Before it merged with Delta Air Lines in 1987 it was headquartered at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

In 1925, the United States Postal Service began to give airline contracts to carry airmail throughout the country.

It applied for, and was awarded, the 650-mile long Contract Air Mail Route #4 (CAM-4) from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Los Angeles.

In 1930 it purchased Standard Air Lines, a subsidiary of Aero Corp. of Ca., founded in 1926 by Paul E. Richter, Jack Frye and Walter Hamilton.

In 1937 Western merged National Parks Airways, which extended its route north from Salt Lake to Great Falls, and, in 1941, across the border to Lethbridge, Alberta.

For years after this exchange, the federal Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) would not award Western new routes while its competitors, including United and American, grew enormous even though all Western airliners were of U.S. manufacture while its competitors' fleets included aircraft produced in Europe.

In June 1960, Western Airlines introduced Boeing 707s (707-139s) between Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.

[7] Also in 1967, Western added Vancouver, and in 1969 it began nonstop flights between several California airports and Hawaii.

Kerkorian had previously controlled Trans International Airlines, making his first fortune by selling it to insurance conglomerate Transamerica Corporation earlier in 1968.

At its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, Western flew to cities across the western United States, and to Mexico (Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and Mazatlán), Alaska (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak and other Alaskan destinations), Hawaii (Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, and Hilo), and Canada (Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton).

Western flew Boeing 737-200s to West Yellowstone Airport in the summer, replacing Lockheed L-188 Electras.

A dispute broke out over what to call the combined airline: Western-Continental or Continental-Western, prompting an infamous coin toss.

Western extended its network to New York City, Washington, D.C. and Boston, as well as to Chicago and St. Louis in the midwest, Albuquerque and El Paso in the west, and Houston, New Orleans, Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

[15] In spring 1987 SkyWest/Western Express served 36 cities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

Several cities in southern Alaska including Homer, Kenai, Soldotna were served by South Central Air operating as Western Express.

On September 9, 1986, Western Airlines and Delta Air Lines entered into an agreement and plan of merger.

On December 16, 1986, shareholder approval was conferred and Western Airlines became a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta.

[18] Delta eventually decided to eliminate the DC-10s from its fleet as it already operated Lockheed L-1011 TriStars, a similar type.

This mainline destination list is taken from Western's March 1, 1987, timetable shortly before the merger with Delta Air Lines.

Another famous advertising campaign by the airline centered on Star Trek icons William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.

[21] This new corporate identity was the subject of litigation by Winnebago Industries, which contended the new "Flying W" was too similar to its own stylized "W" logo.

In the 1980s Western Airlines slightly modified the scheme by stripping the white fuselage to bare metal, retaining the red "Flying W" (with a dark blue shadow).

The movie Breakout starring Charles Bronson was based on his daring airlift of a CIA operative out of the courtyard of a Mexican prison.

During the 1980s, destination flights aboard Western Airlines were featured as prizes on televised game shows, including The Price Is Right and The $25,000 Pyramid.