WESTERN AliR EXPRESS CORPORATION 
Annual Report and 
Financial Statement 
Main Offices: 
Transfer Agents: 
Registrars : 
Annual Meeting: 
GENERAL INFORMATION 
11 7 West 9th Street, Los Angeles, California. 
Security-First National Bank of Los Angeles,. and 
Anglo & London Paris National Bank, San Francisco. 
Citizens National Trust & Savings Bank, Los Angeles, and 
American Trust Company, San Francisco. 
Last Monday in January at Los Angeles. 
 January 27, 1930. 
Stockholders, 
WESTERN AIR EXPRESS CORPORATION. 
Gentlemen: 
Herewith is submitted 
the annual report on affairs of 
your company for the year ending 
December 31, 1929. 
HMH/GAR 
HARRIS M. HANSHUE, 
President. 
 Within the year 1929, your company expanded its operations to keep pace with the grow- 
ing public demand for airplane passenger service and for increased frequency of air mail 
dispatch to the end that whereas twelve months ago its planes were flying something less than 
2,400 scheduled miles daily they are now flying in excess of 7,200 scheduled miles each day., 
This increase is distributed as follows: 2,860 miles on the Los Angeles-Kansas City passenger 
service; 1,200 miles incident to inauguration of night air mail service between Los Angeles 
and Salt Lake City; 730 miles due to doubling the schedule on the Los Angeles-San Francisco 
passenger line and 200 miles occasioned by establishment of daily service between Los 
Angeles and Agua Caliente. These enlarged operations resulted in an increase in number of 
employees of more than 300% during the year. 
Proper handling of an operation calling for a minimum of seven departures and seven 
arrivals daily required development of termioal facilities of such proportions that your board 
of directors deemed it advisable for your company to own its own airport in the Los Angeles 
area. Consequently, the Valley Boulevard property was acquired and is being improved. Es- 
tablishment of the Los Angeles-Kansas City line also necessitated our improving-either under 
lease or purchase-landing fields at intermediate points where no public facilities were afforded. 
Despite the heavy non-recurring expenses entailed in laying out and launching new lines 
and more than tripling operations, your company ended the year with a profit of $1,087,852.60, 
before Federal Income Tax-an earning of more than $9 per share on the average number of 
shares outstanding and an increase of slightly more than 50% over the $720,777.80 profit of 1928. 
Airplane passenger operations throughout the country sustained losses during 1929. In 
this regard, your company was perhaps less seriously affected than any other. The volume of 
passenger traffic and passenger revenues on Western Air E~press lines increased nearly four- 
fold over the preceding year. 
Experiments conducted indicate that price differential over the cost of surface transporta- 
tion is one of the principal deterrents to air travel. The Postmaster - General, in published 
statements, has taken cognizance of this condition and is proposing legislation which will per- 
mit placement of mails on airplane passenger routes with a view to providing basic revenue 
for the continuance and development of these services. The high record of efficiency estab- 
lished by your company on all its lines, combining unexcelled operations with unprecedented 
low costs, places it in an extremely favorable position for such consideration. 
Meanwhile, with a view to obtaining equipment which by a combination of pay load capa- 
city and high speed will bring the unit cost of producing air transportation down to the level 
of surface, agencies, your company has purchased five 32-passenger airplanes which are now 
being delivered and has first call on the next fifteen built. Preliminafy tests with this type 
equipment indicates that, compared to airplanes now used, it will carry in passengers and cargo 
more than three times the load at a total increase of less than one-third in costs. This will 
permit of profitable operations with both passengers and express at, or veiy near, the rail 
rate level.  
Approximately 80% of gross operating revenue for 1929 was derived from air mail con- 
tracts on the Los Angeles - Salt Lake City and Cheyenne-Denver-Colorado Springs-Pueblo 
route. Under existing Air Mail legislation, the original four-year contracts may be extended to a 
total of ten years at rates of pay to be periodically negotiated between the Postmaster-General and 
the individual operators. Conferences on this matter were held in October; but, difficulty in pro- 
ducing a universally applicable formula for dealing equitably with the more than twenty air 
mail contracts outstanding resulted in postponement. Me~nwhile the various contracts are 
continued in force as originally written. 
 CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET 
WESTERN AIR EXPRESS, INC., AND WESTERN AIR EXPRESS CORP. 
December 31, 1929. 
ASSETS: 
CURRENT ASSETS: 
Cash on Hand, Banks and Call Loans ....... . 
Accounts Receivable-U. S. Govt.. .......... . 
Accounts Receivable-Miscellaneous ......... . 
Gas Tax Receivable ..................................... . 
Inventories ..................................................... . 
Accrued Interest ........................................... . 
U. S. Govt. and Other Bonds-( Cost) ..... . 
Stocks ............................................................. . 
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS............ . ........ . 
OTHER ASSETS : 
U. S. Govt. Bonds ......................................... . 
Deposits on Equipment-Borrowed ........... . 
Deposits on Bids and Agreements ............... . 
TOTAL OTHER ASSETS ........................... . 
FIXED ASSETS : 
Land and Improvements (Airports) ........... . 
Hangars and Buildings ............................... . 
Investment-Landing Fields ....................... . 
Airplanes and Engines ................................. . 
Machinery, Tools and Misc. Equipment.. .. 
Electrical and Lighting Equipment. ......... . 
Radio Equipment ......................................... . 
Furniture and Fixtures ............................... . 
Investment-Airways Extension ................. . 
TOTAL FIXED ASSETS ............................. . 
Less: Reserve for Depreciation ....... . 
PREPAID AND DEFERRED CHARGES: 
Prepaid Insurance ......................................... . 
Prepaid Rent ................................................. . 
Prepaid Fees and Commissions ................... . 
Experimental and Development- Radio ... . 
Deposits-Public Utility ............................. . 
TOTAL DEFERRED CHARGES ................... . 
TOT AL ASSETS ....................... . 
$1,091,575.59 
341,648.26 
163,024.15 
5,305.83 
127,616.39 
3,468.15 
116,696.87 
35,200.00 
$22,000.00 
1,910.00 
52,920.00 
630,902.94 
304,323.65 
52,119.81 
1,358,130.64 
92,060.87 
18,202.29 
22,671.04 
32,808.88 
447.82 
$19,929.89 
175.00 
28,166.07 
44.57 
136.25 
$1,884,535.24 
76,830.00 
$2,511,667.94 
596,304.67 1,915,363.27 
48,451.78 
$3,925,180.29 
 CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET 
WESTERN AIR EXPRESS, INC., AN:D WESTERN AIR EXPRESS CORP. 
December 31, 1929. 
LIABILITIES: 
CURRENT LIABILITIES: 
Accounts Payable-Trade ........................... . 
Accounts Payable-Miscellaneous .............. . 
Insurance Premium Payable ..................... . 
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES ............... . 
OTHER LIABILITIES: 
Employees' Deposits on Stock 
Purchase Agreements ........................... . 
PROVISION FOR: 
Federal Taxes-1929 ................................... . 
Other Taxes ................................................... . 
TOTAL ................................................. . 
NET WORTH: 
CAPITAL STOCK: 
Authorized 500,000 shares of $10.00 Par 
Issued-134,693 Shares ................................. . 
SURPLUS: 
Capital Surplus ............................................. . 
Undivided Profits ......................................... . 
Reserve-Crash Insurance ........................... . 
NET EARNINGS FOR 1929 ............................... . 
Less: 
Dividends Paid .................... $ 51,913.95 
Provision for Taxes............ 124,234.92 
TOTAL NET WORTH ..................... . 
TOTAL LIABILITIES ........... . 
$_ 248,557.83 
7,675.04 
10,838,40 
118,500.00 
5,734.92 
$1,083,310.00 
128,862.36 
54,379.95 
1,087,852.60 
$2,354,404.91 
$ 267,071.27 
8,688.06 
124,234.92 
$1,346,930.00 
176,148.87 2,178,256.04 
$ 399,994.25 
$3,525,186.04 
$3,925,180.29 
 CONSOLIDATED OPERATING STATEMENT 
WESTERN AIR EXPRESS, INC., AND WESTERN AIR EXPRESS_ CORP. 
December 31, 1929. 
REVENUES: 
Mail ................................................................. . 
Express ........................................................... . 
Passenger Service ........................................... . 
Baggage-Excess ........................................... . 
Special Service ............................................... . 
Airplane Rental ............................................. . 
TOTAL REVENUES ................................... . 
EXPENSES: 
Overhead-General ..................................... . 
Overhead-Traffic ....................................... . 
Maintenance of Fields ................................... . 
Maintenance of Equipment ......................... . 
Transportation ............................................... . 
Communication ............................................. . 
Depreciatiion ................................................. . 
Insurance-Crash ......................................... . 
TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES ............... . 
NET PROFIT FROM OPERATIONS ........... . 
ADD: OTHER INCOME: 
Interest, Discounts and Miscellaneous ....... . 
CARRIED TO SURPLUS ............................. . 
$2,354,985.10 
10,993.63 
484,077.18 
768.65 
75,139.93 
24,957.10 
$ 286,584.29 
208,802.11 
190,925.65 
288,264.26 
478,805.62 
39,201.98 
407,205.32 
56,000.00 
$2,950,921.59 
1,955,789.23 
995,132.36 
92,720.24 
$1,087,852.60