Seat 2A

Six straight days of 12.5 hour Wonder Lake runs and now I couldn't work even if I wanted to as the law forbids me more than 80 hours a week. Finally, a chance to go to Fairbanks and get on the internet.

Thanks for your patience and comments, everyone. The story continues...

** *** ** *** **

I love impulsive, spur of the moment travel – here I was in Hawaii when my original plans would have had me wandering around Oaxaca, Mexico on this date. Now suddenly, on about 30 seconds consideration, I was headed for Alaska, buying a First Class seat aboard Pan Am’s 747 up to Seattle with a connection the next morning to an Alaska 727-100 on to Juneau and Anchorage. From there, it was only a 4000 mile hitch back to Colorado. At the moment however, getting back to Colorado was the least of my concerns. I wanted to check out Pan Am’s 747, especially the new upstairs dining room.

The aircraft for this day’s flight up to Seattle was N659PA, a.k.a. Clipper Plymouth Rock. Although Pan Am had only recently begun to install First Class sleeper seats aboard its 747s, this aircraft had yet to be upgraded. It did however offer the upstairs dining room. Here is the First Class menu from that flight.

PAN AM

Honolulu to Seattle

To Begin
Seafood Specialty

Salad In Season

Entrees

Roast Prime Rib of Beef

Fillet of Sole Belle Meuniere

Curried Breast of Chicken

Grenadins of Veal with Tarragon Sauce


Buttered Garden Vegetables
Rice Pilaf
Dauphine Potatoes

Dessert
Pineapple Cake

Selection of Cheese

Fruit Basket

** **** **

Pan Am’s brochures and newspaper ads presented its upstairs dining room as a stylish and elegant place to enjoy a fine meal inflight. However, the reality of it was three rows of buffet style seating that offered all the ambience of your local Denny’s restaurant. Unfortunately, the booths and tables were permanently in place so there was no more First Class lounge, either. As for the meal, it was okay but nothing memorable. I remember my overall impression of this flight as being mediocre.



Pan Am's upstairs dining room on the 747-100

We landed in Seattle at about 9:00pm. My Alaska Airlines flight left the next morning at 7:00am so once again I slept in the airport. The way I see it, why pay good money for a hotel room if you’re not going to be able to have time to enjoy it or at least sleep in? I’d have had time to check in, go to bed, and then be woken up at some ungodly hour so I could catch a ride back over to the airport. Why pay for that?

As it was, the lounge area over at the entrance of the C Concourse where CJ Borg’s Restaurant now sits offered carpeted floors and comfy couches. I slept quite nicely and presented myself at the Alaska Airlines check in counter the next morning with time to spare.

In 1976, the 727 was only thirteen years old and well on its way to becoming the most popular jetliner ever built at that time. Alaska’s 727-100s sported four different liveries, including the famous Eskimo in blue, the Miner in red, the Onion Domes in purple and the Totem Head in green. The aircraft operating my flight that morning was N798AS, a 727-090 decked out in the red and gold colors of Alaska’s Miner, complete with pick axe. The First Class cabin was outfitted with twelve well padded and very comfortable red and gold seats. I had a window seat on the right hand side of the airplane though unfortunately the beautiful coastal landscape of British Columbia and the Alaska panhandle was clouded over all the way up to Anchorage.



Alaska's 727-100 wearing the Gold Miner livery

Breakfast was served enroute to Juneau. It began with a fruit plate featuring a large slice of honeydew melon. How do I remember all this? Trust me. I just do. The main course was a plate of scrambled eggs with the usual accompaniments – nothing special but a decent and filling breakfast nonetheless. The flight from Juneau was noneventful – a beverage only service.

Upon arrival in Anchorage, I claimed my pack, walked out of the airport and put out my thumb. It never even occurred to me to hang out in Anchorage. It was a big city, not at all what I envisioned Alaska to be about. I wanted to get going. Out of town. North. Go man, go.

Two or three rides, six or seven hours and two hundred fifty miles later, I was standing at the entrance to Mt. McKinley National Park. My ride was going on to the “town” of Healy, ten miles north. It was early May and absolutely nothing was open in the park. Even so, it was also late afternoon and so I decided to spend my first night in Alaska in the park. I walked a mile and a half up the dirt road leading up to the hotel area and train station where I got directions to Morino campground. Morino was a walk-in only campground and camping was wherever looked good. There were no numbered spots. I was the only person in the whole campground. It seemed like I was the only person in the whole park. As a camper, I may have been. The only other person I saw was an Alaska Railroad employee who pointed me towards Morino. It was an early spring day - gray and blustery. The trees were still barren and patches of snow dotted the forest in Morino. I had no tent. I did have a good sleeping bag, a warm jacket, a couple of books and two sandwiches I’d purchased earlier. Nonetheless, I was poorly prepared. Like many eighteen year olds, I tended to act first, think later. I was quite fortunate that it didn’t rain. Or snow.

The next morning, I continued on to Fairbanks. Fairbanks was a pretty wild place back in 1976 – the trans Alaska oil pipeline was being constructed and there were lots of pipeline workers in town, most of them with more money than common sense. Alcohol was not allowed in the pipeline camps and many of the workers in town on their week long breaks wasted no time in squandering their substantial paychecks on legal and illegal substances and activities. Down on Second Avenue, you could find as much fun or trouble as you wanted. On my first day in town, I found some good weed and was propositioned by a big, rough looking prostitute. I took advantage of the former and passed on the latter. I spent my nights out in the city campground. After a couple of days, I decided to strike out for Colorado.

On my first day of hitching, I made it as far as Tok Junction, 200 miles east of Fairbanks. It being early spring, there wasn’t very much traffic heading out of Alaska and there certainly wasn’t very much going on in Tok, a tiny bush community with a population of about 500. There were a couple of service station/garages, a couple of cafes, a motel or two and an RV campground that was closed. I bought a $3.00 bowl of chili (Very expensive for the times) in a café located in a quonset hut and then found a brushy area out towards the end of town and called it a night. The next day, I got a ride from a guy hauling a silver Airstream style trailer down to Haines. Even though Haines is in Alaska, you have to drive through about 400 miles of Canada’s Yukon Territory to get there. He said he’d let me off at Haines Junction, up on the main Alaska Highway which continued another 1000 miles down to Dawson Creek and beyond to the U.S..

The Alaska/Yukon border was then as it is today – a desolate frontier. The area is mostly tundra sparsely populated with spruce trees at the lower elevations. The US Customs station is an architecturally uninspired and ultimately uninviting concrete building that sits high on a hill. The Canadian Customs station is not on the Alaska/Canada border, but rather is located thirty miles farther into Canada in the settlement of Beaver Creek. We pulled up to the drive up window and were directed inside.

Entry into Canada from America is generally not a difficult task. The two countries have always enjoyed friendly relations and for most Americans the simple presentation of suitable identification along with a denial of being in possession of any weapons or fireworks is enough to grant you entry. From Alaska however, there is an additional provision that you have appropriate funds to support yourself while in Canada. For those traveling through Canada from Alaska to the United States, the appropriate amount was deemed to be $300.00. I was unaware of this and when asked by the customs officer how much money I had, I told him the truth. About $35.00. This prompted a hearty chuckle (or was it a guffaw?) from the customs officer after which I was informed that I would not be allowed into Canada until I returned with the required funds. Furthermore, my ride, who was responsible for having brought me into Canada, would be required to drive me thirty miles back to the US border. I recall that he was not at all happy about this. We unhitched his trailer at Beaver Creek and an hour later, after having my pack and sleeping bag thoroughly searched at US Customs, I was sitting alongside the road looking for a ride back to Fairbanks or Anchorage.

I still had plenty of money left from my $3000.00 inheritance. However, it was down in a bank in Durango, Colorado. I honestly felt the $35.00 or so that I had was more than sufficient to get me back to Colorado. To this day, I have no doubt it would have been, too. A $2.00 box of Ginger Snaps, fruit, coffee and an occasional bowl of soup or a breakfast was all I required. Overnight accommodations were the last thing on my mind. The summer before, while in Ojai, California, I’d lived in the back end of Libby Park. Nobody ever bothered me and I never bothered anyone else. While on the road, I was always able to find some quiet, out of the way place to crash for the night. At eighteen years old, I was too busy living to be worried about dying or any of the other perils associated with such a lifestyle.

Eventually, I got a ride to Anchorage from three young guys in a brand new motor home. Now this was really travelling First Class from a hitch hiker’s perspective. As a rule, the type of people who drive motor homes generally never stop to pick up hitch hikers. If anything, they swerve into the far lane while driving past, as if I might leap from the side of the road and latch onto their door at 60 mph! These guys had driven the motor home all the way from Detroit and were delivering it to Anchorage for some private owners. Such a deal! We had a fun drive down to Anchorage and I was dropped off in the downtown district there the next afternoon.

The first thing I did was find a bank and begin to make arrangements to wire transfer some money up to Anchorage from my account in Durango. There were no ATMs back in those days which was unfortunate because it was a Friday and my money would not be able to get up to Anchorage until Monday, three days later.

Whereas I had no concerns about safety and security in small towns or out on the road, cities are definitely not good places to be wandering around with a backpack looking for a place to crash. I hung out in the downtown district for a few hours and had a look around. Anchorage did not feel as rough and tumble as Fairbanks, but it was definitely a big city whereas Fairbanks still felt like a town. I remember watching a guy juggle hatchets and eat an apple at the same time. The park like area that I did find seemed to be home to a good number of drunks and other suspicious acting characters. The stores and restaurants were expensive and held no interest for me regardless. After getting a bite to eat in the cheapest diner I could find, I decided to spend the night out to the least expensive yet safest and most secure place I could think of – the Anchorage International Airport.

I spent that night and all of the next day in the airport. Back then, Anchorage International was a refueling stop for many of the flights between Europe and Asia. Most of the major European airlines stopped there and for Japan Air Lines ANC was basically a mini hub. It seemed like there were always three or four JAL 747s parked out on the B Concourse. As well, there were plenty of colorful Alaska and Wien jets, along with the nightly Braniff 727-200 that operated as part of an interchange flight with Alaska Airlines. Whereas most people would probably be bored stiff at the prospect of spending any more than an hour in this airport, I was totally entertained by all the foreign airliners along with a bevy of fascinating international timetables that I’d picked up at the counters. I lived on coffee, candy bars and an occasional bowl of seafood chowder at the Fred Harvey run airport restaurant.

On Sunday morning, I decided to hitch back into Anchorage just to get out of the airport and outside for awhile. I got a ride from a man who, upon hearing my story of the past week offered me a job helping him lay his concrete driveway that afternoon. He also offered me a bed for the night. Deal! I earned a quick $20.00, had a nice dinner with the man and his son, and the next morning headed into town to collect my wire transfer.

During my stay at the Anchorage airport, I’d had plenty of time to peruse those airline timetables as well as my trusty OAG. I could never read any of those things without envisioning myself on each and every interesting flight I’d come across. As I’d sit there in the airport cafeteria or some gate lounge, watching all those airplanes come and go rekindled my desire to get back on one myself. In particular I had my eye on that colorful Braniff 727 that departed each evening at 7:00pm for Seattle and on to Dallas. I spent a lot of time checking out fares and routings out of Anchorage and found that the fares between Anchorage and Honolulu were really not that much more expensive than to anywhere else in America. Indeed, it was cheaper to fly to Hawaii than it was to most anywhere east of Denver. I always wanted to get the most bang for my airfare expenditures and flying back to Hawaii seemed to deliver just that. I found a joint fare using Alaska Airlines to Seattle, connecting to Continental down to Portland and over to Honolulu. At that time, Continental was still run by its founder, Robert F. Six. Six ran a marvelous airline, offering a level of service unmatched by most US carriers with the possible exception of TWA. Continental had recently outfitted the First Class cabins of its DC-10s with a circular table seating four at meal times. As I gazed at the promotional pictures of happy passengers sitting at that table while a gracious stewardess cheerfully presented them with trays of appetizers and plates of Chateaubriand served from the trolley, I resolved that I’d one day have a seat at that table myself. Now was that time!

Then as now, flights between Alaska and the Lower 48 or Hawaii allowed you a free stopover in Seattle or Portland. On a full Y or F Class ticket, it was possible to stay for up to a year. I bought a First Class seat leaving that night on the Alaska/Braniff interchange flight, followed by a Continental 727-200 the next morning to Portland. There I’d take a two month stopover before returning in August for the continuation of my trip to Honolulu.

The aircraft operating my evening departure out of Anchorage to Seattle was Braniff’s 727-200 N412BN. As I arrived at the gate, I remember being mildly disappointed that it was the two tone orange livery rather than blue or red variants that I’d always found so attractive. I also remember being excited about the prospect of a dinner on Alaska Airlines. At that time, the Anchorage to Seattle sector was their longest flight and given Alaska’s already fine reputation for excellent inflight service, I expected quite a feed.

In 1976, Braniff was still promoting the new wide bodied interiors throughout its fleet of 727s, known as 727 Braniff Place. The early Boeing jetliners offered only hat and coat racks and the air and lighting controls were housed in bulky consoles that hung down above each row of seats. Braniff was the first to install the spacious and airy new interiors and it wasn’t long before the wide bodied look became the standard aboard all the major US airlines. The leather seat fad was still a couple of years away and I found my plush red First Class chair to be quite comfortable indeed.



Braniff's Widebodied Look Interior aboard its 727s

It was a beautiful sunny evening as we took off from Anchorage and climbed out over the Cook Inlet before making the big turn and heading down to Seattle. As we accelerated towards cruising speed and altitude, I reflected that although I’d not seen much of Alaska, I sure liked the feel and pace of the state. I knew I’d have to come back again. Soon.



Braniff's 727-200 climbing out of Anchorage

Alas, Alaska’s First Class dinner service was really no better in 1976 than it is today. It’s not a bad service but when you consider that the competition, namely Western Airlines, was offering printed menus, hors d’oeuvres and appetizers, well, I was a little disappointed when all I received was a nice salad, a nicely plated roast of some kind, and a dessert. There were no appetizers and definitely no menu. The next morning, I was served a hot pastry on my Continental flight down to Portland.

From Portland, I hitched down to California, then back to Colorado. In mid-July, I took what I consider to be my first “Mileage Run”, a three airline, eleven flight journey between New York and Denver. I then connected to a multi flight journey to Seattle through Wyoming and Montana aboard a Western 737-200 and a couple of Northwest 727-200s before finally hooking up with N601US, Northwest’s very first 747-151 down to Portland from Seattle. The next day it was on to Honolulu aboard Continental’s DC-10 where the service was everything I’d imagined it to be and more. But – that’s another story. Hope you’ve enjoyed this one!

wrangler

Great story. It is truly amazing how a simple airline timebtale and one man's love for travel changed his life forever.

Thanks once again.

bokich

Great story.

CountinPlaces

I particularly enjoyed your comment about looking at flight schedules and imagining yourself on every interesting one. For me, sitting in Heathrow watching the boards was the pinnacle of such an experience. Oh to go where wings can take you.

Great Stuff!

mad_atta

Yes I have, as always with a Seat 2A report! My favourite quote:

A wise choice - I'd have done exactly the same thing!

[edited to fix html]

[This message has been edited by mad_atta (edited 08-15-2003).]

Seat 2A

Since I've already gone this far, I might as well throw in the rest of the story of my return to Hawaii. Some of it I published some time ago under the title of My First Mileage Run but since that story segues so nicely onto this one, I've edited it a bit and will include it and more here. I've still got the menus so here's the story...

No doubt some of you are wondering how can you make a Mileage Run back in 1976 when there were no Frequent Flyer programs? Easy! I love to fly and for me a Mileage Run back then meant maximizing the miles and the inflight experience. Why fly nonstop when for the same price (or less) you could make connections and fly two or more airlines? It was all about trying to get the most flights for my buck.

This was best accomplished by delving into the tariffs and routing guides, and most especially using joint fares. Joint fares utilized two or more airlines to get you from point A to point B, all for close to the same fare as the nonstop service. Sometimes the joint fare was a bit more, sometimes a bit less, but never by very much.

As for my reward for this Mileage Run - it was getting to fly more than I would have had I flown the nonstop.

The nonstop Y Class fare between New York and Denver was $115.00 on United or TWA. After consulting the Joint Fares Tariff which was available in any travel agency, I found the following routing for only $113.00: EWR PI ATL EA MEM BN DEN

Based upon what I can afford to pay today, First Class would not have cost all that much more. However, because Piedmont operated an all standard class fleet and all of the other flights along this route were short and without meals, I elected to go coach.

I lived in Durango, Colorado at that time and in order to get to New York I hitched down to Albuquerque, then caught Interstate 40 eastbound out through Oklahoma before heading northeast up through Indiana and Ohio to Pennsylvania and on to the Jersey Turnpike where somehow, even though I wanted to get dropped off in or near New York City, I clearly remember being driven past the George Washington Bridge and getting dropped off in Ronkonkoma, way out in the middle of Long Island. This forced me to delve into my meager cash reserves to catch a 1:00am Long Island Railroad train into Penn Station. Unfortunately I can’t tell you how nice the Biltmore or the Plaza were as I spent the night at an all night coffee shop outside Grand Central Station.

The next day, I took a train up to Katonah, New York to visit my old eighth grade History teacher and his wife. Returning to the city on an early evening train, I then caught a bus out to Newark International and spent that night on the floor. I don’t remember there being any Terminal A, B or C like today. There was the main terminal and the older North Terminal. Breakfast was the Policeman’s Special – a coffee and a donut. Then I headed over to the Piedmont Airlines counter and checked in.

13 July, 1976
EWR-ORF Piedmont Aviation 737-201 N747N
ORF-ATL Piedmont Aviation 737-222 N752N
ATL-MEM Eastern Airlines 727-027 N297BN
MEM-DFW Braniff International 727-227 N418BN

I was pretty excited as I’d never flown aboard Piedmont or Eastern before. As well, I’d also never flown into any of the airports I’d be passing through on this day. I was all of 18 years old and this was to be only my 134th lifetime flight. Last year (2002) alone, I flew 193 flights.

My Piedmont 737 down to Norfolk was named the “Outer Banks Pacemaker”. I like flying aboard aircraft with a title or a name. I remember being somewhat disappointed though because this aircraft was still painted in the old Piedmont colors and I wanted to see what the airplanes in the new colors looked like, both inside and out. I wasn’t old enough to be nostalgic just yet. The seating was all one class and at the front of the plane was a table between rows one and three. Row one faced backwards, towards the table. I thought that was pretty cool. We were scheduled to depart about 9:00am and were served a snack. It wasn’t much – just a Danish and some coffee.



Flying the Pacemaker down to Norfolk

The highlight at Norfolk’s airport was seeing a United DC-8-61. I’d seen plenty of United’s Stretch 8s, but I didn’t know they flew into ORF. When I was a kid, I used to look through the all the schedules to see where certain types of aircraft flew. You could always tell where United’s DC-8s flew because of the little musical note next to the flight number, denoting audio entertainment. The 720s, 727s and 737s didn’t offer this.

The airplane down to Atlanta was 737-222 N752N, “The Kanawha Pacemaker”. It sported Piedmont’s newest colors though the interior was no different than the older jet I’d come in on. The certificate inside the door indicated this was an ex-United airplane. Odd that UA should have sold it so soon since they’d taken delivery of their first 737 only nine years earlier, in 1967. We stopped in Myrtle Beach on the way to Atlanta.

Atlanta Hartsfield sure was a big airport! There were lots of Delta and Eastern jets, including plenty of DC-9s which I stopped to admire. At the time, we didn’t have many DC-9s in Denver as our primary carriers, BN, CO, FL, TW, UA and WA either didn’t operate them or rarely flew them into Denver. TWA never scheduled their Nines into DEN and CO’s were seen only rarely, coming in from ABQ and COS. OZ flew in with some -10s from SUX and ALO. Remember, it was 1976. Deregulation and the arrival of major DC-9 operators like Texas International and Hughes Airwest was still a couple of years away. I stopped at the airport restaurant which was operated by Dobbs. The menu had a picture of a big, well fed chef wearing one of those big ballistic chef’s hats (The ones that look like a big mushroom cloud) on the cover. I splurged and bought a hamburger.

My Eastern flight into Memphis was actually a codeshare with Braniff. Unfortunately it was operating with BN equipment. Nothing against Braniff, but I wanted to check out an Eastern jet while flying EA. Ah well, as things turned out I'd get my EA 727 the next day, but ironically as part of yet another codeshare whilst flying Braniff.

Aside from my Alaska interchange flight, my sole Braniff experience had been aboard a bright two tone green 727-100 on a 30 minute flight between Colorado Springs and Denver. What color would today’s aircraft be?

The Braniff jet for today's flight up to MEM was a two tone red 727-100. I’ve always liked Braniff’s colors.



Braniff's Flying Colors in 1976

US airlines these days are so conservative and businesslike! Grey, white, red and blue for the majors. Braniff had introduced widebodied interiors to its 727s only three or four years earlier and the middle seat in Coach, if unoccupied, would fold down to create a table between seats. Anyway, despite the short flight time up to Memphis, we were served a small sandwich with a cup of potato salad. Today, that same meal would be called a lunch!

I had a long layover in Memphis – three or four hours. I remember Baseball’s All Star Game being on in the bars. I watched a bit from afar. I wasn’t old enough to drink and couldn’t afford it even if I was. Food was more important. Finally, we boarded the flight into Dallas. This flight was the “Milk Run”, making stops in Little Rock, Ft. Smith, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Our aircraft was N418BN, a two-tone orange 727-200. We departed Memphis fairly late, at about 9:00pm, and there was no meal service aboard any of the legs. When we finally did arrive Dallas, it was about 1:00am.


July 14, 1976
DFW-OKC Braniff International 727-027QC N7288
OKC-DEN Braniff International 727-025QC N8173G

You never had to worry about over sleeping at DFW back in the 70s. The airport police would definitely wake you up about 6:00am. Back then, it was considered unseemly to have people lying around the airport during business hours. Nowadays, it seems less of a concern.

My flight up to OKC was aboard an orange 727-100. This was one of the QC varieties, which meant the interior was palletized. United and Eastern also operated this type. It could quickly be transformed from passenger jet to overnight freighter. I don’t recall any of these airlines ever operating their 727s in a mixed configuration a la Alaska’s 737-200s, however. Coffee and a sweet roll were served on this early morning departure to Oklahoma City. Yes, I’d gone through OKC last night, but the ticket read MEM-DFW on that flight, so OKC was essentially hidden. I had about a three hour layover at OKC before finally climbing aboard my first ever Eastern aircraft, another 727-100QC on into Denver. Eastern never officially served Denver back then. This flight was a code share that originated in Atlanta with an EA flight number into OKC and a BN flight number into DEN. Same plane service all the way through. My log indicates we got a snack, but I can’t remember what it was. It’s a wonder I can remember any of these meals but I’ve got a pretty good memory when it comes to airplanes. Don’t ask me what I had for dinner last night though…

** **** **

After a couple of weeks hanging out at my sister’s place up in Evergreen, Colorado, it was time to make my way back up to Portland, Oregon and resume my travels back to Hawaii. I repacked my backpack and headed out to Stapleton International for my early evening Western Airlines flight up to Billings, Montana.


August 3, 1976
DEN-BIL Western Airlines 737-247 N4514W

Although I’m pretty sure Western operated a nonstop between Denver and Billings, God forbid I should ever take it when the Milk Run, making calls in Cheyenne, Casper and Sheridan, Wyoming on the way to Billings, was also available. Casper is the only one of these communities to retain jet service these days.

Anyway, it was a beautiful evening for flying. I liked the way boarding passes were issued back then. Your seat assignment was affixed to your paper boarding pass via a sticker bearing the seat number. Actually, there was a big sheet at the podium showing the entire cabin of the airplane. You could just look it over and select your seat from whatever was available. I once got an upgrade on an Eastern flight by discreetly hanging out until all the coach seat stickers had been allotted before approaching the podium for my seat assignment.

Western was celebrating their 50th anniversary and it was a festive time for all! Their 737s were operated in an all economy class configuration, though First Class legroom was the rule fleet wide. Free “champagne” was also offered which meant Franzia Brothers Champa – excuse me – Sparkling Wine. Even though I wasn’t old enough, I looked old enough and I remember having a glass or two, served in these little plastic champagne style glasses. Upon arrival, I shelled out about $17.00 and spent the night at the Rimrock Lodge.


August 4, 1976
BIL-GEG Northwest Orient Airlines 727-251 N285US
GEG-SEA Northwest Orient Airlines 727-251 N265US
SEA-PDX Northwest Orient Airlines 747-151 N601US

I’d never flown on Northwest so it’s a wonder I got any sleep the night before despite my comparatively elegant digs at the Rimrock. Today’s flight was yet another Milk Run, offering three stop service between Billings and Spokane via Helena, Butte and Missoula. Back then, Northwest Orient was about the only choice for Montanans wanting to fly east or west into or out of the state. I remember the old OAGs showing an 8 or 9 stop 727 flight between New York and Seattle with stops in such scintillating locales as Jamestown and Grand Forks, ND along with hitting all the major cities in Montana. If you had 9 or 10 hours to spare, it was a good way to air tour the northern United States. Even back then though, it was probably a good idea to bring your own food along as the length of the flights was such that food service was minimal.

Somewhere along the line, we did receive a snack between Billings and Spokane. I don’t remember what it was, just that we got one. It was another beautiful sunny day. Because the flights were so short, we never really got all that high so the views of the surrounding mountains and valleys were quite impressive.



Northwest Orient's 727-251

I had a relatively quick connection in Spokane. 40 minutes later I was in Seattle checking out the aircraft assigned to my next flight, N601US, Northwest’s first ever 747-151. Although I was only going to Portland, this flight continued on to Honolulu. A quick check of today’s SEA-PDX schedule shows a lot of Dash 8s, Embraer props and a couple of Horizon CRJs. At present, the largest aircraft operating this route is a twice weekly 737-800 from Sun Country. Back in 1976, aside from a lot of 727s, you could also fly between SEA and PDX on a Pan Am 707 or an Eastern L-1011. The Horizon Shuttle didn't exist back then. I'm not even sure if Horizon existed back then!

It was a quick flight down to Portland on the near empty 747. The real thrill for me came after we’d landed when I got to check out the First Class cabin and especially the upstairs First Class lounge. Many of today’s upgraded passengers can only imagine being on an airplane for five hours or more and having the option to ascend a spiral staircase to a lounge with big swivel chairs and a stand up bar. I’m tellin ya, the Seventies were the best time to fly the big jets!



Seattle to Portland aboard one of the world's shortest 747 flights


NEXT UP: Continental’s DC-10 First Class Gold Table Service to Honolulu

Seat 2A

August 5, 1976
PDX-SEA Continental Airlines 727-224 N88717
SEA-HNL Continental Airlines DC-10-10 N68044

Ah… back to Hawaii! I’d been looking forward to this day all summer long, not so much for the return to Hawaii but rather for the prospect of the long flight across the Pacific in First Class aboard Continental’s DC-10. I remember calling Continental Reservations a couple of times while assuming the role of a prospective traveler and asking what kind of service one could expect in First Class on such a long flight. I just got a thrill out of hearing the service described!

At the gate, I collected my distinctive gold colored First Class boarding pass and headed on board the 727-200 that would handle the short hop up to Seattle. Despite this being only a thirty minute flight, First Class passengers were offered a warmed Danish pastry to accompany their morning coffee.



Continental's 727-200 wearing one of the prettiest liveries ever to grace a 727

Interestingly, no airline operating a First Class cabin on the SEA-PDX run would ever offer such service these days. Horizon Air, which operates an all coach fleet, does however.

The First Class cabin on Continental’s DC-10s was called “The California Room”. The original First Class seats aboard Continental’s Tens were wide, deep and very well padded. Today’s lighter Slimline seats, while contributing to greater fuel economy, are nowhere near as comfortable. The cabin on this DC-10 looked especially roomy because six of the center seats had been removed to make room for a round table seating four.

Our departure time out of Seattle was about 9:30am. The inflight service included a morning snack followed by a full luncheon. Soon after reaching cruising altitude out over the Pacific, the morning snack service commenced with a selection of Danish pastries followed by a mixed fruit salad presented in a hollowed out pineapple. A variety of alcoholic coffees or vodka based morning drinks were also offered.

After the snack, a movie was shown followed by the full luncheon service. Here is the menu from that meal:


Seattle to Honolulu

LUNCHEON

Appetizer
Coquille St. Jacques – tender sea scallops blended with a rich cream sauce of mushrooms, spices and wine; served in the natural coquille shell.

Salad Cart
Spring Garden Salad – a delightful combination of garden fresh salad greens and cauliflower buds, radishes, cherry tomatoes and sunflower seeds enhanced with Caesar dressing.

Assorted Crackers


ENTREE CHOICE

Roast Sirloin
Selected from choice beef; cooked and carved to your liking, served with your choice of Bordelaise or creamy horseradish sauce.

Roast Pork in Ginger Sauce
Boneless loin of pork roasted to perfection and served in an Oriental sauce, laced with brown sugar and ginger for an unusual flavor.

Turbans of Sole
Filets of Sole poached and wrapped around a light spinach souffle with Sauce Veloute.


Potatoes and Vegetable in Season

Assorted Breads and Rolls


Dessert
Continental Sundae Cart
Cheese Board and Biscuits
Fresh Fruit Basket


The center table was set with a large golden table cloth. Flowers adorned the center of the table. I grabbed a seat there and was joined by a couple from Canada making their first ever trip to Hawaii. I remember the service as being quite gracious. Mai Tais were served in these special wooden cups and came with a lot of fruit. The salad was served from a large bowl on the cart and was presented with plenty of croutons and freshly ground pepper. For my entrée I chose the Roast Sirloin and drooled as the stewardess prepared me a plate worthy of a centerfold shot in Gourmet Magazine. The ice cream sundae cart offered tropical fruits and compotes as well as the traditional hot fudge and walnuts. This meal was everything I’d hoped it would be and, after what I still remember as the smoothest landing I’ve ever experienced, I remember sending a couple of postcards to friends describing this as The Perfect Flight.



Continental's DC-10s offered one of the best services to Hawaii

I spent two weeks in Hawaii, visiting Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii. Hawaiian and Aloha had combined on an inter-island air pass that cost me only $56.00 for the following itinerary:

AUG 07 HNL-LIH Aloha 737-222 N9029U
AUG 14 LIH-HNL Hawaiian Air DC-9-51 N659HA
AUG 14 HNL-MKK-LNY-OGG Hawaiian Air DC-9-51 N679HA
AUG 16 OGG-MUE Hawaiian Air DC-9-32F N934F
AUG 20 ITO-KOA-OGG-HNL Aloha 737-297 N73713

My favorite island was Kauai, The Garden Isle. I spent a few days camped out up in Kokee Park, near the top of Waimea Canyon. I also spent a night at Polihale Beach, which was completely deserted after about 6:00pm. That would hardly be the case today. Hitch hiking was no problem except in Maui where you weren’t allowed to stick out your thumb. You just stood by the side of the road and people were supposed to figure it out. My flight to Maui made stops in Molokai and Lanai. These days it’s been years since Lanai has seen scheduled jet service and certainly with nothing as large as the DC-9-50. On the Big Island I camped at a number of beach campgrounds before hitching over to Hilo and spending the night in a cheap lodge for about $15.00. I remember watching Gerald Ford win the Republican presidential nomination on the lodge’s TV.

During my time in Hawaii, I spent only three nights in hotels and lived on less than $200.00 during my entire two week visit. Although I probably could have eaten better, I remember having had a good time while I was there. After island hopping back to Honolulu aboard Aloha’s 737-200 named Queen Lilioukalani, I spent a long night and most of the next day in the Honolulu airport before boarding a United 747 back to Los Angeles.



Aloha's 737-200 Funjet

As a kid, I remember flying United or TWA whenever we flew between Denver and New York. I always thought TWA was the superior airline, what with their fancy Ambassador Service and printed menus in both First Class and Coach. For a short time, TWA even offered a Coach Lounge aboard its 707s that included a stand up bar. United by contrast offered a nice but not as elaborate inflight product, although its standard DC-8s were equipped with a nice First Class lounge. Still, in the early 1970s, TWA offered perhaps the finest domestic First Class ever seen in America. Check out This Menu from a 1972 Denver to New York flight. Awesome!

When planning this trip, I had made a point of flying Continental to Hawaii based upon their reputation for stellar inflight service. For my flight back to the Mainland, I wanted to fly on a 747 and enjoy that upstairs lounge. TWA was never a major player in the Hawaii market and offered only one flight a day between Honolulu and Los Angeles aboard a venerable 707. Continental had deemed the 747 too large and ceased operating it the year before. Western’s widebody of choice was the DC-10. Alas, I would have to fly United.

I found a joint fare between Honolulu and Denver using United to San Francisco and connecting to Continental into Denver. Between Honolulu and San Francisco, I routed via Los Angeles which allowed me to fly United’s 747 into LAX followed by my first flight on one of UA’s DC-8-61s up to SFO.


August 21, 1976
HNL-LAX United Airlines 747-122 N4711U
LAX-SFO United Airlines DC-8-61 N8079U

My memories of United’s so-so First Class domestic service were based upon menus I had collected back in the early 1970s. Whereas TWA’s Ambassador Service offered as many as five entrée choices to its First Class passengers between Denver and JFK, United’s Red Carpet Service offered only two. That was then, however. By the mid-seventies, United had made considerable improvements to its long distance inflight product. This new service was called Four Star Service and, as witnessed by the menu below, was a very nice service indeed. The attractive menu cover featured one of twelve different paintings of American cities by the artist Peter Hayward.


Honolulu to Los Angeles

DINNER

To Begin
Quiche Lorraine – Flaky pie crust is filled with a combination of Swiss Cheese, sautéed onions, smoked bacon, seasoning and egg custard, then baked delicately to a golden brown

Our Friendship Salad Cart
Crisp, bite sized garden greens, bacon bits, artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, chunks of Roquefort cheese and croutons tossed with a special dressing and milled peppercorns


Your Choice Of

Roast Rib Eye of Beef, Au Jus
We carefully select the very best beef, rub it with savory herbs and spices, then roast it with its natural juices. This American favorite will be carved at your table…
For the perfect accompaniment, try our homemade mild horseradish sauce

The Chef’s Friendship Specialty – Osso Bucco
A tender, crosscut portion of meaty veal shank with marrow intact is cooked in wine and rich stock with finely diced fresh vegetables and finished with a full bodied sauce. This is truly a gourmet feast.

Flamande Potatoes
Broccoli Fleurettes Aux Buerre

From The Kitchens of Your Land
Prepared from an original early American recipe, today’s revolutionary dish is a delicious part of our heritage. You will find it described on the enclosed menu card

Our Lighter Air Fare
It is as satisfying – but not quite as filling – as our more elaborate entrees. It could be anything from an all time favorite sandwich to a specially prepared salad. Just ask us what the selection is today.

Assorted Rolls
Butter Curls

Dessert Selection

** *** **

The menu card described the following meal:

New England Seafood Stew
Today’s stew is a creamy clam and lobster stock base with a tad of onion and thyme, chunky potatoes and pieces of lobster, whole scallops and minced clams. One of the oldest culinary delights.


I remember this as an excellent flight, right up there with my Continental flight from two weeks earlier. The meal was excellent (I had the Osso Bucco) and the beautiful upstairs First Class lounge saw plenty of action. After the meal, I spent most of the flight up there, swilling Mai Tais and eating what appeared to be an unlimited supply of macadamia nuts. My only complaint with this flight was that it was too short! I could have easily continued on to Istanbul had inflight refueling been available.

** *** **

After spending a week backpacking with high school buddies through Kings Canyon National Park, it was time to return home to Colorado and another year of college. At the time, Continental didn’t fly nonstop between San Francisco and Denver so I’d have to route through Albuquerque. Great! Why fly nonstop when you can enjoy a lunch out to Albuquerque and a light dinner up to Denver?


August 31, 1976
SFO-ABQ Continental Airlines 727-224 N66724
ABQ-DEN Continental Airlines 727-224 N88713

The First Class seats aboard Continental’s 727s were upholstered in a wildly colorful purple/red/orange/yellow design that would turn stomachs today but was considered quite acceptable by 1970s standards. I settled into my comfortable window seat and checked out the music selections. Chuck Mangione and Elton John with Kiki Dee. Philadelphia Freedom. I don’t think any airlines ever offered the New Grass Revival, Grateful Dead or Allman Brothers which were my tastes at the time, and still are.

I don’t remember what was offered for lunch on this flight but I do remember the dessert – a delicious and elaborate looking carrot cake that was presented whole and served from the cart. For a two hour flight, this dessert was the highlight.

Although it’s only an hour’s flight between Albuquerque to Denver, Continental offered its Coach passengers a nice snack while up in First Class we were presented with a light supper. I remember a hot breaded chicken breast accompanied by some potatoes and vegies. Unlike Continental’s longer flights, this meal was served in a dish rather than upon a plate. Either way, it was a far cry from the peanuts that First Class passengers may or may not get today.

Four days later, I returned to Durango and my sophomore year at Ft. Lewis College. Frontier Airlines still flew the route with its trusty Convair 580, lovingly referred to amongst the locals as “The Vomit Comet”. The 580 was one of the fastest turboprops ever built, but over Colorado’s mountains and Arizona’s hot deserts, the occasionally bumpy air would often leave passengers feeling a bit green.

So, there you have it – what started out as a menu presentation morphed into the story of my summer travels in 1976. I hope you enjoyed this story. I sure enjoyed traveling it.


NOTE: If you enjoyed this trip report, you might also enjoy

DENVER TO ALASKA ROUNDTRIP via SO, TI, DL, AA, AS, WC, CP, PW and UA in 1979

As well as

TWA FIRST CLASS DEN-JFK 1972 ~ The Good Old Days

It'd be great to hear from any of you who have comments and/or your own memories that you'd like to share.

MCIFlyer

Enjoyed the report! Air travel was quite an adventure before deregulation and the "hub and spoke" system at airports. 747 or L1011 to PDX....It was sure exciting that there quite a varity of equipment on any given flight as well.

Loose Cannon

Seat 2A, what was the "old" Frontier like?

Seat 2A

Prior to deregulation, I think the "Old Frontier Airlines" was the finest regional airline in America. It was a consistent money maker and offered comfortable flights aboard a fleet of 737-200s, Convair 580s and DeHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otters. The 737s offered 106 seats in an all First Class legroom configuration (By comparison, other airlines' single class 732s were about 124 seats) and the 580s offered comfortable 2x2 seats very similar in comfort to what you'd find on the jets. They were almost as fast, too!

As for meals, Frontier was known for excellent hot meals on most of its longer jet flights. Being a regional airline, longer flights generally meant routes like DEN-STL, DEN-PHX, DEN-OKC and later routes like DEN-DTW or DEN-West Coast. I used to fly Frontier alot in the late Seventies, particularly on the DEN-DTW and DEN-DFW routes. There were four rotating entrees and I remember Steak and Langostino, Flank Steak and Wild Rice, Beef Wellington and some kind of chicken. The portions were large and all meals included a small bottle of Mateus wine.

I'll always miss flying the Convair 580s on the DEN-PUB-ALS-DRO milkrun down to Durango, where I went to college. It was always a thrill climbing aboard the aircraft's retractable front stairway right next to those gigantic Alison 501 turboprops - the most powerful commercial prop jet engine in America and the same one that powered the Lockheed Electra. Take off was powerful and the engines made the most marvelous noise while being feathered after landing. I also have fond memories of the seven stop Phoenix to Denver flight (FL #508) that made calls in Flagstaff, Winslow, Holbrook, Gallup, Farmington, Cortez and Durango.

TahitiBoy

Seat 2A,

I've read many fine travel reports on FT, my favorite part of which have always been the food and beverage descriptions. Before I came across yours, I was always wowed by Carfield's reports (and was it tfung who had all the great photos to go with his?).

I still am thrilled everytime I come across one of theirs, but there's just no one who can out-do you.

Thanks for such awesome contributions, and PLEASE keep up the great work!

FlyingDoctorwu

I know this is an old TR, but I am very appreciative. SEat 2A, your writing captivates me! I forget that there aren't pictures because of how descriptive you are.

FDW

Seat 2A

I would love to have had pictures to add, but back in 1976 all I owned was a little 110 instamatic camera.

Interesting to look at United's First Class menu back from Honolulu - Just the appetizer and salad combined would be more than you would get to eat in First Class on Hawaiian flights these days. Back then, the appetizers were good sized and the salad was served freshly tossed from the cart. Flight attendants would make you a really good sized salad, complete with croutons, freshly cracked pepper and a pass with the bread basket. A choice of dressing was always ladled on, never presented in the single serving plastic containers like today. Standards and expectations were different back then. They're much lower today.

PresRDC

What I find most interesting is your use of interline and joint fares. Did you have difficulty ticketing these fares or were the agents reasonably knowledgeable about the different fares on offer?

As anyone who has booked a RTW fare in recent years can attest, finding knowledgeable agents for complex fares isn't always easy to do.

ludocdoc

2A--

Since your'e reading this ancient thread, how did the journey change your life? You mention early that it did, but then it never comes up how. Did it get you hooked on travel or something else? As I was reading it I was expecting to read you met your wife or long lost brother on one of the legs!