Originally Posted by
Seat 2A
29. Back in 1976, I flew between Fresno and San Francisco aboard a United DC-8-61. Sixteen years later, the only jet service on this route is via a single flight aboard this airline. Identify the airline and the equipment.
32. This airline operated twice weekly flights routing MIA-STT-STX-MIA utilizing 727-200 equipment. Identify the airline.
Time to tackle a couple of quiz items on a stormy afternoon concerning what I believe were two obscure, new start up air carriers...
29. This sure sounds like Air 21 (A7) which was a small airline we have discussed in the past. If so, aircraft would have been a Fokker F28 (a -4000 model, I think) configured with two classes of service, business and coach. I also seem to recall that Air 21 offered "Silver Service" in business class. One of the Air 21 principals was Mark Morro who had previously been one of the founders of Wings West which became an American Eagle carrier and then was acquired by AMR. So he probably had a few bucks to invest in Air 21....which was not in operation very long before folding.
32. Ah, the Caribbean. I've been there many times and have flown into many airports in the region over the years. And I arrived on other islands via sailboat many times in the past as well. There's nothing quite like flying over one of these beautiful islands on a sunny day ensconced in the first class cabin of somebody's A320, B727-200, B737-400, B737-800, B737-900, B757-200, DC-9-30, DC-10, L-1011 etc. whilst enjoying a suitable rum drink or glass of red wine and listening to jazz on the headphones of my personal sound system and, of course, admiring the scenery from my window seat..... and, yes ma'am, I'll take a refill here, please.......
However, I digress. Back to the quiz. Among the Caribbean airports I've been to a number of times are St. Croix and St. Thomas. The old terminal at STT was especially memorable. And it seemed like there was always some new airline operating jets or turboprops or prop aircraft that was trying to make a go of it serving STT and STX. I believe one of these was a
very obscure air carrier: Prestige Airways (OI) operating 72S aircraft in all coach configuration. Like British Caribbean Airways (EO), which operated a BAe 146-100 into Tortola (EIS) in neighboring BVI, they only lasted a brief time.