Talk:Star Air Service

Suggested Additions to Article

Suggestions for additions to Star Air Service article & comments:

- Add info about hubs, destinations, passengers served The three air services founded in Anchorage in 1932 (McGee Airways, Star Air Service, Woodley Airways) were all originally bush air services, that is, they were completely un-scheduled operations. They flew miners, trappers, commercial fishermen, sport fisherman, game hunters, salesmen, Government Commissioners & nurses, and all types of freight. The pilots could be gone from Anchorage a month or more at a time. They would leave with a load of freight or passengers for a destination, then get another load going somewhere else, continuing in that mode until they got a charter back to Anchorage. The pilots were paid on commission, and gave credit or collected cash, settling up with their company back in Anchorage. Freight included all types of supplies for remote villages. The flew reindeer meet to native villages, spare parts to mines, dog teams for trappers, fruit & vegetables that had arrived in Seward by steamship, etc. When the Post Office awarded mail contracts, this expanded the destinations and augmented their income. Star Air Service did not have any scheduled flights until the CAB began regulating air routes in Alaska in 1938. So, there were no hubs. Flights went to destinations all over Alaska, and passengers were a diverse group of people with transportation needs.

- Add info about company logo’s I continue to search for logo’s I can add.

- Add info on employee benefits, customer perks During the bush flying era in Alaska (1930-1938) there were no employee benefits and no customer perks. Pilots were paid on commission and passengers were on a cash or credit pay-as-you-go basis.

- Dropping list of pilots If these bush air services were like 1950s era scheduled airlines, I would think a list of pilots would not be important. But in the bush era, the pilots were the most important elements in the development of air services in Alaska, and indeed in the development of Alaska itself. They flew single engine aircraft all over the Territory, with no weather reports, no navigation aides, no radios in aircraft, not even good maps, and there were very few landing fields. The pilots took the risks and their contributions to the inhabitants of Alaska were of enormous importance. Old33 (talk) 15:48, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

The pilots need to be listed – they were a critical part of the story!

A few comments to the above:

• Under 'Add info about hubs, destinations, passengers served', could this be added. Even though no destination list need be included (since there was no scheduled service), it would be nice to have this explained in this amount of detail in the article. As for 'numbers', are there any records of revenue, profit, number of flights, number of passengers available? If there are not available sources about them, we do not need to include it in the article.
• No matter who emotional you feel about a list of pilots, nowhere else on Wikipedia is there a lits of employees. At most, they should be listed in-line and solely include the company's CEO and chief pilot. We are not a directory. Trust me, I love writing about the more extreme airlines—myself writing about many of the smaller regional airlines that have operated in Norway. Had you been writing a book on the topic, I would have encouraged the list of pilots. Arsenikk ^(talk) 18:51, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Normally, I too would be against listing the pilots, but as there were more aircraft than pilots...and the list is rather brief, the pilots should be considered notable enough to be included. At worst, if others wish that the list be removed...you could create a branch article entitled Star Air Service pilots...but given the limited number of people, this shouldn't come to pass. I agree with Arsenikk in that there should be more numbers/statistics...this is an encyclopedia after all=P. Consider adding how many people were served, revenue, any notable lawsuits, number of flights.

You should also have a section on aircraft livery, their crashes, a section detailing their destinations, and the services they offered. You've completed the history section, but you have to add the other sections if it is to be considered a GA. Hope this helps.Smallman12q (talk) 14:06, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

The pilots should only be included if they are notable - and if they are then they should have their own pages to link to. If not, then they should not be included. See WP:N for guidelines.NiD.29 (talk) 17:18, 13 May 2014 (UTC)

Additions to the article

26 September 2009 - expanded Early Operations in Alaska section adding info on "bush" flying operations and early air mail service. Old33 (talk) 20:07, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

It's a useful addition, lets us know how they were paid and how air mail helped them out. Do you plan on adding a "Desitinations/Routes" section(or do you need some help there)? Good to see you're still with wikipedia=D. Smallman12q (talk) 22:02, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Added an intro paragraph to the group of pilots. Old33 (talk) 21:36, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Livery

There should be a section on Livery...

Star Air Service aircraft were generally painted red/orange.

Logo

The logo of Star Air Service was a brown barnstar inside of a black circle.

I don't have the information, but there should be a section.Smallman12q (talk) 14:48, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

Missing airplanes

Alaska Star Service, later Alaska Star Airlines operated several types not listed in the aircraft section of this article. SAS operated at least two Stinson "T"s and ASA is reputed to have operated a Consolidated Commodore. See: http://www.ruudleeuw.com/others-opland.htm Mark Lincoln 2602:304:68AF:ADA0:203:93FF:FEAD:8294 (talk) 22:34, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

External links modified

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