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Unforgotten: Airlines of the Past
Part one: USA. Nothing is a more sobering testament to the unpredictability of the airline business than the long list of carriers that are no longer with us. From Pan Am and Braniff to Ozark and Southern, here's a look at America's most colorful and influential airlines of yesterday. (thepointsguy.com) Daha Fazlası...
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Don't forget, small but important,"L.A. Airways"! You could go direct from LAX to Disneyland on their S-76, helicopter!! They also flew S-55's,Twin Otters.
With two major airlines closed or not performing to capacity (Jet Airways & Air India) Remainder pilots in the other existing three airlines in India (Indigo/Go Air/Spice Jet) are having tough time meeting the requisite effort of carrying the enhanced pax load & are always fatigued to say the least. Flight safety is bound to suffer in such a scenario what with the Indian Government for ever busy in fighting the unscrupulous opposition & unable to regulate Civil Aviation.
...and here I am holding a seat on a TruJet flight next month!
Having grown up in Atlanta, I have many fond memories of Eastern Air Lines. EA was Atlanta's FIRST airline and they really connected Atlanta and the Deep South with the midwest and northeast.
When I was a child in the 1950's they were by far the largest carrier at ATL. They also had a vast array of piston-powered aircraft to observe and fly on.
This eventually caused them a lot of trouble at the dawn of the Jet-age.
Due to poor planning by the head-honcho Eddie Rickenbacker, they failed to grasp the impact (along with Howard Hughes at TWA) that the jets would have on the flying public.
When other carriers were ordering jets in the mid-fifties, Rickenbacker ordered fleets of piston powered DC-7's and propeller-turbine Lockheed L-188's.
Then, when he finally ordered jets he made the monumental mistake of passing up his original fleet of (underpowered JT-3 engined) DC-8's preferring to wait until the series 20's came out with more powerful JT-4's. Delta, who was an old-time Douglas customer and a major EA competitor snatched them up and beat EA into service by a significant margin of time.
So by the late 1950's EA was still taking delivery of propeller-driven aircraft that became obsolete the moment the jets arrived. In the winter of 1960 National, who was a major competitor on the Northeast to Florida routes, leased 707's from PA and all EA got in the first winter of jets was the left-overs.
Also, the L-188's had some very serious design and teething issues to overcome and EA, who had the largest US fleet of them suffered greatly until the fleet had been modified by 1961.
In the early sixties after a long-overdue upper management change, EA really started to come on strong. They had ordered a small fleet of medium range 720's by then and became a launch customer for the highly successful 727 jets. They retired the old piston-powered aircraft and transferred some to the popular Air-Shuttle up in the northeast-corridor. New DC-8's and Dc-9s were ordered.
During "Operation Bootstrap" they really did get quite competitive. New levels of inflight service, new aircraft with new livery. Even the experience on the ground was vastly improved.
They had always been a large presence at ATL but, it took strong competition from Delta Air Lines to finally make ATL a major hub. DL taught them to "bank" their aircraft more efficiently.
Meantime, route expansion did not come easily. During the days of Government Regulation it was very hard for Eastern to expand. Even their name sounded "regional.
Meantime some major competitors grew by leaps and bounds. The last of the piston planes sold and the L-188's took over the shuttle along with DC-9's.
Orders were places for the first of the wide-bodied jets. Some 747's were leased and a whole new fleet of L-1011's was ordered. Them EA shocked the nation by make a great deal with Airbus to use their new wide-bodied twin A-300's.
When the 1980's and de-regulation dawned EA had a lot on it's plate. De-regulation really caused the long established carriers like EA to re-think their business models. Easier said then done. Braniff was one of the first major casualties. By the mid-1980's it was clear that any of the survivors were going to have to get their costs way down. Along with that came the issues with the Labor Unions.
Then there was the issue of "Corporate Raiding".
Waiting like a spider for a fly, the Corporate Raiders snatched up vulnerable established airlines either large or small.
EA fell victim to Frank Lorenzo along with Continental, Texas Air, and some other small fry.
By the time the dust settled, EA just could not hang on any longer. Torn apart by Lorenzo and the battle with the labor unions the airline finally shut down the winter of 1991.
It was a real shock. I saw it coming but like so many ATL people we were in denial.
The rows of idle EA aircraft at ATL alone were a sight to see. So many good people out of jobs as well.
So my memories of EA are very fond ones. I am glad to have known so many good EA folks from the ticket counters to the cockpit crews.The ATL maintenance base the ops office, ramp tower crew and all the good maintenance folks.
ATL has never seemed the same to me since.
When I was a child in the 1950's they were by far the largest carrier at ATL. They also had a vast array of piston-powered aircraft to observe and fly on.
This eventually caused them a lot of trouble at the dawn of the Jet-age.
Due to poor planning by the head-honcho Eddie Rickenbacker, they failed to grasp the impact (along with Howard Hughes at TWA) that the jets would have on the flying public.
When other carriers were ordering jets in the mid-fifties, Rickenbacker ordered fleets of piston powered DC-7's and propeller-turbine Lockheed L-188's.
Then, when he finally ordered jets he made the monumental mistake of passing up his original fleet of (underpowered JT-3 engined) DC-8's preferring to wait until the series 20's came out with more powerful JT-4's. Delta, who was an old-time Douglas customer and a major EA competitor snatched them up and beat EA into service by a significant margin of time.
So by the late 1950's EA was still taking delivery of propeller-driven aircraft that became obsolete the moment the jets arrived. In the winter of 1960 National, who was a major competitor on the Northeast to Florida routes, leased 707's from PA and all EA got in the first winter of jets was the left-overs.
Also, the L-188's had some very serious design and teething issues to overcome and EA, who had the largest US fleet of them suffered greatly until the fleet had been modified by 1961.
In the early sixties after a long-overdue upper management change, EA really started to come on strong. They had ordered a small fleet of medium range 720's by then and became a launch customer for the highly successful 727 jets. They retired the old piston-powered aircraft and transferred some to the popular Air-Shuttle up in the northeast-corridor. New DC-8's and Dc-9s were ordered.
During "Operation Bootstrap" they really did get quite competitive. New levels of inflight service, new aircraft with new livery. Even the experience on the ground was vastly improved.
They had always been a large presence at ATL but, it took strong competition from Delta Air Lines to finally make ATL a major hub. DL taught them to "bank" their aircraft more efficiently.
Meantime, route expansion did not come easily. During the days of Government Regulation it was very hard for Eastern to expand. Even their name sounded "regional.
Meantime some major competitors grew by leaps and bounds. The last of the piston planes sold and the L-188's took over the shuttle along with DC-9's.
Orders were places for the first of the wide-bodied jets. Some 747's were leased and a whole new fleet of L-1011's was ordered. Them EA shocked the nation by make a great deal with Airbus to use their new wide-bodied twin A-300's.
When the 1980's and de-regulation dawned EA had a lot on it's plate. De-regulation really caused the long established carriers like EA to re-think their business models. Easier said then done. Braniff was one of the first major casualties. By the mid-1980's it was clear that any of the survivors were going to have to get their costs way down. Along with that came the issues with the Labor Unions.
Then there was the issue of "Corporate Raiding".
Waiting like a spider for a fly, the Corporate Raiders snatched up vulnerable established airlines either large or small.
EA fell victim to Frank Lorenzo along with Continental, Texas Air, and some other small fry.
By the time the dust settled, EA just could not hang on any longer. Torn apart by Lorenzo and the battle with the labor unions the airline finally shut down the winter of 1991.
It was a real shock. I saw it coming but like so many ATL people we were in denial.
The rows of idle EA aircraft at ATL alone were a sight to see. So many good people out of jobs as well.
So my memories of EA are very fond ones. I am glad to have known so many good EA folks from the ticket counters to the cockpit crews.The ATL maintenance base the ops office, ramp tower crew and all the good maintenance folks.
ATL has never seemed the same to me since.
so nice to see the affection for early commercial aviation and personal recollections.
many times, when arriving at the curb out in front of the terminal, you were treated by the sound of screaming Rolls-Royce Dart propeller-turbine engines. (Of course, they could also belong to one of United's Viscounts.)
A sure signal that an F-27 and later FH-227 or YS-11 was moving. They also had Martin 404's. One thing for sure is PI stayed busy at ATL. None of their aircraft stayed for long. The other thing I recall was how nice the Piedmont employees were. The were certainly efficient as well. It wasn't unusual to see six aircraft using two gates!
I won't forget the first time I saw a PI 727-100. Could hardly believe it. PI was getting competive with the big guys!
Then came the 737's. Like all the other carriers of the day those early JT-8D's put out some soot! I got used to the tails of the 727's being blackened or the fuselage aft of the wings on the 737's.
Another thing I recall is how strange the old livery looked on those new jets. When the new livery came out it looked really sharp. Especially on the 767's.
Over the years I only flew on PI three trips.An FH-227 from ATL to DCA that must have made five stops and provided a very scenic tour of North Carolina and Virginia through those large oval Windows. And then in the early 1980's a 737 from ATL to CLT x to a 727-200 CLT to TPA. I remember the 737 stopped in Tri-Cities along the way, and the 727 was full out of CLT. The surprise was a very good dinner that I thought rivaled any of the big guys of that era.
It was quite a shock when Piedmont got swallowed up by US Air.
Slowly the old Piedmont birds were repainted and the name finally disappeared,altogether.
Just like the disappearance of EA a few years later, ATL never seemed quite the same again without them.