Alaska Airlines time line.

• Position: Chronology - Company overview

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1930s

The company that ultimately became Alaska Airlines was founded in 1932 when Linious "Mac" McGee painted "McGee Airways" on the side of a three-passenger Stinson and started flying out of Anchorage. In 1934, McGee merged with Star Air Service, creating the largest airline in Alaska with 22 aircraft. Flying in those days wasn't scheduled. You typically flew when the plane was full, be it passenger, furs or groceries. Finances were tight, but perseverance ruled the day. Business expanded in '37 with the purchase of Alaska Interior Airlines. Late that year, McGee sold Star to a group led by one of his former pilots, Don Goodman, who renamed the carrier Star Air Lines. The 1938 creation of the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAB) to regulate airlines signaled the end of the true Bush-flying era.

1940s

Star Air Lines received most of the routes it wanted from the CAA but was denied the coveted Alaska-Seattle run--that went to Pan American. Star bought three small Alaska carriers in 1942, changed its name to Alaska Star Airlines and to Alaska Airlines in 1944. The company grew despite a shortage of workers during the war, feuds with the CAB, and cash troubles that had employees paying for fuel out of their own pockets. In the late '40s, charter operations overshadowed scheduled service, and Alaska became the largest charter operator in the world. Using surplus military aircraft, it flew everywhere, carrying food in the Berlin Airlift and refugees to the settlement of Israel.

1950s

The airline expanded in 1950 with the purchase of two more small Alaska carriers. Under CAB mandate, the far-flung charter business of the '40s was ended. But in 1951, Alaska received authority to fly from Anchorage and Fairbanks to Seattle and Portland. The CAB forced what it considered a business-saving change in management a short time later. Charlie Willis, a decorated World War II pilot, came aboard as chairman and CEO in '57. A born marketer, he ushered in one of the most colorful eras in company history, and brought in-flight movies to the nation's skies for the first time.

1960s

While the jet age was just coming to Alaska Airlines in the 1960s, the marketing age was in full stride. Flight attendants wore Gay '90s and Russian Cossack costumes. Charters were flying to Russia, and in-flight announcements were turned to rhymes. "A life vest neat is beneath each seat. They're stored so we won't lose 'em. Now fix your eyes on the stewardies...