N702ML From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Posted (7 years 2 months 5 days ago) and read 1711 times:
Hello,
First my standard "Sorry if this has been discussed before," disclaimer....
Looking through old timetables from the 70s and even early 80s, I notice a lot of late night flights... for example Delta ATL-DAY-CMH leaving DAY at 3:00am, etc....
My question is this:
Were these late night, short-hop flights, popular with LOCAL passengers? Did anyone board these planes at 2, 3, 4am for short flights or was it all thru passengers? What about the ground personnel, were they the PM shift staying late or the AM shift starting early?
Jsnww81 From United States of America, joined Jan 2002, 1858 posts, RR: 17 Reply 2, posted (7 years 2 months 4 days 21 hours ago) and read 1578 times:
Prior to deregulation, the CAB allowed airlines to offer lower fares on flights leaving in the middle of the night. These were called "night coach" fares. They were often considerably lower than normal fares, which were preset by the CAB at a level that today would seem very expensive.
My mom was in college in San Francisco back in the 1970s, and sometimes she and her friends would take TWA or United night coach flights to LAX to see concerts. She said taking a 2:30am flight was often the only way they could afford to get to Los Angeles.
Aircop From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (7 years 2 months 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 1548 times:
Quoting Jsnww81 (Reply 2): My mom was in college in San Francisco back in the 1970s, and sometimes she and her friends would take TWA or United night coach flights to LAX to see concerts. She said taking a 2:30am flight was often the only way they could afford to get to Los Angeles.
CAB didn't set the rates in California, that was done by the state PUC. PSA set the standard for rates on the night flights with their midnight flyer. bare bones, no reservations etc. Filling up the planes while they moved the mail at night. PSA and Air California didn't expand beyond California until after 1978 because they didn't want to deal with the regulations of the CAB. In the 1970's one could fly the night flights between SFO and LAX for less than $10.
Quoting N702ML (Thread starter): ooking through old timetables from the 70s and even early 80s, I notice a lot of late night flights... for example Delta ATL-DAY-CMH leaving DAY at 3:00am, etc....
These flights met the night wide bodies from the west coast in Atlanta (I flew the Delta 747 from SFO which arrived in Atlanta at 5am) and then the planes were in position for the early morning runs in the east.
Jsnww81 From United States of America, joined Jan 2002, 1858 posts, RR: 17 Reply 4, posted (7 years 2 months 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 1497 times:
If you look at my post, I said my mom often flew with United and TWA. As interstate airlines their fares, even the nightcoach fares, were set by the CAB.
My mom grew up in Hawaii and had never heard of PSA or Air Cal, so she flew with the airlines she knew. Of course, a few years later she graduated and started flying PSA all the time because it was all she could afford.
N702ML From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 5, posted (7 years 2 months 4 days 19 hours ago) and read 1461 times:
Quoting Jsnww81 (Reply 2): These flights met the night wide bodies from the west coast in Atlanta (I flew the Delta 747 from SFO which arrived in Atlanta at 5am) and then the planes were in position for the early morning runs in the east
I understand that there was a REASON that these planes were flying these routes. If it was flying ATL-DAY-CMH-ATL in the middle of the night....obviously i was for connections to DAY/CMH off late-night arrivals or for connections from DAY/CMH to early AM flights from ATL....
The point of the question was....were there any local pax or were they all thru? Of course the majority were thru and connecting...but were there any local and how did the ground ops people staff the operations.
Read the question before you are so quick to be negative in your answer.
Jsnww81 From United States of America, joined Jan 2002, 1858 posts, RR: 17 Reply 6, posted (7 years 2 months 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 1348 times:
N702ML -
I wasn't negative. You have quoted text that I didn't post. The quoted text comes from reply #3, which was posted by Aircop, not by me. Please be more careful in directing your criticism.
Sponsor Message: 
From , joined Dec 1969, posts, 
From , joined Dec 1969, posts, 
Printer friendly format 
