jlemon

And United operated Super DC-8-61 service from Fresno as well on FAT-SFO, FAT-LAX and FAT-DEN routings. The D8S may have been the largest aircraft ever flown into little ol' Fresno in sched pax service.

jrl767

I can lay claim to being a part of what was doubtless the first example of a 767 at FAT: we took the #4 jet down there as part of a Functional & Reliability (F&R) flight test in early 1982

the entire day was BFI - Casper WY (CPR) - FAT - BFI, and there were maybe a dozen test engineers and three flight crew on board ... our Ground Ops engineer had made some phone calls the day before to find a nearby restaurant that could provide box lunches; we were quite pleasantly surprised to find that some folks from the Casper Chamber of Commerce put a 20-pound box of locally-made buffalo sausage in the delivery van

we were also pleasantly surprised to find near-perfect conditions for a couple of light-weight crosswind takeoff and landing test conditions: it was rather an interesting sensation to be sitting in the first observer's seat, directly behind the pilot, and seeing the entirety of the 8300-foot runway out the 3L flight deck window

JoeDTW

Today, Jon Proctor posted an update to his incredible web site, with many more photos taken over the years at SAN. One of the photos shows the CO / UA DC-6B operating off route in SAN. Here's a link to the website:

http://jonproctor.net/san-diego-through-the-years/

Jon posted a LOT of terrific photos today - enjoy!

Non-NonRev

Was once on a UA 727 that did Fresno - Merced - San Francisco.

Seat 2A

I flew into Fresno aboard both the standard and stretch 8s. The latter always seemed a bit large for the market - can't help but wonder if UA were making more money in the hold than on the passenger deck.

The smallest jet I ever flew upon into Fresno was a Fokker F28.1000.

One service I miss was United's California intrastate flights. Back in 1977 I took a nice air tour one afternoon aboard a UA 73S routing SFO-SCK-MCE-VIS-LAX.

jlemon

I seem to remember an old OAG listing Super DC-8-61 service between LAX and Bakersfield operated by United. The D8S was operated on the last flight of the evening flown by UA into BFL from L.A. The airplane then RON'd and went out the next morning back to LAX. This was back in the day when I actually threw old OAGs away so I cannot refer to that particular sched.....

Another prolific 727 operator in California's Central Valley was Pacific Southwest Airlines. I recall PSA operating Boeing 727-200 service on a LAX-Fresno-Stockton-SFO routing. And I also remember flying on board a Delta B727-200 in F LAX-FAT-RNO which was a route formerly operated by Western. Between Fresno and Reno, we went right over the Yosemite National Park high country in the Sierra on a beautiful afternoon.

And we have an interesting sight on the ramp here at KARA in south Louisiana on a beautiful and decidedly tropical afternoon.....

A brand new and freshly painted Boeing 787-8 in the livery of Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has just been towed out of one of the paint hangars operated by AvEx here on the airfield. It will most likely be ferried by Boeing pilots back to KCHS and the Boeing 787 production plant. And parked on the ramp right next to the 787? Three F/A-18 Hornets from VFA-204 based at NAS JRB New Orleans. I'm waiting for them to refuel so I can then watch them take off......

Non-NonRev

The other factors with these super-short "milk runs" was that the flights operate under postal subsidies. So the mail and packages may have been the primary reason for the runs, with the passengers basically along for the ride.

jrl767

at that time I was living in the LA area, and occasionally dating a UA FA who flew that and similar trips (starting with LAX-SFO), or the reverse finishing with SFO-LAX, on a regular basis

WHBM

This is very true of the long-line multi-stop flights long prevalent in the US, quite a number of which dated back to the 1930s. Due to various nuances of the contracts, involving the USPS and the CAB, carriers were unable to get out of them without considerable effort. The less-basketcase financially routes sometimes got moved over to the local service airlines, but the majors were stuck with the worst, including the well-known United operation Reno-Elko-Ely-Salt Lake, which lasted into the 1980s with 737s.

My own only flight into Fresno was in 1994 from LAX on an American Eagle BAe Jetstream, which seemed quite sufficient for the route at the time.

Non-NonRev

In the case of Fresno a lot of the credit was due to the influence of Congressman BF Sisk, a senior member of the Rules committee (more powerful position then than now).

miniliq

How about the Golden Arrow?

jlemon

Very close, sir!

From a 1959 Continental system timetable.....

Only through plane service between LOS ANGELES - SAN FRANCISCO and HOUSTON - SAN ANTONIO

Famous Arrow Service by Continental Airlines with American Airlines

DC-7B's and DC-6B's

FIRST CLASS AND COACH - 3 FLIGHTS DAILY

Of course, both AA and CO were operating Boeing 707 equipment at this time...but not into HOU or SAT. I believe Braniff was the first airline to introduce jet service into Houston Hobby with the 707 and that this took place in April of 1960 with a HOU-DAL-ORD routing. It also appears Eastern and KLM were close behind with DC-8s as was Delta with the Convair 880 the same year. In fact, according to the airline, DL operated the world's first CV-880 flight in sched pax operation from Houston to New York City Idlewild (IDL) on May 15, 1960.

And I'm now putting the finishing touches on a new batch of quiz items which I'm planning on submitting tomorrow as we head towards the long Fourth of July holiday weekend here in the U.S.

jlemon

Interesting to note that a year after deregulation, according to the OAG Fresno had quite a bit of jet service in 1979 including:

* Six nonstop flights a day from LAX - three on PSA with B727-200s and three on United with B737-200s

* Six daily nonstops from SFO all on United - five with B737-200s and one with a B727-200

* Nonstop service from ORD five days a week on United with a B727-200

* Daily nonstop service from DEN on United with a B727-200

* Two daily nonstops from LAS - one on Air Cal with a B737-200 and the other on Hughes Airwest with a DC9-30.

* Three daily nonstops from OAK - all on Air Cal with the B737-200

* Two daily nonstops from SNA - both on Air Cal with the B737-200

* A daily nonstop from PHX on Hughes Airwest with a DC9-10

* Two daily nonstops from SMF on Hughes Airwest - one with a DC9-30 and the other with a DC9-10

* One daily nonstop from SJC on Air Cal with the B737-200

There was also only one commuter airline serving FAT at this time: San Luis Obispo-based Swift Aire operating nonstop flights from SMF, SBP and VIS, all with de Havilland Heron aircraft.

Seat 2A

The population of Fresno County in 1979 was 510,800. Today the city of Fresno alone has a population of over a half million. I doubt there's anything larger than a 737-800 flying into FAT now but the diversity of destinations is greater than ever before.

Non-NonRev

That Hughes Airwest flight to Sacramento might have continued on to Eugene OR. In the late 70s a high school friend married a girl from Corvallis, and I was a groomsman at their wedding. I remember taking the Flying Banana to get up there from Fresno. Pretty sure it was same-plane service.