 The Dutch Fokker 28 Fellowship proved to be a hardy design that after first flying in 1967 provided strong competition, at the lower end of the passenger scale, to the Douglas DC-9 and BAC One-Eleven. One feature of its design that was unusual was the split-section tailcone airbrake that enabled rapid descents - something no doubt of much use in a mountainous country like Peru. Accordingly, the Peruvian Army's airline SATCO came to be an early customer, but the type would soon be seen flying in more colourful liveries through the Peruvian Amazon.
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 From the mid-1970s the Boeing 737-200 Advanced model became the backbone of the fleets of the three major Brasilian airlines - VARIG, Cruzeiro do Sul and VASP. Only Transbrasil resisted the temptations of the baby Boeing - opting for BAC One-Elevens and then 727s instead. VARIG and Cruzeiro had become inextricably linked in 1975 and together they used the marketing name 'Super Advanced 737' to promote their Fat Alberts.
 Following Canadian's takeover of Wardair in 1989, Canada 3000 would quickly grow to become Canada's largest charter airline and one that was consistently profitable too. At the turn of the century the massive changes wrought by the takeover of Canadian Airlines, by Air Canada, appeared to open up a space for C3 to become Canada's no 2 airline. A big part of that strategy involved acquisitions. However, C3 would soon live to regret its purchases and desperately try to offload them as it hit the turbulence of 2001.
 Deregulation has brought its share of turbulence to the Canadian aviation scene as it has elsewhere. With Canadian Airlines on the ropes, as the new century arrived the charter airline Canada 3000 transformed itself into a new competitor for Air Canada. It stretched its reach to global destinations like India, as well as scheduled domestic ops. Sadly for Canada 3000 it overstretched itself dramatically, resulting in a bizarre and unexpected collapse.
 Ecuatoriana's cessation of operations in 1993 had been something of a shock as the airline's financial condition was unknown even though its service levels had been decreasing. Despite a lengthy period out of operation the Ecuatoriana brand wasn't finished however, and a white knight appeared in the form of the Brasilian airline VASP. VASP was keen to form a pan-South American VASP Air System including Ecuador's colourful national carrier.
 Ecuatoriana dazzled the aviation world with its amazing special livery variations during the 1970s, as discussed in part 1. From 1979 the airline began to standardise its colours, though it did it with style and plenty of colour producing one of the all time great liveries. However, despite the outward appearance of beauty, as with many other latin american national airlines, there was something rotten at the core of the airline, which would threaten its very survival into the 1990s.
 The A300 was an excellent product and yet Airbus really struggled to sell the type at first. Eventually, however, it gave them their break and also made a significant inroad into the Brasilian market, albeit one that was relatively short-lived. It wouldn't be until the 2000s that Airbuses would be seen in large numbers in Brasil and by then the last of the 'Silent Giants' was coming to the end of its service.
 By 1957 PSA had succeeded where hundreds of others had failed. By staying within California they had avoided the CAB's attention and this had allowed them to compete successfully against the big trunk airlines on their own terms. They could set their own prices and decide what routes they would fly. Combining that with reliable friendly service they had been rewarded by strong patronage. With the jet age on the horizon PSA was ready to take it to the next level.
 Pacific Southwest Airlines, or PSA for short, was one of the great postwar US airline stories and it is forever associated with the smiles that adorned its aircraft from the late 60s onwards. The grinningbirds, as they were known, made travel throughout California affordable for millions, but prior to the smiles PSA had already shook up the airline scene on the US West Coast.
 Alaska Airlines was one of the airlines that took the post-deregulation era by the scruff of the neck and ran with it. Unlike the majority of its competitors it has survived too. In the early 80s Alaska expanded into the lower 48 with an eye focused on California. For that it needed more aircraft and that briefly included a bright orange 727.
 Pan Am had initially ordered more Douglas DC-8s than Boeing 707s, but although it took delivery of 19 of the 25 ordered they had all been retired by mid-September 1969. They had all been series 32s, but then all of a sudden in 1970 there was a 'new' Pan Am DC-8 and this time it was a series 62. It would be the only Super 60 ever flown in Pan Am colours and it was all down to an interchange service.
 By the end of the 1980s Air Micronesia was going from strength to strength, whereas its shareholder and partner Continental was struggling with the Texas Air ownership and the amalgamation of PeoplExpress, Frontier, PBA and assets from Eastern. Briefly it looked like Continental's influence would wane, but eventually as CO recovered the whole organisation was rebranded and gradually grew closer to the mainline operation.
The sheer size of the Pacific Ocean has made air travel both a necessity and a significant challenge. In the immediate postwar years the USA gained effective control of a huge area of it - dotted with a large number of islands and remote communities. After a couple of initial attempts it would be third time lucky as Air Micronesia came into being, under the stewardship of Bob Six's Continental, to create an airline to serve and help develop Micronesia - then known as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
 Deregulation of the US aviation market wasn't kind to the local service airlines. They faced being gobbled up by rampant former trunk airlines or kamikaze low fare competition from a host of new startups. Frontier Airlines was in a more difficult position than most and attempted to buttress itself with a low-cost offshoot of its own. Sadly, this only served to strain relations with its own employees and fell short of the hopes that it could stabilise the failing airline.
 The advent of low cost carriers led to a raft of legacy airlines setting up low cost subsidiaries across the globe. From New Zealand to Germany, and South Africa to the USA the established airlines were on the defensive. Canada was no different, and faced with the challenge of WestJet, Air Canada decided it too would jump on the bandwagon, at least until it could get its own cost's under control. The result was ZIP!
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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
January 2026
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