Airline History Blog - Yesterday's Airlines

New Life to Old Jumbos: 747-400BCF and BDSFs

17/7/2017

The concept of converting used passenger jets to freighters is an old tradition that has been going since the Second World War ended. Douglas types especially the DC-7 and DC-8 saw a major trade in conversions but rarely were conversion programmes led by the original manufacturer. The 747 has proven an excellent freighter and both Bedek and Boeing directly have tried to tap into the market for P2F 747s.

Tsuru in Full Flight: JAL in the 1960s

13/6/2017

The first civil jetliners outside the Soviet Union were designed for long range travel. That left many airlines, including JAL, looking for smaller jets to complement their DC-8s and 707s. JAL identified two medium range types from new manufacturers but soon it would find demand out-stretching the new types and would begin the search for widebody transports.

Discover New Worlds: Nordwind Airlines

26/5/2016

Russians love to get away from the cold to hotspots in the Med and Asia and many Russian airlines have made a tenuous living on such flights. One of the latest is Nordwind, which reported fabulous growth in its first 6 years but, as with its competitors, has been damaged by the recent Russian economic crisis. Still Nordwind seems to be a survivor, no doubt helped by Transaeros exit.

Cargo 747s in China Pt4: Great Wall Airlines

25/1/2016

The cargo market in China has proven to be a tricky investment opportunity for foreign investors. More savvy than most is Singapore Airlines who already operate their own large and successful cargo airline, however even they have not fared perfectly with their joint venture airline. Despite being bedevilled by unusual issues upon startup Great Wall proved a way into the market for Singapore, which has been able to grow its position even though its JV airline has been swallowed up.

Swissair Enters the Jet-Age: 1960-1965

9/11/2015

The late 1950s and early 1960s was a time of tremendous growth in European air travel as the continent finally began to fully recover from the ravages of the Second World War. Swissair was one of the continent's premier airlines and having begun to create a global network with South American routes in 1954 and Far-Eastern ones in 1957 it was primed for the introduction of jets both big, small and medium.

4 Engines 4 Long Haul Pt2: Chinese 747-400s

13/5/2015

CAAC’s fleet during the 1980s was a hotchpotch of modern and ancient, Western and Soviet, jet and turboprop. The international fleet was however fairly modern. By 1988 it included ten Boeing 707-320s, 3 late build 747-200 Combis, 4 747SPs, 5 Airbus A310s and 4 767-200s. As the primary international airline, Beijing based Air China took over the rump of the old CAAC widebody fleet and looked to expand its pool of 747s.

China Southern's 787s: A Rocky Road To The Dream

14/3/2015

The Boeing 787-8 rather missed the boat in China due to its huge development delays, however China Southern proudly welcomed its first aircraft in 2013 wearing a unique scheme. The CZ 787 fleet can nowadays be seen across the globe from Europe to the USA and Australasia supporting their fleet of 777s and A330s. With the 787-9 picking up orders with Air China and Hainan Airlines it is likely that in the future further 787s will grace the China Southern fleet.

Cathay Convair 880s - Pacific Smokers

13/1/2015

It's amazing to think that considering their giant size nowadays all the Far-Eastern majors like Singapore, Malaysian, Korean, Thai Airways, China Airlines etc were tiny operators until well into the mid 70s.

In fact most Oriental traffic at the time was still really the preserve of BOAC, Qantas, Pan Am and TWA. Airlines like Cathay Pacific were largely restricted to regional operations on infrequent multi-stop routes with small fleets of piston-liners and early jets.

Swissair's Last Jumbo: HB-IGG 'Ticino'

9/12/2014

The departure of Apollo (Witty) from the 1:400 scene is unfortunate as they produced some fine models at times. I didn't care much for their DC-10s (long legs) and their recent 727 noses look a bit odd, but the models they made on their 747, L1011 and CV880 moulds were always excellent -plus they came with very nice stands. Certainly the Apollo 747-200/300 mould is superb (my understanding is it is the old Big Bird mk1 mould). One of my last new Apollos was the beautiful delivery scheme 747-300 - HB-IGG.

Apollo KrisFlyer: BigTops to Singapore

24/11/2014

It's a real shame that Apollo models have recently stopped production as several of their moulds were exceptional. Recently I received two more Apollos including the Singapore Airlines 'Bigtop' 747-300 in the updated colours post 1988 colours.

Interestingly doing a bit of web research I have discovered that the SQ logo is called the Silver Kris (hence the name of their frequent flyer programme). The kris is a form a south east asian dagger, highly prized and often passed down through generations. But Kris is also known to be a spiritual object, often considered to have a presence or considered to possess magical powers. Kris are used for display, as talismans with magical powers. The bird (think its a crane) is apparently meant to be similar to the handle of the Kris dagger.

Japanese Golden Arrows: JAL Convair 880s

21/11/2014

Another recent Apollo model added is JA8023 in Japan Air Lines 1960s colours.

To increase the 880’s appeal with airlines that required greater range capability, Convair developed the 880M model with increased fuel capacity, engine thrust and a heavier landing gear. JAL purchased 5 which began arriving in July 1961. The 880s were used to start European services via India and three of Capital Airlines cancelled order was acquired in 1963 for a fleet of 8.