WestAir

WestAir is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Western Republic. Based out of Calgary, this airline was founded in 1919, flies to over 200 destinations worldwide, and is currently the second largest airline based off of fleet size and the second largest airline with the most passengers every year. WestAir also has a low cost subsidiary called Western Skyways, a cargo subsidiary called Western Sky Cargo, as well as a regional subsidiary called WestAir Regional.

WestAir is the oldest airline in the world that is still in operation.

History
WestAir was founded on January 17, 1919, in Seattle. WestAir began operations less than one year later on December 25, 1919, on Christmas Day. WestAir's maiden flight was made from Seattle to Vancouver, flown with a Boeing Model 5.

In late 1939, WestAir relocated its headquarters to Calgary, the nation’s capital, as a result of Calgary’s new airport opening.

Throughout WestAir's history, the main WestAir fleet consisted mostly of aircraft that were built by Boeing or McDonnell Douglas. WestAir did fly aircraft produced by other companies throughout its history, such as the Lockheed Constellation (1945-1974), the Vickers Viscount (1950-1968), the De Havilland Comet (1953-1959), the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar (1972-2001).

On June 13, 1959, WestAir made its first transatlantic flight from Calgary to London, England using a Douglas DC-8.

WestAir was the only airline in North America to fully own and operate the Concorde, as WestAir had placed orders for the Concorde in 1971 after Boeing had cancelled their 2707 SST program. WestAir flew their fleet of six Concordes from the mainland Western Republic to Asia and Oceania, via Honolulu, as well as from the mainland to Hawaii. Thus, Honolulu was nicknamed the "Concorde City", as it was the main hub for WestAir's Concorde fleet. WestAir operated the Concorde from 1977 to 2003.

On January 3, 1981, WestAir announced that it would be launching a cargo subsidiary called Western Sky Cargo, with Global Air Cargo. Western Sky Cargo would be a domestic carrier, with most flights originating from the Western Republic, unlike Global Air Cargo. In 1993, following a dispute between the owners of WestAir and Global Air Cargo, Global Air Cargo sold all their stake in Western Sky Cargo, and thus, Western Sky Cargo became a full subsidiary of WestAir.

In 1987, WestAir acquired, an airline in the Western Republic based out of Vancouver. WestAir also acquired in 1989, and airline based out of Edmonton.

WestAir purchased Western Skyways on February 29, 1996, however WestAir allowed Western Skyways to operate as a subsidiary of the company, rather than being absorbed into WestAir completely.

In 2002, WestAir announced that it will create a regional airline called WestAir Regional.

In 2019, WestAir celebrated its 100th anniversary, the first airline in history to reach this milestone.

Destinations
WestAir flies to over 200 destinations across 6 continents.

As of 2019, Los Angeles has the most WestAir flights out of any airport, by about 20%. Calgary is next on that list.

WestAir flights make up over 1/3 of the traffic of several major domestic airports, including, but not limited to, Los Angeles, Calgary, Seattle, Las Vegas, Vancouver, Phoenix, San Francisco, Denver, Edmonton, San Diego, Portland, Winnipeg, Salt Lake City, and Honolulu.

WestAir currently flies the longest route in the world, from Denver to Johannesburg, a distance of 15,416 km flown by the Boeing 777-200LR. WestAir is currently challenging Boeing to extend the range of the Boeing 777-8X to 17,000 km, so that WestAir can fly to Johannesburg from more domestic destinations including Los Angeles, Vancouver and Seattle.

Primary Hubs
WestAir has four primary hubs. These airports handle more WestAir traffic than any other airport.
 * Calgary Int'l Airport
 * Los Angeles Int'l Airport
 * Seattle-Tacoma Int'l Airport
 * Vancouver Int'l Airport

Secondary Hubs
WestAir has four secondary hubs. These airports handle high amounts of WestAir traffic, however not as much as WestAir's primary hubs.
 * Denver Int'l Airport
 * Las Vegas McCarran Int'l Airport
 * Phoenix Sky Harbor Int'l Airport
 * San Francisco Int'l Airport

Focus Cities
WestAir also has six focus cities. These airports handle quite a bit of WestAir traffic, however not near as much as WestAir's primary hubs. Toronto is WestAir's only international focus city.
 * Edmonton Int'l Airport
 * Honolulu Int'l Airport
 * Portland Int'l Airport
 * Salt Lake City Int'l Airport
 * San Diego Int'l Airport
 * Toronto Pearson Int'l Airport

Fleet
WestAir is a very busy airline and marks the second largest airline in the world in terms of passengers every year, with almost 190 million passengers every year. In that case, WestAir should definitely have a large fleet. WestAir has the second largest fleet in the world, consisting of over 900 aircraft, most of which are built by Boeing. Other aircraft, primarily built by other companies, are used for regional flights.

Paint/Liveries
WestAir operates several aircraft in special liveries including heritage jets, special decals, and other liveries.

Partnerships
WestAir is partnered with Boeing, as well as some other airlines. WestAir is not affiliated with any airline alliance.

WestAir's biggest airline partners are NordQC Airways, Chicagoan Jetlines, Air Texavia, Flightways, Rohiat Airways and CanotiaJet.

WestAir also sponsors national sports teams n the Western Republic, including the Western Republic National Football Team, the Western Republic Ice Hockey Team. WestAir also sponsors every major sports league in the Western Republic.

WestAir has naming rights for a couple of sports venues in the Western Republic, including the WestAir Centre in Calgary, and the WestAir Ballpark in Vancouver.

Accidents and Incidents
WestAir is a regarded as one of the safest airlines in the world, with no fatal accidents since 1960. However, there have been several accidents since then, with no casualties on board.

WestAir Flight 38 & Global Air Cargo Flight 906
On the morning of November 18, 1992, over central Alberta, WestAir flight 38, a Boeing 747-400 was cruising at 41,000ft, heading from Seattle to London-Heathrow. At the controls of WestAir flight 38 were Captain Randall Morris and First Officer Morgan Robinson. The other two pilots on board, who were on break at the time were Isaac Ford and Clive Buckley. Meanwhile, cruising at the same altitude, was Global Air Cargo Flight 906, a Boeing 747-200F flying from Anchorage to Dallas. Edmonton air traffic controllers told Global Air Cargo 906 to descend to 38,000ft, due to oncoming traffic. As Global Air Cargo 906 had just began descending, out of nowhere, another aircraft appeared in front of it, which turned out to be WestAir 38, The pilots of Global Air Cargo 906 could not save their plane on time, as WestAir 38’s winglet scraped through the front of Global Air Cargo’s fuselage, causing it to snap off. Global Air Cargo 906 crashed just outside of Red Deer, Alberta, killing all 3 pilots on board. The collision resulted in WestAir 38's left aileron being punctured, making it unusable. WestAir 38 declared an emergency, and was instructed to divert to Calgary. Ford and Buckley rushed to the cockpit to assist Morris and Robinson on their emergency landing. Captain Morris of WestAir 38 made the decision against dumping fuel, as the fuel dump nozzle had been punctured, creating a likelihood of the fuel tank igniting. His decision not to dump fuel would result in a more difficult landing, as the pilots would have to land a near fully loaded 747. The flight successfully landed in Calgary 30 minutes after the collision. There were no casualties out of the 416 people on board WestAir 38.

The Western Transportation Safety Board (WTSB) determined the cause of the crash to be a simple miscommunication between the air traffic controllers and the Global Air Cargo pilots, which delayed flight 906's descent, causing the Global Air Cargo 747 to collide with the WestAir 747.

In March 1993, the Air Line Pilots Association awarded the four pilots with the Gold Medal Award for heroism, the highest award a civilian pilot can receive.

The WestAir Boeing 747-400 involved in the crash was repaired and re-entered service, and was in service with WestAir until 2017 when it retired.

Travel Classes
WestAir has 4 travel classes.

First Class
WestAir has one of the best first classes for an airline in the Western Hemisphere. First class can be found in:
 * Boeing 747-8
 * Boeing 777-200LR
 * Boeing 777-300ER
 * Boeing 777-8X (starting in 2020)
 * Boeing 777-9X (starting in late-2019)

Business Class
WestAir's business class is one of the best in the world with very high ratings, as SkyTrax has awarded WestAir with the award of best business class seven times since 2000. Business class can be found in:
 * Boeing 747-8
 * Boeing 767-300ER
 * Boeing 767-400ER
 * Boeing 777-200LR
 * Boeing 777-300ER
 * Boeing 777-8X (starting in 2020)
 * Boeing 777-9X (starting in late-2019)
 * Boeing 787-8
 * Boeing 787-9
 * Boeing 787-10

Economy Plus
WestAir has one of the best economy plus classes as well. WestAir got their brand new Economy Plus seats in 2015 on the Boeing 767-300ER, and is now on every aircraft owned by WestAir.

Economy Class
Economy class on WestAir is way better than you would expect for an average airline. WestAir has one of the best economy classes in the world for any airline. WestAir's economy class is found on every single aircraft owned by WestAir.

Inflight Entertainment
WestAir has a variety of inflight entertainment systems to chose from.

Inflight Wi-Fi
The WestAir's inflight wi-fi only works if the device being used for internet has the WestAir app downloaded onto it. Through the WestAir app, a number movies and TV shows are available to watch for free. Live sports events broadcasted live via the Western Broadcasting Corporation are also available. Full internet including websites such as YouTube, Google, etc. is also available, for relatively cheap prices. Inflight wi-fi is available on every aircraft.

VIP System
The VIP system is only available in business class and first class. It includes a television. On first class, the television comes with Netflix, Apple TV, and other entertainment systems and services. On business class, the TV comes with the same features as the WestAir app.

All business class passengers will get a 75% discount for the inflight wifi system, and all first class passengers will get free and full access to the inflight wi-fi.

SkyTrax Rating
In 2016, WestAir became the first airline in North America to receive a 5 star rating from SkyTrax.

Overall: 9/10

Food and Beverages: 4/5

Inflight Entertainment: 4/5

Seat Comfort: 4/5

Staff Service: 5/5

Value of Money: 4/5

Gallery

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