departs from the
Terminal Annex Post office roof on its inaugural airmail flight, 1947. landing at the
Disneyland Resort Los Angeles Airways commenced airmail service on October 1, 1947, followed by scheduled passenger service in November 1954, making it the world's first scheduled helicopter airline. The main hub was
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) where passengers were flown to and from local area
heliports, including
Disneyland Resort in
Anaheim and the Newporter Resort in
Newport Beach. Service was later expanded to
Ontario and
San Bernardino. LAA's fleet grew with the acquisition of four
Sikorsky S-61's in March 1962; the airline became the first civil operator of the type, at a purchased price of $650,000 each. On October 25, 1965, the
Civil Aeronautics Board granted LAA a permanent certificate to continue scheduled passenger airline operations over the greater Los Angeles area. This, in conjunction with their authority from the
Federal Aviation Administration to conduct flights under
instrument flight rules (IFR), gave the company more flexibility to operate at night and in poor weather. Even though LAA was granted certification by the CAB, the CAB ended the approximately $4.3 million per year in subsidiaries for LAA, because they deemed commercial helicopter service not viable. The company considered obtaining the
Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane, with detachable passenger sections, but failed to secure financing for the acquisition. In the following years the company suffered two fatal accidents, and with the failure to consummate a contract with
Golden West Airlines in which it would have been purchased, Los Angeles Airways ceased operations in 1971.
Aircraft operated • 5
Sikorsky S-51 • 7
Sikorsky S-55 • 7
Sikorsky S-61L • 2
Sikorsky S-62A • 4
DHC-6 Twin Otter ==Accidents==