Category: Douglas DC-8

Golden Light: Pan Am’s Interchange DC-8-62

19/3/2025

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.

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Hope & Despair: Air Congo's Struggle

20/10/2019

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European colonialism has left a bitter legacy in many African nations, but probably none has been so disgraceful and damaging as the Belgian influence in what has become the Democratic Republic of Congo. Independence did not bring the new chapter the Congolese wanted and instead the next 50 years have been as bad or worse than what went before. Nevertheless throughout this period a veneer of normalcy was provided by the national carrier Air Congo (later Air Zaire).

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The First DC-8: Ship One N8008D

27/8/2019

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In the long-run the Douglas DC-8 may have lost the jet-race against the Boeing 707, but it was certainly far from a failure, and in fact with the Super 60 series was able to surpass the 707 in terms of capability and development. The prototype DC-8 led a somewhat nomadic lifestyle but it is a crying shame that it was never preserved. This is its story.

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National Goes International: MIA-LHR 1970

14/12/2018

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During the regulated era of US aviation the realm of long-haul international flights was primarily the domain of Pan Am and TWA. Braniff had a strong South American operation and Northwest reached across into the Pacific but for flights to Europe and beyond to Asia and Africa it was PA or TW all the way, until that is out of nowhere National won the route award for Miami to London Heathrow.

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Jet Clipper Eights: Pan Am DC-8-30s

10/10/2018

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The battle between the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 was yet another of the classic duels between competing manufacturers during the 1950s. In the end Boeing would be the winner but a portion of the responsibility for this must like with the mercurial Pan American that initially had ordered both types.

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The Elegance Campaign: Braniff’s Ultra Look

20/7/2018

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The rise and fall of Harding Lawrence’s Braniff International is so well known that in aviation it has become something of a byword for mismanagement and a case study for the impact of deregulation. In many ways it was a harbinger of the bloodbath that the 1980s would become for US carriers however in others it was unique. Nonetheless back in 1978 everything seemed rosy at Braniff and the airline would celebrate its Golden anniversary with the introduction of a new look.

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Hippie Express: Loftleidir's Low Cost Long-haul

7/3/2018

23 Comments

Iceland sits in a fortuitous position in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Wow Air is currently leveraging this benefit but it is hardly the first airline to do so. That accolade goes to Loftleidir Icelandic, which for many years found a way around the strict regulated transatlantic market to provide the world's first low cost long haul scheduled service.

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Western to World: Seaboard's Golden Sixties

26/2/2018

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By 1960 Seaboard and Western had seen both the highs and lows. It had grown from a charter airline to the USA's selected scheduled freight airline across the Atlantic, a market that it dominated. Unfortunately however it was also in a perilous financial state. Fortunately under new leadership the 1960s would prove to be a prosperous time for the carrier, which constantly led the field in all freight operations.

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Eights to the Orient: Northwest DC-8s

18/1/2018

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By the late 1950s Northwest had solidified its place as a prime mover across the Pacific Ocean, but the landscape was changing and to keep its place it needed to select equipment to take it out of the piston age and into the jet age. Few were surprised when it looked towards Douglas for its first jets, however they would wear the red tail for less than four years.

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Independence: ONA Celebrates the Bicentennial

27/11/2017

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1976 marked the 200th anniversary of the US declaration of independence. The new nation wasn't recognised by Britain, and the war wasn't won, until after Yorktown in 1781, but it is the July 4th declaration that has become Independence Day. A wide variety of commercial products would launch tie-ins with the celebrations and what better canvas for a bicentennial image than a commercial airliner.

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DC-8Bs: Eastern's Jet Delivery Mistake

13/9/2017

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Eddie Rickenbacker was a strong and decisive leader but also a frugal and dictatorial one. He often focused on cost savings and operational reliability over customer service and marketing. The example of Eastern's purchase of its first pure jets is a great example of these aspects of Rickenbacker's Eastern, whereby the airline got a better financial deal but at a price in other areas that could hardly be justified.

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El Grandioso: VIASA 1970-1986

6/7/2017

3 Comments

By 1971 VIASA had been in operation for eleven years and had built up an excellent regional and long haul network that connected Venezuela to the world and made it one of the premier airlines of South America. It was also strongly profitable and ready to take the leap into the widebody era that its agreement with KLM offered it. The 1970s would prove to be the heyday of the airline as Venezuela boomed so did its national airline. Unfortunately the 1980s would bring some painful times for both country and flag carrier.

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Wings of the New Japan: JAL's First Decade

10/6/2017

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The economic miracle which Japan achieved in the late 50s and 1960s was a vindication of the postwar policies of both the USA and new Japanese government. The formation of Japan Air Lines not only contributed to this boom but also began to aid Japan's rehabilitation amongst it's Asian neighbours. JAL's early success was built on a foundation of Douglas propliners and this would continue into the 60s with its first pure jets.

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Unshining Path: AeroPerú in the 1980s

4/5/2017

4 Comments

During the 1970s the Peruvian military government had successfully built up its new flag carrier AeroPerú into a seemingly well run airline reconnecting Peru with the world after APSA's failure. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to keep an airline operating profitably if it must operate in a competitive environment with both economic and civil discord at home. Sadly AeroPerú would have to contend not only with economic instability but also growing civil war as it entered its second decade.

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Covering Peru Like the Sun: AeroPerú in the 1970s

1/5/2017

3 Comments

The collapse of APSA in 1971 was rather humiliating for the Peruvian military government and left the country without a national carrier. This led to the creation of AeroPerú, which built a bright 1970s image and valiantly attempted to compete against the big US airlines for traffic to and from Lima. The airline built up its network and intoduced widebodies reaching its peak as the 1970s closed. In part 1 of this series we look at AeroPerú in its formative years.

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<<Previous

Golden Light: Pan Am’s Interchange DC-8-62

Hope & Despair: Air Congo's Struggle

The First DC-8: Ship One N8008D

National Goes International: MIA-LHR 1970

Jet Clipper Eights: Pan Am DC-8-30s

The Elegance Campaign: Braniff’s Ultra Look

Hippie Express: Loftleidir's Low Cost Long-haul

Western to World: Seaboard's Golden Sixties

Eights to the Orient: Northwest DC-8s

Independence: ONA Celebrates the Bicentennial

DC-8Bs: Eastern's Jet Delivery Mistake

El Grandioso: VIASA 1970-1986

Wings of the New Japan: JAL's First Decade

Unshining Path: AeroPerú in the 1980s

Covering Peru Like the Sun: AeroPerú in the 1970s

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