Nationwide, Worldwide: TWA in the 1960s
Trans World Airlines (TWA) entered the 1960s as one of America’s Big Four domestic airlines in terms of revenue passengers carried and revenue passenger miles flown (the other three were…
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Commercial
59 posts
Unique airline stories, videos, and historical events from an informed aviation enthusiast (avgeek) perspective.
Cleveland Jetport: The Story of an Unbuilt Island Airport
Nearly a half century ago, plans were in motion to construct one of the world’s largest airports on a manmade island in the middle of Lake Erie. The massive new…
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Fly The Finest: How TWA Became a Synonym for the Best in Air Travel
TWA’s name change ushered in an era of transatlantic glamour On May 17, 1950, Transcontinental & Western Air underwent a corporate name change. Keeping the initials TWA, the company adopted…
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The End of an Era: No scheduled DC-10 Service In The US
When FedEx Flight 147 touched down at Memphis International Airport (MEM) on 31 December 2022, it marked the end of an era for the world’s largest cargo airline. The flight,…
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Meet The Man Who Turned an Airliner Into His Home
Joe Axline was just 11 years old when he decided he would live in an airplane one day. The year was 1973. Axline, the son of an airplane mechanic and…
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1955: America Welcomes the Viscount, the World’s First Turboprop Airliner
Turboprop airliners are not an uncommon sight at America’s airports. But the first turboprop transport to operate in the United States was a modern marvel, the Vickers Viscount. It bridged…
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McDonalds Once Offered Happy Meals On United Flights
In 1991, United took their in-flight offerings to the next level for kids through a partnership with McDonalds. We didn’t know it at the time but the 1990s were a…
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A Dream on a Cocktail Napkin: The Birth of Southwest Airlines
It has become a legendary tale that Rollin King and Herb Kelleher, fueled by several alcoholic beverages, mapped out their plans for a new intrastate airline to connect the three…
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The Airline That Featured a Greyhound Peeing on a 727
Greyhound Airlines is one of those unique footnotes in North American aviation but it’s an interesting story in Canadian business competition. Back in the mid-1990s, the Canadian aviation market was…
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Eastern Airlines Commercial in 1983 Ironically Predicted Its Future Demise
In 1984, Eastern Airlines released a TV commercial touting that it saw the future and it looked bleak showing images of an airline boneyard and stating that “an airline that…
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Northwest Orient Airlines: Proud Pioneers Faced With Many Challenges
Northwest Orient was a Pioneer in Pacific Travel But at Times It Was Far from the Most Loved Airline Airline aficionados remember Northwest Airlines and the red tails of its…
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