Pacific Western Airlines was a pioneer in the aviation history and known for its ability to profitably operate short haul air routes.

Predecessor air carrier Central British Columbia Airlines was started by pilots Russ Baker and Walter Gilbert with financing supplied by Karl John Springer.

At incorporation July 8, 1945, Frank Cooke and Lawrence Dickinson were recorded as President and Secretary-Treasurer as the pilots continued with Canadian Pacific Air Lines before CBCA went into operation.

Pilots provided air service to remote mining camps and logging operations in the North, delivering men and materials to isolated destinations.

Airways was commissioned to do aerial surveys for the giant aluminium and power complexes at Kitimat and Kemano in the rugged mountainous backcountry of British Columbia.

A year later, in 1959, Pacific Western was part of the largest single transfer of scheduled services in Canadian aviation history.

In that year, Canadian Pacific Air Lines released licensed routes from Edmonton to 18 points in Northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

At this point in time, the company acquired a reputation for innovation and aggressiveness by developing several unique services for freight customers and passengers.

The Calgary-Edmonton Chieftain Airbus shuttle service was inaugurated in 1963, with passengers carrying their luggage to the aircraft and depositing it on the ramp for loading.

In 1966, in anticipation of a regional air policy for Canada, Pacific Western began placing orders for jet and turboprop equipment.

The regional policy became a reality in 1968, and the company was able to add many more ports of call to the already long list of destinations in Western Canada.

Boeing 707 equipment was added to the fleet in 1967, and Inclusive Tour programs were introduced to Mexico and Hawaii in the winter, with several European destinations served during the summer, all on a charter basis.

Pacific Western operated a worldwide Boeing 707 cargo and passenger charter program until the last aircraft was sold in 1979.

In November 1968, the company introduced jet service on its scheduled route system with the delivery of its first Boeing 737-200 jetliner.

By 1969, the "Chieftain Airbus" shuttle service between Calgary and Edmonton was being flown with Boeing 737-200 jets, Convair 640 turboprops and Douglas DC-6 propliners.

The Alberta government moved quickly out of worries British Columbia Premier Dave Barrett had a similar plan.

In February 1979, in an agreement with the Canadian Transport Commission, Transair ceased all scheduled operations east of Winnipeg and Calgary/Edmonton via Regina and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

On December 1, 1979, all operating licences and routes were transferred to Pacific Western Airlines and Transair ceased as a regional carrier.

The most significant of various amalgamations during the years took place in 1969 when Transair and Midwest Airlines combined their operations to form a diversified regional carrier serving midwest prairie Canada to Toronto and the Arctic with the Transair fleet including Boeing 737-200 and Fokker F28 Fellowship jets for scheduled services and the Boeing 707 for charter flights.

Along with a number of Lockheed L-100 (the civilian version of the C-130 Hercules), PWA became a major player in the world air cargo business (also used extensively too support oil exploration in the High Arctic).