Which Past Airline Is Missed The Most In US?

BoeingGuy · Sun Aug 17, 2014 7:43 pm

Quoting FlyPIJets (Reply 1):
2. PSA
3. Air California

Quoting JAAlbert (Reply 5):
I sure miss PSA. The fares were great, the crew was fun - even the planes smiled!

Those were exactly the same ones I would have said. Of course, I'm biased since I grew up near SFO and then SJC.

Both were well run airlines, until that one guy (Barkley, or something like that?) screwed up PSA with bad management. Both were excellent carriers.

Quoting georgiabill (Reply 14):
I miss Hughes Airwest! Loved the livery

I actually really prefer the short lived red/orange and blue/green Hughes Airwest livery.

Thankfully, AS isn't on this list. I'm sure Delta or others would like to buy them and then gut them out just like PSA and others. Hopefully, we won't be able to answer AS when this question is asked in the future.

SUPER63DL · Sun Aug 17, 2014 7:48 pm

I personally miss Continental the most. Pan Am, TWA, PSA, and Hughes Air West are missed as well, but Continental has a special place in my heart.

l101fan · Sun Aug 17, 2014 7:48 pm

Here are my top five "missed" airlines:

1. Piedmont - Being from NC and watching the airline grow was a great time
2. Eastern - Also had a small hub operation at CLT
3. Pan Am - I flew them first in 1975 when the Air Force sent me to Berlin, Germany
4. TWA - As a controller I always called them Trans World....
5. Northwest - Ever flight I took on them was good, especially the CLT - MSP - ANC

Never flew many of the West Coast based airlines but when PSA was purchased by US Air, many of the PSA employees moved east and seemed to be pretty good people.

747d10 · Sun Aug 17, 2014 7:57 pm

As a travel agent, I loathed Pan Am. But as a passenger, they were the best. I tasted my first caviar with champagne and shots of chilled vodka in first class on my first trip to Hawaii on Pan Am.
I also miss Muse (the flight attendants remembered your drinks from previous flights!).
And, let's not forget Ozark's fun wine tasting flights.
I know, there's a disturbing pattern to these memories.

KarlB737 · Sun Aug 17, 2014 8:45 pm

Quoting USAirALB (Reply 3):
I would say that Piedmont is probably the most missed, at least in the Carolinas.

I have to agree with USAirALB on that one. What I remember most was the quality of their service. They had a high bar that they strived to maintain.

Quoting caleb1 (Reply 19):
I suppose because I grew up near DTW, my vote for most missed airline would be North Central. Would love to see the duck grace the skies once again!

Ya, I miss the fact that they flew to cities that other airlines would never acknowledge then let alone today. I flew on the CV-580 a few times from DTW to JVL.

I never flew on TWA but those red planes were hard to overlook when you saw them.

I traveled on Eastern from DTW-ATL-CLT and liked them alot. They'll be back next year if everything goes right even if just a charter at first.

DTWPurserBoy · Sun Aug 17, 2014 8:45 pm

Quoting FlyPIJets (Reply 8):

I find it surprising that you don't read a lot on a.net of folks missing Braniff (1).

Quoting superjeff (Reply 17):
Braniff: "The end of the Plain Plane;" inflight service in both cabins much better than most on domestic service; a lot of "flair." Prime US airline to South America, even with a full hub in Lima, and a bunch of etceteras. . . .

I worked for Braniff International for nearly 8 years and loved every minute of it. They were innovative with great food, beautiful aircraft and sincerely nice people.

spartanmjf · Sun Aug 17, 2014 8:59 pm

Mine

1 - Piedmont (No Brainer for Service)
2 - Pan Am (You Can't Beat The Experience)
3 - Continental (Before the United merger)

Least Missed

1 - USAir
2 - TWA
3 - Eastern

SpaceshipDC10 · Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:07 pm

Quoting N766UA (Reply 18):
Continental, Continental, Continental.

Quoting SUPER63DL (Reply 51):
I personally miss Continental the most.

Quoting spartanmjf (Reply 56):
Continental (Before the United merger)

It seems that the "One airline CAN make a difference" slogan they used during the '90s was right. One summer during that decade I flew both CO and DL, and CO was way better.

Type-Rated · Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:11 pm

Count me in as another one who misses BN 1. You always felt you were getting more for your money on Braniff. They certainly did have great service with a smile!

With the exception of the TWA Flight Center at JFK, the Braniff Terminal at DAL was most remarkable in terms of style and grace.

glideslope · Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:14 pm

For me it would be TWA.

stlgph · Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:15 pm

for pure personal nostalgic reasons - TWA and ATA.

loved their liveries, always had a good time on board, etc.

definitely missed the 'TWA Community' in St. Louis after it went away, that's for sure.

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 29):
I miss the United of the 1990's. Now that was a great airline.

Good call on this one, too.

nomadic · Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:32 pm

Quoting FlyPIJets (Reply 8):
I find it surprising that you don't read a lot on a.net of folks missing Braniff (1).

I come from a TWA family so of course I miss them the most. That being said, Braniff was one of my all-time favorites. I had the opportunity to fly with them many times....everything from a quick JFK -Albany hop to a round/trip DFW/LGW. TWA had class but Braniff had style.

I also miss Mowhawk and Northeast....two of my other favorites

N104UA · Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:52 pm

Quoting jetpixx (Thread starter):

I was looking through some old photos, remember flights I have taken in the past. I have flown on plenty of defunct airlines, including Continental, Eastern, Northeastern Int'l, Northwest Orient, Pan Am (original), PeoplExpress (original), Piedmont, Skybus, etc. I never had the pleasure of flying JetAmerica, New York Air, Ozark, Presidential, TranStar or TWA, but saw them pop up in photos, too.

Which airline do you miss the most from yesteryear?

I think most people are missing the point that many of these airlines are not defunct, they have just merged with or been bought by other airlines. PA was the last major airline to actually go defunct

TW is now AA
CO is now UA (although UA in name only as almost everything is run the way CO ran it)
NW is not DL
AW is US (which will soon be AA)

These airlines still exist in everything but name only.

flybulldog · Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:54 pm

Eastern's blueberry pancakes.

hohd · Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:55 pm

TWA is it. It was a large airline with a convenient base in the middle of the country, STL. It had good potential and it outlived Pan Am and unlike Pan Am it had good domestic and some intl service.

msnyx · Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:55 pm

Quoting JBo (Reply 34):

Quoting UltimateDelta (Reply 41):

Quoting AAlaxfan (Reply 48):

YX all the way. All the other airlines listed were nostalgic and iconic, sure, but how many of them truly offered something special and unique. I realize that this thread is about which airline is missed the most, and that will vary widely, but in my opinion, that distinction should belong to YX. There are so many things that made Midwest special, and in just about every way. 116 seats in an MD-80 and 88 seats in a 717 is unheard of! Sure Pan Am took great care of their first class passengers, but how about Midwest Express treating every single customer on the plane like royalty. Lobster and steak for everyone and the smell of fresh baked cookies on just about every flight truly can't be beat. Those of us who lived in Milwaukee and the midwest had something special in this little airline, and I still can't drive by MKE without missing them.

global2 · Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:57 pm

I can vividly recall pulling up to the Pan American Worldport in 1971 for our 707 flight to Tokyo (via Fairbanks!). I was only five. I remember the click-clack of the solari-board displaying all the departures. My parents and I were in First Class, and I can remember the stewardesses (that's what they were called) chatting with me. The following year I had my first 747 flight (LHR to JFK) and the astonishment I felt at the sheer size of that plane--it seemed to go on forever.

I've had the pleasure of chatting with a couple of retired stewardesses (they still proudly call themselves that so don't flame me!) and hearing about how they prepared the roast (in economy) and many other details of the level of service they provided.

I finally got to fly on TWA in the mid-90's. Though it was clearly long past its hey-day, the flight attendants, though quite aged by then, clearly had a level of professionalism that you don't see today.

Capt.Fantastic · Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:00 pm

Northwest Orient.

As a kid in the early '80s, I thought their route network was unique: centered in the North/midwest and extending to the Pacific. The solid red tail was distinctive and a commanding presence at DTW, as I recall. In the early/mid '80s they flew 747s from Detroit to ORD, JFK, and MSP. I remember seeing the large jumbos parked at concourse A before the merger with Republic. I was never a huge fan of Northwest Airlines- It's Northwest Orient that I'll miss.

BN727227Ultra · Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:11 pm

Quoting OzarkD9S (Reply 6):
Here in STL, the older folks tend to miss Ozark more than TWA based solely on the conversations I've had. While TWA eventually moved the HQ to St Louis, Ozark was always the hometown carrier. Many Americans root for the underdog, and OZ was always #2 to TW at STL.

Of course, many people in the area also miss TWA, the hub status STL once enjoyed, and the small but growing international service TWA provided.

And yes, I miss both carriers...

Man after my heart--STL is my home town, too. Liked OZ better than TW, although I wish Ozark would have kept the 722s.

I also loved BN--I moved to Dallas in 1982 and BN was bigger than life--just like Dallas!

BN727227Ultra · Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:16 pm

Quoting CV990A (Reply 36):
And soon to be missed:

AirTran

I really hope that AirTran's execs start a new airline once their noncompete ends. AirTran was fantastic--great amenities and beautiful paint jobs.

PA110 · Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:29 pm

Quoting azstar (Reply 31):
So those of you stating that PA is missed for "sentimental reasons" or "nostalgia" don't know your aviation history too well.

You may want to check the attitude, Skippy. Some of us know very well that PanAm wrote much of US aviation history, and were flying PanAm before you were born. I grew up flying PanAm and it is with much nostalgia that I remember my childhood. Sorry if that didn't appear to show the requisite amount of deference.

citationjet · Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:32 pm

Braniff. The only US airline to operate Concorde.
http://www.braniffpages.com/

S75752 · Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:38 pm

Given my location, I'd have to say;
Aloha (ETOPS on 737 Classics surely sounds like a thing to be witnessed)
Reno Air (That SJC hub is something we may never see return)

loranfair · Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:43 pm

As a New Englander, I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Northeast. They struggled through most of their existence, but the Yellowbirds were gorgeous!

CO953 · Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:50 pm

1970s Continental with the Golden Tail and black meatball - for personal reasons. The Proud Bird brought me every summer to Louisiana for a month to Paw Paw's house to play with my cousins and run around shoeless on shell roads and swim in the bayou and eat sno-cones when I was a little kid. The big DC-10s were my personal spaceship to paradise. And the day aboard CO953 outbound to IAH when the stewardess took me up front to the lounge and let me play an honest-to-goodness Pong game for the first time....while FLYING IN A PLANE, no less... man, oh man.... I never wanted to land.

kurtjeter · Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:58 pm

Quoting CitationJet (Reply 71):
Braniff. The only US airline to operate Concorde.http://www.braniffpages.com/

RIGHT! And let's not forget . . . . Braniff's colorful planes were standouts among other carriers whose A/C were much duller by comparison.

bdc767 · Sun Aug 17, 2014 11:00 pm

Midway Airlines (original)
ATA
Piedmont
Aspen
North Central ( Convair 580s!! )

peachair · Sun Aug 17, 2014 11:03 pm

I for one miss Braniff. I flew many times on Braniff as a non-rev earlier in my airline career (1981/82) and I remember how well they treated us, the cutting edge FA uniforms and the good food even in YC. I really wished I had the chance to fly Braniff on an international route.

Loved the leather seats and the pilots who always gave geographical updates enroute. An overall upbeat and happy atmosphere on board..

I wish they were back ...

Viscount724 · Sun Aug 17, 2014 11:39 pm

Quoting pjc747 (Reply 2):
Pan Am was, albeit much by over-regulation, the de facto flag carrier of the United States; they shaped the course of aircraft development in a way no airline really does today

Apart from the early flying boats that were all Pan Am operated in their early days, I believe AA had a much more significant influence on aircraft development. AA was the launch carrier for the DC-3, the first airliner that could operate profitably with any consistency. AA also launched the DC-6, DC-7, ConvairLiner series, and the only large U.S. turboprop, the L-188 Electra.

Quoting azstar (Reply 31):
Pan Am was probably the single most influential airline in the development of international U.S. Aviation. Pan Am pioneered most, if not all, the international routes flown from the USA today. They developed and built airfields and airport terminals in many countries around the world. If not for Pan Am's accomplishments, the U.S. airlines would not be able to fly to many of the destinations they do today. So those of you stating that PA is missed for "sentimental reasons" or "nostalgia" don't know your aviation history too well.

I expect the reference to missing PA for sentimental or nostalgia reasons is more related to service than their history. I flew Pan Am dozens of times in the '70s and '80s and almost always in F class (nonrev) and never found their service much better than average. It didn't match many of their foreign competitors. Among U.S. carriers I always preferred TWA's service to Pan Am.

I always found Western, Braniff and the original Continental (prior to their various bankruptcies) excellent.

Quoting BoeingGuy (Reply 50):
Quoting georgiabill (Reply 14):
I miss Hughes Airwest! Loved the livery

I actually really prefer the short lived red/orange and blue/green Hughes Airwest livery.

They were still Air West then. The livery changed to the gaudy yellow and purple after they became part of Hughes Airwest.

Ironically, that brief Air West livery was probably among the first, and possibly the very first, liveries now referred to as "Eurowhite" which so many A.net members seem to dislike almost half a century later.

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Photo © Hans Melin

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Photo © John Heggblom

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Max Q · Mon Aug 18, 2014 2:25 am

Pan Am is simply an iconic airline that will always be missed.

And I sure miss Continental, had some tough times and some great times working for Cal but it was something special.
United doesn't come close

jetpixx · Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:01 am

Unless I missed it...I am surprised no one mentioned either version of Midway Airlines. Now that I am in North Carolina, I'd love to see all of those yellow tails at RDU.

727tiger · Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:18 pm

Quoting peachair (Reply 77):
I for one miss Braniff.

You aren't the only one. I probably miss Braniff most of all. It was the airline of my childhood.

BoeingGuy · Tue Aug 19, 2014 11:14 pm

Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 78):
They were still Air West then. The livery changed to the gaudy yellow and purple after they became part of Hughes Airwest.

Thanks for showing those photos. That is in fact the livery that I was referring to. However, you are only partially correct. The yellow was adopted after the Hughes Airwest DC-9 was in the mid air collision near BUR. It was felt that the airplanes would be much more visible, hopefully preventing such an occurrence again, if painted bright yellow.

I agree though. I far prefer the livery that you showed.

CV990A · Wed Aug 20, 2014 1:08 am

Quoting loranfair (Reply 73):
As a New Englander, I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Northeast

Agreed, I love the Yellowbird livery, but sadly I'm just too young to have flown many of these dearly-departed airlines.

What I really miss more than any one specific airline is choice when I travel. Now when I log into my company's travel system, I'm pretty much given the choice of American, Delta, or United when I can remember having Continental, Northwest. and America West as options.

Type-Rated · Sat Aug 23, 2014 1:40 pm

Quoting delimit (Reply 37):
You have to be a certain age to really miss Pan Am. There just aren't many people that remember flying them when they were still in their prime. Same with TWA. Same with Braniff.

Most of those sweet young things that were F/A's with Braniff are now grandmothers! I know a bunch of them and they are really great people, but remember Braniff's heyday was 30-40 years ago!

One thing I have noticed about older retired F/A's is that they still have the gracefullness that they had when they were F/A's back in the day. I guess that never leaves.

Max Q · Tue Aug 26, 2014 9:34 am

Quoting type-rated (Reply 84):
One thing I have noticed about older retired F/A's is that they still have the gracefullness that they had when they were F/A's back in the day. I guess that never leaves.

Yes, I just wish some of them would go off to this 'gracefulness' a little earlier..

TVNWZ · Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:37 pm

Most of my time in the air was spent on TWA. I flew them a lot between STL -PHX-IDL. Good times. Good times.

vatveng · Sat Aug 30, 2014 12:21 am

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As a child, Piedmont was always the airline that took us "over the river and through the woods" to my grandparents' house for Christmas every other year, and the airline that brought them to us for Christmas in the odd-numbered years. I remember them being very kid-friendly, inviting the kids up to the cockpit before takeoff to gawk at all the buttons and knobs. Very fond memories.

As an adult paying my own airfare, AirTran made it possible for me to travel much more than I ever would have on a TV budget had it not been for their fare structure and generous FF program. I already miss them. I don't dislike Southwest, but they're not AirTran and never will be.

Cactus739 · Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:28 am

MarkAir. Small little into Alaska carrier that decided to go head to head with AS....then ended up in bankruptcy.

I took them FAI-ANC many times. The Haagen Daz ice cream bars were a great in flight snack!

coachclass · Mon Sep 01, 2014 1:51 am

Eastern, PanAm and National were part of the fabric of Florida and are still greatly missed.

TWA772LR · Wed Sep 03, 2014 7:43 am

Here in Houston, it's definitely Continental. The airline I work for accepts MileagePlus and people still give me their OnePass cards and I say "Those were better times." And they always agree with me. My parents are CO/UA employees and have been for the better part of my life so naturally CO, now UA, is the airline I want to be a pilot for.

The one I personally miss is Northwest. Since I was born in Memphis, it was the airline of choice for my family and the first six years of my life are full of memories of flying on DC-9s from MEM. I guess you can say NW is the reason I want to be a pilot and I wanted to fly for them until I got used to CO. But even until they merged with DL, I always saw myself as a DC-9 pilot with the NW compass logo wings on my chest.

But for the rest of the country, the big 4 (from west to east coast) are PSA, TWA, PanAm and Eastern.

UA444 · Sun Sep 07, 2014 7:25 am

I miss the real United, and so do a lot of people.

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