The Legacy Carriers – Part Four – August 28, 2009

Published by Robert Novell at August 28, 2009

Quote of the Week

“I may be flying a complicated airplane, rushing through space, but in this cabin I’m surrounded by simplicity and thoughts set free of time. How detached the intimate things around me seem from the great world down below. How strange is this combination of proximity and separation. That ground — seconds away — thousands of miles away. This air, stirring mildly around me. That air, rushing by with the speed of a tornado, an inch beyond. These minute details in my cockpit. The grandeur of the world outside. The nearness of death. The longness of life.”—Charles A. Lindberg “The Spirit of St. Louis”

Gone but Not Forgotten

1978 Roll Call of Legacy Carriers

Alaska Airlines	Northwest
Aloha Airlines	Ozark
Air Cal	Pacific Southwest
American	Pan Am
Braniff	Piedmont
Continental	Republic
Delta	Southwest
Eastern	TWA
Frontier	United
Hawaiian	US Air
National	Western

Mergers and failures are difficult to keep up with, but there are some significant changes that took place in the 1980s and the decades after that can provide us with some perspective of the state of the industry. Consider the following facts:

Aloha Airlines failed in 2008
Air Cal was absorbed by American in 1987
Braniff failed in 1982 and Braniff II failed in 1989
Continental is still with us but the current Continental is a remake of the original Continental that was bought out by TI/Frank Lorenzo
Eastern failed in 1990
Frontier was absorbed by Continental in 1985
National was absorbed by Pan AM in 1980
Northwest was absorbed by Delta in 2008/2009
Ozark was absorbed by TWA in 1986
Pacific Southwest was absorbed by US Air in 1988-
Pan Am failed in 1990
Piedmont was absorbed by US Air in 1989
Republic was absorbed by Northwest in 1980
TWA was absorbed by American in 2001
Western was absorbed by Delta in 1987

The following airlines are still in operation: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines, and US Air.

I have closed with pictures of the fallen carriers, so enjoy and for each photo there is a credit listed so that you can do some looking on your own.

Next week we will start a new series called the Low Cost Carrier. So, until then take some time to look back, connect with your past and remember as an aviator you are a “Gatekeeper of the Third Dimension.”

Protect your profession, your future and the future of your fellow aviators.

Robert Novell

August 28, 2009