Gardyloo

I'm going to guess it was National Airlines, which has been acquired by Pan Am in 1980. Like many airlines, Pan Am had instituted limited employee "ownership" through an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan.)

Spoiler - the acquisition didn't work.

jlemon

6. An excellent guess as the air carrier in question was indeed Air West and the connection was made at the airport located near Arcata (ACV) which is the airfield capable of handling jet equipment that serves Eureka located around 16 miles north via U.S. 101. BTW, Eureka had air service during the 1970's via Murray Field (EKA) but only by commuter air carriers with Century Airlines being an example operating small prop aircraft such as the GAF Nomad turboprop.

However, the first flight wasn't operated with a DC9-10 and the first stop wasn't SJC although the second stop was made at SFO. And the second flight did not stop at MFR although it was operated with an F-27.

21. Ah, it wasn't Cochise (DP) nor was the flight in question operated by a commuter air carrier with a small propjet (a.k.a. the Metro "300 mph toothpaste tube")....although Cochise was operating a 6:30 am departure from TUS to PHX with a SWM and was also operating flights at this time between the two airports with DHC-6 Twin Otter and Cessna 402 aircraft.

And in fact, the flight we are looking for was operated with a mainline jet aircraft type.

jlemon

27. An excellent guess, sir! However, it wasn't National. Please guess again!

jrl767

6- well, let's pick off the equipment (RW DC-9-30) and work on the routings: LAS-LAX-SFO-ACV for the jet; ACV-EUG-PDX for the Fairchild

21- 1979, early morning mainline jet TUS-PHX ... probably a tag on a flight that continued on a long eastbound leg ... how about Eastern with a 727-100

jlemon

6. DC9-30: Nope! LAX being the first stop made by the first flight: Nope! EUG being the stop made by the second flight: Nope!

21. Yep, the aircraft in question was a B727-100. However, the flight wasn't operated by Eastern.

jrl767

6- neither a DC9 nor a D9S? must have been the last of Pacific's 727-100s; first stop perhaps Sacramento/SMF ... and maybe the F27 made the ~60-mile hop up the coast from ACV to Crescent City/CEC before continuing to PDX
21- TWA and American are too obvious, and I don't think UA yet served TUS; how about Northwest

jlemon

6. Yep, for a relatively short time Air West operated the Boeing 727-100 aircraft formerly flown by Pacific Air Lines before removing them from the RW fleet.

However, the first stop made by the first flight wasn't Sacramento....but you're getting closer. And the second flight operated with an F-27 indeed stopped at Crescent City.

21. Ah, it wasn't Northwest....

YVR Cockroach

Trying 25. again

NW had a hublet in MKE at the time so let's try that, with a 727-200 (should have specified that to begin with as I haven't seen NW 727-100s other than in photos).

jlemon

25. Yep, the aircraft was a B727-200. However, the stop was not made at Milwaukee.....but you're getting closer. Please guess again, sir!

Seat 2A

27. Fill in the blank concerning this print ad run by a U.S.-based airline: THE NEW OWNERS OF ___(airline)___ INVITE YOU TO FIND OUT JUST HOW GOOD AN AIRLINE CAN BE IN 1984.
It wasn't Braniff. It was a major U.S.-based air carrier whose employees had become "stockholders and partners in the airline".

The timing's right - let's go with Continental - as run under dastardly Frank Lorenzo!

9. Fill in the blank concerning this 1970 airline print ad: "In case you didn't know it, we have Super DC-9's with extra leg room at every seat; one of the best on-time records in the business; an improved in-flight service including instant breakfast, hot chocolate, continental breakfast and free stamps, breakfasts, dinners, and snacks on more flights. In case you didn't know it. ____(airline)____" It wasn't Allegheny or North Central or Ozark. The specific aircraft type was the DC9-30.

Alright then, today's guess is ... Texas International. After this a couple more come to mind - both of which were subsequently absorbed into Republic Airlines...

Had Pacific ever picked up those 737s it ordered, the Hughes Airwest version might've looked like this:

WHBM

The six 737s due for Pacific, supposedly to be N831PC to N836PC, had been financed by a leasing company. There was some omission in the back-to-back arrangements, where the financier was committed to Boeing, but Pacific was not to the financier. When they were cancelled, close to construction, the finance company, Gatx, let them still be built and just offered them on the open market for immediate delivery for leasing by the month, which I think was the first ever such arrangement for new aircraft - and they were picked up by nascent little carrier Air California, taking over from a couple of secondhand DC9-10s and Electras. They were an unknown type at the time for a new small carrier, the first AC one was aircraft #13 off the 737 production line. I wonder what they would have done for the future if the 737s had not been available cheaply.

jlemon

9. Well, it wasn't good ol' Texas International (formerly TTa - Tree Top Airways)....but I see from your closing comment that you are definitely on the right track.

27. And speaking of Frank Lorenzo, he was involved with Texas International as well, of course, with TI being merged into Continental following the acquisition of CO by Texas Air Corporation which was controlled by Lorenzo. Here in Lafayette, that meant DC9-10 and DC9-30 aircraft formerly operated by Texas International into LFT subsequently received CO's livery with Continental also introducing B727-100 and B727-200 service here as well.

However, the airline in question wasn't Continental. So please guess again, sir!

jrl767

6- let's try to finish off this one: RW 727, LAS-XXX-SFO-ACV; RW F27 ACV-CEC-PDX; XXX isn't SJC or SMF or LAX ... I don't see this service touching any of the other Los Angeles area airports, so I'll guess something on a more direct line between LAS and the Bay Area, namely Fresno/FAT

21- TUS-PHX, 727-100, not EA, not NW ... both TWA and American make operational sense but not Quiz sense; Delta had long since phased out their ex-Northeast -100s; I think Continental is the only remaining possibility

jlemon

Well, they would have placed an order for BAC One-Eleven aircraft, of course.

Or more likely they might have stayed with the DC9 and perhaps gone on to operate the DC9-30 as well. Pure speculation on my part, to be sure.....

What is known is the direction AirCal was heading in 1985 with regard to their fleet. Here's an excerpt from their 1985 annual report:

Tailoring Our Fleet to Our Markets

"During 1985, AirCal further concentrated on greater cost efficiency and still between service and convenience for our passengers with commitments to two new aircraft types, the Boeing 737-300 and the British Aerospace BAe 146-200."

"The B737-300 burns less fuel per passenger carried than any other commercial jet transport with a dramatic reduction in hourly operating costs over the DC 9-80 aircraft it replaced. Its engines provide the quietest takeoffs of any two-engine jetliner in its class and permitted us to obtain additional departures from John Wayne Airport in Orange County."

"Of the 12 aircraft on order, a total of seven of these quiet, efficient aircraft had been placed in service by April 2, 1986, with an eighth plane scheduled for December service. The remaining four on order will be delivered through 1988, and the Company has options for 11 more."

"The Company is also acquiring six 85-passenger British Aerospace 146-200 aircraft. Consistent with our leadership in noise reduction, the BAe 146 will meet the concerns of residents near noise-sensitive airports and, in particular, will permit AirCal to expand its schedules to and from Orange County's John Wayne Airport. The first two BAe 146-200s were placed into service in March of 1986, with four additional aircraft scheduled for delivery in May, June, July and October. These fleet decisions will give us maximum flexibility in scheduling flights, tailoring the fleet type to demand and stage length requirements."

So it appears that AirCal was preparing to operate just two aircraft types, being the B737-300 and BAe 146-200 with the older 737s to be removed from the fleet as time progressed with the MD-80 aircraft being phased out as well.

However, a significant event then occurred in 1987 which no doubt affected AirCal's fleet planning. Here's what that was about:

OCaamerger

jlemon

6. Yep! And here are the scheds...

RW 243: Las Vegas (LAS) 3:50p - 4:35p Fresno (FAT) 4:50p - 5:23p San Francisco (SFO) 6:05p - 6:52p Eureka-Arcata (ACV)
Freq: Daily LAS-SFO, daily except Sat. SFO-ACV
Service class: K LAS-SFO, Y SFO-ACV
Equip: JET B727-100

Connecting to.....

RW 338: Eureka-Arcata (ACV) 7:45p - 8:00p (est.) Crescent City (CEC) 8:11p - 9:30p Portland (PDX)
Freq: Daily
Service class: A
Equip: F-27
Note: Complete routing for RW 338 was SFO - STS - CIC - RDD - ACV - CEC - PDX

21. Well, there is another possibility as the air carrier in question wasn't Continental. And here's a hint: this flight was operated with a B727-100 with an all Y-class configuration.