McGee Airways

[1][2][3] Although McGee was an excellent manager, there were two major competitors in Anchorage: Star Air Service and Woodley Airways.

[3][4] When Mac McGee sold the company, he began working several mining claims, but was called back to manage Star Air Service on several occasions while they continued to struggle financially.

[4][7] They flew trappers, hunters, tourists, salesmen, sport fishermen and commercial fishermen to destinations throughout the Alaska Territory, going from place to place delivering and picking up cargo and passengers until returning to home base in Anchorage.

[4][7] The pilots collected cash for the flights and settled with McGee each time they returned to Anchorage.

[4][7][8] The Interior Department paid to have indigenous natives, who were wards of the government, flown to hospitals for medical care.

[8] In winter the planes were converted to skis, landing on ice and snow covered waterways or clearings.

[8] In the fall of 1934 McGee Airways obtained the first airmail contract to deliver mail to the Bristol Bay area of southwest Alaska.

[8] Dickson flew the mail route until late 1935, when he founded his own company Bering Sea Airways.

[4] Woodley Airways was founded by "Art" Woodley in 1932,[4] and in April 1932, three young Seattle pilots Charlie Ruttan, Steve Mills and Jack Waterworth founded Star Air Service,[4] planning to offer flight instruction and charter service.

[3] By the winter of 1934, it was apparent that there was not enough business to support three air services in Anchorage with the surplus of airplanes and an economy suffering from the Great Depression.

[3] The acquisition made Star Air Service the largest airline operation in Alaska.

After working his mining operations for a number of years,[5] McGee retired to the "lower 48" and died in Reno, Nevada, in 1988[5] at age 91.