Private company
Empires Airlines
US airline (1944–1952) that merged into West Coast
Empire Air Lines was a United States local service carrier that was founded in July 1944 by Bert Zimmerly at Lewiston, Idaho. The founder had formerly been operating Zimmerly Airlines, a commercial charter service that had been operating since 1943. Empire was inactive until early in 1946, when it purchased the assets of Zimmerly Airlines, including ten Boeing 247 aircraft.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0
Last updated Oct 21, 2026.
Overview
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Empire Air Lines was a United States local service carrier that was founded in July 1944 by Bert Zimmerly at Lewiston, Idaho. The founder had formerly been operating Zimmerly Airlines, a commercial charter service that had been operating since 1943. Empire was inactive until early in 1946, when it purchased the assets of Zimmerly Airlines, including ten Boeing 247 aircraft. Starting as an intrastate airline in Idaho, it operated daily round trip service between Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Pocatello, Idaho with four intermediate stops. The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) granted temporary permission to the airline to offer interstate feeder lines between Spokane, Washington and locations in Idaho and eastern Oregon.2
Products and brands
At the time of its merger with West Coast, Empire had a fleet of five DC-3s.
From Wikipedia’s article on Empire Air Lines, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3
Links
- WikipediaEmpire Air Lines
- WikidataQ5374224
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataEmpires Airlines on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaEmpires Airlines on Wikipedia
- 3
- 4Wikimedia CommonsEmpires Airlines photo by Bill Larkins, CC BY-SA 2.0