbanks with passengers. His widow continued to operate the service until selling to Star Air Lines.
Lavery Air Service was founded in Fairbanks in 1935 by William L. "Bill" Lavery who was born and raised in Fairbanks. At age 15, Bill went to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to learn to fly, founded Lavery Air Service at age 20, and started the first scheduled service from Fairbanks to Anchorage.
Pollack Flying Service was founded in Fairbanks in 1933 by Frank Pollack who began his Alaska flying with Noel Wien
Noel Wien
Noel Wien was an American pioneer aviator. He was the founder of Wien Air Alaska, Alaska's first airline.-Biography:...
’s Northern Air Transport, flying out of Valdez
Valdez, Alaska
Valdez is a city in Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,020. The city is one of the most important ports in Alaska. The port of Valdez was named in 1790 after the Spanish naval officer Antonio Valdés y...
, Fairbanks and Nome. After selling his company to Alaska Star Airlines he became their operations manager in Fairbanks.
Birth of Alaska Airlines
Art Woodley had been advised that he would have to change the Woodley Airways name to something other than his own name in order to be considered a serious contender for new routes by the CAB regulators. Woodley sent his attorney to Juneau to file papers that would change the name to Alaska Airlines. The attorney filed the documents, but neglected to pay the $15 filing fee. Alaska Star Airlines quickly filed the legal documents to rename their company, becoming Alaska Airlines on September 16, 1943, and the company was incorporated under its new name on May 2, 1944.Woodley Airways changed its name to Pacific Northern Airways (PNA) in 1945, changing again in 1947 to Pacific Northern Airlines.
Livery and logos
The original Star Air Service plane, the Fleet 7 open-cockpit biplane had a three-line identification painted on the side with a barnstar between the words "Flight" & "Instruction" in the middle line. Each point of the barnstar was two colors, light one half, dark on the other. The barnstar was to be emblematic of the North Star, which in the Arctic sky shines almost directly overhead. The company founders named the airplane the Northstar, and had originally considered naming their company North Star Airlines, but instead chose Star Air Service.The company's second airplane, the Curtiss Robin, had a different three line identification painted on the side of the airplane: "STAR" in very large letters, the second line "AIR SERVICE INC.", and the third line "ANCHORAGE ALASKA", with no barnstar.
During the 1937 to 1942 Star Air Lines era, the fleet of Bellanca airplanes were all painted orange, with a large barnstar painted on the side of the airplanes. Each point in the barnstar was two colors, light brown on one half and black on the other. The star was within a black border which circled the star, with the interior the same orange color as the rest of the airplane.
When the company was sold and renamed Alaska Star Airlines, a new logo was adopted with several variations. The new logo contained a symbol of the north star directly over a partial image of the world.
Routes and destinations
In 1942, the CAB granted Star temporary certificates for the following routes:Star acquired a certificate for a Nome - Fairbanks route with the purchase of Mirow Air Service in 1942.
It would not be until 1951, after the company had become Alaska Airlines, that a certificate would be granted for a route between Anchorage - Fairbanks - Seattle - Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
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Pilots
The bush pilots who flew in the 1930s were a most important element in the development of air services in Alaska, and indeed in the development of Alaska itself. They flew single engine aircraft all over the Territory, with no weather reports, no navigation aides, no radios in aircraft, not even good maps, and there were very few landing fields. The pilots took the risks and their contributions to the inhabitants of Alaska were of enormous importance. The bush pilots who flew for Star Air Service, Star Air Lines and Alaska Star Airlines were:Aircraft
Further reading
- International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 29. St. James Press, 1999.
- Alaska Airlines: General Information and History, Seattle: Alaska Airlines, 1992.
- Alaska Airlines, Archie Satterfield (1981). The Alaska Airlines Story. (Anchorage, AK: Alaska Northwest Pub. Co., 207 p.). Alaska Airlines—History. ISBN 978-0882401645
- Robert J. Serling, Character & Characters: The Spirit of Alaska Airlines (Seattle: Documentary Media LLC, 2008), 492 pp., hardback, ISBN 978-1-933245-11-9
- Robert W. Stevens D.D.L. (1989). Alaskan Aviation History. (Des Moines, IA: Polynyas Press, 1095 pp., hardback 2 volume set). ISBN 0929427017
- Pat Wachel (1967). Oscar Winchell Alaska’s Flying Cowboy. (Minneapolis, MN: T.S. Denison & Company, Inc., 210 pp., hardback). ASIN B0006BQWQE
- Stephen E. Mills & James Phillips (1969). Sourdough Sky. (Superior Publishing). ISBN 0875648568
External links
- A diamond in the sky: Alaska Airlines celebrates 75 years of service above the clouds., Alaska Business Monthly
- Alaska Airlines 75th Anniversary Web Site, Alaska's World
- Roy Dickson 1930s Alaska Bush Pilot
- Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum
- AIRLINES - Business History of Carriers, Kipnotes
- Alaska Air – 75th Anniversary, January 1932, Kipnotes
- Airlines of North America
- Alaska's Digital Archives