Old Timer's Airline Quiz and Discussion.
Jul 31, 2017, 11:35 pm
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17. 727-100s are becoming increasingly rare around North American skies in 1991, but you can still book a seat aboard one on this twice weekly flight between Cleveland and Nassau. Which airline is it?
Aug 1, 2017, 1:12 am
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I loved collecting and reading airline schedules from the late 1970's into the 1980's. That was when I figured out the frequency codes of 1 for Monday, 2 for Tuesday, ... 6 for Saturday and 7 for Sunday (x67 means not operating on Saturday or Sunday). Therefore Monday is the first day of the week and Sunday is the last day of the week, which makes most calendars appear wrong. 
Aug 1, 2017, 1:46 am
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I loved collecting and reading airline schedules from the late 1970's into the 1980's. That was when I figured out the frequency codes of 1 for Monday, 2 for Tuesday, ... 6 for Saturday and 7 for Sunday (x67 means not operating on Saturday or Sunday). Therefore Monday is the first day of the week and Sunday is the last day of the week, which makes most calendars appear wrong.
Aug 1, 2017, 7:55 am
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12. Due to flooding, the eastbound Empire Builder is unable to continue beyond Minot. You need to be in Minneapolis by tomorrow morning. No problem – you’ll just call Northwest Airlines and book a flight. Whaaat? Northwest doesn’t fly between Minot and Minneapolis - at least not for another few years. Thankfully, there is an airline that does offer through plane service between Minot and Minneapolis via a single, daily four stop direct flight. Identify the airline, the routing and the aircraft you’ll be flying upon.
NOTE: Braniff has been correctly identified as the carrier of note. The first stop is BIS.
15. What was the longest route flown by Capital Airlines in early 1959?
15. Wild guess time: LGA-MSY operated with a Viscount.
Aug 1, 2017, 9:13 am
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... US variations on the official ICAO day abbreviations, which can be found in non-US timetables. The day numbers of the week are in small circles; Daily is shown by a double cross symbol, daily except Sunday by two small crossed hammers, and daily except Saturday by a cross with four dots in between the lines. These were all standard printers marks from the Linotype print catalogue of the times.
Aug 1, 2017, 10:39 am
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1965
21. (From New Orleans)......You were expecting to have to make a connection in Mexico City or Miami but to your surprise there's a nonstop flight to Merida that operates four days a week. Identify the airline and the equipment you'll be flying on.
22. You're ready to return to the states but a tropical storm has damaged Merida's airport, forcing you to make alternative arrangements. Identify the closet airport to Merida with jet service.
21. Those were the days when Boeing 707 aircraft operated by Pan American World Airways graced the ramp at Moisant Field (MSY). So we'll go with PA with a 707 here and I believe this flight continued on south from Merida to several exotic locations in Central America.
22. Hmmmmm.....the closest airport to Merida back then was probably Campeche (CPE). However, I do not think Campeche had jet service at this time as Mexicana (MX) was probably operating DC-6 service into CPE. So let's head east to the island of Cozumel (CZM) where Mexicana may have been operating Comet jet service a the time.....or was it a 727 by then?
22. You're ready to return to the states but a tropical storm has damaged Merida's airport, forcing you to make alternative arrangements. Identify the closet airport to Merida with jet service.
21. Those were the days when Boeing 707 aircraft operated by Pan American World Airways graced the ramp at Moisant Field (MSY). So we'll go with PA with a 707 here and I believe this flight continued on south from Merida to several exotic locations in Central America.
22. Hmmmmm.....the closest airport to Merida back then was probably Campeche (CPE). However, I do not think Campeche had jet service at this time as Mexicana (MX) was probably operating DC-6 service into CPE. So let's head east to the island of Cozumel (CZM) where Mexicana may have been operating Comet jet service a the time.....or was it a 727 by then?
Last edited by jlemon; Aug 1, 2017 at 10:50 am
Aug 1, 2017, 11:10 am
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OK, here are some guesses:
101: These are Boeing customer codes for airlines in Canada that bought new aircraft from them: Eastern Provincial (11), Pacific Western (75), Air Canada (42) and CP Air (17).
102. Enroute to Seat 2A's adopted state, on an Alaska Airlines Convair 880.
23. This would be AeroMexico's DC-8 flight MEX-DTW-YYZ-YUL.
101: These are Boeing customer codes for airlines in Canada that bought new aircraft from them: Eastern Provincial (11), Pacific Western (75), Air Canada (42) and CP Air (17).
102. Enroute to Seat 2A's adopted state, on an Alaska Airlines Convair 880.
23. This would be AeroMexico's DC-8 flight MEX-DTW-YYZ-YUL.
Aug 1, 2017, 11:23 am
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26. Two airlines offer nonstop flights between London and Gibraltar. One of them offers the occasional First Class equipped flight while the other offers only a single once weekly flight all-economy class configured flight. At 1965 prices, we can’t afford First Class anyway, so we book a seat on the all-economy class flight. Identify the airline and aircraft operating this once weekly flight.
The BUA flight was an obscure hangover from, of all things, a weekly service their predecessors used to run with Viscounts down to West Africa, stopping at various points along the way, including Gibraltar. They had traffic rights to there, and did not want to give them up. It was run essentially as a holiday flight for tour companies.
40. Bombay is a great town to catch a ride to on a Comet. Identify four airlines that operate Comets into Bombay.
Aug 1, 2017, 1:51 pm
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16. If you wanted to fly on a jet out of Ponce, Puerto Rico, it used to be you had to call Eastern Airlines. These days another airline is the sole operator of jet flights out of Ponce with nonstop flights to two mainland cities. Identify the airline operating these flights and the two destinations served.
JFK and the 72S has been identified. We're still looking for the other airport and aircraft.
Another city that saw more-than-occasional Carnival traffic was West Palm Beach (PBI) ... as far as aircraft, KW had a handful of A300s, but I don't think they were operating any wide-body jets in 1991; let's see if we're looking for a 737-200
The other airport was not PBI, now was the aircraft a 737-200.
Please, guess again!
24. While in Montreal, you’ve got time for a bit of plane spotting. Air Canada and Canadian Pacific DC-8s proliferate. Enough of the DC-8s already! Identify each of the five foreign airlines that operate Boeing 707s into Montreal.
Herewith a high-confidence guess at four: Air France, BOAC, Lufthansa, and Sabena ... as for the fifth, I'll posit Aer Lingus
Your confidence is well merited, J. All of your choices for the above question are correct!
38. Hong Kong is a popular spot amongst airlines that operate Convair jetliners. A check of the schedules reveals five airlines that operate either the 880 or 990 into HKG. Can you identify each of the five airlines?
Herewith a high-confidence guess at four: Cathay Pacific and Japan Air Lines with 880s, Swissair and SAS with 990s ... as for the fifth, I'll posit CAT (Civil Air Transport) with the 880
All good except SAS. Care to have another go at the additional Convair operator and type?
JFK and the 72S has been identified. We're still looking for the other airport and aircraft.
Another city that saw more-than-occasional Carnival traffic was West Palm Beach (PBI) ... as far as aircraft, KW had a handful of A300s, but I don't think they were operating any wide-body jets in 1991; let's see if we're looking for a 737-200
The other airport was not PBI, now was the aircraft a 737-200.
Please, guess again!
24. While in Montreal, you’ve got time for a bit of plane spotting. Air Canada and Canadian Pacific DC-8s proliferate. Enough of the DC-8s already! Identify each of the five foreign airlines that operate Boeing 707s into Montreal.
Herewith a high-confidence guess at four: Air France, BOAC, Lufthansa, and Sabena ... as for the fifth, I'll posit Aer Lingus
Your confidence is well merited, J. All of your choices for the above question are correct!
38. Hong Kong is a popular spot amongst airlines that operate Convair jetliners. A check of the schedules reveals five airlines that operate either the 880 or 990 into HKG. Can you identify each of the five airlines?
Herewith a high-confidence guess at four: Cathay Pacific and Japan Air Lines with 880s, Swissair and SAS with 990s ... as for the fifth, I'll posit CAT (Civil Air Transport) with the 880
All good except SAS. Care to have another go at the additional Convair operator and type?
Aug 1, 2017, 1:54 pm
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17. 727-100s are becoming increasingly rare around North American skies in 1991, but you can still book a seat aboard one on this twice weekly flight between Cleveland and Nassau. Which airline is it?
That wouldn't be the time that UPS were running passenger flights at weekends, would it?
I never knew that UPS were doing so in 1991 or any other time. I'd love to hear more. Were those scheduled flights or on behalf of a third party?
As to the airline in question above - we're looking for a different airline... Please do have another go!
That wouldn't be the time that UPS were running passenger flights at weekends, would it?
I never knew that UPS were doing so in 1991 or any other time. I'd love to hear more. Were those scheduled flights or on behalf of a third party?
As to the airline in question above - we're looking for a different airline... Please do have another go!
Aug 1, 2017, 1:59 pm
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12. Due to flooding, the eastbound Empire Builder is unable to continue beyond Minot. You need to be in Minneapolis by tomorrow morning. No problem – you’ll just call Northwest Airlines and book a flight. Whaaat? Northwest doesn’t fly between Minot and Minneapolis - at least not for another few years. Thankfully, there is an airline that does offer through plane service between Minot and Minneapolis via a single, daily four stop direct flight. Identify the airline, the routing and the aircraft you’ll be flying upon.
NOTE: Braniff has been correctly identified as the carrier of note. The first stop is BIS.
I'll guess Braniff was operating DC-3 service on a routing of Minot - Bismarck - Aberdeen, SD - Huron, SD - Watertown, SD - Minneapolis/St. Paul. I also think North Central had replaced BN concerning service to these three destinations in South Dakota by 1960.
Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!!
15. What was the longest route flown by Capital Airlines in early 1959?
Wild guess time: LGA-MSY operated with a Viscount.
Your guess is feral in the extreme, jlemon. Please, guess again!
NOTE: Braniff has been correctly identified as the carrier of note. The first stop is BIS.
I'll guess Braniff was operating DC-3 service on a routing of Minot - Bismarck - Aberdeen, SD - Huron, SD - Watertown, SD - Minneapolis/St. Paul. I also think North Central had replaced BN concerning service to these three destinations in South Dakota by 1960.
Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!!
15. What was the longest route flown by Capital Airlines in early 1959?
Wild guess time: LGA-MSY operated with a Viscount.
Your guess is feral in the extreme, jlemon. Please, guess again!
Aug 1, 2017, 2:07 pm
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More questions responded to later this afternoon, gang. Gotta go!
Aug 1, 2017, 2:14 pm
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16- well, I have to presume that, by process of elimination, we have realized that we are looking for a KW A300 ... jlemon's guess of EWR as the other destination has been rejected, so how about Orlando (MCO)?
38- let's try Thai International Airways with a 990
38- let's try Thai International Airways with a 990
Aug 1, 2017, 2:30 pm
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