jrl767

not exactly sure about the reference to 1976, as the question deals with 1966 ... but anyway, Option #2 is Braniff, stop #3 is Dallas (DAL), and the equipment (thanks for the "wasn't a turboprop" hint , as I was initially expecting to type "Lockheed Electra") is a BAC One-Eleven

Seat 2A

Sorry 'bout that! Lufthansa comes to mind as an early operator. Let's go with it.

WHBM

No, it wasn't Air Inter in 1974; although an early purchaser I believe their first came in 1976.

And the A300 was much more relevant to Air Inter then. The French TGV high speed rail system only first opened, a relatively short part, in 1981 (gosh, nearly 40 years ago). Since then it has expanded immensely, but prior to that the main trunk airline routes to the French cities well removed from Paris - Nice, Marseille, Bordeaux, even Lyon, were substantial high density operations. These routes lost much of their business as the TGV came along.

If it helps, this early third operator did run the A300 to Asia. Although they weren't Asian. Nor European.

jlemon

Got my years mixed up. Call it "Oldtimer's-itis". So consider the reference to Texas International as an incidental historical aside (and the year of the name change from Trans-Texas Airways as well as airline code change from TT to TI was actually 1969).

3. Braniff International is correct! Here's the sched.....

BN 270: Corpus Christi (CRP) 6:00a - 6:34a San Antonio (SAT) 6:50a - 7:13a Austin (AUS) 7:28a - 8:07a Dallas Love Field (DAL) 8:30a - 9:27a Lubbock (LBB) 9:40a - 10:00a Amarillo (AMA)
Freq: Daily
Service classes: F/Y
Meal services: Continental Breakfast CRP-SAT & AUS-DAL
Equip: BAC One-11 "Fastback" JET

jrl767

gotta love those quick enroute stops (16 min at SAT, 15 min at AUS, 13 min at LBB) -- didn't the 1-11 have an integral airstair in the forward door? that would have eliminated the need to position either a jetway or a stair truck before pax could deplane, and the pilots could start the #1 engine as soon as the door was shut for departure

jlemon

Yep, it sure did....well, at least the new One-Elevens originally ordered by Braniff did.....

https://www.airliners.net/photo/Bran...BP/iOK0UBCgd%2

And I do know that Austin Mueller (AUS) did not have any jetways in 1966.

BTW, I also believe Braniff International introduced Austin's first jet service back in 1965 with the BAC One-Eleven.

WHBM

It was an option. I presume with those staccato stops that Braniff took it. In addition there was an integral ventral airstair under the tail, so two sets of steps were carried. The One-Eleven was designed to operate in and out without needing ground support equipment - catering was often carried in Europe up the steps by the cabin crew. Normal at European airports in those times was to approach the gate head on, then make a 135-degree turn, stop and deploy airstairs, ready to start and taxy straight out again - something you can still see at London City, which still has neither jetways nor stair trucks - wheeled stairs are pushed up by hand.

Seat 2A

Hmm... neither Asian nor European but they served Asia... So North and South America are out, as is Australia (at least in 1974). That leaves Africa. Total shot in the dark here, but given Algeria's history with France, I'm going to guess Air Algerie. Please don't ask me where they served in Asia (assuming it even is Air Algerie). I am only a simple creature with limited knowledge of such things. Someone else will have to step up for that one...

jrl767

Seat 2A

Thank you, J. Istanbul sounds as good as any place in "regional" Asia. We await word from the wizard...

WHBM

Good shot S2A, it is Air Algerie. The first two A300-B1 prototypes were slightly smaller than the rest of production, one was soon broken up but the other was placed with Air Algerie in late 1974, their first widebody, to run a daily schedule to - Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. This was not an all-year operation but was just run for two months as part of the Hadj annual pilgrimage to nearby Mecca. The aircraft came back after two months to run holiday flights replacing a Boeing 720 at TEA of Belgium, which it did despite being an oddball unique aircraft for the next 15 years. It remained owned by Airbus for much of its life and was leased out to the operators.

Although only being with Air Algerie for two months Airbus gave it a full paint scheme. Here's a photo history of the aircraft

Weather & Aviation Page - OO-TEF

The Hadj takes place over a couple of months each year, and occupies a substantial fleet of both scheduled and charter operations. Despite using mainstream aircraft and chartering from western operators, all through the 1970s it was marred by a whole series of major aircraft accidents to its operations in many of the years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incide...rplane_crashes

rosensfole

I haven't been here for a while so it's great to see yet another super quiz from jlemon and even better that I can at least answer one question...

9. Fill in the blank concerning the identify of the air carrier which ran this print ad in 1970:

"When in Europe do as the Europeans do. Fly BEA."

jlemon

Hello rosensfole! Welcome back....and you are correct! Here's the BEA print ad in question from 1970....

BEwhenineurope70

WHBM

Not surprisingly, that was an ad strapline not seen in Europe.

There was quite an up-tempo short TV ad for them, with the "BEA ... number one in Europe" song, but I can only find the turgid and elongated cinema ad version here. Does it sound dated.


Almost expect the Pearl & Dean to follow (you have to be a Brit of a certain era to understand).

jlemon

Just four to go here from my initial set before we move on to Round Two......