With the regulatory protection that existed to support
Trans Canada Airlines (TCA), every advantage that presented
itself to the smaller airlines had to be seized. One of these
advantages emerged in the early 1960s when TCA wished to stop
service along smaller and less profitable routes where they were using
the DC-3 aircraft. One example of this was the case for TCA's
Edmonton-Calgary run in 1962. Russell Baker of Pacific Western
Airlines (PWA) wanted to introduce to that route the idea of the
AirBus, a concept inspired by small air carriers in the United
States.
The concept of the AirBus was that passengers could walk onto
an aircraft like a bus and purchase a ticket on board without
making a reservation. The AirBus service was to fly from
Edmonton’s downtown airport to Calgary. The route fit well into
the PWA schedule as the airline already provided services to
points north of Edmonton from the downtown airport. These
existing services could allow for expansion into a wider range
of routes.
Intense negotiations had to be held by PWA with officials of
TCA and the Air Transport Board. The application process carried
on until 26 March 1963, when PWA finally won the right to fly
between Edmonton and Calgary with their AirBus.
To make the service viable, PWA had to attract oil executives
by guaranteeing that there would always be seats available. This
was achieved by chartering extra planes when needed.
The first flight of the AirBus was on 21 May 1963, with a DC-4
that PWA had used in their DEW Line work. The AirBus was similar
to the no frills discount airlines established today. The price
of a ticket was less than any other service and the passengers
had to put their own luggage on a cart to be placed in the
plane. It was so successful that it flew its millionth passenger
on 17 April 1971.
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