Western Airlines joined the West Coast fare war.

The price war was triggered when Continental West, a new division of Continental Airlines, said it will begin serving the busy air corridors soon with fares as much as 70% below the prevailing rates. In response, Western said it will slash its fares by up to 69%. The new one-way fares, which take effect today, will be $65 instead $210 between Los Angeles and Seattle; $69 instead of $190 between Los Angeles and Portland, and $29 instead of $74 between Los Angeles and the Bay Area cities of San Francisco and San Jose.