Western Airlines was an American low-cost

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 ...

headquartered in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...

, and operated from a hub at

Bellingham International Airport Bellingham International Airport is three miles (5 km) northwest of Bellingham, in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. BLI covers 2,190 acres (886 ha) of land, and is the third-largest commercial airport in Washington. Bellingham ...

History

Officials of the Port of Bellingham had set the goal in 2004 of obtaining additional passenger service for Bellingham International Airport to destinations other than Seattle. In late 2005, the Port announced that it had entered into a lease with Western, a startup airline founded by two local businessmen with aviation experience. On November 16, 2006, Western announced that they would begin flights in January from

to four vacation destinations; the fourth announced destination of

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

was cancelled before the airline began service. Service began on January 18, 2007, with a flight from Bellingham to

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...

. Western operated as a "scheduled charter" service, with aircraft

wet lease Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...

d from Xtra Airways and was working through the process of gaining

FAA 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 ...

approval as a commercial airline. On February 7, 2007, Western suspended further operations due to outstanding debts to suppliers, including Xtra Airways and the fuel vendor in Bellingham. Xtra Airways continued to return Western's passengers to their originating airport. Xtra Airways officials stated that flights have had to stop in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

to take on fuel, though a Western spokesperson claimed that only one flight has had to stop, and that was due to a higher than expected fuel burn on the flight to Bellingham. Western officials traced the problem to difficulties with

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payments. The company had been running into problems obtaining a merchant identification number, which was needed before banks would deposit money into the airline's account. The airline stated it was working out an arrangement with

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, which would allow credit card payments to be processed and sent to the airline without the need for a merchant identification number. The airline expected to resume flights once the problem was resolved.

Destinations

Western flew to four destinations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

United States

Arizona

* Mesa/Phoenix ( Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport)

California

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 ...

(

LA/Ontario International Airport Ontario International Airport is an international airport two miles east of downtown Ontario, in San Bernardino County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino. It is owned and operat ...

) *

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

(

San Diego International Airport San Diego International Airport , formerly known as Lindbergh Field, is an international airport northwest of Downtown San Diego, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.. US Feder ...

)

Washington

* Bellingham (

) Hub

Fleet

At the time of Western's demise on February 7, 2007, the airline had 1 aircraft in its fleet consisting of:

References

Defunct airlines of the United States Defunct low-cost airlines Airlines established in 2006 Airlines disestablished in 2007 {{US-airline-stub