Western was on the move in the early 80s. In January 1981, it launched non-stop service from London Gatwick to Anchorage, Alaska, flying on to Honolulu. On April 28, 1981 this was joined by a non-stop London to Denver service using the airline's "DC-10 SpaceShips". The London service would be removed from the network less than 2 years later. Miami had been added in 1974, DFW and Washington D.C. were added in the early 80's. By 1981 the proposed merger with Continental was definitely off.