Love this! My dad was a Western Airlines pilot from the mid 1960s and into the merger with Delta. He had to retire in the late 1990s due to health issues. I truly miss these early days of flying, it was so much more pleasant and enjoyable. They served actual hot meals and the general public was so much more respectful and appreciative compared to today. Western was a great airline, my dad would always talk very positive about them. I remember him talking about taking a pay cut to help the airline out at one point when things were tight...that's how much he loved the company. I still collect Western Airlines memorabilia as well as some diecast airplanes that are rare and hard to find. That was an era of airline travel that we will sadly never see again.
Thanks for a trip down memory lane. I even saw some familiar faces from years ago and surprised myself by saying their names out loud. I started for Western at LAX in 1967. Worked there until 1975, then transferring to PDX. Continued to work at PDX through the WA/DL Merger of 1987. Then worked until 2002 for Delta until 911 happened. I retired in 2002 with 35 years of seniority. Western was a great company to work for. It was more like a large extended family than a commerical company. I made many great friends that I have to this very day.
@@Starboard76 My dad worked for WA/DL for almost 40 years and I shared this video with him yesterday. I received three separate calls from him within minutes, excitedly telling me about all these people he recognized. Thanks for taking him, and the rest of us, down memory lane!
Great video, great fun and lots of memories! I was with Western from 1975 - 1987, when Western and Delta merged, so this video means a lot to me. Well Done! and Thank You! Cheers, Carl
You are one of the ones in mind that inspired me to do this and I'm glad it made it's way to you! Somewhere between 1980 and 1987 I'm sure we crossed paths between LAX, SEA & SLC! You guys were awesome, Carl!
@@Starboard76 Yes, those were the days! The airline industry was exciting, fun and innovative. I feel very fortunate to have been a part of the industry in those days, and sad to see the state of the industry today. I hardly travel at all any more, and am simply content in knowing I had my place in the industry during the best of times!
@@carlhaluss Brilliantly laid out Carl! I share the exact same vibe! I had nowhere near as indepth connection as you did. U a taste as I did some work for Braniff III, had great friends at Eastern and TWA that led to great Airport Operations connections, but above all that was (still is nut far less than before) above all was the years of crossing globe on the best airlines the world offered, visiting airports I only dreamed of as a child. My only disappointment was not securing a video camera earlier and recording that special history. But I did catch on in the last years of the Great Period of Civil Aviation - recording in the late '90s with digital equipment snd learning computer skills to clean up and make even older VHS recordings more enjoyable and pleasing to the eye! Thanks for sharing and your support!
Had a great flight with Western from SFO to LAX in the mid-70’s on a 707. It was billed as a late night Champagne flight. Everyone onboard was served a glass of Champagne. A great flight.
Truly outstanding. Just FYI, the gentleman briefly speaking at the very beginning is Robert Serling, brother to Rod and an author who wrote many books about aviation, including histories of Western, Continental, TWA and American and, interestingly enough, North Central!. He also wrote a book about the Lockheed Electra and its problems/successful solutions. The Indian Head livery is one of my all time favorites. Thank you for taking the time to put these together!
Wow, I had no idea about Robert Serling! Thanks for that! But he speaks the absolute truth about what has happened in the airline industry, ievery word spoken..needed to be said!
I like the white with the red flying "W" as I know them from the 80's, looked better as the Bud Light scheme looked great too. I have a few Western Airlines flight schedules from the 80's including the merger with Delta in April 1987 which the first time I saw a DC-10 which was the former Western Airlines DC-10 in white with the red stripe after the "W" was removed & of course the Western name on fuselage & replaced with the widget logo & Delta on the fuselage temporarily until was ready for repaint into Delta colors. This was an interesting video which truly enjoy.
To this very day, the 707 and 720B hold a very special place in my ❤️. Third runner up ... DC-8. Countless trips on all three types. Flying back then was special and in First Class was sublime 😉
Rob Youngquist that is simply Awesome!!! Westerns 707/720s were the sleekest looking one around, just becuz I’ve done this video does not mean my search for WA 707s is over, this energized me to intensify the hunt for more and better
Thanks! I hope you looked in on Airport PAST:Miami International Airport Part 2, ALL Eastern there! You were part of a great Airline and you were indeed one of the people who made Eastern the GREAT airline that it was!
Great footage of days gone by. Many of us who grew up in the Pacific NW in the 1950's/60's fondly remember not only Western but Northwest Orient Airlines, PNA, PSA, West Coast Airlines to name a few. Many of our parents, neighbors, family who worked before dereg, remember the special family, company relationships. The DC-10 footage was over the top cool, however Western flight 2605 still haunts me to this day . Thanks for the video.
@@Starboard76 No one more than me...I had to train people when they migrated Datas II to Worldspan! I saw more of those terminals in one year than I ever want to see again!
@@scpatl4now If only you had stumbled over System One when it came out..that one blew Sabre, PARS, Apollo all of them out of the water! But thing, everyone didn't jump on that bandwagon because I found so many open security secrets that I'm sure someone (more criminally minded likely did do) and became wealthy overnight! But it's real time seat availability was unmatched by them all!
@@Starboard76 System One...that was Eastern's reservation system wasn't it? Knowing two of them was fine by me. Worldspan was pretty much Pars...migrating agents from Datas II to Worldspan was one of the more thankless jobs I've had in my lifetime...lol I had an agent throw a pencil case at me once
@@scpatl4now Holy shit! Well nowadays we've gotten so use to computer/devices in our lives and when they go wonky now..ppl throw whole chairs out the window (in the movie biz- at people) ..so we've kinda come full circle and now can't live without them. But yeah System One was Eastern and it was the most advanced public (industry at least) accessible tools of it's kind. You could pull up stuff PARS and the rest never could. Worldspan...did a week in Overland Park learning that curve! It certainly was an era where 'you just had to be there'! I'm glad I added the antiquated (advanced at the time) res clip in the project - I knew someone would spot and the ring the bell! Thanks man!
Perhaps, the guy behind him in the scene is 'forcing him aboard) we all know Arnold could take him down in a second, so he's just 'going along'...but I'm sure after that, Arnold flew Western alot living here in SoCal!
Good stuff. REALLY needs narration; I'm available! My sister-in-law was a Western stewardess. They made a sweetheart deal with Delta: free travel for life. And I mean no airport fees or taxes. Nice.
@@bobboberson2024 No one hires aanyone without a demonstration of their skillset. This is something I would think you'd be aware of. There will be 'no hires', I'm sure after a few attempts the end result will be successful. Thanks for pointing it out.
Western was one of the best U.S. airlines. Far better serice than any of today's airlines. You refer to Western as comparable to Eastern. There was no comparison. Eastern's inflight service was't even in the same league as Western in my experience. Their "hotrod" 720Bs were the best, very high performance with the same engines as the heaviest 707s but about 100,000 lbs lighter. My only flight on a Lockheed Electra was on Western from Calgary to Great Falls, Montana about 1966. Just one point re some of your videos including this one. The colors often look slightly artificial. Not sure how to explain it but sometimes it looks like the colors have been enhanced somehow and seem too bright and not very accurate.
I knew both airlines intensely well, Western did have a notch up on personal service above Eastern but Eastern had 'do what they had to do to get the job done mentality'..and it proved it on many occasion. As for the color, some of these clips can be seen online in their now faded color original state. I could dial it down a tad, even my colors will fade as well.
I did like my Western flights, DC-10, 707, and 720. But, that was in the 1970s and they were just normal flights, the exception being Eastern which by the end of the 1970s was already horrible.
Love this! My dad was a Western Airlines pilot from the mid 1960s and into the merger with Delta. He had to retire in the late 1990s due to health issues. I truly miss these early days of flying, it was so much more pleasant and enjoyable. They served actual hot meals and the general public was so much more respectful and appreciative compared to today. Western was a great airline, my dad would always talk very positive about them. I remember him talking about taking a pay cut to help the airline out at one point when things were tight...that's how much he loved the company. I still collect Western Airlines memorabilia as well as some diecast airplanes that are rare and hard to find. That was an era of airline travel that we will sadly never see again.
Mine too. I still have his WAL wings...
Woow brought back sweet memories. Thank you. Thank you
Thanks for a trip down memory lane. I even saw some familiar faces from years ago and surprised myself by saying their names out loud. I started for Western at LAX in 1967. Worked there until 1975, then transferring to PDX. Continued to work at PDX through the WA/DL Merger of 1987. Then worked until 2002 for Delta until 911 happened. I retired in 2002 with 35 years of seniority. Western was a great company to work for. It was more like a large extended family than a commerical company. I made many great friends that I have to this very day.
Well done... thanks. Western was an awesome airline,.
Indeed it was simply spectacular!
Amazing footage, thank you for sharing! Brings back great memories.
Thanks Keith (with the famous surname), your compliment means I did the job I wanted to do, appeal to those who remember!
@@Starboard76 down a rabbit hole with your YT channel, feels like I struck gold!
@@ksinouye Right on brother..and only greater fare is on the way! Thanks for your support!
@@Starboard76 My dad worked for WA/DL for almost 40 years and I shared this video with him yesterday. I received three separate calls from him within minutes, excitedly telling me about all these people he recognized. Thanks for taking him, and the rest of us, down memory lane!
@@ksinouye HaHa!! Awesome man! That just made my day! Be sure to tell him!
Great videos. They all bring back some very good memories. Thanks for sharing.
First trip to Hawaii was on a very new Western DC-10 from LAX to HNL in 1975. Fabulous service and Genuine Hospitality
Indeed it was, did that trip as well!
@@Starboard76 Dad was a DC-10 Capt. on the LAX HNL route.
Great memories! My Dad flew out of LAX.
Great video, great fun and lots of memories! I was with Western from 1975 - 1987, when Western and Delta merged, so this video means a lot to me. Well Done! and Thank You! Cheers, Carl
You are one of the ones in mind that inspired me to do this and I'm glad it made it's way to you! Somewhere between 1980 and 1987 I'm sure we crossed paths between LAX, SEA & SLC! You guys were awesome, Carl!
@@Starboard76 Yes, those were the days! The airline industry was exciting, fun and innovative. I feel very fortunate to have been a part of the industry in those days, and sad to see the state of the industry today. I hardly travel at all any more, and am simply content in knowing I had my place in the industry during the best of times!
@@carlhaluss Brilliantly laid out Carl! I share the exact same vibe! I had nowhere near as indepth connection as you did. U a taste as I did some work for Braniff III, had great friends at Eastern and TWA that led to great Airport Operations connections, but above all that was (still is nut far less than before) above all was the years of crossing globe on the best airlines the world offered, visiting airports I only dreamed of as a child. My only disappointment was not securing a video camera earlier and recording that special history. But I did catch on in the last years of the Great Period of Civil Aviation - recording in the late '90s with digital equipment snd learning computer skills to clean up and make even older VHS recordings more enjoyable and pleasing to the eye!
Thanks for sharing and your support!
good God I just saw my late father waving out the cockpit of a 737 at SFO those Fisher meat hooks are a dead give away miss you dad
Had a great flight with Western from SFO to LAX in the mid-70’s on a 707.
It was billed as a late night Champagne flight. Everyone onboard was served a glass of Champagne.
A great flight.
Nice, I totally missed out on catching a Western 707 flight!
Truly outstanding. Just FYI, the gentleman briefly speaking at the very beginning is Robert Serling, brother to Rod and an author who wrote many books about aviation, including histories of Western, Continental, TWA and American and, interestingly enough, North Central!. He also wrote a book about the Lockheed Electra and its problems/successful solutions. The Indian Head livery is one of my all time favorites. Thank you for taking the time to put these together!
Wow, I had no idea about Robert Serling! Thanks for that! But he speaks the absolute truth about what has happened in the airline industry, ievery word spoken..needed to be said!
And I I hope he sees this video! I'm 100% certain he would approve of my efforts!
he passed away on May 06, 2010@@Starboard76
Only flew WA once, when I was a teenager back in the 70's, from YVR to LAX return. Great service, happy memories. Shame the carrier is gone.
Thank you very much ! My first airplane trip was a Western 707 from Denver to San Diego via Phoenix , nothing like it .
Those trips are the absolutely best! Glad you liked it!
I like the white with the red flying "W" as I know them from the 80's, looked better as the Bud Light scheme looked great too. I have a few Western Airlines flight schedules from the 80's including the merger with Delta in April 1987 which the first time I saw a DC-10 which was the former Western Airlines DC-10 in white with the red stripe after the "W" was removed & of course the Western name on fuselage & replaced with the widget logo & Delta on the fuselage temporarily until was ready for repaint into Delta colors. This was an interesting video which truly enjoy.
Doug Mammaro thanks man, I agree...the Delta/Western hybrid look simply did not work, the original was perfection
@@Starboard76 👍
To this very day, the 707 and 720B hold a very special place in my ❤️. Third runner up ... DC-8. Countless trips on all three types. Flying back then was special and in First Class was sublime 😉
Rob Youngquist that is simply Awesome!!! Westerns 707/720s were the sleekest looking one around, just becuz I’ve done this video does not mean my search for WA 707s is over, this energized me to intensify the hunt for more and better
Starboard76 .. most of my 707 flights were on AA ORD/SFO, LAX, SAN, PHX, PSP and the 720B & DC-8 was on UA to same plus PDX, LAS, SEA, and PDX
My favorites too.SLEEK AND BEAUTIFUL JETLINERS
FIRST JET RIDE DELTA DC-8
AT TIME WHEN DELTA HAD High Passenger VALUE
NOT The SAME AIRLINE TODAY
Thanks for this well done bit of aviation history. EAL 1960 to 1989.
Thanks! I hope you looked in on Airport PAST:Miami International Airport Part 2, ALL Eastern there! You were part of a great Airline and you were indeed one of the people who made Eastern the GREAT airline that it was!
Fantastic!!!
Great footage of days gone by. Many of us who grew up in the Pacific NW in the 1950's/60's fondly remember not only Western but Northwest Orient Airlines, PNA, PSA, West Coast Airlines to name a few. Many of our parents, neighbors, family who worked before dereg, remember the special family, company relationships. The DC-10 footage was over the top cool, however Western flight 2605 still haunts me to this day . Thanks for the video.
Thanks Skinner, you're exactly the audience I was seeking with this, those who have a above average appreciation due having been there!
What do you keep blacking out?
Those Westinghouse computer reservation terminals...was not sad to see those go
HAHA! Everyone felt the same way towards Datas II!
@@Starboard76 No one more than me...I had to train people when they migrated Datas II to Worldspan! I saw more of those terminals in one year than I ever want to see again!
@@scpatl4now If only you had stumbled over System One when it came out..that one blew Sabre, PARS, Apollo all of them out of the water!
But thing, everyone didn't jump on that bandwagon because I found so many open security secrets that I'm sure someone (more criminally minded likely did do) and became wealthy overnight! But it's real time seat availability was unmatched by them all!
@@Starboard76 System One...that was Eastern's reservation system wasn't it? Knowing two of them was fine by me. Worldspan was pretty much Pars...migrating agents from Datas II to Worldspan was one of the more thankless jobs I've had in my lifetime...lol I had an agent throw a pencil case at me once
@@scpatl4now Holy shit! Well nowadays we've gotten so use to computer/devices in our lives and when they go wonky now..ppl throw whole chairs out the window (in the movie biz- at people) ..so we've kinda come full circle and now can't live without them.
But yeah System One was Eastern and it was the most advanced public (industry at least) accessible tools of it's kind. You could pull up stuff PARS and the rest never could.
Worldspan...did a week in Overland Park learning that curve! It certainly was an era where 'you just had to be there'! I'm glad I added the antiquated (advanced at the time) res clip in the project - I knew someone would spot and the ring the bell! Thanks man!
Nice job! Western was a neat company. As far as I know they were the only carrier to ever fly to "Valverde'".
Thanks man!
The GREAT!!! Robert Serling!
Western was my DC10 flight to LA.
Great video, Even Arnold prefers Western Airlines.
Perhaps, the guy behind him in the scene is 'forcing him aboard) we all know Arnold could take him down in a second, so he's just 'going along'...but I'm sure after that, Arnold flew Western alot living here in SoCal!
Yes i know, that is Commando, i love thst film
He's dead tired.
I bet there's no ex-western employees left at Delta
Retired or gone to the next world
Good stuff. REALLY needs narration; I'm available! My sister-in-law was a Western stewardess. They made a sweetheart deal with Delta: free travel for life. And I mean no airport fees or taxes. Nice.
Well do one and I'll add it the video and see how it plays.
@@Starboard76 Hire me. And we'll see how it plays.
@@bobboberson2024 No one hires aanyone without a demonstration of their skillset.
This is something I would think you'd be aware of. There will be 'no hires', I'm sure after a few attempts the end result will be successful. Thanks for pointing it out.
@@Starboard76 Of course. Put up a private post - and we''ll figure something out.
@@bobboberson2024 hanks man, but I've got it handled!
Look at those engines push out smoke. It's like a Russian mig
Western was one of the best U.S. airlines. Far better serice than any of today's airlines. You refer to Western as comparable to Eastern. There was no comparison. Eastern's inflight service was't even in the same league as Western in my experience. Their "hotrod" 720Bs were the best, very high performance with the same engines as the heaviest 707s but about 100,000 lbs lighter. My only flight on a Lockheed Electra was on Western from Calgary to Great Falls, Montana about 1966.
Just one point re some of your videos including this one. The colors often look slightly artificial. Not sure how to explain it but sometimes it looks like the colors have been enhanced somehow and seem too bright and not very accurate.
I knew both airlines intensely well, Western did have a notch up on personal service above Eastern but Eastern had 'do what they had to do to get the job done mentality'..and it proved it on many occasion.
As for the color, some of these clips can be seen online in their now faded color original state. I could dial it down a tad, even my colors will fade as well.
I did like my Western flights, DC-10, 707, and 720. But, that was in the 1970s and they were just normal flights, the exception being Eastern which by the end of the 1970s was already horrible.
A Western Airlines 707...I'm way deep in jelly!
The only way to fly
Mess