Wien Air Alaska
I started working for Wien Air Alaska in December, 1974. It was the beginning of the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipline. During the pipline construction, Wien Air Alaska, by numbers of flights, and numbers of communities served, was BIGGER than United Airlines!
For instance, during the summer months, the AVERAGE number of daily flights in and out of Fairbanks International for Wien was 17, with a maximum of 20 some days. When I was the ramp lead, we handled these flights with a crew of six...total. Usually, the flights to the Alaskan communities of Barrow, Nome, or Kotzebue would be in a 2 or 3 pallet configuration, with 56 or 72 seats. In addition to the passengers boarded, we'd put on anywhere up to 25,000 lbs of mail and freight. In Alaska, EVERYTHING goes by air!

Here are some images of Wien aircraft that I have found at various sites on the internet. As I find more, I will add them to this page. I may be able to get some photos to scan to also add to this collection.

"15 Mike", a veteran of the Pipeline flights, sits alone in the desert at Las Vegas.
N7815M is an FH-227, the type which did most of the flying between Fairbanks and the various pipeline camps during the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipline.

Downloaded Image


Another workhorse of the Wien fleet: the B737-200C (QC). Note the partially opened cargo door.
This is N492WC, sitting on the ramp at Seattle, Washington.

Downloaded Image


After Wien Air Alaska was bought by Household Finance, changes took place. One of which was a NEW color scheme for the aircraft.
This is N4952W, sitting at the gate, at Anchorage, Alaska

Downloaded Image


Once Wien expanded into the lower 48, we went all over the west coast. In fact, one airplane actually flew from Barrow....to Phoenix! (Now THAT would be a shock to the system in the winter!)
This is N498WC, one of our B727-100's, getting ready to depart at Phoenix.

Downloaded Image