Originally Posted by WHBM

You've got one airline and route combination correct. Another airline is correct, but on the wrong route. The other airline is not one of the three.

Let's expedite things here and point out the two submitted airline/route combinations that are correct: (Kudos to jrl767 and WHBM)

SFO-YVR: CX 801 Dep. 1235p Arr. 235p Eq. 747 Freq. Daily
HNL-YVR: QF 025 Dep. 855a Arr. 435p Eq. 747 Freq. Thu Sat
LAX-YVR: XX 000 Dep. 315p Arr. 605p Eq. 747 Freq. Sun.....Wardair?

No, it wasn't Wardair, though that does bring to mind a question for you - I knew Wardair operated scheduled flights within Canada, but did they also operate scheduled flights (as opposed to charters) down to the U.S.?

As to that mysterious LAX-YVR 747, it came into LA from an overseas destination before continuing on to Vancouver.

Originally Posted by jlemon

Referencing post #6745 by Seat 2A, I thought I would add a bit more information concerning Trans-Texas Airways - TTa (TT) and their successor, Texas International Airlines (TI)......

In 1966, back when I was attending high school on the outskirts of Houston, TTa began operating their first and only jet type, the DC-9-10. These aircraft were configured with a fairly large first class cabin in addition to coach. Some time ago, I posed a quiz item here on the good old OTA&AQ concerning the number of first class seats that could be found on board TTa's DC9s. The October 30, 1966 TTa system timetable listed the DC9 under the "Equip" column as "D9 F/Y". First class fares on TTa weren't too high back at this time. For example, one could fly on board a TTa DC9 from New Orleans to Baton Rouge in F for $8.70 one way.

However, this apparent experiment with two class service on the DC9 was short-lived and TTa reconfigured their twin jets to an all coach cabin. By August of 1968, the DC9 was listed in the TTa timetable as "D9/Y". It was at this time that I undertook several weekend air travel adventures courtesy of TTa flying mostly on board DC9s around their system via their $25 weekend fare. Every TTa DC9 I flew on at this time featured an all coach configuration.

Then, in 1969, TTa changed their name to Texas International. "No More Tree Top Airlines", a TI ad proclaimed at the time. I flew on Texas International as well on board their DC9 aircraft during the 70's. Every flight I was on featured an all coach cabin. TI did not use "Y" to describe their all coach cabin; they used "S" to denote "Standard Class". Some TTa flights also featured "S/K" service, notably between Houston and Dallas/Ft. Worth. The DC9 configuration was still all coach but Standard and Economy fares were both offered. In early 1976 between IAH and DFW, the one way S fare was $35.00 and the one way K fare was $32.00. TI was competing neck and neck with Braniff International at this time on the IAH-DFW route while across town in both Dallas and Houston, Southwest was operating intrastate service between DAL and HOU. From IAH to DFW, TI was operating eleven flights a day (all with DC9 aircraft) and BN was operating fifteen flights a day (all with 727 or 72S aircraft). Meantime, WN was operating up to thirteen flights on weekdays from HOU to DAL with intrastate "K" fares as low as $15.00 one way, all with 73S aircraft (of course). One memory I have from this time concerns billboards on various freeways in the Houston area which had the following message: "Braniff International to Dallas/Ft. Worth: Only 727s Going!"

So I'll venture that the gentleman who flew from Corpus Christi to San Antonio back in the early 70's in first class may have actually traveled on board a Braniff International BAC One-Eleven......

Originally Posted by Seat 2A

David Morgan - the editor of both Trains and Airliners International - certainly seemed well versed with regard to commercial flight, and in the entertaining reports that he wrote in Airliners International he seemed reasonably familiar with both the airlines and the aircraft he flew upon. The man almost always flew First Class when it was available, so the chance of his mistaking an all-coach TI DC-9 for a First Class seat on a Braniff BAC-111 would seem minimal.

And yet - all the evidence available to me, especially including your thorough knowledge of and personal experience with TI, points to First Class having long since been discontinued by the time he flew in October of 1972.

Now what's odd is the mention of "purple stripes and all", for hadn't Texas International switched to the new red, white and blue livery by then? So I grabbed a copy of my TAHS Airliner Production list and checked out N1306T, the aircraft he indicated he had flown. My thought was that possibly it had been leased out to another operator and recently returned in its old F/Y configuration. Nope. It was with TTa/TI from the time of its delivery in 1967 until it was sold to Coleman Air Transport in 1979.

Hmm... Could ol' DPM have been pulling a fast one on us? Or could that "F" have been a (gasp!) TYPO! that should have been an S? Additionally, why didn't some astute readers down in TI country catch it in the Letters to the Editor/Corrections sections of the next two issues?

Originally Posted by Icecat

As to that mysterious LAX-YVR 747, it came into LA from an overseas destination before continuing on to Vancouver.
Would that be Air New Zealand?

Originally Posted by Seat 2A

... autumn 1977
3. What was the longest scheduled flight within the continental U.S. being flown with the 727-100? We’re looking for route and airline.

Originally Posted by Seat 2A

6. Based upon total length – not passenger capacity – what was the longest airliner flying scheduled flights out of Tucson, Arizona in late 1977?

Originally Posted by jrl767

3. What was the longest flight within the continental U.S. being flown with the 727-100? We’re looking for route and airline.

We've already established SFO as the western point; I think Chicago O'Hare is too obvious a candidate for the eastern ... I seem to recall AA serving the SFO-Memphis market in the late 70s, and the 727 would likely have made more sense than the 707.

Some good logic applied there, J, but alas, it was neither AA nor Memphis involved on this route. Please guess again! (Hint: It was a longer flight than MEM-SFO)

6. Based upon total length – not passenger capacity – what was the longest airliner flying scheduled flights out of Tucson, Arizona in late 1977?

the real questions here are:
(1) did anybody fly a wide-body into TUS?
(2) did DL or UA fly a stretch DC-8 into TUS?

My memory says both answers are "no" ... and on that basis, my memory also says that the 727-200 is 3" longer than the 707-320

Your memory serves you correctly, you old coot! I wanted to emphasize "scheduled" on the off chance that some cargo or supplemental airline might've been operating a stretch 8 into TUS. Certainly American ran plenty of -10s through there in the seventies though not in the schedule I referenced, probably because that schedule was from the fall and a bit early for the extra capacity provided by the -10s.

As to United and Delta, neither airline was serving TUS in 1977 and I don't believe either ever operated a stretch 8 into TUS once they started serving there.

That said, I have fond memories of flying on a Delta DC-8-61 between Dallas and Phoenix on a gorgeous spring evening in May of 1979. I was in First Class and got a beautiful photo of those low slung JT3Ds as we passed over the Grand Canyon. Later that evening I got a great silhouette shot of the 707-320's muscular looking JT3Ds as we banked away from the setting sun whilst flying American down to Tucson. Sadly, my camera was a Kodak 110 instamatic and both the pictures and the negatives are long gone.

Originally Posted by Seat 2A

... neither AA nor Memphis involved on this route. Please guess again! (Hint: It was a longer flight than MEM-SFO)

Originally Posted by jrl767

3. In Autumn of 1977, what was the longest scheduled flight within the continental U.S. being flown with the 727-100? We’re looking for route and airline.
HINT: The flight was longer than MEM-SFO and wasn't operated by AA.

We've already eliminated NA to MIA; I can imagine possible 727-100 nonstop service from SFO to the following major airports farther than MEM:

• ORD (AA, TW, UA)
• MDW (UA)
• DTW (UA)
• CLE (UA)
• PIT (UA)

There may be one or two more, but of these I'd guess CLE was most likely

The airport involved was a bit farther to the south than any of the above airports. Also, the flight only operated twice weekly. Hmm...

Originally Posted by Seat 2A

Here's all that're left, folks -

3. In Autumn of 1977, what was the longest scheduled flight within the continental U.S. being flown with the 727-100? We’re looking for route and airline.
HINT: The flight was longer than MEM-SFO and wasn't operated by AA.

Originally Posted by JoeDTW

3. In Autumn of 1977, what was the longest scheduled flight within the continental U.S. being flown with the 727-100? We’re looking for route and airline.
HINT: The flight was longer than MEM-SFO and wasn't operated by AA.

How about the CAB's all time dumbest route award: SFO-ATL on NA.

Ironically, if the NA / NW merger had ben consummated in 1971, the merged airline would have had a nice little focus city in ATL, with NW's routes from Florida to Atlanta feeding into NA's dead end ATL-SFO route.

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner! Yes, the 2130 mile ATL-SFO route a strange one for NA, a route that might have benefitted from some sort of code-share arrangement at the very least. Were it these days, NA might've worked out a feeder arrangement with say - Southern Airways.

Here's the flight info:

NA 201 ATL-SFO Dep. 1130p Arr. 112a Eq. 727-100 Freq. Fri Sat
NA 202 SFO-ATL Dep. 915p Arr. 430a Eq. 727-100 Freq. Fri Sat

At this same time, Eastern operated a 727 on the 1950 mile ATL-LAX route while NA also operated a 727 on the 1930 mile MSY-SFO route.

Originally Posted by JoeDTW

How about the CAB's all time dumbest route award: SFO-ATL on NA.

Ironically, if the NA / NW merger had ben consummated in 1971, the merged airline would have had a nice little focus city in ATL, with NW's routes from Florida to Atlanta feeding into NA's dead end ATL-SFO route.

Originally Posted by jlemon

Here's a bonus quiz item: In the late summer of 1994, only one airline was operating nonstop service between Omaha and New York City with one round trip flight operated on weekdays. Identify the air carrier, the equipment and the airport served in the New York City area.

Plus, for bonus points, name the five other airlines that were operating direct one stop, no change of plane service from three different New York City area airports (one of which was not JFK) to Omaha. Hmmm, what was name of that fourth airport in the NYC area?