Airline History Blog - Yesterday's Airlines

West African Nines: Ghana's DC-9-51s

30/3/2016

Ghana has always been one of the more stable African nations and Ghana Airways was once one of the better run African national airlines. The fleet, though small, was kept modern throughout the 1970s and 1980s with Douglas and Fokker products and for many years the airline was the operator of West Africa's only DC-9. In fact the carrier's allegiance to old Douglas products was one of the factors in its downfall.

Delta Air Freighters: 1947-1973

28/3/2016

In the immediate postwar years there were forecasts for an explosion in air freight volumes, which never really came about. Nevertheless several of the US trunk airlines dabbled in cargo only operations to some degree, however few acquired bespoke cargo aircraft. Most were happy to convert their existing piston props or acquire freighter versions of aircraft they already operated. Delta was an exception and twice acquired new freighter types to satisfy demand.

Middle East Tridents Pt2: Iraqi Airways

26/3/2016

Despite Kuwait Airways being first to order the Trident 1E it was their neighbouring country Iraq's national airline, Iraqi Airways, which was the first to put it into service, on October 1, 1965. They also received three aircraft and due to the secretive and repressive regime of the Ba'ath party they seem to have led quite leisurely lives. Their final fates seem shrouded in mystery but their hulks may have made it into the early 90s.

Middle East Tridents Pt1: Kuwait Airways

23/3/2016

It's well known that de Havilland's slavish adherence to BEA's requirements for the Trident led to the creation of an aircraft which was so tailored to BEA's narrow set of requirements as to be almost unsaleable. Even though the Trident was more technologically advanced than the Boeing 727 it was simply no competition for the larger longer ranged Boeing. Still thanks largely to the UK's friendly ties with former colonial possessions a few sales were made and in fact both neighbours Iraq and Kuwait would become Trident operators during the early 1960s.

Decimal Point Disaster: Varig 254

21/3/2016

By Guest Writer: Andy Payne

Zinc rot plagued certain releases back in 2002/2003, causing models to become virtually worthless due to issues such as warped wings and fuselage, cracked paint, and other brittle parts. Fortunately this is no longer a major issue in 1:400 scale, but the purchase of an affected Varig 737-200 at the SFO Airline Collectible Show allowed me to create a one of a kind diorama: the ill-fated Varig Flight 254.

Northeastern Hot Potato: Hebei Airlines

20/3/2016

Sometimes it seems like a new Chinese airline starts operations every other week, however though there is plenty of room for growth there are several brakes on expansion. It would be wise for new airlines to take note of the travails of several of the older new startups that have suffered a torrid time. Some like xxx have not survived whereas others like Hebei Airlines have struggled on with constant changes of focus. Only now is the airline finally finding its legs.

Enter the New Mark: Eastern's Hockeystick

17/3/2016

Floyd D. Hall tookover the reins at Eastern in December 1963 following the somewhat turbulent MacIntyre period. Fortunately he would not be dogged by Rickenbacker as MacIntyre had been. With the new President and the attempted merger with American firmly rejected, by the CAB the previous April, it was time for a change and that resulted in the famous New Mark scheme - or as it is better known the 'Hockeystick'.

Far Eastern Lights: Aurora Airlines

15/3/2016

In the past 16 years Aeroflot has gone from predominantly an international airline to by far the biggest domestic operator in Russia. This consolidation has been enabled by government legislation and support, whilst the periodic crises in the Russian economy have done away with competitors like Kras Air and Transaero. The larger Aeroflot Group continues to consolidate its brands and one of the newest is Aurora Airlines taking over the legacy of SAT and Vladivostok Avia.

Smiling Widebodies: PSA's Tristar Gamble

13/3/2016

Pacific Southwest had proven without a doubt during the 1950s and 60s that small well run airlines could compete against the large Trunk airlines and out compete the smaller CAB backed local service airlines. Of course it was only able to do this by keeping its operations intra-state and outside the CAB's regulated structure. By 1970 the airline had grown for 10 consecutive years and shown profits for the past 15. It was time for an audacious gamble and that meant widebodies.

Shenzhen's Seagull: Donghai Airlines Takes Flight

11/3/2016

Shenzhen is one of the largest, most prosperous and competitive cities in all of China. Most new airline startups are joint ventures with State governments eager to grow the low levels of air travel in their region but that is not the case with Donghai Airlines. Formerly an all cargo airline it launched passenger services in March 2014 from the busy and architecturally impressive new Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport.

Continental's Baby Boeings Pt2: 300s and 500s

9/3/2016

Frank Lorenzo is an easy man to hate but amongst the bloodshed and open warfare that was Continental and its Texas Air associates during the 1980s there were a few seeds of positivity. One of these was the purchase of new equipment in the form of Continental's first Boeing 737s. As we have seen soon they would be joined by over forty 737-100/200s but the first 737s were actually new aircraft and the improved series 300 as well.

Continental's Baby Boeings Pt1: A Hotchpotch of 100s and 200s

6/3/2016

Continental had shown little, if any, interest in the Boeing 737 when it first appeared during the 1960s. Indeed the airline had purchased DC-9-14/15s in 1966, however even these had short careers with Continental as during the 1970s it consolidated its fleet around 727s and DC-10s. Following the Texas Air takeover, forced bankruptcy, takeover of PeoplExpress and merger with New York Air the new Continental that emerged bore little resemblance to Bob Six's 'Proud Bird with the Golden Tail'. It did however have a hotchpotch fleet, which all of a sudden included a lot of 737s (and DC-9s).

The Life of a Charter A300: cn 12

3/3/2016

The Airbus A300 in its B2 and B4 versions wasn't a very long-legged machine, however it provided widebody comfort on the busy leisure routes from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean sunspots in a more economical package than the Tristar and DC-10. The UK and Germany were the two biggest charter markets in Europe and the A300 was a major part of moving the masses for a wide variety of airlines. In this post we look at the career of one such A300 - construction number 12 - only the second Airbus A300B4 to be built.

Flying Colors of the USA: The Sneaky Snake

1/3/2016

The philosophical and literal union (they married) between Mary Wells of the marketing firm Wells Rich Greene and Harding Lawrence, leader of Braniff International, powered the airline's transformation through the 1960s and 70s. The artistic apogee of this union was the special Calder schemes one of which celebrated the 1976 US Bicentennial.