PACIFIC WESTERN AIRLINES

HISTORY: PACIFIC WESTERN AIRLINES was an airline that operated scheduled flights throughout western Canada and charter services around the world from the 1950s through the 1980s. It was headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, until 1974, when the head office was moved to Calgary, Alberta after Russ Baker sold his interest to the government of Alberta. In 1953, the company adopted the name Pacific Western Airlines. In 1987, PWA Corp, the parent corporation of Pacific Western Airlines, purchased Canadian Pacific Airlines (which formerly operated as CP Air but had changed its name back to Canadian Pacific) to form Canadian Airlines International. Wardair, another Canadian airline, was later purchased by PWA, resulting in only two major airlines in Canada: Canadian Airlines International and Air Canada. PWA and later Canadian Airlines were based in Calgary. In 2001, Air Canada took over Canadian Airlines.