Western Airlines (2007)

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Western Airlines was a short-lived Bellingham, Washington startup founded in 2006 by local aviation figures Jerry Welch and Curt Tronsdal. It took corporate offices in the commercial terminal at Bellingham International Airport, aiming to give northwest Washington and nearby British Columbia travelers more direct, low-fare choices.

The carrier announced its planned service in November 2006 and began flying on January 18, 2007, with a Bellingham–Ontario, California flight. Its network also included San Diego and Phoenix-Mesa; Reno was announced but dropped before launch. The operation used a Boeing 737-400 wet-leased from Xtra Airways while Western pursued FAA certification.

The high-flying plan encountered ground-level problems fast. On February 7, 2007, Western suspended operations amid unpaid supplier obligations and trouble processing credit-card payments. Xtra Airways transported stranded passengers back to their originating airports. The Port of Bellingham records Western as serving BLI only in 2007: a remarkably brief flight plan, even by airline-industry standards.

Our Western Airlines (2007) collection celebrates the optimistic little upstart that tried to put Bellingham on the vacation-flight map, brought one leased 737 to the party, and exited before the complimentary peanuts had time to go stale.