WHBM

I believe it was National and Northwest proposing to merge. Bit of a strange combination as each seemed to have little to offer the other, operating round opposite edges of the USA; they must have interlined very little traffic with one another.

Bluehen1

12. So now we'll go for another obvious one... BWIA operating SKB-UVF-POS-BGI on a 727-100

jlemon

3. Ah, it wasn't Qantas nor was the aircraft in question a B747-200.

jrl767

ok, first ITH story ... Saturday 18 Dec 1971, around 10am: MO had a FH-227B ITH-ELM-DCA for around $49, but why go direct at 0700 when there's the famous "Weekends Unlimited" fare for $39? I'm on the 1045 Fairchild to JFK, to be followed by a Carey Limo bus to LGA, another Fairchild LGA-ALB, and a BAC One-Eleven ALB-SYR-ELM-DCA

let's just say the terminal building at ITH was very small ... as you walked in the front door you were looking at the two check-in counter positions for MO; on the right were the the Avis and Hertz rental car desks near the door (and iirc the Tompkins County tourism display in the back corner); on the left was the baggage claim belt; between that and the MO counter was the access to the back offices and the two gate areas, along with the restrooms and a coffee kiosk at the far end

as I'm waiting in line to check my bag I overhear the two girls in front of me talking about the fact that they've never before been in an airport this small

maybe a minute after one agent calls them up to the counter, the other agent beckons to me ... he tells me that he can only check my bag to JFK, so I'll have to collect it there and take it with me to LGA; about the same time I hear the first agent telling the girls that the LGA flight will be boarding about 1400 ... I smile, nod, and say "thanks" as he hands me my ticket envelope with the claim check and boarding card ... and as I'm turning away from the counter, I almost get knocked over by one of the girls rushing back wide-eyed, anxiously asking "What gate?!"

nope and nope

harumph ... son is 29; no progeny in his future that we are aware of to date
(that said, I freely admit to meeting the chronological stereotype, as well as the "curmudgeonly" one on occasion)

jlemon

4. Correct! In his message to the stockholders contained in the National Airlines annual report in 1973, Chairman of the Board and President L.B. Maytag stated, "The proposed merger between National and Northwest was terminated on December 1, 1972. The CAB had failed to issue a decision by the target date established in the original agreement. We have no further merger plans."

Mr. Maytag also stated in his letter to the stockholders that, "Competition in our crucial East Coast-Florida market has intensified since the Delta-Northeast merger." So perhaps the acquisition of NE by DL led to the merger discussions by NA and NW.

jlemon

12. A very logical guess. However, it wasn't BWIA, stops were not made at UVF or POS, and the aircraft wasn't a B727-100.

WHBM

I've had a few of these. Lappeenranta was a classic. C'mon, don't say you don't have to look it up. LPP. Finnair A321 London to Helsinki, change there to a local service Golden Air SF340, on to Lapp, in south-east Finland, near the Russian border. About 12 on board. The flight had its own charms, but on arrival there was only ONE check-in desk, and ONE car rental, Avis, who I had booked. Baggage claim alongside, a motored belt about 15 feet long, I'm the only one who had checked baggage. Shutter from the ramp opens, belt starts, wait ... belt stops, shutter closes. So I take two steps to the check-in agent. With immaculate spoken English, but Finnish straight face, she says "Ooooo yes, we had noticed on the computer, it missed the connection in Helsinki". Hmmm, could you not have told me while I was standing right by you ? "No problem, there are two more planes from Helsinki today". Anyway, Avis have my car, an unexpected Mercedes, just parked on the gravel outside. What a nuisance.

About 2 hours later my phone rings. "Hellooooo, Makkinen here, airport manager. We have your bag. Where are you staying ?". I tell him, but also I'm not there for a while. "Nooooo problem, I'll drive over there on my way home when the airport closes". So on eventually to the hotel, cabins in the woods. No bag yet. Give it a while, then go out to check the office again. It's November, and it's snowing. All the outside lights are now off, pitch dark. So I get in the car and back out, turn it towards the office. That's all closed and dark as well. But in the headlights, just left on the steps, gathering snow, there is my bag ...

YVR Cockroach

3. Don't think any a/c could do LAX-SYD/MEL or v-v n/s in 1972 so it would be an airline with a home port inbetween, (or a 5th freedom) operating a through flight.

I'll go with Air New Zealand (was it NZ or TE then?) with a DC-8 stopping in HNL and AKL.

kochleffel

Hey, it's warmer than that here in the frozen north (ELM)!

Icecat

#3 - This might be crazy, but I'm going with BOAC on their VC-10.

TPJ

15. How about AT - CMN-JFK-YYZ?

jlemon

3. Ah, it wasn't Air New Zealand nor was the aircraft a DC-8.

jlemon

It was 16 degrees F here a bit earlier this morning but the good news is we never lost power during the ice storm portion of our winter weather event here yesterday.

Meantime, over in the Dallas/Fort Worth area this morning, temperatures are around zero degrees F or colder and hundreds of thousands of homes do not have power. Yikes! Talk about brutal.....

And oh by the way, today is Fat Tuesday so Happy Mardi Gras everyone. No parades virtually anywhere in Louisiana today due to the pandemic but we'll hopefully make up for that next year.

jlemon

3. Well, your handle is very appropriate this morning as I gaze out of my window from my office at home at the icicles on the edge of our roof as well as our trusty old Lexus SUV parked outside that is covered with sleet and snow and is also encased in ice with decorative icicles to boot.

And no, you are not crazy.....in fact, you are correct! Here's the BOAC print ad which mentions the iconic Vickers VC10......

BAkissingcousins72

jlemon

15. An excellent guess as Royal Air Maroc was indeed operating 747 service at this time from New York JFK to Montreal Dorval (yes, YUL and not YMX).

However, AT was not flying JFK - YYZ so please guess again, sir!