inlikepitt wrote:

Vanguard

In Arizona they flew Boeing 737s under the name Air Laughlin for some time!!

AntonioMartin wrote:

inlikepitt wrote:

Vanguard

In Arizona they flew Boeing 737s under the name Air Laughlin for some time!!

I have the original banner that hung behind the MCI ticket counter the day Vangaurd opened, and for some time after. I also have the banner that hung in the terminal alley on opening, and the one that hung over the MCI gate the day they opened Atlanta.

They were hanging in my hangar with a couple of others I acquired until a couple of years ago.

FlyingElvii wrote:

AntonioMartin wrote:

inlikepitt wrote:

Vanguard

In Arizona they flew Boeing 737s under the name Air Laughlin for some time!!

I have the original banner that hung behind the MCI ticket counter the day Vangaurd opened, and for some time after. I also have the banner that hung in the terminal alley on opening, and the one that hung over the MCI gate the day they opened Atlanta.

They were hanging in my hangar with a couple of others I acquired until a couple of years ago.

Lucky you!
oh and BTW it was Viscount Air Services, not Vanguard that flew as Air Laughlin from Arizona!

inlikepitt wrote:

Air Midwest

They had their hub at MCI and was basically a feeder operation for Eastern Airlines in the late 1980s. That didn't last very long. They switched to Braniff Express, then became USAir Express for a while in the 1990s until eventually folding.

I've always wondered why MCI couldn't adequately support some type of hub operation. Seems like they should. I guess when you're smack dab between Chicago, Denver, Dallas, and Minneapolis that pretty much sucks all the oxygen out of the region for feeder operations.

Holiday Airlines - a few L-188 Electras used for Lake Tahoe flights. Used to see them parked at LAX West Imperial Terminal.
Also Mercer Airlines based at Burbank. Operated, and lost, the very first DC-6 (C-118A) near Van Nuys in 1976.

rkozy wrote:

I've always wondered why MCI couldn't adequately support some type of hub operation. Seems like they should. I guess when you're smack dab between Chicago, Denver, Dallas, and Minneapolis that pretty much sucks all the oxygen out of the region for feeder operations.

The design requiring re-clearing security for most connections was a problem. The new terminal will resolve that, but I guess in the current climate there's no thought of a hub.

To some degree Eastern and Braniff had hubs there in the late 1980s.

I remember flying with Bouraq Airlines and Mandala, both out of Indonesia. This would have been in the 70's and early 80's.
Bouraq early on flew DC3's and then later Vickers Viscounts and Hawker Siddeley's. I flew on the later 2. The only time I've ever felt uneasy was on a Bouraq Hawker Siddeley. We had to departed the only Jakarta Kemayoran "for Semarang. On our departure I noticed we weren't climbing and being in a middle seat and able to see into the flight deck, I noticed the pilots were checking the gauges a lot more than normal. They turned us around and we went back. After landing, we had just exited the runway when both engines simply died and we had to be towed back to the parking stand. Dad vowed to never fly them again and we didn't.
Madala flew some Lockheed Electra L188's and I believe some of the Vikers Viscounts as well. I remember the Vikers out of Semarang to Jakarta.

Fun times.

rove312 wrote:

To some degree Eastern and Braniff had hubs there in the late 1980s.

Yes, they did. I don't think there was a tremendous selection of destinations or flight frequencies, but it was certainly more than just a focus city back then.

The late 80s/early 90s was the highwater mark for "mini hubs" in mid-sized American markets. Even smaller airports, like DAY, had considerable connecting traffic, and places like PIT and CLE were mammoth hubs. The nonstop mergers in the late 90s and early 2000s have really made it difficult for a place like MCI or even STL to get back in the game.

Everything now just connects through a handful of mega-hubs, or people with access to a ULCC in their market fly non-stop to a favorite leisure destination. It's not the same game, and I think that's the biggest reason flying today really sucks.

AntonioMartin wrote:

seat1a wrote:

The Court Line. Remember them? I loved their L1011's and that funky livery. Anyone have a route map? (Please no responses that Google is my friend).

I saw their livery on the 1000 Airlines book, it was very nice.

Court Line: why, when, history, routes, airliners used:

In the 1950s UK Tour Operators created the ‘Inclusive Tour’ holiday. Tour Operators put together a package that included flights, transfers and accommodation. Holiday makers could book direct with the Tour Operator, or through a Travel Agent who would deal with the Tour Operator. UK consumers came to like the ease of buying an ‘Inclusive Tour’ package in one simple transaction.
The 1960s saw significant growth in the ex-UK IT holiday market.
In July 1966 the UK Government imposed a £50 ‘travel allowance’ limit for British citizens. £50 back then was worth the equivalent of more than £900 in today’s money, but that may not have been enough to cover all the costs of a two-week family holiday. UK holiday makers were able to side-step the currency exchange restriction by paying their Tour Operator in the UK in Sterling, making it possible for them to continue to take overseas holidays.
UK Tour Operators quickly realised that through vertical integration they could reduce cost and so increase their margins. Many Tour Operators either acquired or set up their own airline.
At the end of 1969 Clarksons bought Luton-based Autair. Autair were operating five BAC 1-11 400s. Clarksons set about rebranding Autair as Court Line. The 1-11 400s were quickly replaced by a fleet of twelve BAC 1-11 500s, with others leased in. The 1-11s were memorable for being painted in one of four pastel shades, bringing a splash of colour to the airports they served.
In 1973 Court Line added two TriStars to its fleet, configured with 400 seats.
The route map in the airline’s Summer 1973 in flight magazine shows services to most of Europe and North Africa’s ‘sun and sea’, skiing and city-break destinations, examples being: Faro, Las Palmas, Alicante, Malaga, Ibiza, Mallorca, Marseilles, Genoa, Palermo, Malta, Tunis, Venice, Crete, Nicosia, Pula, Dubrovnik, Istanbul, Basle, Zurich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Berlin, Helsinki, Gothenburg, Bergen, Reykjavik and others.
As well as serving the busier European routes, the airline used its TriStars on services to the Caribbean. Both of the TriStars were early dash 1s with limited range, and so I guess they made at least one tech stop en route.
In 1974 the UK economy went into recession and in August that year Clarksons and Court Line collapsed leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

I did one round trip with Court Line, a day trip to the 1973 Paris Air Show. I flew from Luton to Le Bourget on the airline’s then brand-new pink TriStar. It was the first wide-body airliner I flew on. At the show the airliner was displayed in the static park, and it also made a number of fly pasts.

According to Wikipedia, there was an airline named Instone in 1919, which later was one of what became Imperial. apparently, this "Instone" was not (written) in stone, as they disappeared in 1924.

BealineV953 wrote:

AntonioMartin wrote:

seat1a wrote:

The Court Line. Remember them? I loved their L1011's and that funky livery. Anyone have a route map? (Please no responses that Google is my friend).

I saw their livery on the 1000 Airlines book, it was very nice.

Court Line: why, when, history, routes, airliners used:

In the 1950s UK Tour Operators created the ‘Inclusive Tour’ holiday. Tour Operators put together a package that included flights, transfers and accommodation. Holiday makers could book direct with the Tour Operator, or through a Travel Agent who would deal with the Tour Operator. UK consumers came to like the ease of buying an ‘Inclusive Tour’ package in one simple transaction.
The 1960s saw significant growth in the ex-UK IT holiday market.
In July 1966 the UK Government imposed a £50 ‘travel allowance’ limit for British citizens. £50 back then was worth the equivalent of more than £900 in today’s money, but that may not have been enough to cover all the costs of a two-week family holiday. UK holiday makers were able to side-step the currency exchange restriction by paying their Tour Operator in the UK in Sterling, making it possible for them to continue to take overseas holidays.
UK Tour Operators quickly realised that through vertical integration they could reduce cost and so increase their margins. Many Tour Operators either acquired or set up their own airline.
At the end of 1969 Clarksons bought Luton-based Autair. Autair were operating five BAC 1-11 400s. Clarksons set about rebranding Autair as Court Line. The 1-11 400s were quickly replaced by a fleet of twelve BAC 1-11 500s, with others leased in. The 1-11s were memorable for being painted in one of four pastel shades, bringing a splash of colour to the airports they served.
In 1973 Court Line added two TriStars to its fleet, configured with 400 seats.
The route map in the airline’s Summer 1973 in flight magazine shows services to most of Europe and North Africa’s ‘sun and sea’, skiing and city-break destinations, examples being: Faro, Las Palmas, Alicante, Malaga, Ibiza, Mallorca, Marseilles, Genoa, Palermo, Malta, Tunis, Venice, Crete, Nicosia, Pula, Dubrovnik, Istanbul, Basle, Zurich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Berlin, Helsinki, Gothenburg, Bergen, Reykjavik and others.
As well as serving the busier European routes, the airline used its TriStars on services to the Caribbean. Both of the TriStars were early dash 1s with limited range, and so I guess they made at least one tech stop en route.
In 1974 the UK economy went into recession and in August that year Clarksons and Court Line collapsed leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

I did one round trip with Court Line, a day trip to the 1973 Paris Air Show. I flew from Luton to Le Bourget on the airline’s then brand-new pink TriStar. It was the first wide-body airliner I flew on. At the show the airliner was displayed in the static park, and it also made a number of fly pasts.

Flying on a plane and then see it fly-by and on display the same day.....hard to beat, that!

Sunjet, the MD80 one
Winair 737-200s
Both out of Long Beach LGB

rove312 wrote:

rkozy wrote:

I've always wondered why MCI couldn't adequately support some type of hub operation. Seems like they should. I guess when you're smack dab between Chicago, Denver, Dallas, and Minneapolis that pretty much sucks all the oxygen out of the region for feeder operations.

The design requiring re-clearing security for most connections was a problem. The new terminal will resolve that, but I guess in the current climate there's no thought of a hub.

To some degree Eastern and Braniff had hubs there in the late 1980s.

Eastern Branniff, Branniff II, Midwest Express, Vangaurd, TWA, and even to an extent US Air have tried to make a hub out of KC.

The area just does not have the population density to make it work, and it competes with the much larger Minneapolis, and Omaha to be the economic center of the upper Midwest. Chicago, Dallas, Denver, and Minneapolis all within “Short” flying distance dooms those chances as well.

Nashville was in the same situation until just the last decade. Now it supports flights to everywhere, due to a fast growing and very diverse economic base. Unlike say, Austin, which rises and falls with tech (formerly military), Nashville’s current economy is not dependent on any one economic sector to drive the traffic.

LAXLHR wrote:

PB26 wrote:

I'm surprised to see few mention airlines in South America. In Nineties, with neoliberal air policies, many countries privatized their airlines or let new carriers, while some oldest had an opportunity to grow. Just some of them:

TransPerú, AeroContinente, SAETA, SAN, Aces, Zuliana de Aviación, Servivensa, SBA, Transair International, Air Vias, Fly, Viabrasil, UNEX, Skyjet, PENTA, TAVAJ, RICO, META, Pantanal, Austral Express, American Falcon, TAN S.A, Aerosúr, Northeast Airlines, Dinar, Southern Winds, Presidente, Atlântico, LAER, Chile Inter, Aeroposta Argentina, Avant Airlines, National Airlines (Chile). All of them has formidable stories.

I didn't mentioned the majors or most known, as VARIG, VIASA, PLUNA, LAB, AeroPerú, Faucett, Ecuatoriana, Avensa-Servivensa, VASP, Transbrasil, Cruzeiro... the consolidation in South America was dramatic, just a few from 1980s remains: LATAM (former LanChile), Aerolíneas Argentinas, Avianca and SLM.

Superboi wrote:

RG Also operated to LOS at a point (Till the late 80s/early 90s)

Yes, the route was GIG-LOS-SSA-GIG, with 707 and after with DC-10, one weekly.

LAXffDUB wrote:

I haven't seen anyone mention Viasa (Venezuela). I think they used DC10s and were a regular sight at JFK. In the day it, along with Varig (Venezuela), had the reputation in NY of being the preferred carriers to South America for the "well-heeled" (ie: wealthy) traveller. People described them as pure class.

Varig was from Brazil

Yup, they were known for superb product. VIASA itself called The Venezuela's Seven Star Airlines in its heydays. VARIG's soft product were wining-award and the company had kitchens for meals in Lisbon and New York. All the VARIG's agencies outside Brazil were known the second brazilian emabassies and was a proud find them in places like Rockefeller Center, Champs Elyseés and Via Veneto

Beside some dark sides about Panair do Brasil downturn and lobby against VASP and Transbrasil, VARIG built a reputation of Brazil with no other local company (not only airline) doing the same. VARIG beats the powerful Pan American in GIG-JFK route in early Sixties and the company got a loyal japanese public because of its onboard product.

It really brings up another conversation about what really happened to aviation in Venezuela (not the obvious politico)... and Brazil

Interesting comment. I've flown on Faucett (Peru) back in 1975 or so, but there are quite a few in South America.

n729pa wrote:

Sabenadryl

Brymon Airways

Brymon Airways: why, when, history, routes, airliners used:

Brymon began operating charter services in 1970 using an Islander.
The airline acquired Plymouth Airport, and established its base there.
In 1972 the airline opened scheduled services from Plymouth to Newquay, Jersey and the Isles of Scilly.
Services from Plymouth to Morlaix and from Exeter to the Isles of Scilly began when a second Islander joined the fleet.
The delivery of further Islanders enabled the introduction of services to Alderney, Cardiff, Cherbourg and Cork.
In 1974 Brymon became the UK’s first operator of the Twin Otter. The airline went on to operate eight. In time the Twin Otters replaced the Islanders.
In 1977 the airline introduced services from Newquay to Heathrow. A Handley Page Herald was acquired from British Midland to operate this route. If I remember correctly, the airline took over this service from BMA. The Herald also operated from Newquay to Manchester once or twice a week.
In 1978 the airline began a Plymouth to Gatwick service.
In October 1981 Brymon took delivery of three DHC Dash 7s. The runway at Plymouth was short, to operate from there the airline needed an airliner with STOL capabilities.
The airline’s Summer 1981 timetable shows services from Plymouth to Gatwick, Birmingham and East Midlands, and from Southampton to Cherbourg in addition to the services already mentioned.
By this time the airline was also operating Twin Otters from Gatwick to Birmingham and East Midlands for British Caledonian.
At the end of 1982 the Herald was sold.
In 1982 and 1983 Brymon Dash 7s operated test flights into Heron Quays in London’s Docklands, paving the way for London City Airport.
In 1987 when London City Airport opened, a Brymon Dash 7 made the first landing.
In November 1987 Brymon was the first airline to introduce services at London City.
In 1988 a fourth new DHC-7 was delivered, and two further Dash 7s were leased.
In 1990 the airline took delivery of its first DHC-8. By 1992 two -100s and two -300s were in service.
In 1991 Brymon opened bases at Bristol and Birmingham.
In 1991 the airline sold its last remaining Twin Otter. One left the fleet in 1979, and by 1989 only three were in service.
In October 1992 Brymon Airways merged with Birmingham European Airways to create Brymon European Airways.
Between 1992 and 1994 four Dash 7s left the fleet.
I don’t know much about the Brymon services at London City, but it seems that the routes did not perform as well as expected. It could be that Brymon were ahead of their time; the offices at Docklands and the housing around it were not developed as quickly as anticipated and perhaps the demand that Brymon was hoping for may have not yet been there.
The two remaining DHC-7s were used on oil contracts from Aberdeen.
In 1993 Brymon European Airways was bought by British Airways and Maersk Air.
BA and Maersk de-merged Brymon and Birmingham European Airways.
British Airways acquired Brymon Airways. Brymon was managed as a wholly owned subsidiary. Brymon operated as a BA franchise, with the aircraft painted in British Airways Express colours.
Maersk Air took the Birmingham European part of the business, and renamed it Maersk Air UK.
In 1998 BA Regional (created by BA in 1992 to run the airline’s services from Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland) disposed of its BAe ATPs. Routes formerly operated by BAR BAe ATPs from Aberdeen to Birmingham and Manchester and from Manchester to Edinburgh and Glasgow were taken on by Brymon DHC-8s.
In 2000 Brymon sold Plymouth Airport.
In 2000 the last two Dash 7s were sold when the airline’s Aberdeen oil contracts ended.
In March 2002 BA merged Brymon and British Regional Airlines. The new airline was named British Airways CitiExpress.
At the time of the merger Brymon was operating 20 DHC-8s and 7 Embraer 145s.
(In 1995 BA had signed a franchise agreement with Manx Airlines Europe. Manx was later renamed British Regional Airlines and in 2001 BA purchased British Regional Airlines from the Airlines of Britain group).

And that was the end of Brymon. The airline had come a long way from its West Country origins.

Postscript:
In January 2006 British Airways CitiExpress was re-launched as BA Connect.
In 2007 British Airways sold BA Connect to Flybe. The sale did not include the routes operated by BA Connect to and from London City or the airline's Avro RJ100s.
In 2011 Plymouth Airport was closed.
As Brymon abandoned its original island-hopping routes, many were picked up by Skybus, first using Islanders and later Twin Otters.

I was fond of Brymon and made a number of flights with them.
In September 1980 I flew Gatwick to Birmingham on a Twin Otter. I worked for an airline, and the captain put me in the P2 seat which made the flight more interesting and enjoyable.
In August 1981, to take my first flight on a Herald, I did a trip from Heathrow to Newquay and then on to Manchester. At Heathrow the airline was handled by BMA.
In June 1984, to take my first flights on a Dash 7, I flew from Jersey via Plymouth to Newquay, and then on to Heathrow. The runway at Plymouth is short, and I recall the landing and take-off there being very impressive.
In January 2002 I flew from Glasgow to Manchester on a Brymon DHC-8. By this time the airline was operating as a BA franchise and apart from an ‘Operated by Brymon’ sticker by the entrance door there was no sign of the plucky little West Country airline. Very sad.

LAXffDUB wrote:

Anybody remember Highland Express? They had one used and rather old 747 flying between Scotland and EWR. They didn't last long as it was always breaking down. I think they were created to bring back a Sottish flag carrier of sorts after British Caledonian disappeared.

Yep, I remember Highland Express. I never flew them, but my then girlfriend was on their inaugural service. Resisting the temptation to look it up, for fun I'll go from memory! I think it operated Stansted - Prestwick - Newark. I think their one 747 (was it G-HIHO?) was ex-AA. I still have the inaugural flight presents she was given, all pretty cheap and cheerful.

LAXffDUB wrote:

I haven't seen anyone mention Viasa (Venezuela). I think they used DC10s and were a regular sight at JFK. In the day it, along with Varig (Venezuela), had the reputation in NY of being the preferred carriers to South America for the "well-heeled" (ie: wealthy) traveller. People described them as pure class.

Varig was Brazilian

rkozy wrote:

rove312 wrote:

To some degree Eastern and Braniff had hubs there in the late 1980s.

Yes, they did. I don't think there was a tremendous selection of destinations or flight frequencies, but it was certainly more than just a focus city back then.

I would say the Braniff II Kansas City hub was more than a focus city.

At its peak, the combined Braniff/Braniff Express operation was operating 200 daily departures (about 100 each on both mainline equipment and Express equipment) to 57 cities (33 of them mainline) from 31 gates spread across two terminals at Kansas City.

BNAMaxxFlyer wrote:

Looking through old timetables, came across one from 'Private Jet'. Shows flights from ATL, MDW, DFW, LAS, MIA, STT, STX. They used MD80s. I recall seeing them a couple times. What I found interesting is on one page, in the same timetable there are flights listed under an airline named 'Wings of the World'. JFK-ORD-LAX/SFO. I can't find anything on this one. Anyone have any insight?

I actually asked about Private Jet and "Wings of the World" a few years back in this thread and received some good information:

viewtopic.php?p=22401055

It was basically a public charter company that used leased aircraft from other airlines including Private Jet, Express One and others.

Duplicate post. Please delete.

And exactly 31 years ago, the lengendary Pan Am made its last flight.

departedflights wrote:

rkozy wrote:

rove312 wrote:

To some degree Eastern and Braniff had hubs there in the late 1980s.

Yes, they did. I don't think there was a tremendous selection of destinations or flight frequencies, but it was certainly more than just a focus city back then.

I would say the Braniff II Kansas City hub was more than a focus city.

At its peak, the combined Braniff/Braniff Express operation was operating 200 daily departures (about 100 each on both mainline equipment and Express equipment) to 57 cities (33 of them mainline) from 31 gates spread across two terminals at Kansas City.

Holy smokes! I only had to connect through MCI once, and it was not fun at all, back when Frontier and Midwest saga was happening. It was supposed to be a direct flight, but they changed aircraft in MCI to continue to MKE. We all had to go back through security to get on the new aircraft, delaying us.

I couldn't imagine how Braniff was able to handle all of that.

FlyingElvii wrote:

rove312 wrote:

rkozy wrote:

I've always wondered why MCI couldn't adequately support some type of hub operation. Seems like they should. I guess when you're smack dab between Chicago, Denver, Dallas, and Minneapolis that pretty much sucks all the oxygen out of the region for feeder operations.

The design requiring re-clearing security for most connections was a problem. The new terminal will resolve that, but I guess in the current climate there's no thought of a hub.

To some degree Eastern and Braniff had hubs there in the late 1980s.

Eastern Branniff, Branniff II, Midwest Express, Vangaurd, TWA, and even to an extent US Air have tried to make a hub out of KC.

The area just does not have the population density to make it work, and it competes with the much larger Minneapolis, and Omaha to be the economic center of the upper Midwest. Chicago, Dallas, Denver, and Minneapolis all within “Short” flying distance dooms those chances as well.

Nashville was in the same situation until just the last decade. Now it supports flights to everywhere, due to a fast growing and very diverse economic base. Unlike say, Austin, which rises and falls with tech (formerly military), Nashville’s current economy is not dependent on any one economic sector to drive the traffic.

Nashville's traffic is #1 boosted by tourism; #2 boosted by WN Focus and its connections #3 economy/population growth. If tourism were to falter....flights to 'everywhere" (aka Fargo, Peoria, Bozeman etc) would not exist.

Business Express (Delta Connection Carrier)
Star Airlines (France)
Rheintalflug (all ERJ145 ops IIRC)
Sobelair
LTU
Air Berlin
Snowflake (Low-Cost SAS subsidiary)
Silk Air ("The Regional Wing of Singapore Airlines")
Spanair
Aerocancun
Air Inter (Air France Europe - > Air France)
Norcanair
US Africa Airways (Africa - Dulles/IAD - Africa)
Air Littoral
Air Zaire
Mexicana
Germanwings
Balair/CTA
Skymark (Japan)
Sudan Airways
Deutsche BA
MetroJet (USAirways LCC)
Air BC/Air Nova/AirOntario (Air Canada Connector)
Denim Airways
Continental (pre-merger UNITED)
Thai Orient
Five Star (Boston, Massachusetts based IIRC)
North Central
GP Express (Greensboro, North Carolina based)
Air Italy
CityBird (e.g. Accra - Baltimore & vv IIRC)
Kingfisher
Jet Airways
Avensa
One-Two-Go (Thailand)
ATA American Trans Air

off-topic: anyone remember "McDonald's-in-the-Sky" kids meals on United? I'm hungry right now lol

I remember OLT. Flew Bremen - Nürnberg on a Metroliner.
A 45 minutes flight which is now a four hours train ride and way less funny

departedflights wrote:

BNAMaxxFlyer wrote:

Looking through old timetables, came across one from 'Private Jet'. Shows flights from ATL, MDW, DFW, LAS, MIA, STT, STX. They used MD80s. I recall seeing them a couple times. What I found interesting is on one page, in the same timetable there are flights listed under an airline named 'Wings of the World'. JFK-ORD-LAX/SFO. I can't find anything on this one. Anyone have any insight?

I actually asked about Private Jet and "Wings of the World" a few years back in this thread and received some good information:

viewtopic.php?p=22401055

It was basically a public charter company that used leased aircraft from other airlines including Private Jet, Express One and others.

I flew a SkyBus public Charter operate on a Private Jet livery MD-80 EWR-FLL and return FLL-SFB-EWR in 92 , perhaps 93. Somewhere I still have the napkin with SkyBus logo on it. I created a few shadow boxes with all my airline ephemera, etc.

Stopping in SFB back then I literally learned of that airport's existence on that trip. Picking me up, when people could meet you at the gate, my friend's said the only notice was a cardboard sign with an arrow on it at Newark.
The start ups and LCC's at the time were a true adventure in flying.
I also flew Braniff III around then JFK-FLL. the ticket jacket (I also saved) was from Braniff II but with a black marker run through all of the terms and conditions, etc.
I'm not sure if it was one of these flights, or a Carnival one, but I recall the seat assignments were done with a sticker sheet that was a map of the aircraft seating plan, and they peeled off the sticker with your seat number on it. Anyone else ever see that system?
Its great to see how many of us geeks were out there all around the world pursuing this hobby from assorted, but clearly similar passions before the internet came along and brought us together.

British Caledonian (absorbed by BA)
Air Inter (absorbed by Air France)
People's Express (absorbed by Continental, so now United)
Muse Air
Ansett
CP Air
Alitalia (rebranded)
Viasa
Avensa
All the European Airlines "Brand + Asia" airlines (KLM Asia, etc.) to get around PRC issues with Taiwan

Anyone remember Sun Bird?

spinkid wrote:

I'm not sure if it was one of these flights, or a Carnival one, but I recall the seat assignments were done with a sticker sheet that was a map of the aircraft seating plan, and they peeled off the sticker with your seat number on it. Anyone else ever see that system?

That was the norm for decades for many airlines all over the world. Skybus/Private Jet/BN3/Carnival, or whomever it was on your early '90s flight was just using it a bit later than most.

Hooters and Janet Airways. I believe Janet are those white 737s out of LAS with the thick red cheatline.

Dolphin Airways is another I remember out of TPA.

L'Express.

Just wanted to share a story about a guy i see 3 or 4 times a week at a Milwaukee area Diner for breakfast. Quite a story teller kind of like those who remember " Commander McBragg ".
He claims to be a Semi Retired FBI Agent and now The IRS put him to work to collect Cares Package Money that was Allegedlly embezzled or misappropriated by various Airlines.
He tells us that he collected a 7 figure plus check from The Former CEO of Ozark.
We all looked at each other but i didn't have the heart to tell him that Ozark was acquired by TWA 1980s. The CEO of Northwest is scheduled to make restitution to him before the year is out.
A CEO of an airline went to his office and said to The FBI - IRS Agent that he was Bluffing. Team FBI and IRS stripped down the CEO to his Boxers, Blue Socks, and Black Shoes and tossed him in an O'hare Airport FBI prison cell with No Running Water and No Toilet.
I guess that's why Mom always said wear Clean Undies.

I saw few talking about japanese airlines. The country has two titans, JAL and ANA, very omnipresent in the market and the others carriers need to form alliances with them. This is reminiscent from 45/47 System, which stipulated the JAL was the flagcarrier, ANA with domestic trunk routes and TDA with some domestic trunk and regional routes.

- Japan Domestic Airlines (JDA) formed Toa Domestic Airlines through merger with Toa Airways. Before that, JDA had a sole CV-880;
- Nihon Kinkyori Airlines (NKA), established in 1974 between JAL, ANA and TDA (?), operated YS-11 and DHC-6 before bought by ANA and renamed Air Nippon (ANK);
- JUST - Japan Universal System Transport, a cargo company subsidiary of JAL in the Nineties with 747-200F. I don't understand the purpouse the company when JAL had its own cargo division JAL Cargo;
- JAZ - Japan Air Charter, rebranded JALways and then shut down;
- Galaxy Airlines, an unknown cargo operator, with A300F.

I miss the JAS colorful fleet, mainly Kurosawa's series and 777 rainbow.

AirAfreak wrote:

Balair/CTA

off-topic: anyone remember "McDonald's-in-the-Sky" kids meals on United? I'm hungry right now lol

You where so close, not to mention Crossair (former LX) and the legendary Swissair SR. That I so much miss cause it was in all much more of a Quality Airline that LX is today! And yes I do remember the McDonald's but in Switzerland they had a red MD87 I guess it was for a while.

Shrewfly wrote:

Dan Air - My mother was an air hostess for them on the BAC 1-11 and Bae146. And theyre probably what got me into aviation. I still have models and stickers she brought me as a kid

I have many happy memories of Dan-Air.

Dan-Air had an engineering base at Lasham in Hampshire. In the 1970s and early 1980s it was possible to drive onto the airfield and around the perimeter to the hangars. If you asked the Security officers nicely and promised not to touch anything, they’d let you look around. As I recall, the airline’s Comets, 707s and 727s were maintained at Lasham. Parked around the hangars were a growing number of retired Comets, some of which had served with the airline, and others that had been acquired to be stripped for spares. Dan-Air Engineering did work for other airlines and operators, and I remember seeing World Airways and Yemenia 727s, two Brazilian Air Force BAC 1-11s being prepared for a new life with The Ford Motor Company and other ‘third-party’ airliners at Lasham.

In the 1970s and 80s if you went on an Inclusive Tour holiday there was a fair chance that you’d fly with Dan-Air. I flew with the airline a number of times, including a school ski-ing trip for which we flew to Munich and then holidays with mates taking flights to Alicante, Ibiza and Lisbon. On those flights the airliners used were Boeing 727-100s, 727-200s and BAC 1-11 500s. When the airline retired the Comet 4C, they operated a number of ‘farewell’ flights and I had a seat on the second to last passenger service. I also flew on a Lisbon to Gatwick scheduled service on a 1-11 500.

Dan-Air turned its hand to a wide range of services and was innovative in a number of ways. The airline was the first to put the Boeing 727 and Nord 262 onto the UK register, and was the first airline to operate the BAe 146. In 1975 Dan-Air’s Captain Yvonne Sintes became the UK’s first female airline pure-jet captain. She was probably also the first in Europe.

On the 8th of November ‘92, after operating for nearly forty years, Dan-Air was acquired by British Airways. By that time Dan-Air was operating an extensive network of UK domestic and UK-Europe scheduled services, many of which BA continued. However, BA did not persevere with Dan-Air’s IT operations which were shut down.

The OP asked for the ‘when, why, history, routes and airliners used’ for airlines that have disappeared. The scope of the Dan-Air’s activities and the many types the airline flew make it very difficult to give a short history of Dan-Air. With apologies for the length, here’s my attempt at doing justice to a much missed airline.

Why, when, history, routes…

Davies and Newman Ltd was a firm of shipping brokers. The company expanded into acting as a broker for air charters. The firm had been giving work to a Southend based airline. When that airline ceased trading, in lieu of a debt, Davies and Newman acquired that operator’s contracts and Dakota. Instead of selling the aircraft, in 1953 the company created ‘Dan-Air Services’ to operate it.
The new airline had a contract to operate a series of flights from West Berlin to the UK carrying refugees, many of whom were Hungarian. They also operated flights carrying manufactured goods, circumventing Soviet restrictions on goods leaving the city.
Ad-hoc charters were operated, and then Inclusive Tour services.
The airline moved its base to Blackbushe, to the west of London and then in 1960 to Gatwick.
In 1961 Dan-Air acquired Scottish Airlines.

Air Ministry contract services

In 1956 the airline won an Air Ministry contract to carry freight to the Far East and then another to carry freight to Australia. The contracts came to an end on 1963.

Cargo services for BEA

In 1959 the airline began operating cargo services for BEA on the LHR-MAN-GLA route. In 1960 the airline began operating cargo services for BEA on the LHR-BRU-MIL-ROM route. In 1963 these services came to an end.

Scheduled passenger services, 1950s, 1960s:

In 1956 Dan-Air introduced a scheduled passenger service from Blackbushe to Jersey.
In 1960 the airline introduced a service from Bristol to Liverpool and the Isle of Man.
In 1960 the airline introduced a Cardiff–Bristol-Basle service, it’s first international scheduled passenger service.
As the 1960s went on, Dan-Air introduced further UK regional domestic scheduled flights serving Bristol, Carlisle, Exeter, Gloucester Staverton, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Plymouth, Prestwick, Swansea and Teesside.
The airline operated services serving Dundee (Perth), but these were short-lived.
From Gatwick the airline introduced scheduled services including Gatwick–Ostend, Gatwick–Newcastle–Kristiansand and Gatwick-Newquay (operated for one season only).
The airline added UK-Europe scheduled services, including Bristol–Bournemouth–Basle, Bristol–Ostend, Liverpool-Rotterdam (later replaced with Liverpool-Amsterdam) and Cardiff–Bristol-Amsterdam.

Scheduled passenger services, 1970s:

In 1972 Dan-Air purchased Skyways International. The combined Dan-Air and Skyways scheduled network was expanded to create a network of domestic ‘Link-city’ services, adding Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Glasgow, Guernsey, Luton, Leeds, and East Midlands to the domestic network.
From Gatwick scheduled services were added, including to Newcastle, Aberdeen, Clermont Ferrand, Montpellier, Berne, Perpignan, Strasbourg, Dijon and Toulouse.
Skyways had operated a budget way of getting from London to Paris. Passengers took a coach from the centre of London to Ashford, then a short flight from Ashford to Beauvais, and finally a coach from Beauvais to the centre of Paris. In 1974 Dan-Air moved the service to Lydd.
International scheduled services were added, including Bournemouth–Dinard, Bristol–Cardiff–Cork, Cardiff–Bristol-Amsterdam (re-introduced), Jersey–Cork, Newcastle–Stavanger and Teesside–Amsterdam.

Scheduled passenger services, 1980s:

In 1979 Intasun created Air Europe and Horizon Tours created Orion Airways, enabling those large tour operators to take their IT business in-house. Thompson Holidays had been growing Britannia Airways. Therefore, as the 1980s began the number of IT contracts available to Dan-Air was much reduced.
From this time on, Dan-Air’s strategy was to grow its scheduled operations to compensate for a reduction in IT flying.
From Gatwick the airline introduced scheduled services to Cork, Dublin (both later withdrawn), Inverness, Belfast, Lourdes, Innsbruck, Munich (resumed), Lisbon, Manchester, Madrid, Ibiza, Mahon, Nice, Paris (Paris and Nice licences became available as a result of BA merging with BCal), Berlin, Vienna, Oslo, Stockholm, Athens and Rome. The airline also flew Gatwick–Barcelona for six months.
In 1983 Dan-Air took over the Inverness–Heathrow route from BA, the airline’s first service into Heathrow.
In 1985 the airline began Heathrow–Manchester services, but these ended after six months.
Through the 1980s the airline introduced a number of services from Manchester including Munich, Amsterdam, Lourdes, Aberdeen, Inverness, Montpellier and Manchester-Newcastle-Oslo.
From West Berlin the airline began services to Amsterdam and Saarbrucken.
A number of UK domestic services were introduced, including Inverness–Aberdeen, Aberdeen–Newcastle, Newcastle–Jersey, Teesside–Dublin, Newcastle / Teesside–Amsterdam and Teesside / Newcastle–Belfast.
In 1980 Dan-Air took over a number of UK domestic and UK-Europe services from British Airways, including Bristol / Cardiff–Dublin, Bristol / Cardiff–Paris, Bristol–Leeds Bradford, Bristol / Cardiff–Jersey, Bristol / Cardiff–Guernsey, Newcastle–Belfast and Newcastle–Dublin. In 1981 the Bristol / Cardiff–Paris service was ended.
In 1982 Metropolitan Airways took over the ‘Link-city’ network between Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bournemouth.
In 1984 Metropolitan took over the ‘Link-city’ network between Glasgow, Leeds, Cardiff and Bristol.
The services operated by Metropolitan were marketed as ‘Dan-Air’, but the airline had in effect withdrawn from the UK regional services that in the early 1960s had helped to get it established.
In 1985 Metropolitan ceased trading. For a short time, Centreline took on the ‘Link-city’ services.

Inclusive Tour services

In 1960 Dan-Air operated Inclusive Tour services from Gatwick to Barcelona, Basle, Biarritz, Calais, Deauville, Gibraltar, Groningen, Nice, Ostend, Toulouse and Tours. In later years Zurich, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris Le Bourget, Munich, Santander, Tarbes, Madrid, Perpignan and Zagreb were added to the IT network.
In 1960 IT services operated from Manchester to Basle and Ostend. By 1964 the airline was operating an increased number of IT services from Manchester.
In 1970 the airline took on a number of IT contracts with tour operators that had been using British Eagle who had ceased trading at the end of 1969.
In 1970 IT services were operated by Comets from Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow, Teesside and Edinburgh and by BAC 1-11s from Luton. Destinations included Alghero, Alicante, Athens, Djerba, Dubrovnik, Faro, Gerona, Ibiza, Izmir, Luxembourg, Mahon, Malaga, Palma, Rhodes, Rimini, Rome, Santiago, Sardinia, Split, Tenerife, Tunis, Varna and Venice.
In 1970 Dan-Air began operating IT services from West Berlin to destinations around the Mediterranean.
In 1971 the airline began operating IT services from Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff.
By 1974, from the UK, IT services were operated from Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Gatwick, Glasgow, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle and Teesside.
In 1990 Intasun, the owner of Air Europe, cancelled their IT contracts with Dan-Air and took the business in-house.

Affinity Group services.

In 1971 Dan-Air began operating ‘affinity group’ services from Gatwick to North America. The following year affinity group services were operated from Gatwick, Manchester and Prestwick, and by 1974 the airline was operating a greatly expanded programme of UK-North America services.
In 1977 the UK-US passenger market was liberalised and the airline’s involvement came to an end.

Oil industry services

In 1974 Dan-Air based an HS-748 at Aberdeen for oil industry work, flying between Aberdeen and Sumburgh. A second 748 joined it the same year.
From 1974 to 1975 748s operated a weekly Aberdeen-Oporto oil crew flight.
1978 saw the peak of the oil industry related work, and that year the airline had 14 HS-748s based at Aberdeen. Flights now also operated into Scatsta.
From 1980 onwards the number of 748s employed on the oil services steadily reduced, and by 1992 only one aircraft was based at Aberdeen.

Post Office mail services

In 1979 Dan-Air began a contract with Royal Mail to carry letters and parcels from cities around the UK to and from a sorting facility at Liverpool Speke airport. HS-748s were used. In 1992 the Royal Mail contract ended.

The end of Dan-Air

Through the 1980s the number of passengers carried by Dan-Air steadily grew from 3.5 million in 1980 to 6.27 million in 1989.
At the start of the 1990s, Dan-Air was in financial difficulty.
In 1991 Dan-Air Engineering was sold to FLS.
On the 8th of November ‘92, Dan-Air was acquired by British Airways.

You’d hear the airline called ‘Dan-Dare’ and similar, and comedians told jokes about the airline, the way that they joke about low cost carriers today. However, in my limited experience, they offered a perfectly good service.

Airliners used:

1953: Started with one Dakota. A second Dakota was acquired.
1961: Dan-Air acquired Scottish Airlines, obtaining a further Dakota.
1964: Four Dakotas in service.
1970: The last remaining Dakota was retired.

1953: Three Avro Yorks acquired for use on cargo services. In 1956 two further Yorks added. In 1958 six Yorks were in service.
1963: Most of the remaining Yorks were retired, with one retained for charters until 1964.

1957: A dH Heron was leased. It was disposed of at the end of the year.
1963: A dH Heron acquired to replace Doves on scheduled services.
1965: The Heron was sold when services from Plymouth ended.

1957: A Bristol Freighter was acquired for use on cargo services.
1958: A second Bristol Freighter joined the fleet, and a third the following year.
1970: The last remaining Bristol Freighter was sold.

1960: Two dH Doves were acquired to operate scheduled services from Bristol.
1963: One Dove disposed of, and the other in 1965.

1960: Three Airspeed Ambassadors acquired. Used on IT flights, trooping flights, ad-hoc charters and then scheduled services.
1966: Further Ambassadors joined the fleet, and by 1966 the airline had eight in service.
As Comets took on the IT services, the Ambassadors were relegated to UK domestic and cross-channel scheduled services.
1970: The last Ambassador was retired.

1965: Two DC-4s acquired for passenger and freight ad hoc charters. They were disposed of at the end of the year.

1965: Acquired a DC-7 freighter. It was retired in 1969.

1966: Two Comet 4s purchased for use on IT services. In 1967 two further Comet 4s joined the fleet. In 1970 further Comet 4s were purchased, bringing the fleet to eleven.
1972: Seven Comet 4Bs purchased.
1971: Three Comets 4Cs purchased.
1973: Twenty-two Comets of all types (4, 4B, 4C) in service.
1974: The last Comet 4 was retired. Most of the one-time BOAC Comet 4s had been withdrawn in 1973.
1975: Six further Comet 4Cs joined the fleet.
1979: The last remaining Comet 4B was retired.
1980: The last remaining Comet 4C was retired, bringing Comet services to an end.

1969: Two BAC 1-11 400s purchased. Another added in 1971, and two more in 1983 and 1984.

1970: Two BAC 1-11 300s purchased. A third added in 1985.

1970: A Nord 262 was purchased. Dan-Air was the UK’s first and only operator of the French prop-jet. The 262 was based at Newcastle. It was sold in 1972.

1971: An HS-748 joined the fleet. It was used on the Newcastle-Kristiansand service, replacing the Nord 262. In 1972 a second HS-748 entered service.
1972: Dan-Air purchased Skyways International, acquiring four HS-748s. Later in 1972 a further 748 was acquired.
1976: Seven HS-748s acquired for use on oil contract services.
1981: Further HS-748s acquired, and in 1981 twenty-one were in service.
1984 onwards, the 748 fleet was reduced.
1991: Six remained in service, and the last was retired in 1992.

1971: Purchased a 707-320 from Pan Am for use on services to North America. In 1972 a second was acquired.
1976: The first of four 707-320C acquired. In 1977 six 707s were in service.
1978: The last 707 was withdrawn.

1973: Introduced three Boeing 727-100s, the first UK operator of the type. In 1974 two further 727-100s joined the fleet.
1978: Further 727-100s entered service, bringing the fleet to eight.
From 1981 onwards the 727-100 fleet was reduced.
1990: The last 727-100 was retired.

1975: Acquired four BAC 1-11 500s from the receivers of Court-Line. At the end of the year a fifth 1-11 500 was purchased.
Further BAC 1-11 500s were purchased or leased and the airline operated fourteen, although not all at the same time.
In 1992 eleven 1-11 500s were in service.

1975: Acquired two BAC 1-11 200s.

1975: Two Viscount 700s were leased for use on the Lydd-Beauvais service. A Viscount 800 was also leased. In 1979 two Viscount 800s were acquired, the last leaving the fleet in 1981.

1980: Two 727-200s acquired, the first of the stretched model.
Further 727-200s were purchased or leased and the airline operated ten.
1992: Six 727-200 in service.

1980: The first 737-200 was delivered. The airline went on to operate eight, but not all at the same time.
In 1992 four 737-200s were in service.

1983: Dan-Air was the first operator of the BAe 146. The 146-100 was used on services to Berne where it was the only jet airliner able to use the airport’s 1,310 metre runway.
Five BAe 146-100s were operated. Three were replaced by 146-300s, and two remained in service in 1992.

1985: First 737-300 delivered. In 1992 three were in service.

1986: Acquired an Airbus A300B and a second in 1988 for use on IT services.
1989: One A300B was disposed of, and in 1990 the remaining A300B was disposed of.

1988: The first 737-400 was delivered. In 1992 nine 737-400s were in service.

1989: First BAe 146-300 delivered. In 1992 four 146-300s were in service.

On the 8th of November ‘92, Dan-Air was acquired by British Airways.

AntonioMartin wrote:

BealineV953 wrote:

AntonioMartin wrote:

I saw their livery on the 1000 Airlines book, it was very nice.

I did one round trip with Court Line, a day trip to the 1973 Paris Air Show. I flew from Luton to Le Bourget on the airline’s then brand-new pink TriStar. It was the first wide-body airliner I flew on.
At the show the airliner was displayed in the static park, and it also made a number of fly pasts.

Flying on a plane and then see it fly-by and on display the same day.....hard to beat, that!

Yes, it was pretty special.
I went to the Paris Air Show again in 1977. By that time Le Bourget had closed to airline passenger services, so we flew into Orly (Monarch Boeing 720) and were bussed to Le Bourget from there.
Not quite the same as seeing the airliner you arrived on display!

The thread has accumulated 284 replies previous to this one. Interestingly, 84 was the code Boeing used for Olympic Airways. So, if the variant was -200, for example, Boeing 747-284, 737-284 or 727-284 this would mean the first operator of a specific aircraft was Olympic. Also of interest is to note that all these three variants reside permanently at ATH Ellenikon.

gzm wrote:

The thread has accumulated 284 replies previous to this one. Interestingly, 84 was the code Boeing used for Olympic Airways. So, if the variant was -200, for example, Boeing 747-284, 737-284 or 727-284 this would mean the first operator of a specific aircraft was Olympic. Also of interest is to note that all these three variants reside permanently at ATH Ellenikon.

That is awesome!

pmseattle wrote:

Reeve Aleutian - I used to fly with them all over Alaska in the early 1980s.
.

I can’t come close to someone who used to fly with Reeve Aleutian Airways all over Alaska, but I did take a couple of memorable flights with the Anchorage based airline.
In September 1984 I went to Alaska to get a flight on an Electra. Earlier that year Reeve had taken delivery of a pair of 727-100Cs and I was worried that the Electras would be abruptly retired. Therefore, before making the trip I wrote to the airline. I quickly got back a letter from Paula Reeve. She assured me that the ‘L-188s’ would remain in service for some time.
Paula also offered a wealth of helpful information. One of the things I was told was that at St Paul Island there was no taxi service, but if I needed to get around then the Assembly of God Church rented motorcycles.
I worked for an airline. When I got to Anchorage I went to the Reeve ticket desk anxiously clutching an ‘IATA 788’ letter of introduction. The letter states that the holder works for an airline, and asks other airlines to offer the holder tickets at airline employee prices. The fares around Alaska were generally pretty steep. I was hoping that I’d be given a 75% or 80% discount. One of the team on the ticket desk took my letter and my airline ID, and disappeared into the back office. The ticket agent soon came back and told me that my ticket would be free, but that there would be a twenty dollar admin fee, for which the agent apologised profusely.
On the day I travelled, a Reeve YS-11 departed from Anchorage at 7:40am for Port Heiden, Sand Point and Cold Bay where it was scheduled to arrive at 12:05pm. At 9:35am an Electra departed from Anchorage and flew to Cold Bay non-stop, arriving at 11:40am. For half an hour or so the YS-11 and Electra would be together on the ground at Cold Bay. The Electra would then head for St Paul Island, and the YS-11 to Dutch Harbour.
My plan was to fly from Anchorage to Cold Bay on the Electra, and then at 12:40pm depart Cold Bay for Dutch Harbor on the YS-11. From Dutch Harbor I would fly back to Anchorage with AirPac on their six month old BAe 146-100.
The first sector went to plan, and I had a delightful 1 hour and 50 minute flight. The Electra was configured as a combi with cargo up front. The passenger cabin was about half full, and I had a window seat behind the wing. The scenery along the way was spectacular.
When I reached Cold Bay there was bad news. The YS-11 had gone tech at one of the intermediate stops and my flight to Dutch Harbor had been cancelled. Along with a number of other passengers, I was offered a seat on a later flight. I explained that I was making the trip simply to ride on different types of airliner, and that the later flight to Dutch Harbor would not work for me. I was offered a seat on a flight back to Anchorage at 4:20pm.
I took a seat in the small terminal, and settled down for a wait of more than four hours. After a few minutes, one of the Reeve staff came over to me and asked if I’d like to ride along on a mail flight to King Cove. Naturally I said yes. There was no charge.
I was led out to a Grumman Goose operated by Peninsula Airways. As well as mail, the Goose was carrying other provisions. I seem to remember a sizable pallet of toilet rolls. I sat up front next to the pilot. There were two other passengers. We flew at a few hundred feet following a valley, and after ten minutes landed at King Cove on a gravel runway. A number of people had driven to the airport to meet the arrival, and they helped the pilot unload the cargo. Three passengers joined us for the flight back to Cold Bay. My unexpected little excursion was interesting and fun.
With time to spare, I took a walk around Cold Bay. The buildings were set well apart and the roads were unmade. The airport appeared to be the hub of the community.
Eventually the 727 that would operate my flight back to Anchorage arrived. The flight boarded and I settled into my seat. The 727 was configured as a combi. It had clearly been completely refurbished before entering service with Reeve and was immaculate outside and in.
Before the engines were started, one of the stewardesses told me that I was invited to join the flight crew in the cockpit. I was taken through a small door in the bulkhead between the passenger and cargo sections, past a pallet of cargo and to the cockpit where I was put in a jump-seat. The crew were very friendly, and amused that I’d travelled from London to Alaska to fly on one of “the old L-188s”. They told me about their airline, the Electra and the YS-11.
The crew also told me about life in Alaska and along the route pointed out a number of impressive snow-covered mountains, active volcanoes, glaciers and oil rigs. The 727 covered the sector in 1 hour and 30 minutes. It was a lovely flight.

My day hadn’t gone to plan, but the kindness and generosity of the people at Reeve had made it a day to remember.

TerminalD wrote:

AntonioMartin wrote:

Something I don't see many topics about is...old airlines...pre 21st century ones....I wanna talk plane types, routes, advertising, etc, etc..
What I remember:
...
Air Illinois
...

What were their routes? What planes were used? When? What was their history? Why did they exist? etc etc..

Air Illinois’ purchase of SCAT (hold the jokes) and subsequent crash financially doomed them and enabled Britt to grow into their place.

Britt Airways has been mentioned, but I don’t think that anyone has mentioned Marquette, Michigan based Simmons Airlines.
To be honest, I don’t know much about the airline, but I did take a couple of flights with them.
In September 1984 I went to Anchorage hoping to get a flight on a YS-11. However, the airliner I was due to fly on went tech and so that time it didn’t happen.
In August 1985 I travelled to Detroit to try again for a flight on one of the Japanese turbo-props.
One morning I flew with Simmons from Detroit to Lansing and then, after a short wait, back to Detroit. The flights took only 25 minutes and operated with American Airlines flight numbers. I flew on two different YS-11s, both of which were very smartly turned out in the airline’s orange, red and blue colours. I remember that the passenger windows were set very low, at shoulder height.
Early in the afternoon I flew from Detroit to South Bend on a Republic Airlines Convair 580. The purposeful looking Convair 580 has always been a favourite of mine. The interior was dated, and may have been the original fitted when the airliner was built in the mid-1950s.
I worked for an airline. At South Bend I went to the Britt Airways ticket desk and presented an ‘IATA 788’ letter. An IATA 788 letter states that the holder works for an airline, and asks other airlines to offer the holder tickets at airline employee prices. Without hesitation the friendly guy at the ticket desk issued me a free ticket for my onward journey to Chicago.
I flew from South Bend to Chicago O’Hare aboard a Britt Airways Fairchild FH-227. I’d flown on Fokker 27s before, but it was nice to get a ride on an American built variant of the Dutch designed turbo-prop. For most of the 25 minute flight we were over Lake Michigan, and I had a fine view of Chicago as we descended into O’Hare.

The YS-11, Convair 580 and FH-227 were all new types for me, and so it had been a very successful day. It was worth the effort; after that trip I never flew on a YS-11 or FH-227 again.