Originally Posted by
jrl767
well, let's get things rolling here
41- I have always thought that scenic flights -- especially multi-stop ones -- are much more scenic at 21000 feet in a turboprop than at 31000 feet in a jet, so on that basis I'll offer that
jlemon is of a similar mindset, and that the flight in question is a Hughes AirWest Fairchild F-27 stopping at Monterey/MRY and Santa Maria/SMX
43- this was right around the time that Pan Am and National were in their merger talks that concluded with PA's acquisition of NA in early 1980 ... NA was definitely operating LAX-MIA with DC-10s; while PA still had 707s in the fleet, I'm pretty sure they were almost exclusively on Caribbean routes, which means they would have been running a 747 ... as for other carriers in the market, I think both American and Eastern entered after the merger, but both operated wide-body jets ... that leaves Western, and it wouldn't surprise me if they augmented DC-10 service with a perhaps-less-than-daily 707-347
41. Hughes Airwest is
correct. However, although this flight did stop in Santa Maria, it did not stop in Monterey and the equipment wasn't a Fairchild F-27. Please guess again!
43. Correct! Here are the schedules for Western 732.....
WA 732: Los Angeles (LAX) 8:45a - 4:09p Miami (MIA)
Freq: Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays only
Service classes: F/Y
Meal service: Breakfast
Equip: Boeing 707
WA 732: Los Angeles (LAX) 8:45a - 4:09p Miami (MIA)
Freq: Fridays and Saturdays only
Service classes: F/Y
Meal service: Breakfast
Equip: McDonnell Douglas DC-10
BTW, other air carriers operating LAX-MIA nonstops at this time included National with two daily DC-10 flights and one Saturday only DC-10 flight, and Pan Am with one daily 747 flight. Western was also operating an additional daily DC-10 flight as well.