Old Timer's Airline Quiz and Discussion.
Feb 12, 2014, 2:32 pm
#4231
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Good tries, folks. For the IL-62, I reckon they will have had a few. None scheduled any longer, but the last one I saw airborne was overhead St Petersburg only about 4 years ago, and there seem to still be a few in Air Force and Government fleets.
For the Tu154, again nothing scheduled, but they are the first choice everywhere across Russia as reserve aircraft, then again I'm sure a number will have been through, particularly on flights from provincial points. Aircraft types shown in Russian schedules are often divergent from actuality.
However, what is officially shown in the schedules are Ilyushin 96s from Aeroflot, and Tupolev Tu214s from Transaero, the two major operators of the big Moscow-Sochi shuttle currently in hand. There aren't many direct flights mounted to Sochi, most passengers are being sent through Moscow and connected on from there, Aeroflot from Sheremetyevo airport and Transaero from Domodedovo. For both these types, I think it's going to be a last appearance. They are also, of course, first stand-ins for the Boeings and Airbus that are the main scheduled types.
Incidentally, there's no airport in Sochi, there's no room between the mountains and the Black Sea. The airport is some way along the coast at the city of Adler - hence the Sochi airport code of AER.
For the Tu154, again nothing scheduled, but they are the first choice everywhere across Russia as reserve aircraft, then again I'm sure a number will have been through, particularly on flights from provincial points. Aircraft types shown in Russian schedules are often divergent from actuality.
However, what is officially shown in the schedules are Ilyushin 96s from Aeroflot, and Tupolev Tu214s from Transaero, the two major operators of the big Moscow-Sochi shuttle currently in hand. There aren't many direct flights mounted to Sochi, most passengers are being sent through Moscow and connected on from there, Aeroflot from Sheremetyevo airport and Transaero from Domodedovo. For both these types, I think it's going to be a last appearance. They are also, of course, first stand-ins for the Boeings and Airbus that are the main scheduled types.
Incidentally, there's no airport in Sochi, there's no room between the mountains and the Black Sea. The airport is some way along the coast at the city of Adler - hence the Sochi airport code of AER.
Feb 12, 2014, 6:11 pm
#4232
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Did the original Frontier (FL) run their 737-200s into PSC?
And it seems we have inexplicably overlooked WA as serving PSC ... and I would actually guess that they ran a 72S up from SLC
I discovered where America West actually operated a 733 between LAX and Sun Valley in late 1989 (Saturday-only service), but can't find that they served any of the smaller communities we are discussing
And it seems we have inexplicably overlooked WA as serving PSC ... and I would actually guess that they ran a 72S up from SLC
I discovered where America West actually operated a 733 between LAX and Sun Valley in late 1989 (Saturday-only service), but can't find that they served any of the smaller communities we are discussing
The original Frontier (FL) also served Pasco for a couple of years around 1983-1984 with Boeing 737-200 service. Their flights made an intermediate stop as well in Boise with PSC-BOI-DEN routings.
As for America West (HP), we had a quiz item awhile back concerning their weekend B737-300 service between LAX and SUN during the winter ski season.....which appears to be the only time Sun Valley was ever served with Boeing jet equipment. I've flown into SUN (on board a DL Connection EMB-120 Brasilia operated by SkyWest from SLC) and that little airport in Hailey is really shoehorned in there - 733 ops must have been interesting! And, BTW, I still cannot find any HP service into PSC, either.......
There was also one other jet operator serving Sun Valley back in the day and that was Horizon Air (QX) with Fokker F28 Fellowship service on a routing of SFO-SUN. Horizon Air was still an independent carrier back then and thus not owned by the corporate parent of Alaska Airlines at that time.
Last edited by jlemon; Feb 12, 2014 at 6:34 pm Reason: Additional info....
Feb 13, 2014, 5:47 pm
#4233
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An excellent start! I'll begin here with a list of the smaller cities in alphabetical order that had jet service and include some comments:
Idaho Falls (IDA) - Western Airlines (WA) with B737-200 service is correct. WA also served IDA with the B727-200. Plus Delta with B737-300 service and Hughes Airwest with DC9-10 and DC9-30 equipment followed by Republic. There are least two other airlines that also served Idaho Falls with jets not counting Canadair CRJ service (for example, Northwest Airlink operated nonstop IDA-MSP service with the CRJ at one point). And here's a hint: one of these air carriers was (and currently is) a major airline that operated mainline equipment into IDA.....and that airline was American with MD-80 service. So we have at least one airline left to identify for IDA. Partially answered
Lewiston (LWS) - Cascade (CZ) with BAC One-Eleven service is correct. And there was at least one other airline that operated jet service into Lewiston: Hughes Airwest with DC9-10 and DC9-30 service followed by Republic. ANSWERED
Pasco (PSC) - Cascade (CZ) with the BAC One-Eleven, Delta with the B727-200 and B737-300 (which was preceded by Western (WA) which in turn operated the B727-200 and B737-200 into PSC), Hughes Airwest (and predecessor Air West) (RW) with the DC9-10 and DC9-30 (followed by Republic) and West Coast Airlines (WC?) with the DC9-10 are all correct. Plus Horizon Air (QX) with the DC9-10 followed by Fokker F28 Fellowship service. Let's mention the original Frontier (FL) as well with Boeing 737-200 equipment. And that leaves at least two other airlines, one of which operated Boeing equipment. Partially answered
Pendleton (PDT) - United with B727-100, B727-200 and B737-200 service. ANSWERED
Pocatello (PIH) - Western with the B737-200 is correct. Prior to operating the 73S into PIH, WA served Pocatello with Douglas DC6 and Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft. Plus Hughes Airwest (RW) with DC9-10 and DC9-30 service followed by Republic. And that leaves at least one other air carrier that operated jets into PIH as well. Partially answered
Twin Falls (TWF) - Hughes Airwest (and predecessor Air West) (RW) are correct with the DC9-10 and DC9-30 followed by Republic. I also seem to recall that Western may have operated seasonal B737-200 service into TWF during the winter months at one point as the airport served as a jet gateway to Sun Valley and its ski resorts (RW advertised Twin Falls at Sun Valley's jet gateway). ANSWERED
Walla Walla (ALW) - Cascade (CZ) with the BAC One-Eleven is correct. And as we have previously discussed, CZ had a maintenance base located at ALW for the BAC One-Eleven as well as its turboprop aircraft. This leaves at least one other airline that flew jets into Walla Walla. Partially answered
I'll provide the answers tomorrow evening if there are no takers.
Feb 13, 2014, 6:09 pm
#4234
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And here's what will hopefully be a fun little "current events" quiz item:
Identify four (4) western European air carriers that are operating temporary scheduled passenger service into the Sochi International Airport (AER) during the XXII Olympic Winter Games. All four airlines are planning to discontinue service to Sochi after the winter games have concluded.
Identify four (4) western European air carriers that are operating temporary scheduled passenger service into the Sochi International Airport (AER) during the XXII Olympic Winter Games. All four airlines are planning to discontinue service to Sochi after the winter games have concluded.
Plus, a bonus quiz item......
In the fall of 1993, Adler/Sochi (AER) was primarily served by Aeroflot (SU) which was operating three different types of Russian jet equipment from the airport. Identify all three types. And three other airlines were operating flights from AER as well, one of which was operating a mainline jet aircraft manufactured in the U.S. (the other two air carriers were operating Russian equipment, one of which was a turboprop). Name all three air carriers and the respective aircraft types they operated from Adler/Sochi just over 20 years ago.
Feb 14, 2014, 3:55 am
#4235
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Identify four (4) western European air carriers that are operating temporary scheduled passenger service into the Sochi International Airport (AER) during the XXII Olympic Winter Games. All four airlines are planning to discontinue service to Sochi after the winter games have concluded.
All pales into insignificance beside the shuttle that has been mounted from Moscow - since the weekend before the games started there have been 30 or more flights each day down to Adler, by just about every Russian carrier you've ever heard of ..... and quite a few that you possibly have not. Gazpromavia have even been running Yak-42s on the route.
Feb 14, 2014, 4:34 pm
#4236
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Walla Walla (ALW) - Cascade (CZ) with the BAC One-Eleven is correct. And as we have previously discussed, CZ had a maintenance base located at ALW for the BAC One-Eleven as well as its turboprop aircraft. This leaves at least one other airline that flew jets into Walla Walla. Partially answered
Feb 14, 2014, 4:38 pm
#4237
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Pocatello (PIH) - Western with the B737-200 is correct. Prior to operating the 73S into PIH, WA served Pocatello with Douglas DC6 and Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft. Plus Hughes Airwest (RW) with DC9-10 and DC9-30 service followed by Republic. And that leaves at least one other air carrier that operated jets into PIH as well. Partially answered
Feb 14, 2014, 5:38 pm
#4238
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In the fall of 1993, Adler/Sochi (AER) was primarily served by Aeroflot (SU) which was operating three different types of Russian jet equipment from the airport. Identify all three types. And three other airlines were operating flights from AER as well, one of which was operating a mainline jet aircraft manufactured in the U.S. (the other two air carriers were operating Russian equipment, one of which was a turboprop). Name all three air carriers and the respective aircraft types they operated from Adler/Sochi just over 20 years ago.
Three Aeroflot jet types - I'll say the Tu134, the Tu154, and the Il-86. The big widebody would be handling Moscow flights, and maybe Leningrad as well.
Those other three carriers and their aircraft. There weren't many likely candidates that had Western jets by then, I'm going to guess Lithuanian Airlines from Vilnius with a 737. The turboprop I'll assume is an An24 from one of the countries either side of Sochi, Georgia or Ukraine. Plenty of them in Ukraine, which is where they were built, so I'll plump for Air Ukraine from, oh maybe Simferopol. Last one, lets try Air Zena, the new Georgian carrier. Tu134 by chance ?
I'm wondering if the Aeroflot flights to Berlin Schonefeld were still operating, it was a GDR holiday destination of the 1980s but that all fell away with the political changes.
Feb 15, 2014, 9:57 am
#4239
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Nope.....and you are correct!
In the spring of 1968, West Coast was operating only one DC-9-14 flight a day into Walla Walla (other services were flown by the airline with Fairchild F-27 turboprops) with a "milk run" routing of GEG-ALW-PSC-YKM-PDX-EUG-MFR-SFO. And one had to be an early riser in Walla Walla in order to catch this flight as it arrived at 5:23am and departed at 5:35am. The northbound return leg from SFO to GEG in the evening did not stop at ALW.....
In the spring of 1968, West Coast was operating only one DC-9-14 flight a day into Walla Walla (other services were flown by the airline with Fairchild F-27 turboprops) with a "milk run" routing of GEG-ALW-PSC-YKM-PDX-EUG-MFR-SFO. And one had to be an early riser in Walla Walla in order to catch this flight as it arrived at 5:23am and departed at 5:35am. The northbound return leg from SFO to GEG in the evening did not stop at ALW.....
Feb 15, 2014, 9:59 am
#4240
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Correct! In the mid 1980's, Cascade Airways was operating BAC One-Eleven service into both Pocatello (PIH) and Idaho Falls (IDA). Typical routings were PIH-IDA-BOI-PDX-SEA twice a day.....
Feb 15, 2014, 10:16 am
#4241
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Well, I'll pick off a few. Star Alliance seem to have got the bulk of the few direct flights into Sochi, three of them from Western Europe. Lufthansa are in the lead, with a near-daily A321 from Frankfurt in the runup, while SAS and Swiss also operated a few flights.
All pales into insignificance beside the shuttle that has been mounted from Moscow - since the weekend before the games started there have been 30 or more flights each day down to Adler, by just about every Russian carrier you've ever heard of ..... and quite a few that you possibly have not. Gazpromavia have even been running Yak-42s on the route.
All pales into insignificance beside the shuttle that has been mounted from Moscow - since the weekend before the games started there have been 30 or more flights each day down to Adler, by just about every Russian carrier you've ever heard of ..... and quite a few that you possibly have not. Gazpromavia have even been running Yak-42s on the route.
In addition to the above airlines, Transavia is operating from Amsterdam and Edelweiss Air is flying from Zurich during the XXII Winter Olympic Games.
Also a question (but not a quiz item), WHBM: besides the Yak-42s being operated by Gazpromavia, what other equipment types are being flown by the various air carriers between Moscow and Adler/Sochi?
Last edited by jlemon; Feb 15, 2014 at 10:24 am
Feb 15, 2014, 11:04 am
#4242
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Ah. Nothing like a challenge. I don't have any timetables or readily-available fleet details for then, but here goes. It somewhat depends when in "fall". Sochi was a very summer-seasonal destination (still is - so how come the Winter Olympics; don't ask !!), so it all depends if the holiday flights had completely stopped. 1993 is also a year after the Soviet Union broke up, and many of the Republics started their own airlines, generally with whatever Aeroflot left behind. It was all very fluid at the time.
Three Aeroflot jet types - I'll say the Tu134, the Tu154, and the Il-86. The big widebody would be handling Moscow flights, and maybe Leningrad as well.
Those other three carriers and their aircraft. There weren't many likely candidates that had Western jets by then, I'm going to guess Lithuanian Airlines from Vilnius with a 737. The turboprop I'll assume is an An24 from one of the countries either side of Sochi, Georgia or Ukraine. Plenty of them in Ukraine, which is where they were built, so I'll plump for Air Ukraine from, oh maybe Simferopol. Last one, lets try Air Zena, the new Georgian carrier. Tu134 by chance ?
I'm wondering if the Aeroflot flights to Berlin Schonefeld were still operating, it was a GDR holiday destination of the 1980s but that all fell away with the political changes.
Three Aeroflot jet types - I'll say the Tu134, the Tu154, and the Il-86. The big widebody would be handling Moscow flights, and maybe Leningrad as well.
Those other three carriers and their aircraft. There weren't many likely candidates that had Western jets by then, I'm going to guess Lithuanian Airlines from Vilnius with a 737. The turboprop I'll assume is an An24 from one of the countries either side of Sochi, Georgia or Ukraine. Plenty of them in Ukraine, which is where they were built, so I'll plump for Air Ukraine from, oh maybe Simferopol. Last one, lets try Air Zena, the new Georgian carrier. Tu134 by chance ?
I'm wondering if the Aeroflot flights to Berlin Schonefeld were still operating, it was a GDR holiday destination of the 1980s but that all fell away with the political changes.
Here are the other four airlines (yep, I initially missed one) that were serving Adler/Sochi back then along with the respective aircraft they operated into AER:
Air Ukraine (6U) - Antonov An24, Yak-40
Armenian Airlines (R3) - Tupolev Tu134
Belavia Belarusian Airlines (B2) - Tupolev Tu134
Transaero (4J) - Boeing 737-200
BTW, no flights are listed between Berlin Schonefeld and Adler/Sochi in the October 1993 Worldwide OAG.....
And good news on this beautiful Saturday in south Louisiana! I've managed to upgrade my fiancee and her sister to business class on board an AA B777-200 that will operate later today into DFW. My girl is on her way home!
Hmmmm.....now about those dirty dishes that have been piling up in the kitchen sink.....think I better prepare a Cajun Bloody Mary and contemplate this deplorable situation....
Last edited by jlemon; Feb 15, 2014 at 11:10 am
Feb 15, 2014, 11:54 am
#4243
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Pasco (PSC) - Cascade (CZ) with the BAC One-Eleven, Delta with the B727-200 and B737-300 (which was preceded by Western (WA) which in turn operated the B727-200 and B737-200 into PSC), Hughes Airwest (and predecessor Air West) (RW) with the DC9-10 and DC9-30 (followed by Republic) and West Coast Airlines (WC?) with the DC9-10 are all correct. Plus Horizon Air (QX) with the DC9-10 followed by Fokker F28 Fellowship service. Let's mention the original Frontier (FL) as well with Boeing 737-200 equipment. And that leaves at least two other airlines, one of which operated Boeing equipment. Partially answered
The Alaska Air December 1, 1986 system timetable lists three flights a day operated from SEA to PSC: AS 97, AS 152 and AS 156. Equipment is not listed but we can probably surmise the B727 was used.....but I'm not completely sure with regard to the specific aircraft type. Note that no Horizon Air schedules appear in this timetable as this apparently was just before QX was acquired by the corporate parent of AS.
PSA was operating two flights a day to San Francisco. Typical routings were SFO-PSC-YKM-SFO and SFO-YKM-PSC-SFO. The PSA timetable does not list the equipment operated on these flights but I'm willing to bet it was the BAe 146-200......and I still have not discovered any evidence that USAir served Pasco. US may well have for a short period of time following their acquisition of PSA......
Feb 15, 2014, 1:46 pm
#4244
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... The Alaska Air December 1, 1986 system timetable lists three flights a day operated from SEA to PSC: AS 97, AS 152 and AS 156. Equipment is not listed but we can probably surmise the B727 was used.....but I'm not completely sure with regard to the specific aircraft type. ...
PSA was operating two flights a day to San Francisco. Typical routings were SFO-PSC-YKM-SFO and SFO-YKM-PSC-SFO. The PSA timetable does not list the equipment operated on these flights but I'm willing to bet it was the BAe 146-200 ...
PSA was operating two flights a day to San Francisco. Typical routings were SFO-PSC-YKM-SFO and SFO-YKM-PSC-SFO. The PSA timetable does not list the equipment operated on these flights but I'm willing to bet it was the BAe 146-200 ...
James Bond martinis (3 parts Bombay Sapphire, 1 part vodka, 1/2 part Lillet) will be the happy hour feature here (approx 15 mi southwest of IAD) in an hour or so
Last edited by jrl767; Feb 15, 2014 at 1:52 pm
Feb 15, 2014, 2:36 pm
#4245
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Edelweiss Air and Swiss are one and the same; the latter wholly owns the former. The Sochi flights are being operated under a Swiss LX flight number, though they may well be using an Edelweiss-liveried A330 (which are leased from the parent company). Swiss, and predecessor Swissair, have long had a subsidiary like this, way back in the 1960s-70s it was Balair that did the charter flights etc, on which often a Swissair aircraft actually turned up.
I'm afraid the flights to/from Moscow are just A321-738-A321-A321-738 for 95% of the effort. What a shame these Olympics weren't 10 or 20 years ago, when the fleet would have been fascinating. Aeroflot, the biggest operator, helped out with a few of their 777-300s on the busiest days, and of course a couple of IL96 rotations mentioned earlier. Note that Vladimir Putin will also have come down in the IL96-P (the 'P' for - well, have a guess !!). VIM have been using their 757s, and Transaero have been mixing in an odd Tu214 with their Boeings.
Meanwhile Chateau WHBM remains relatively unscathed after our hurricane-force winds (and rain) yesterday, absolutely at right angles to the runways of most London airports. London City was completely knocked on the head for most of the day, while there are some spectacular pictures of crabbed approaches to Heathrow on YouTube. However, once our dustbins were recovered from a corner of the garden we were pretty straight again. After the worst winter rains for 200 years I don't think there will be a lawnmower report for quite a while .......
I'm afraid the flights to/from Moscow are just A321-738-A321-A321-738 for 95% of the effort. What a shame these Olympics weren't 10 or 20 years ago, when the fleet would have been fascinating. Aeroflot, the biggest operator, helped out with a few of their 777-300s on the busiest days, and of course a couple of IL96 rotations mentioned earlier. Note that Vladimir Putin will also have come down in the IL96-P (the 'P' for - well, have a guess !!). VIM have been using their 757s, and Transaero have been mixing in an odd Tu214 with their Boeings.
Meanwhile Chateau WHBM remains relatively unscathed after our hurricane-force winds (and rain) yesterday, absolutely at right angles to the runways of most London airports. London City was completely knocked on the head for most of the day, while there are some spectacular pictures of crabbed approaches to Heathrow on YouTube. However, once our dustbins were recovered from a corner of the garden we were pretty straight again. After the worst winter rains for 200 years I don't think there will be a lawnmower report for quite a while .......
Last edited by WHBM; Feb 15, 2014 at 2:45 pm