Western Air Lines Pilot Hat Badge 5th Issue
There are two varieties of
this issue. The earlier one is darker in tone and usually hallmarked STERLING and the second is lighter in tone
Los Angeles, CA 1941-1986
In 1941 Western Air Express changed its name to Western Air Lines (WAL), which was later altered to Western Airlines. In 1967 WAL merged with Pacific Northern Airlines.
On 9 September 1986 Western Airlines and Delta Airines entered into an agreement and plan of merger. The merger agreement was approved by the DOT on December 11, 1986. On December 16, 1986, shareholder approval of the merger was conferred and Western Airlines became a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta. The Western brand was discontinued and the employee workforces were fully merged on 1 April 1987.
