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 National Airlines had been at war with its much larger rival Eastern almost since it came into existence and the feud between the two airlines irascible larger than life leaders, George Theodore Baker and Eddie Vernon Rickenbacker was legendary. Baker loved nothing more to get one over on Rickenbacker and the two airlines competed heavily for traffic on the North-South routes between cities like New York and Miami. Speed was the name of the game in the 1940s and 50s and whoever was fastest had a clear advantage with passengers.
Qantas has been renowned for being on the cutting edge of long-haul travel with the best equipment: Connies in the 1950s, 707s in the 1960s and 747s in the 1970s. Along with that is a reputation for safety that is second to none. However even during the regulated era Qantas wasn't just a long haul airline as it had duties to perform closer to home. These involved using more primitive equipment well into the 1970s in the form of Douglases stalwart C-47/DC-3 and DC-4s.
Ghana Airways was quick to get an interest in the new jets on offer and during 1960 when it was ordering Viscounts and IL-18s it also ordered a pair of Boeing 707-420s and three VC10s. The airline had grandiose dreams of flying the 707s to the United States and Australia but the financial troubles of 1961 put paid to those and instead it had to wait a while longer before it could really join the jet age.
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AuthorI'm Richard Stretton: a fan of classic airliners and airlines who enjoys exploring their history through my collection of die-cast airliners. If you enjoy the site please donate whatever you can to help keep it running: Archives
July 2025
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