Airline History Blog - Yesterday's Airlines

Squashed Eggs: AA's Astrojet Livery

4/4/2020

American Airlines Astrojet Livery

American Airlines is renowned for keeping its classic Red, White and Blue scheme from 1968-2013 but the livery before it didn't have such a long-term impact. Whilst investigating some aspects of American's history I chanced across some more information on the Astrojet scheme that pre-dated the 1968 livery and so I thought I'd pull together a quick post on the topic.

Berlin’s Internal German Services Pt2: 1958-1965

27/3/2020

By 1958 Berlin had been served by the airlines of the victorious Western powers for a decade. Operations had settled down to a routine whereby Pan Am, BEA and Air France could compete against each other normally even though the political situation surrounding Berlin was just as volatile as ever. Pan Am had the edge with its Douglas DC-6Bs but that would all change in 1958 as BEA upped the competitive pressure with its own prop-jets.

Berlin’s Internal German Services Pt1: 1946-1958

25/3/2020

The carving up of Germany after the end of World War Two led to the unfortunate scenario whereby the nation was permanently partitioned, as the Western allies and Soviets became protagonists in the immediate postwar era. This was especially challenging for the former capital city of Berlin, which although itself split into zones, allotted to the victorious powers, was as a whole deeply situated within the Soviet zone. As a result, it would become the front-line of the Cold War and also have its own unique civil aviation arrangements.

Tens & Trouble: Spantax in the 80s

11/3/2020

By 1978 Spantax had grown to become one of the largest charter airlines in Europe, despite not necessarily having the best reputation. This was as much due to the personality of its founder Capt Rudolfo ‘Rudi’ Bay as to the solid and reliable Convair 990s that he loved so much. Unfortunately, the 1980s would prove a difficult time for the airline but would see it enter the widebody era.

Capt Rudi’s Maseratis: Spantax Convair 990s

29/2/2020

During the 1950s and 60s, as in the USA, many small airlines were begun by individuals and would go on to have long and successful histories. These airlines would often have a distinctive character and Spantax was one of the most distinct since it was not only led by the charismatic Capt Rudolfo Bay but also had a love affair with the Coronado.

British Roses Pt1: Full-length Speedbird Tristars

16/2/2020

Lockheed's L-1011 Tristar had a long, complicated and varied career with British Airways, and its charter arm British Airtours (later Caledonian Airways). They also had an equally complicated ordering process. Despite, at least initially, lacking the range for longer routes the full-length Tristars served BA well and were at the forefront of making it ‘The World’s Favourite Airline’ during the 1980s.

Caribbean Budgies: Air BVI & Its HS748s

5/2/2020

The islands of the Caribbean have a rich and diverse civil aviation history, that is all too easily overlooked due to the small population size and limited operations of the airlines. This is a shame as air travel is vital to the region’s economy and I find the region exotic, and exciting. The December 2019 release of an Air BVI HS748, by Aeroclassics, gives me the opportunity to explore the history of this small airline from one of the last British Overseas Territories.

Pariah No More: SAA’s 747-400s

28/1/2020

Apartheid made South Africa an international pariah and its national airline unwelcome across most of Africa. The purchase of 747SPs allowed SAA to continue long-haul flights that were at least slightly competitive, however as the 1980s drew to a close and the international backlash against apartheid grew countries like the USA and Australia withdrew landing rights. Both South Africa and SAA needed change and fortunately for both the 90s would bring it.

Mainline FLUFs: United Boeing 737-222s

16/1/2020

The success of the 737 has been immense but at the time of its development it had a mountain to climb. It would be United Airlines, more than any other, that Boeing has to thank for getting the type past its rough early years to where it is today and the ‘Fat Little Ugly Fella’ i.e. FLUF certainly put in the hard yards over the years for United.

Jumbo Stopgap: Eastern's 747s

3/1/2020

At the end of the 60s the age of the widebody was fast approaching and all the major US airlines were on a new equipment binge. The 747 was the first new widebody and everyone felt they had to have some or suffer the consequences of being left behind. In fact all the trunk airlines operated Jumbos (except for Northeast and Western) although, considering only Pan Am, Northwest and TWA had international routes, they mostly lacked sensible ways to utilise them. Eastern, unusually, went down a more considered path than everyone else but still ended up with 747s for a time.

Skystars: Australian A320s in the 1990s

21/12/2019

The A320 recently became the most produced family of jet airliners in history, however the type had a slightly rocky start in Australia. Initially it looked like both TAA and Ansett would purchase the new Airbus but in the end Ansett were the only one of the two big domestics to take the plunge.

Take It Easy: The Rise of easyJet

7/12/2019

Nothing has changed the face of aviation in the last 25 years as much as the advent of low-cost carriers. Pioneered in the US, with PSA and Southwest, it wasn’t until the advent of the internet that the premise could really take-off. Combined with deregulation of the EU area it has been Europe that has led the transformation, and of course it is Ryanair and Easyjet that have dominated the continent.

Parrot Jumbo: Air Gabon’s 747

1/12/2019

The history of African flag carriers is something I always find interesting. Not only are they exotic but they often had lovely liveries and tended to operate small numbers of widebodies, making them rare visitors to select European locations. Plus of course, on the less impressive but just as interesting side, they often have histories rife with state interference, graft and civil war. Air Gabon certainly ticks many of these boxes.

Talofa: The Rise, Fall & Rise of Polynesian Airlines

17/11/2019

The Pacific islands have a proud history of colourful flag carriers, however the majority of the region’s airlines have struggled with their remoteness, the limited investment capability of their home nations and competition from Australia and New Zealand. Polynesian Airlines’ history illustrates all three aspects during its history.

Premier Pacific: Hawaiian's Long-haul Adventure

10/11/2019

Hawaiian Airlines was faced with the same range of challenges in the deregulated 1980s as other legacy carriers - increased competition, deflated prices and the loss of its protected status. It responded with an unprecedented expansion, hoping to open up Honolulu as a transit hub on the one hand and a major charter player on the other. The strategy was far from a success but the airline just about survived.