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| Founded | April 14, 1932 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | June 6, 1944 (renamed Alaska Airlines) | ||||||
| Focus cities | Anchorage, Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska Nome, Alaska | ||||||
| Destinations | Numerous | ||||||
| Headquarters | Anchorage, Alaska | ||||||
| Key people | Steven E. "Steve" Mills John E. "Jack" Waterworth Charles H. "Charlie" Ruttan Raymond W. Marshall | ||||||
Star Air Service, later Star Air Lines and Alaska Star Airlines was an American air service in Alaska from 1932 to 1944. With financial help from a wealthy Alaska miner, three pilots who had started a flying school and charter business in Seattle, shipped an open-cockpit biplane by steamship to Alaska in March 1932. Star Air Service was incorporated in April, 1932 in Anchorage with capitalization of $4,000. The company had some early success training student pilots, but their airplane was destroyed in a crash. Their financial backer helped them purchase a larger plane with an enclosed cabin which supported winter operations.
Three air services were founded in Anchorage in 1932. There was a surplus of airplanes, and not enough business to support them all, which prompted the 1934 merger of McGee Airways with Star Air Service. Star became the largest carrier in Alaska. A lack of financial resources and poor management continued to haunt the company. One of the founders lost his pilot's license and another died in a plane crash in 1936. With a change in management, the company was sold to a new group of investors in 1937, and renamed Star Air Lines.
Government regulation of Alaska airline routes which began in 1938, along with continued financial instability of Alaska's air carriers prompted a consolidation within the industry. In 1942, Star Air Lines was purchased by New York City businessman Raymond Marshall.
The new owners acquired three smaller Alaska carriers, gaining additional scheduled routes to Fairbanks, Nome and the Kuskokwim area. The expanded company was renamed Alaska Star Airlines. In September 1943, after narrowly beating a competitor who was also filing for the name, the company was renamed again, becoming Alaska Airlines, which continues to operate today.[1][2][3][4][5]
- ^ Bagoy, John P. (2001). Legends & Legacies Anchorage 1910-1935. ISBN 1-888125-91-8.
- ^ Satterfield, Archie (1981). The Alaska Airlines Story. Alaska Northwest Publishing Company, Anchorage, Alaska. ISBN 0-88240-165-3.
- ^ "Airlines of North America". AeroFiles. Archived from the original on 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
- ^ Crowley, Walt (1 February 2000). "Alaska Airlines". History Link. Archived from the original on 20 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
- ^ Glab, Jim (December 2007). "Alaska Airlines 75th Anniversary". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2009-08-23.