Seat 2A

WHBM

Bit of a surprise, as I thought B Cal used the 707 at that time on London to Tripoli. May seem a bit short for one, but there was a lot of freight on the route, mainly for the oil industry there, whereas the One-Eleven would be very range challenged over such a distance, and have scope for little if any freight. BA wisdom was that the One-Eleven didn't suit beyond about 1,000 miles, London to Malaga or Rome, and while the holiday flight operators took them somewhat further, Corfu in Greece was seen as a limit, and Athens (same as Tripoli) was pushing it, needing a night departure homewards and potentially a fuel stop at Brindisi (if you have to look it up, at the bottom of Italy, must have had cheap fuel there as many UK independents used to put in there).

B Cal seemed to put too much effort into Tripoli, for little gain on such a low frequency route, despite it must have mostly been full fare trade. Their A310 order was apparently built around it, when the route was closed on their arrival, they were sold again, and ironically ended up in Libya itself after some shady dealings, as Libya by then was on the banned list. Various political difficulties caused all sorts of upsets to the route, and the poor B Cal manager at Tripoli, on his three year assignment, was seized and jailed for some months BCal WATN A310 Pt 1

jlemon

30. Let's see if I can tap this one in: Mexicana operating a B727-200 from MIA to GDL with a stop in Cancun.

jlemon

Looks like it's time to push back from the gate and get this show on the road.....

And my goodness, it's already September......which means we've just three more months of hurricane season to go down here in south Louisiana.....

We've already had a very active tropical weather season thus far in the Atlantic basin and the forecast is for a continuation of the same high level of activity. Fortunately, after mid October, the weather usually begins to quiet down in the tropics. So here's hoping we do not experience another Laura during the rest of the season!

As always, please limit your responses to two quiz items per day so that all may participate. And we are looking for as much detail as possible with regard to specific aircraft types. When in doubt, let the OAG equipment codes be your guide. Thanks!

1. In 1962, North Central Airlines was serving two airports in Canada. Name them both. ANSWERED

2. Speaking of Canada, it's still 1962 and you are in Goose Bay. You need to travel to Montreal for a lunch meeting and have found a nonstop flight which only operates twice a week. Fortunately, one of the days this flight operates is the day you need to travel. Identify the air carrier and the equipment. ANSWERED

3. Fill in the blanks concerning this 1967 print ad: ANSWERED

___(airline)___ choose a new jet and ___(country)___ becomes the fifth Latin American country to order the BAC One-Eleven. . .

4. Now it's 1968 and you are preparing to depart from Los Angeles to Rio de Janeiro. Your flight only operates on Saturdays and will make three stops en route. Identify the airline, all three stops and the aircraft. ANSWERED

5. You're back in the U.S. in Dayton in 1969 where you've been visiting the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. It's time to get back to work and that means a flight to LAX. You take your seat in first class on board a daily flight which will make one stop en route. Name the air carrier, the stop and the equipment. ANSWERED

6. In 1971, Western Airlines was working "vigorously" to obtain CAB approval for a merger with another air carrier. Ultimately, this effort proved to be unsuccessful. What airline was Western attempting to merge with? ANSWERED

The next four quiz items have a time line of 1975.....

7. You have been enjoying an extended cruise on the Amazon River in Brazil and are now in Belem. It's been a great adventure but business calls and that means a trip to Paris. You've found a very convenient connecting service operated twice a week involving two airlines which actually appears in the timetable of the first air carrier you will fly with from Belem. Your first flight will be nonstop to the airport where the connection will be made with 90 minutes on the ground. And your second flight will be nonstop as well. Identify both air carriers, the connecting city and the different aircraft types operated on each flight.

8. Ah, yet another lovely visit with good friends in the village of Hakalau on the Big Island of Hawaii. You are with your Louisiana lady friend and now it's time to journey to New Orleans....in first class, of course. You will depart from the Big Island from the nearest airport to Hakalau and make one connection en route with both flights being operated by the same airline. Your first flight operates daily and will make two stops en route to your connecting airport where you will have a leisurely one hour and 22 minutes on the ground. Your second flight will operate nonstop to New Orleans and is also a daily service. So with all this in mind, identify the airport you will depart from in Hawaii, the airline you will travel with all the way to New Orleans, the two stops made by the first flight, the connecting city and the different equipment operated on these flights. ANSWERED

9. You are in Colmar, France and need to travel to London. You've found an afternoon flight which operates three days a week and makes one stop en route before arriving into London Gatwick. Name the air carrier, the stop and the jet aircraft type. ANSWERED

10. You've just finished a project assignment in Milwaukee when the phone rings and you hear this: "Hey, buddy, the repairs are finished and the cat is good to go! We are ready to set sail to Virgin Gorda! When can you be here?!" And just where is your old sailing buddy located? "Nassau!" Well, here you go again....and you quickly ascertain that two airlines will be involved for your trip from MKE to NAS with a 90 minute connection time between the two flights you'll be traveling on, both of which will be nonstop and also both operated with the same aircraft type. Identify both air carriers, the airport where the connection will be made and the equipment. ANSWERED

11. Now it's 1977 and you are in Manchester in the UK. You are once again headed to Rio de Janeiro and will have to make a connection with the same airline operating both flights. Your first flight will be nonstop to the connection airport where you will be on the ground for one hour and 50 minutes. Your second flight will make one stop en route. Name the air carrier, the connecting airport, the stop made by the second flight and the different aircraft types operated on each flight. ANSWERED

12. You've been attending a convention in Las Vegas in 1979 and need to travel to Baltimore on business. You're in no hurry and have found an interesting flight which will make four stops en route and operates daily. Identify the airline, all four stops in order and the equipment. ANSWERED

13. It's 1980. You are on your way in first class to Tokyo from Johannesburg on board a flight which makes three stops en route and operates twice a week. Name the air carrier, all three stops in order and the equipment. ANSWERED

The next two quiz items both have a time line of 1981.....

14. You are back in Hawaii, this time in the village of Hanalei on the island of Kauai. You're off to Glasgow in Scotland on a long journey that will involve three different airlines and thus two connections. You will depart from Kauai from the closest airport to Hanalei on a short nonstop flight to Honolulu where you will have two and one-half hours to make your connection. Your second flight operates twice a week and makes one stop en route to the airport where you will make your second connection with one hour and five minutes on the ground with this connecting service actually listed in the timetable of the airline you will be departing on from HNL on your second flight. Your third flight to Glasgow will be nonstop and operates six days a week. Identify the airport you will depart from on Kauai, all three air carriers, the stop made by the second flight, the airport where you will make your second connection, the airport you will arrive into in Glasgow and the three different aircraft types. ANSWERED

15. You've successfully concluded your business in Glasgow and are now headed to Miami. You are surprised to find there is actually a weekly nonstop flight which departs from Prestwick Airport to Miami which fits your schedule. Name the airline and the equipment. ANSWERED

16. In 1983, this airline introduced a business class product it called "Super Executive" class. The air carrier in question also claimed it had reduced the number of seats in its business class from an average of 48 to 28 in order to provide "a less crowded cabin" with the service offering larger 26 inch wide seats, 60% increased seat recline, enhanced cuisine and wines, and special ground service. Name the air carrier and the aircraft type which featured "Super Executive" class. ANSWERED

17. It's 1984 and you are back in Belem in Brazil. This time you are headed to Miami and have found an interesting connecting service which is offered on a weekly basis with both flights being operated by the same airline. These flights are also operated with the same equipment with this aircraft being configured with 20 seats in first class. You book seats in first, of course. Your first flight will make one stop en route to the connecting airport where you will be on the ground for one hour and five minutes. Your second flight will also make one stop en route. Identify the air carrier, the stop made by the first flight, the connecting city, the stop made by the second flight and the equipment. ANSWERED

18. In 1985, it was possible to fly nonstop to Dallas Love Field from three different airports in the Houston area. Two of these airports in the Houston area were HOU and IAH, of course. Name the third Houston area airport as well as the airline that operated nonstop flights from it to DAL and be sure to include the equipment used on this service which was the only aircraft type operated by the air carrier in question. ANSWERED

19. It's still 1985 and you are in Albany in New York state. Old friends have invited you to visit with them at their new home in the village of Mt. Baldy located in the San Gabriel Mountains in southern California. You are in no hurry and have found a very interesting direct flight which makes no less than six stops en route to the closest airport to Mt. Baldy village. The flight in question appears to operate to just about every point on the compass except due east during its journey from ALB to southern California. Identify the airline, all six stops in order, the airport you will arrive into in southern California and the equipment. ANSWERED

20. In 1987, this airline introduced a front cabin service on its wide body aircraft it called "Big Seat service". The air carrier in question described this service as being "a business-style standard of travel at much less than a business-style price" with the seats offering "the comfort of extra width, extra legroom and extra-deep cushioning of a business-style seat." Name the air carrier that offered this "Big Seat service". ANSWERED

These should get us started and I still have ten more new quiz questions waiting in the wings....

Seat 2A

Seat 2A

And we're off with a great new set of questions from jlemon!

1. In 1962, North Central Airlines was serving two airports in Canada. Name them both.

It seems a bit early for Toronto, so I'm thinking Sault St. Marie and Thunder Bay, served with the Convair 440 (or maybe they'd been converted to 580s by then...)

6. In 1971, Western Airlines was working "vigorously" to obtain CAB approval for a merger with another air carrier. Ultimately, this effort proved to be unsuccessful. What airline was Western attempting to merge with?

I believe a variant on this question came up earlier in our history. It was too early for Air Florida and if I remember correctly, the airline of record was American. Back then, it seems the CAB was reluctant to approve most any mergers between major airlines on anti-competitive grounds, often backed by a howls of protest from all of the other airlines.

jlemon

You're off to a great start here.....

1. Thunder Bay was actually two cities at this time, being Fort William and Port Arthur, and both were served by one airport. And you are correct!

However, NC wasn't serving Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario province (although they were serving Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan at this time) so please guess again, sir!

6. American is correct!

strickerj

This one might be a long shot, but in 1958, my dad immigrated to Canada aboard a North Star (adaptation of the DC-4 built by Canadair) operated by Maritime Central Airways. That airline and equipment seem plausible for this route at that time.

jlemon

2. An excellent guess, sir! However, it wasn't Maritime Central nor was the equipment a Canadair North Star or a Douglas DC-4. Please guess again!

strickerj

Well, I seem to recall Air Labrador was based at Goose Bay and may have served Montreal at the time. No idea what they operated though. If it isn't that, I got nothing.

dfw88

As a Houston native (despite my moniker on this site) this one piqued my interest. I know Houston Metro Airlines, later Metro Airlines, flew around the area, but I don't think they made it to Dallas until they became an American Eagle partner, where they served, obviously, DFW, not DAL. I do know that around that time they sold off (or otherwise parted with) a large portion of their Houston operation to Royale Airlines, including the STOL airport they had built for themselves in Clear Lake, a suburb just southeast of town (where NASA is located). So I'm going to guess that this was Royale from Clear Lake (no clue on the code!) with a DHC-6 Twin Otter.

jlemon

2. Well, I think that's a pretty darned good guess anyway. However, it wasn't Air Labrador or its predecessors....

jlemon

18. That's an excellent guess....and some here may recall that I flew with Houston Metro a number of times between the Clear Lake City STOLport (its code, by the way, was CLC) and Houston Intercontinental back when my Dad was an aerospace engineer with Boeing's space division and our family was living in Clear Lake City near the NASA space center. In fact, the father of a young lady whom I attended high school with was one of the founders of Houston Metro. And BTW, I seem to recall the original proposed name for Houston Metro was NASA Commuter Airlines (or something like that) but when the space agency got wind of this they objected strenuously to the use of the NASA name by the air carrier.

However, the air carrier in question wasn't Royale Airlines, the Houston area airfield we are looking for here wasn't CLC and the equipment wasn't a DHC-6 Twin Otter. You may recall that Royale also operated the Beechcraft 99, the Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante, the Grumman Gulfstream I and even the Douglas DC9-10 We can also safely say that Royale never operated the aircraft in question as well and that the equipment we are looking for thus wasn't any of the types I have mentioned here. Please guess again, sir!

KT550

Air Alsace, via Nancy
Aerospatiale SN.601 Corvette

jrl767

18- I'm pretty sure that the only other airport in the Houston area that saw commercial service was Ellington Field (EFD) ... jlemon has over the life of the Quiz mentioned several Continental affiliate carriers, but the one that sticks in my mind with respect to "only aircraft type operated by the air carrier in question" is Emerald Air, which iirc flew the DC-9-10

5- sounds a lot like a TWA Convair 880 via Indianapolis/IND