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Late in 1959 , Pacific arranged for the purchase of eight pressurized , second-hand Martin 4-0-4s from TWA . These were intended to replace the unpressurized Martin 2-0-2s in the fleet and the remaining DC-3s .
ROUTE EXPANSION AND MANAGEMENT CHANGE
In June 1959 , Pacific began serving Catalina Island — not with the PBY amphibian but with DC- 3s operating into the island ’ s Airport . The PBY was sold . Pacific ’ s service to Santa Catalina lasted less than seven months .
A more successful addition to the company ’ s network occurred at the other end of the route map . Pacific ’ s system was extended northward to Portland , Oregon ,
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a much more desirable terminus than Medford , which had been the carrier ’ s northernmost destination since the company was founded .
Pacific ’ s system was enlarged further in 1962 with the addition of Reno , Fresno , Long Beach , and San Diego to the route map . The following year , Pacific became the first CAB-certificated air carrier to serve Lake Tahoe .
In 1963 , Leland Hayward and John Connelly sold their shares of Pacific stock to West Coast Airlines President Nick Bez , effectively giving West Coast a one-third interest in Pacific . Hayward and Connelly , who had founded , developed , and nurtured the airline that became Pacific , then resigned from their corporate positions .
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5 Portland , Oregon , became a Pacific Air Lines station in September 1959 , replacing Medford as the company ’ s northernmost terminal point . // DAVID H . STRINGER COLLECTION
6 Bob Archer captured DC-3 N54370 on final approach into LAX in this September 1959 photograph . // PROCTOR / LIVESEY / THOMAS COLLECTION
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