Wien Air Alaska was formed from Northern Consolidated Airlines and Wien Alaska Airways. The company was famous for being the first airline in Alaska, and one of the first in the United States.
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History
The airline was started in 1927 by Noel Wien in Nome, Alaska, but traces its roots back to Noel's 1924 to 1926 flights out of Fairbanks with Bennett Rodebaugh's Fairbanks Airplane company which was later absorbed into Wien Alaska Airways. The company pioneered jet service to gravel runways and developed the B737 combi configuration which allowed a maximization of freight and passenger loads on the upper deck of jet aircraft. Wien Air Alaska at one time flew to more places in the world than any other airline excluding Aeroflot. By the early 1980s their route network extended from Point Barrow and dozens of Alaskan towns all the way down to Phoenix, Oakland, and Denver. Their main bases were in Anchorage and Seattle. Expansion came at a price as Wien was pushed to the brink of bankruptcy. Household Finance then dumped its investment in the airline and sold the company to Wien’s President, Jim J. Flood. He shut down the airline and on November 23, 1984 Wien was liquidated for profit. Noel's son, Merrill, said the end of his family's airline came when it "was bought by a corporate raider on a leveraged buyout and was liquidated for about twice what the stock was selling for. The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 made this possible." in an interview with Avweb.[2] Before Wien Air folded in 1985, they were known as the second oldest airline in the United States.
Aircraft operated
1920s:
- Standard J-1
- Fokker F.III (operated by Noel Wien at the Fairbanks Airplane Company)
- Stearman C3
- Stinson SB-1 "Detroiter" (the 1926 biplane version of the Detroiter)
- Hamilton Metal Plane
1930s:
- Bellanca
- Stinson Model Jr.
- Ford Trimotor
- Fokker Universal
1940s:
- Fairchild Pilgrim
- Bellanca Skyrocket
- Travelair 6000
- Noorduyn Norseman
- Republic Seabee
- Stinson SR-9 "Gull Wing"
- Boeing 247
- Douglas DC-3
- Curtiss C-46
- Cessna 165 Airmaster
1950s:
- Douglas DC-3
- Curtiss C-46
- Noorduyn Norseman
- Cessna 170, 180, 195
- Beech 18
1960s and 1970s
- Cessna 185
- de Havilland Beaver
- Beech 18
- Pilatus Porter
- Douglas DC-4
- Lockheed L-749 Constellation
- de Havilland Twin Otter
- Fairchild C-82
- Douglas DC-3
- Curtis C-46
- Shorts Skyvan
- Fokker F-27
- Boeing 737 (One of the first U.S. operators starting in May 1967 with aircraft N461GB)
(Wien was the launch customer for Boeings 737-200 Combi passenger-freight aircraft) 1980s:
- Boeing 737
- Boeing 727
- McDonnell Douglas DC-8 Freighter (contract for UPS)
Name history
- Wien Alaska Airways 1927-1930
- Northern Air Transport 1930
- Wien Alaska Airways 1930-194?
- Wien Alaska Airlines 194?-196?
- Wien Air Alaska 196?-April 1968
- Wien Consolidated April 1968-1974
- Wien Air Alaska 1974 -1984
- Wien Airlines 1985
The airline was purchased in 1981 by the company's current president, Jim J. Flood, who oversaw its liquidation November 23, 1984, earning Flood a sizeable profit and resulting in more than 1500 jobs lost.
External links
- Wien television commercials
- KentWien.com - Founder's grandson has a few bits of Wien nostalgia on his site
- Wien N-number fleet lists by time period
Sources
- Ira B. Harkey Jr., Noel Wien - Pioneer Alaska Bush Pilot, and discussions in 2005 with Merrill and Richard Wien, sons of the founder.
- [1] Merrill Wien interview, by Joe Godfrey Avweb 2002
- [2] Wien Airlines, a good example of how to bankrupt a company by Charlie Dexter, U. of Alaska, Fairbanks
