Aerorus Douglas DC-8-61

Aerorus' destiny seemed to be intertwined with Russian Alyaska's in the mid-20th century. Russian Alyaska before 1968 was a mishmash of Russian, American and Inuit settlements despite the former's government being in power, the last bastion of the White Army and Tsarist government. The territory suffered greatly from Japanese bombing raids during World War II and the government seemed to anticipate an invasion from a resentful Soviet Union. Aerorus was a small flag carrier airline, with its primary purpose connecting the Aleutian Islands with the region's biggest city of Kolchak. However, in 1968 oil was discovered in the region. Russian Alyaska experienced a massive economic boom, and Aerorus, kicking and screaming, was dragged into a new age of expansion and growth.

Aerorus' fleet consisted of old Douglas aircraft like the DC-6 and DC-3, with limited routes to Europe, Asia and the Northern United States. Now, coinciding with the rise of commercial jet aircraft, demand for international routes with higher capacity rose greatly. Aerorus acted fast and purchased 6 of Douglas' DC-8-60 aircraft. Following the delivery of an aircraft that was not taken up, Aerorus inaugrated new routes to Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York in 1970.

Due to the fact that the Russian government denied service from foreign airlines to Russian Alyaska, Aerorus found great success from the territory's massive growth. They introduced more luxurious services on international routes and quickly became known as a premier airline, which boosted its popularity with businessmen migrating to the petroleum paradise. Despite keeping some of the old prop planes for island hopping services, the DC-8 became a staple of Aerorus' fleet - and ultimately its destiny.