Pacific Express

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Pacific Express was the ambitious all-jet carrier that flew out of Chico, California, during the freewheeling early years of U.S. airline deregulation. Founded in 1981 as a WestAir Jet venture, it began passenger service in January 1982, using BAC One-Eleven jets to link western cities. It later added Boeing 737-200s, because apparently modest ambition had missed the gate.

From its Chico base, Pacific Express built a 22-city network across California and the wider West, serving markets including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Portland, Reno, Boise, Spokane, and Las Vegas. In December 1983, its marketing relationship with Pan American World Airways brought the carrier the Pan Am Pacific Express identity for connecting traffic through Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The runway ran out quickly. Pacific Express filed Chapter 11 petitions on February 2, 1984, and ceased operations that day, barely two years after launch. Six BAe 146-200s had been ordered but never delivered; Pacific Southwest Airlines later acquired several of those aircraft. It was a very 1980s aviation story: sleek jets, rapid expansion, a giant-brand connection, and a sudden silence on the departure board.

Our Pacific Express collection celebrates the bright, brief swagger of a Chico-born airline that tried to make the West feel one jet ride smaller. Wear it for the timetable collectors, deregulation romantics, and everyone who appreciates a spectacularly committed corporate leap.