Los Angeles Airways (LAA) was a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

founded in October 1947 and based in Westchester,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, which offered service to area airports throughout

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

History

Los Angeles Airways commenced airmail service on October 1, 1947 followed by scheduled passenger service in November 1954, making it the world's first scheduled helicopter airline. The main hub was

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

(LAX) where passengers were flown to and from local area

heliports A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

, including

Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks (Di ...

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

and the Newporter Resort in

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

. Service was later expanded to

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

. LAA's fleet grew with the acquisition of four

Sikorsky S-61 The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, SH-3 Sea King military helicopter. It was developed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. The commercial version of the Sea King w ...

's in March 1962; the airline became the first civil operator of the type, at a purchased price of $650,000 each. On October 25, 1965, the

Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1938 and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services including scheduled passenger airline serviceStringer, David H."Non-Skeds: Th ...

granted LAA a permanent certificate to continue scheduled passenger airline operations over the greater Los Angeles area. This, in conjunction with their authority from the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

to conduct flights under

instrument flight rules In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR). The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) ''Instrument Fly ...

(IFR), gave the company more flexibility to operate at night and in poor weather. The company considered obtaining the

Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane is an American twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter. It is the civil version of the United States Army's CH-54 Tarhe. It is currently produced as the S-64 Aircrane by Erickson Inc. Development Under Sikorsky Th ...

, with detachable passenger sections, but failed to secure financing for the acquisition. In the following years the company suffered two fatal accidents, and with the failure to consummate a contract with

Golden West Airlines Golden West Airlines was a commuter airline that operated flights on a high volume schedule in California. It ceased operations in 1983. History The original Golden West Airlines, headquartered at Van Nuys, California, was founded in 1968 a ...

in which it would have been purchased, Los Angeles Airways ceased operations in 1971.

Aircraft operated

* 5

Sikorsky S-51 The Sikorsky H-5 (initially designated R-5 and also known as S-48, S-51 and by company designation VS-327Fitzsimons, Bernard, (general editor). ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare'' (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 20, ...

* 7

Sikorsky S-55 The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (company model number S-55) was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom ...

* 7

Sikorsky S-61L The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the SH-3 Sea King military helicopter. It was developed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. The commercial version of the Sea King was developed during the ...

* 2 Sikorsky S-62A * 4

DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

Accidents

* In January 1949, a

crashed off the terminal annex post office in Downtown Los Angeles, killing pilot Harry Slemmons, 27.Staff, “Crash of Helicopter Kills Mail Pilot From Inglewood”, ‘’The San Bernardino Daily Sun’’, San Bernardino, California, Tuesday 28 August 1951, Volume LVII, Number 310, page 11. * On July 2, 1951, a

crashed in an orange grove between

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polyte ...

and

, fatally injuring pilot John De Blau, 29, and civil aeronautics inspector, Wyman Ellis Jr., 44, both of Los Angeles. * On August 27, 1951, a

shed main rotor blades just prior to landing at Lynwood, coming down on Lynwood Road, and killing pilot Carl D. Crew, 24, of Inglewood, California.Staff, “Crash of Helicopter Kills Mail Pilot From Inglewood”, ‘’The San Bernardino Daily Sun’’, San Bernardino, California, Volume LVII, Number 310, pages 1, 11. * On May 22, 1968,

Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 was a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter that crashed at 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday May 22nd 1968 in the city of Paramount, California. All twenty passengers and three crew members were killed. The aircraft was destroyed b ...

, operating a

L, crashed in

Paramount, California Paramount is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 54,098, down from 55,266 at the 2000 census. Paramount is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area and is borde ...

resulting in the loss of 23 lives. * On August 14, 1968,

Los Angeles Airways Flight 417 Los Angeles Airways Flight 417 was a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter that crashed on August 14, 1968 in the city of Compton, California. All eighteen passengers and three crew members were killed. The aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire. Accord ...

, crashed in

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

resulting in the loss of 21 lives.

References

External links

Los Angeles Airways on Airliners.net1958 timetable
{{Authority control Defunct airlines of the United States Defunct companies based in California Defunct helicopter airlines Transportation in Los Angeles Transportation in Los Angeles County, California Transportation in Orange County, California Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Airlines established in 1947 Airlines disestablished in 1971 1947 establishments in California 1971 disestablishments in California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles American companies established in 1947 Airlines based in California American companies disestablished in 1971

History

Aircraft operated

Accidents

See also

References

External links