Since publishing my very first Trip Report in December 2001, I’ve occasionally thought how nice it would have been had FlyerTalk been around back in the 70s. There were some great pioneer airlines still in business, many of them still flying vintage jet aircraft such as the 707, 880, VC-10 and Caravelle just to name a few. Eastern still flew Electras on the LGA-DCA Shuttle. Frequent Flyer programs did not exist until 1981. In the 1970s, lounges and meal quality were used as marketing tools. Some of you may remember TWA advertising steak with every meal in Coach or American touting piano bars onboard its 747s. Eastern took out a two page ad in the New York Times just to introduce their new L-1011 service between New York and Florida. There was alot of excitement about the new widebodies. And although people have been complaining about airline food since it was first ever offered, the meals and service in domestic First Class were substantially more elaborate than today’s fare, even prior to September 11th, 2001. Witness this TWA First Class menu from a flight between Denver and New York-JFK in January 1972:

http://www.flyertalk.com/pasttalk/ft...ML/002328.html

747s were operated domestically by American, Braniff, Continental, Delta, Eastern, National, Northwest and TWA. All offered First Class lounges upstairs. TWA even offered a mid-cabin lounge with a stand up bar for both classes in its 707s! Some of you may remember that seating was much more comfortable as well – Continental offered 5 across in economy in its 707s, 720s and 727s, and most all airlines had their DC-10s and L-1011s configured 2-4-2 in economy.

I knew lots of people back in the 1970s who had never flown. Unlike today, flying on an airplane was still an event. When the 747 was introduced in 1970, the commercial jet age was only 12 years old (In America). People dressed up and the service approach was certainly more formal than today. Even so, I think flying was a lot of fun back then. Indeed, I personally feel that from a service and experience perspective, the 1970s represented domestic air travel in America at its very best! Imagine some of the Trip Reports that we could have read had there been a FlyerTalk back in those days.

So, I thought I might recount a couple of my early “Mileage Runs” as best as I can remember them. I've got a pretty good long term memory - certainly better than average. It's the short term that's fading on me... Now where was I...

No doubt some of you will have zero interest in reading about air travel from 25 years ago, especially if you read Trip Reports to gain some insight towards what to expect on an upcoming trip. As such, there are plenty of other reports out there that will be more helpful to you. This report is for entertainment value only, though for some of you who weren't even flying back when some of these airlines I write of were, you also may find this report of little or no interest. That's fine, for as I say, it's more for entertainment than anything else. Certainly though, if any of you have any memories from this era to share, I for one would love to read of them either in comments or in your own Trip Report.

I know, I know, some of you are wondering how can you make a Mileage Run 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 inflight bang for my buck. The reward was getting to fly more than I would have had I flown the nonstop.

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.

My first Mileage Run involved two different tickets: The first was between New York-EWR and Denver, the second between Denver and Portland, Oregon. The nonstop Y Class fare between New York and Denver was $115.00 on United or TWA. After consulting the Joint Fares Tariff, available in any travel agency, I found the following routing for only $113.00:

EWR PI ATL EA MEM BN DEN

My ticket to Portland cost me $110.00 and involved the following routing:

DEN WA BIL NW PDX

Based upon what I can afford to pay today, First Class would not have cost all that much more. However, in 1976 it was all I could do to afford Coach. Buying a First Class ticket was such a distant concept that I didn’t even lament not being able to fly up front. Just flying anywhere, preferably with a window seat, was more than good enough!

I lived in Colorado at the time and in order to get to New York I hitch hiked from Durango down to Albuquerque, I-40 out to I-44 to I-70 to the Jersey Turnpike where somehow, even though I wanted to get dropped off in or near New York City, I clearly remember driving past the George Washington Bridge and getting dropped off in Ronkonkoma, way out in the middle of Long Island, forcing me to delve into my meager cash reserves to catch a 1:00am Long Island Railroad train into Penn Station. You gotta remember here, back then, for me the idea was to fly. I could care less about New York or Portland. As for funds, well, I’d hitched all over America with very little money and never had any real complaints. I made it once from Seattle to Washington with 50 cents in my pocket. Lost about 8 pounds on that trip. But that’s another story for over on the HitchhikerTalk.com site. Now, where wuz I?

Right, New York. Sorry I can’t tell you how nice the Biltmore or the Plaza were as I spent the night on the floor at Newark International. 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.

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 into any of these airports before. I was all of 18 years old. With the exception of Braniff, I’d never flown any of these airlines before either. My Braniff experience had been a 30 minute COS-DEN segment aboard a bright two tone green 727-100. What color would today’s aircraft be?

My Piedmont aircraft down to Norfolk was a 737-200 named the “Outer Banks Pacemaker”. I like having an 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 certificate inside the door indicated this was an ex-United airplane. Odd that UA should have sold it so soon as they’d only taken delivery of their first 737 in 1967. 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.

The highlight at Norfolk’s airport was seeing a United DC-8-61 there. I’d seen plenty of United 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 737-201 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. We stopped in Myrtle Beach on the way to Atlanta.

Atlanta Hartsfield sure was a big airport! Lots of Delta and Eastern jets, including lots of DC-9s which I stopped to admire. We didn’t have many DC-9s in Denver back then as our primary carriers, BN, CO, FL, TW, UA and WA either didn’t operate them or didn’t fly 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 were still a couple of years away. I stopped at the airport restaurant which was operated by Dobbs. The menu had a picture of a calorically challenged chef wearing one of those big balllistic chef’s hats (you know, the ones that look like a big mushroom cloud!) on the cover. I bought a hamburger.

My Eastern flight into Memphis was actually a codeshare with Braniff and unfortunately it was operating with BN equipment. Nothing against BN, but I wanted to check out an EA jet while flying EA. After all, EA launched the 727 into commercial service! Ah well, I'd get my EA 727 the next day, but as part of another codeshare whilst flying Braniff.

The Braniff jet for today's Eastern flight up to MEM was a two tone red 727-100. I really liked Braniff’s colors. US airlines these days are so conservative and businesslike! Grey, white, red and blue for the majors. Braniff had introduced the widebodied interiors (featuring molded sidewalls and enclosed overhead storage bins)to its 727s only a couple of years earlier and the interior looked bright and spacious. 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 received a small sandwich for our snack. 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. I’d never flown into any of these airports and even though it was dark, I was excited to get under way and see them. Our aircraft was N418BN, a two-tone orange 727-200. We departed Memphis pretty late, about 9:00pm, and as such 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. Nowadays, nobody cares. Back then, it was considered unseemly to have people lying around the airport during business hours.

My flight up to OKC was aboard an orange 727-100. This was one of the QC varieties, which meant the interior was essentially palletized. United and Eastern also operated this type. It could quickly be transformed from passenger jet to overnight freighter. I don’t ever recall any of these airlines ever operating their 727s in a mixed configuration a la Alaska’s 737-200s. Coffee and a sweet roll on this early morning departure to OKC. Yes, I’d gone through OKC last night, but the ticket read MEM-DFW on that milk run, so OKC was essentially hidden. I had about a three hour layover before finally getting to board my first ever Eastern aircraft, another 727QC 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 after all those bong hits I did back in the 70s but I’ve gotta a pretty good memory when it comes to airplanes. Don’t ask me what I had for dinner tonight though…

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. I remember the Big Thompson River had just had it’s big flood down the narrow canyon out of Estes Park, killing a good number of silly tourists who couldn’t be bothered to heed the advice of the locals when it came to flash flood warnings. I mean, it’s too bad they had to die but survival of the fittest is mental as well as physical. Pay attention to your surroundings, including the locals. This incident was the big topic of conversation for days in Colorado at the time.

Anyway, I remember my sister dropping me off at Stapleton in the early evening. It was a beautiful day for flying. I liked the boarding passes back then. They had your seat assignment affixed via a sticker bearing the seat number. Actually, there was a sheet showing the entire cabin of the airplane and 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 alloted before approaching the podium for my seat assignment.

Western’s 737s were operated in an all one class configuration, though they did offer First Class legroom. They also offered free champagne (Western advertised this, and I think it must have been in the days before the French said you couldn’t call it Champagne unless it came from that district of France) 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 type glasses. Western was celebrating their 50th anniversary and it was a festive time for all! Upon arrival, I splurged and spent the night in the Rimrock Lodge for about $16,00/nt.

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 Northwest before so it’s a wonder I got any sleep the night before despite my comparatively elegant digs at the Rimrock. That being elegant compared to a floor at the Billings airport. Anyway, today’s flight featured yet another milk run, offering three stop service between Billings and Spokane via Helena, Butte and Missoula. Back then, Northwest Orient practically owned Montana if you wanted to go east or west. I remember the old OAGs showing like a 9 stop 727 flight between New York and Seattle with stops in such scintillating burgs 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 you own food along as the length of the flights was such that food service was minimal if not impossible.

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 fetching.

I had a relatively quick connection in Spokane. 40 minutes later I was in Seattle checking out N601US, Northwest’s first ever 747-151 and the aircraft for my next flight. 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 a half full 747. The real thrill for me was after we’d landed when I got to check out the First Class cabin and especially the upstairs First Class lounge. Can you imagine being on an airplane for 5 or 6 hours and during the flight having the option of ascending a spiral staircase to a lounge with big swivel chairs and a stand up bar? I’m tellin ya, the Seventies were the best!

A couple of years later, with a three week vacation ahead of me, I headed back up to Alaska in a rather round about fashion:

22 May, 1979
DEN-MEM Southern Airways DC-9-10 N96S
MEM-DFW Texas International DC-9-10 N1053T
DFW-PHX Delta Air Lines DC-8-61 N1302L
PHX-TUS American Airlines 707-323B N8406

What a great day I had scheduled with flights on two airlines I’d never flown before, SO and TI, followed by First Class aboard a couple of big four engine jets. I’d gotten some really good fares point to point between Denver, Memphis and Dallas. From Dallas to Anchorage, the First Class fare was $310.00 one way on a joint fare routing DFW AA SFO AS ANC. I scheduled things so I’d get a dinner out of DFW and an overnight in Tucson, catching the next available flight into SFO the next day. As with most fares to Alaska, a free stopover was permitted in Seattle. But I’m getting ahead of myself here…

Who knows why Southern Airways scheduled this flight to Wichita and Memphis for a 5:00am departure. It’s hard to imagine that there were that many people in the Denver area who really had to be in either ICT or MEM so early. In any event, I stayed up all night at a friend’s party, left Evergreen at 3:00am and arrived to an empty D Concourse at Stapleton International.

At the time, Southern Airways operated their DC-9s in a one-class configuration, booked in “S” denoting Standard Class. Breakfast was served out of Denver. French toast and sausage for everyone! Mmmm! I slept most of the way through Wichita and on into Memphis, which turned out to be enough sleep to easily get me through the rest of the day. Ah, to be 22 again…

Texas International’s flight to Dallas operated via Little Rock. Once again, the aircraft was operated in a single class configuration. There was no meal service. I remember both the SO and TI interiors being pretty comfortable, i.e. decent legroom and soft seats. Back then, a lot of aircraft seats were quite a bit more heavily padded than today’s seats so even the coach seats were pretty darned comfortable. Later, in response to rising fuel prices, airlines began to take a serious look at the weight of everything from seats to galley fixtures, and by the mid-eighties we began to see the introduction of the new slimline seats. We also began to see a reduction in seat pitch.

My American flight to Phoenix was scheduled for a 727-200. Boring. I wanted that Delta DC-8 and took my ticket over to Delta to see if they’d honor my segment into PHX. Technically, this was illegal via the joint fare tariffs but the fare type read straight “F” and back in those days it was a lot easier to change flights/tickets than it is today. The Delta agent looked at my ticket, saw the “F” in the fare box, checked the availability and handed me a boarding pass for a seat just forward of those big JT3D Turbofans.

Delta used to offer a pretty big First Class cabin on its DC-8-61s. Too bad it wasn’t a –51 as that aircraft still had the lounge up front. Anyway, I was pretty excited as at this point in my life flying First Class was still a rare and cherished experience! I boarded and settled back into the wide and deep fuschia colored seat while a stewardess offered preflight libations.

One of the nicest things about flying the DC-8s was the size of their windows – they were huge! The early DC-8s also had curtains instead of pull down shades. I thought that was a nice touch.

One thing I definitely remember was that dinner was nothing to get excited about, much less remember! Granted, the distance between Dallas and Phoenix is only 870 miles, making for a 2 hour 20 minute flight. Delta was never really known to splurge on inflight amenities – they never offered coach lounges on their widebodies (Delta flew all three – the DC-10, L-1011 and 747) and had a reputation for only an average inflight product. On flights over three hours, Delta used to offer enhanced catering on what they called their “Medallion” service but unfortunately this wasn’t one of those flights. As such, the meal service was pretty basic, even in First Class. I don’t remember if there was a choice or not but the entire meal, including dessert, was presented on one tray. The highlight of the flight for me was a great photo I got as we flew over the Grand Canyon. Normally, the route of flight would have us too far south to see much of the big ditch but the captain informed us that we’d taken a northerly routing to avoid a band of thunderstorms and so would get a fine view. It was a beautiful evening, approaching 6:00pm Phoenix time, so the colors and shadows in the canyon were quite pretty. Even from 30 some odd thousand feet. My photo caught the two big turbofans, each featuring the Delta insignia on their cowlings, against a backdrop of the canyon. A classic inflight photo!

My flight down to Tucson was aboard an American 707-320B. I’ve always thought that the 707-320 was one of the prettiest aircraft ever built and AA’s silver color scheme did nothing to detract from the aircraft’s inherent good looks. Tonight’s flight had originated from JFK and when I boarded, I was happy to see that this aircraft had been refurbished with the new widebodied interior. American’s old 707 First Class seats were amongst the most comfortable ever to grace an airplane. Plush would describe them quite well. I found a copy of a menu in the seat back pocket in front of me and if I had it here I’d happily transcribe it but suffice to say it looked quite good and featured that old AA standby – Chateaubriand – carved from the cart. Short of ice cream sundaes, when’s the last time any of you experienced a salad and entrée course served from the cart? For me, I’m thinking late eighties…

It was a 30 minute flight down to Tucson, one that I wished were much longer. The 707 was a wonderful airplane to fly. I loved the sound of those engines starting up and takeoffs were also quite impressive. Only Iran Air and some outfit in Egypt operate them in a passenger configuration these days.


23 May, 1979
TUS-SFO American Airlines 707-323C N7599
SFO-SEA Alaska Airlines 727-290 N291AS
SEA-KTN Alaska Airlines 727-021 N320AS

My flight up to San Francisco originated in El Paso and was scheduled for a lunchtime departure to SFO. Tucson was still a pretty small airport back in 1979. There weren’t many – if any – jetways, so boarding meant we walked out onto the tarmac and climbed up the mobile stairway. If it’s not raining, I far prefer to board an aircraft in this manner. The jetway is so sterile! You really get a feel for the aircraft when you can walk right up to it, and climb aboard! For me at least it certainly heightens the anticipation of flight when you walk past those big engine nacelles and look up those stairs towards the flight attendant waiting there to welcome you into the sanctuary of the airplane. By May, the temperatures are starting to get down right insufferable in Arizona. Thank God the aircraft was air conditioned because I remember how hot and dry it felt outside.

Lunch was nothing special – it was Chicken Kiev, and again the entire meal was served on a single tray. Ah well, TUS-SFO checks out at only 750 miles. Still, I remember being just a tad disappointed with the basic service but then much of my impressions of what First Class service should be like had come from all the brochures and menus that I used to mail away for while in school. Indeed, the airlines used to put out beautiful brochures detailing their inflight product or their aircraft. Almost everyone had a brochure out about the new 747s and they were chock full of great photos showing the First Class cabin, the service and all the lounges. Meals were always served from the cart to appreciative and smiling First Class passengers. Ah well, live and learn. It was still a good flight if only because it was a nice day, in First Class, on a 707, with a meal served.

In San Francisco, I watched as a CAAC 747 SP pushed back and taxied away for its flight to Beijing. At that time, the 747SP was the leader in long distance flights. Pan Am and TWA flew them regularly into SFO. I flew my first later that summer on a standby fare of only $13.00 one way between SFO and LAX with Pan Am.

Alaska Airlines had only recently taken delivery of their 727-200s and the new planes were supposed to have a brand new interior compared to that in Alaska’s fleet of aging 727-100s. I was anxious to check it out. Alaska was also fairly new to the West Coast market and was promoting their new Gold Coast Service by passing out 1 gram gold ingots to First Class passengers for sure, and maybe even Coach Class folks as well.

The new interior on Alaska’s 727-200s was indeed bright. The big wide First Class seats were upholstered in a tiny yellow and orange checkerboard patterned fabric, while in the back I think the seats were either red or brown. Of course, the airplane being new sported the latest widebodied interior and it’s worth noting that those old seats were far more comfortable and offered much better legroom than those awful blue leather chairs AS calls a First Class seat today.

This was a dinner flight and Alaska had already accrued a well deserved reputation for a quality inflight service. I wasn’t disappointed. Although it’s only 680 miles between San Francisco and Seattle, with a flight time of about 1:50, Alaska offered us a full dinner, served course by course. There wasn’t a choice of entrees but I remember the main course being like a slice of prime rib. It was a fine meal service, one that separated Alaska from its primary competitors on the west coast, United and Western Airlines.

In Seattle, I connected to one of Alaska’s ex-Pan Am 727-100s for the flight up to Ketchikan. This too was a dinner flight and interestingly, despite originating from a different airport, the meal was exactly the same as that served on my flight up from SFO. I think we had cheesecake for dessert.

I was using Ketchikan as a connecting point, not a stopover, so the four hour rule was waived as I was connecting onto the first available flight up to Juneau the next morning. In the meantime, I caught the ferry from the Ketchikan airport over to the mainland, got a bus into town and spent the night at the local hostel, situated in the Methodist Church downtown. We were given mats and slept on the floor in a big room. I don’t think I paid more than about $6.00 for this privilege.

28 May, 1979
KTN-JNU Alaska Airlines 727-021 N318AS
JNU-ANC Alaska Airlines 727-021 N314AS

I awoke to rain in Ketchikan, hardly a surprise as Ketchikan enjoys the dubious honor of being the wettest city in America. My flight up to Juneau was aboard flight 65, the milk run. Interestingly, Alaska hasn’t changed these flight numbers through the Southeast and even today, flights 65 and 64 leave at about the same times and still make all the stops between Seattle and Juneau.

Alaska never did refurbish their old 727-100s with the new widebodied interiors so they still featured the original boxy consoles with air vents, lights, etc. over each row of seats. This flight stopped in Wrangell, Petersburg and Sitka on its way up to Juneau. Although a breakfast had been served coming up from Seattle, between KTN and JNU it was beverages only. Some of the flights, like WRG-PSG, were so short that beverages were served on the ground as flight time was only about 10 minutes. Although this day was rainy, I’ve had the pleasure of riding this flight on a sunny day and it is really quite an air tour through some of Alaska’s most scenic country. The Southeast is home to the nation’s largest National Forest, the Tongass, and there are many mountains and spruce covered islands along the route. Rain or shine, Flight 65 is a great way to go if you’ve got the time.

I had a long layover in Juneau which I whiled away playing backgammon with another passenger connecting up to Anchorage. The flight up to Anchorage offered a snack though it was nothing special – just a couple of small half sandwiches. We parked at the B Concourse amongst all the 747s from Japan Airlines and other assorted widebodies from some of the European carriers that used to transit ANC on their Europe – Asia services. Back in 1979, most aircraft didn’t have the range to fly nonstop NRT or HKG to say, LHR and even if they did, the Russians and Chinese weren’t too keen on anyone over flying their airspace. So, Anchorage International was quite the busy hub back then. It still is today, though for cargo rather than passengers.


11 June, 1979
ANC-YXY Wien Air Alaska 737-200 N2711R

After a wonderful couple of weeks camping in what was then called Mt. McKinley National Park, it was time to head back to Colorado and summer work. Most people traveling between Anchorage and Denver would take a flight down to Seattle and connect to one of the many onward UA or CO flights available into Denver. In fact, back in 1979, almost all flights out of Alaska down to the “Lower 48” went through Seattle. Alaskans jokingly used to refer to Seattle as the “Southernmost city in Alaska” since you couldn’t help but go through there first before heading anywhere else Outside. By comparison, these days Anchorage is served in the summer by nonstops from EWR, ATL, DTW, MSP, STL, ORD, DFW, IAH, DEN, SLC, LAX, SFO and PDX.

I found a joint fare between Anchorage and Vancouver that used Wien Air Alaska into Whitehorse, connecting to CP Air down to Vancouver. Total price: $113.00. From there I got another ticket using Pacific Western to Seattle and United into Denver via San Francisco. Alas, I don’t have the price on that ticket.

Wien Air Alaska had its beginnings as Northern Air Transport in 1924 and served primarily Alaskan Interior routes. Places like Fort Yukon and Galena. It didn’t expand down to the Lower 48 until the early 1980s. Operations were out of the older part of the Anchorage and Fairbanks airports – no jetways. Jetways are for wimps, anyway!

Since Wien didn’t offer a Business Class until it purchased 727s and initiated services to the Lower 48, this flight was all one class. Today's aircraft, N2711R, was the prototype 737-200C. We stopped briefly in Fairbanks before continuing on to Whitehorse. I can’t say for sure, but I think that 500 mile route out to Whitehorse may well have been the longest run in Wien’s system and as such, it warranted a rare snack service – a sandwich. Upon arrival in Whitehorse, we exited from the rear down the self contained stairway. Parked nearby was a 707-320 bearing the livery of the Royal Canadian Air Force. I was surprised you could get a 707 into YXY. They need a lot of runway.

I spent the night at the Whitehorse Youth Hostel, located in a big High School gym just a short walk across a field from the airport.


12 June, 1979
YXY-YXJ CP Air 737-217 CF-CPE
YXJ-YVR CP Air 737-217 C-GCPM

I climbed down a gully behind the hostel and hiked into Whitehorse where I spent the morning checking out the town and the White Pass and Yukon Route train. The train still operated out of Whitehorse back then and was certainly one of the more scenic rail trips in the world! These days, it only operates out of Skagway up White Pass to Lake Bennett.

Although CP Air operated a nonstop down to Vancouver, of course I’d opted for the “Local”, down to Fort St. John, followed by a connecting flight into Vancouver. There were a few of us awaiting the inbound flight and I remember that when the CP agent said it was just a couple of minutes away from landing, we went outdoors and watched it land. You couldn’t miss it as it circled around and lined up for its approach. The airplane sported a distinctive bright orange and red livery rising diagonally against a silver fuselage.

Although CP Air offered First Class service on its 727s, 747s, DC-8s and DC-10s, most of its 737 fleet was operated in a one class configuration. This flight made stops in Watson Lake and Fort Nelson on its way into Fort St. John. To this day, I'm pretty sure it represents the only jet service these communities ever received. Most of these flights were in the 200 mile range so we never gained all that much altitude. This meant those of us in the window seats got to take in some great scenery along the way. Our departure was in the late afternoon and amazingly, a full dinner was served between Watson Lake and Ft. Nelson! The flight time was only 50 minutes but I remember a few things about that meal: First, we were offered a choice of entrees. While I don’t remember both choices, I remember my choice – barbecued chicken. And get this: It was served on china or porcelain! I was shocked and really, in terms of portions and presentation, this meal would have been more than appropriate on a much longer flight. Scenery notwithstanding, it was the highlight of that particular leg. Those flight attendants were like red streaks as they rushed through the cabin distributing meals, offering beverages, and then clearing trays! It was an impressive performance that would probably be prohibited by the work rules in today’s contracts.

The connecting flight down to Vancouver made a brief stop in St. George. The early summer sun was low in the sky as we climbed out of Prince George and I remember the view of the Fraser River flowing south down the valley as being quite nice. By the time we landed in Vancouver it was dark. I found a secluded corner of the airport and set up camp for the night.


13 June, 1979
YVR-SEA Pacific Western 737-275 CF-PWD
SEA-PDX United Airlines DC-8-62 N8970U
PDX-OAK United Airlines 727-022 N7087U

Western Airlines had a Horizon Club lounge located in the Vancouver airport so after checking in and clearing customs, I headed over there for coffee and donuts. The best thing I remember about Western’s old Horizon Clubs was the great mixed nuts they used to have out. A big bowl of them, and none of that cheap 60% peanut mix either! It was all nuts!

In 1979, Pacific Western Airlines operated a fleet of 737s, primarily around Alberta and British Columbia. They also served Seattle, which served my interests nicely as they offered a joint fare with United down to the Bay Area. Pacific Western represented the 26th airline I’d flown, not bad for a 21 year old.

Again, the aircraft was operated in a one class configuration. Most of the regional airlines, despite operating jets, did not offer a First or Business Class service. There simply wasn’t enough demand for it given the brevity of the routes and flight times. Later in the Eighties, a number of factors changed all this for the regionals such as their expansion through deregulation, the establishment of interline relationships with larger airlines and the advent of Frequent Flyer programs. Then we began to see a front cabin.

Vancouver to Seattle is a great route for a window seat on either side of the airplane. To the east you’ll see Mt. Baker and the Cascades and to the west Vancouver Island, the San Juan Islands and the Puget Sound. Too bad it’s such a short flight!

In Seattle I headed over to the North satellite and my onward United flight down to Portland. I’d picked this flight because it was operated with a rare DC-8-62. The DC-8-62 had the longest range of any narrow bodied passenger aircraft ever built. It was slightly longer than a standard DC-8 though not nearly as long as the DC-8-61/63s. Initially, United and Braniff were the only US passenger airlines to operate it. In 1969, United introduced it on nonstop New York to Honolulu service, at that time the longest U.S. domestic air route at 4,979 miles. I think it still is though CO now operates the run with a 767-400.

In any event, two things stood out about today’s flight: The aircraft still bore the old “Four Star DC-8 Friendship” colors and it, too, was operated in all one class. This was rare for United but I believe they used those –62s for charter work and so kept a few in the all coach configuration.

On to Oakland aboard what was then only a 12 year old 727-100. Dinner was served though I remember it being pretty basic back in Coach. Still, it was a hot meal and PDX-OAK was only 540 miles. Back in those days, we expected a meal on a flight of that length if it operated at a mealtime. Although the aforementioned CP Air flight between Watson Lake and Ft. Nelson represented the shortest route I’d ever been served a full meal on, here in America that honor would go to Western Airlines when they served me a hot dinner on a Salt Lake City to Denver flight back in 1974.

Anyway, it’s been fun to reminisce and I hope you all enjoyed this rather odd trip report, being as it all happened over twenty years ago. Again, I certainly welcome any comments and further memories. Those were great times to fly!


[This message has been edited by Seat 2A (edited 12-23-2002).]