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Out of those I picked TWA. But besides for NW I never flew any of those airlines. One now gone airline I have flown before a few times was ATA. I even knew a L1011 pilot for ATA. I don't know why but there was something about ATA which I liked a lot. I liked their paint scheme, I liked their hub in Chicago Midway, and loved them flying L1011 around the country and world. Flew them only three times FLL-MDW-FLL in 2003 on a 737-800. My first ever 737NG flight I remember and in 2006 MDW-LGW in a 737-300. I enjoyed the crews, and the airports they flew too. It was a nice niche airline, too bad they could not make it.
ATA and ValuJet now exist as Southwest Airlines.
Unfortunately, Harrier had to be in Milwaukee last year(not unfortunately for being in that awesome city, but he unfortunately could only take Southwest from LAX-MKE affordably and expediently).
Harrier will never willingly fly Southwest again, and he has reason to be in St. Louis in two years.
Sorry, but both ATA and Southwest carry the legacy of ValuJet Flight 592.
Harrier flies Alaska Airlines.
Cite Flight 261 all you want.
Harrier does not feel safe with ValuJet, ATA, and Southwest Airline's record, especially with the recent blowout of a Southwest Airlines flight fuselage.
The single most legendary airline would have to be Pan American. They were the pioneers of international air travel,
and Americas best example of how it could be done. In essence, America's ambassador to the world.
My uncle worked for Pan AM after WWII in Vienna and New York. Two of our family members were stewardesses for Pan AM. As a boy I flew Pan Am internationally in the 50s and early 60s. They always had good service, but I guess the management wasn't very clever and catching up with the times.
Pan Am died a long slow painful death. Part of it was poor luck and circumstances beyond their control-such as being locked out of the US Domestic market for decades. Also because of their Flag Carrier status at the time, they were also a target and so were on the receiving end of more than their fair share of terror attacks. But the vast amount of their demise was largely their own doing.
Tons of material on this has been written if you know where to look.
Most Pan Am historians agree that the beginning of the end for them was being the launch customer for the 747. It was a debt load that simply was not sustainable especially considering the 1973 oil crisis and subsequent drop off in traffic.
What sealed their fate was the 1980 purchase of [the original] National Airlines. They paid far, FAR more than the airline was worth. But the hubris of a bidding war with other airlines led them into getting even further into already unsustainable debt. On top of that, National was a very poor merger choice. At the time, any of the other majors (American, TWA, Continental, etc) would've been a better choice. Their final 11 years were an exercise in postponing the inevitable.
The fatal injury came in the form of Lockerbie in 1988.
They basically bled to death until 1991 until Delta euthanized what little was left of them by then.
My choice isn't on the list, but I miss Midwest. All business class for my weekly commute into DCA. Later on they had a fleet of brand new 717s. Even domestic first class on the majors doesn't compare to the old Midwest Express/Midwest Airlines.
The Pan Am name was resurrected at least three times since 1991. But they were in name and logo only and otherwise had no connection to the original airline. Those were merely new starts launched using the Pan Am identity bought as an asset.
The Pan Am name was resurrected at least three times since 1991. But they were in name and logo only and otherwise had no connection to the original airline. Those were merely new starts launched using the Pan Am identity bought as an asset.
Interesting.
So, the brand name was bought?
Harrier was thinking about copyright laws, but if the name was bought, then those wouldn't necessarily be applicable.
While Braniff was tempting for its 'jelly bean' fleet (man, it was so cool going to the airport in the 70s to pick someone up, back when non-fliers could go into the terminals, and see all the planes)...
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