Johnson Flying Service

Johnson Flying Service (JFS) was an American certificated supplemental air carrier (known earlier as an irregular air carrier or nonscheduled carrier), a type of airline defined and regulated after World War II by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), a now defunct federal agency which tightly regulated almost all commercial air transportation in the United States during the period 1938–1978. From 1964, supplemental air carriers were charter airlines; until 1964, they were scheduled/charter hybrids.

JFS was unusual in that its airline function was ancillary to its main activity of mountain flying, in particular supporting the United States Forest Service with firefighting and other forestry management. JFS was one of the oldest US airlines, dating to 1924. JFS was also notable for the drama surrounding the efforts of its founder/owner, Robert R. Johnson, to sell the business so he could retire. Executive Jet Aviation (EJA) (now NetJets) tried purchasing JFS in 1966, which failed in the controversy of the Penn Central railroad being exposed as EJA's main investor, something illegal at the time. In 1971 the CAB blocked US Steel from buying JFS and turning it into a jet airline. Evergreen Helicopters finally bought JFS in 1975, allowing octogenarian Johnson to retire and creating the certificated air carrier Evergreen International Airlines. For the last 15 months of its existence, JFS adopted the tradename Johnson International Airlines.

The Museum of Mountain Flying was created in Montana in 1993, focused on JFS.