YVR Cockroach

The only one I can think of might be Spirit which has larger front cabin seats now. The largest window would make me think it was a MD-11 but Spirit never operated any of those so let's go with an MD-80.

jlemon

THE FOLLOWING QUESTION IS SOURCED FROM A 1973 OAG

49. Only one airline offers a single thrice weekly direct flight between Georgetown, Guyana and Miami. Three stops are made enroute. Identify the airline, the enroute stops and the aircraft used.
HINT: It's not KLM

49. Was this quiz item answered? I was curious about it given my long experience in the Caribbean over the years and may have missed the answer.

Seat 2A

34. Tired of shelling out the big bucks to Delta and American for your biannual trips between Dallas and Las Vegas, you take the advice of your neighbor Gertrude Kornblatt who recently returned from a trip to Vegas and raved about seeing Englebert Humperdink for the first time, not to mention the great low fare she paid to get there and back aboard two airlines that you’ve never heard of. On Gertie’s advice, you book a flight out on one airline and back on the other. One of the airlines operates just two days per week, one of which works well for your departure on Thursday morning. There’s even a snack served enroute. For the return flight, on Sunday, you’ll have a choice of two departures as the third flight doesn’t operate on Sunday. Identify the two airlines involved as well as the aircraft that each operates.
The LAS-DFW airline has been identified as Grand Airways using a DC-9-10. The other airline still operates today but no longer operates the aircraft type utilized here. Additionally, the airline in question now offers First Class on all of its flights whereas back in 1995 it operated its jets in an all-economy configuration. The aircraft involved had the largest passenger windows of any jetliner flying at the time.

Per YVR Cockroach: The only one I can think of might be Spirit which has larger front cabin seats now. The largest window would make me think it was a MD-11 but Spirit never operated any of those so let's go with an MD-80.

Not a bad guess, YVR, but back in the mid-90s I believe Spirit's operation was limited to the east coast. Additionally, having recently flown with them in their "Big Front Seat", I can tell you that in terms of service, the big seats are sold as economy class. The only difference is that the seat is larger and it has more legroom. It does not however recline. Additionally, there is no divider between the 6-across seats and the two rows of 4 across. In terms of service, I still had to pay for any and all inflight amenities as well as my checked bag.

On the other hand, the airline we're looking for here does currently offer a First Class service with more spacious seating, enhanced catering and a separate dedicated First Class cabin. Please, guess again!

YVR Cockroach

34. Only all-economy airline from that era still around is Sun Country which I am surprised 1) offers FC, and 2) operated DC-10s so I will go with Sun Country and DC-10.

Of note, I first came across Sun Country when my partner had to get to MSP for work from SEA. She flew NW for the miles and due to Sun Country competition on this route, NW would not let her fly out earlier standby (lots of empty seats) on her fare. Thankfully she got out on the booked one-of-the-last-flights-of-the-day from MSP, on 10 Sept 2001....

Seat 2A

49. In 1973) Only one airline offers a single thrice weekly direct flight between Georgetown, Guyana and Miami. Three stops are made enroute. Identify the airline, the enroute stops and the aircraft used.
HINT: It's not KLM

Per jlemon: Was this quiz item answered? I was curious about it given my long experience in the Caribbean over the years and may have missed the answer.

This question was originally answered BWIA. Truth be known, I mistakenly typed in "It's not KLM" rather than "It's not BWIA" when entering the HINT line. In reality, KLM is almost true as the correct answer is partner airline ALM operating a DC-9. Here's the schedule:

ALM 942 Paramaribo (ZAN) 900a-925a Georgetown (GEO) 955a-1040a Port of Spain (POS) 1110a-1225p Curacao (CUR) 105p-140p Kingston (KIN) 205p-340p Miami (MIA) DC-9 Freq. Mon Wed Fri

As you can see, the flight originates in Suriname but I figured it'd be a dead giveaway if I posed the question from there.

My OAG has schedules showing ALM 942 all the way through on Monday and LM 942 becoming LM 971 from CUR onwards on Wednesday and Friday

Seat 2A

34. Tired of shelling out the big bucks to Delta and American for your biannual trips between Dallas and Las Vegas, you take the advice of your neighbor Gertrude Kornblatt who recently returned from a trip to Vegas and raved about seeing Englebert Humperdink for the first time, not to mention the great low fare she paid to get there and back aboard two airlines that you’ve never heard of. On Gertie’s advice, you book a flight out on one airline and back on the other. One of the airlines operates just two days per week, one of which works well for your departure on Thursday morning. There’s even a snack served enroute. For the return flight, on Sunday, you’ll have a choice of two departures as the third flight doesn’t operate on Sunday. Identify the two airlines involved as well as the aircraft that each operates.
The LAS-DFW airline has been identified as Grand Airways using a DC-9-10. The other airline still operates today but no longer operates the aircraft type utilized here. Additionally, the airline in question now offers First Class on all of its flights whereas back in 1995 it operated its jets in an all-economy configuration. The aircraft involved had the largest passenger windows of any jetliner flying at the time.

Per YVR Cockroach: Only all-economy airline from that era still around is Sun Country which I am surprised 1) offers FC, and 2) operated DC-10s so I will go with Sun Country and DC-10.

Sun Country with a DC-10 is the correct answer. ^ Here's the schedule -

SY 61 Dallas (DFW) 900a – 940a Las Vegas (LAS) DC10 Snack served Freq. Thu Sun

Seat 2A

33. You’ve just finished a week studying the potential for future volcanic activity at La Soufriere volcano on the island of St. Lucia. Now it’s time to return home and take the kids on that long promised trip to Disney World and in particular a ride through the famous Space Mountain. Your wife will fly in with the kids on a nonstop flight from Albany, NY while you’ll utilize the services of a new airline operating nonstop from St. Lucia to Orlando. The well rounded quizee will correctly identify both of the airlines involved here and the respective equipment that each operates into Orlando.
Air Tran 737-200 has been correctly identified as the ALB-MCO carrier. The other airline operated a 727-200 offering FYBQM fares and a luncheon enroute... It did not fly for very long. It also served Antigua some days. Its livery was a hybrid, influenced heavily by the prior operator of the 727.

The airline we're looking for between St. Lucia and Orlando is Liberty Airlines. I have been unable to find any information about this carrier aside from the fact that it operated a 727-231 (N74318) for a very short time in early 1995. The flight is listed in the OAG under airline code L7 and the OAG is from the latter half of 1995. Here's the schedule:

Liberty Airlines L7 32 St. Lucia (UVF) 830a – 1245p Orlando (MCO) 727-200 Luncheon .Op. Mon Fri


Great job working your way through these questions, everyone. A quick check with our pal jlemon reveals a busy couple of weeks ahead for him but fortunately in the interim I just happen to have a few more questions ready to go. You'll find them starting with the post below.

Seat 2A

After a marathon slog through the past 50 questions, I'll completely understand if no one here feels like attempting even one more. In any event I reckon we'll know within a day or two and, should this batch of questions remain unanswered, I'll retract them and devote the next couple of weeks building book shelves at my place while hopefully finding time to develop a killer chili con carne recipe for my crock pot. However it goes, I'm gonna have a good time with it.


THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE SOURCED FROM A 1984 OAG

51. Only one airline could fly you out of Houston aboard a four engine, single aisle jet. Identify the airline and the destination of this distinctive flight.

52. Denver to Waterloo, Iowa used to be flown nonstop aboard an Ozark DC-9. These days a different airline offers the only direct one stop service between these two cities. Identify the airline, the enroute stop and the equipment.
A N S W E R E D

54. You’ve just finished spending a month one weekend in Bismarck, North Dakota. It’s high time you got back to Sacramento, California and the sooner, the better. As you dial the local travel agent, you can envision a multitude of connecting flights but hey – whatever it takes to get outta Bismarck sooner than later! Imagine then your surprise and delight when the travel agent informs you that there’s a direct flight from BIS straight on through to Sacramento with just two enroute stops. As an added bonus, it’s even operated with a jet! Identify the airline, the enroute stops and the equipment utilized.
A N S W E R E D

55. Normally you’d look to TWA for flights between Las Vegas, NV and Columbus, OH. TWA still offers flights via a connection in St. Louis, but the only direct service between these two cities is now offered via a single daily one stop flight with another airline not usually associated with this route. Identify the airline, the intermediate stop and the aircraft used.

56. Remember the good old days when each of the big three offered multiple 747 flights between Los Angeles and New York? Those were the days, alright! These days just two airlines offer nonstop 747 flights between Los Angeles and the New York area. Please identify them.

57. Flights around the U.S. Northeast are fairly short and with multi-stop flights slowly disappearing as a result of the Hub & Spoke system currently in vogue, you’re surprised to discover a two-stop gem between Cleveland and Boston operated by a regional airline with a comfortably sized aircraft that most anyone can stand straight up in. Identify the airline, the aircraft and enroute stops.

58. From Boston it’s on to Detroit, with four airlines offering nonstop flights and one airline operating a two-stop gem. So- this is a two part question. First, identify the four airlines offering nonstop flights and second, identify the separate airline, routing and equipment operating the two stop flight. G’wan, now. You can do this!

59. You’re in Chicago and you need to fly to Los Angeles. These days most of the nonstop flights are operated with wide-bodied equipment. Wide-bodies are all well and good but you’d really like to catch a few more flights aboard DC-8s while they’re still flying. After a bit of research, you find a great connection involving two different airlines - each of them operating the stretched version of the DC-8. The connection is through a city that is geographically convenient and would be a normal connecting point for the ORD-LAX market. So then, can you identify both airlines and the connection point?

60. You’re in Burbank, CA and you need to fly to the Grand Canyon. You find an alluring connection via Las Vegas, Nevada that allows you to fly upon two British built aircraft with just a single connection. One of the aircraft is a fairly recent model while the other is somewhat older. Identify the airlines and respective aircraft involved.
A PSA BAe-146 will get you to Las Vegas. Still looking for the flight to the Grand Canyon

62. A buddy has just called with tickets to Gonzaga’s weekend home game against Pepperdine. Wanna go? What sport is it? Basketball. Pepperdine actually fields a basketball team? Hmm… Well, alright, then. There’s only one nonstop flight a day from Fairbanks to Seattle and it leaves at 7:00am. That’s too early. You’re about to bag it when your travel agent calls back to advise you that there’s a daily direct flight from Fairbanks that departs at a civilized hour but makes three stops before terminating in Spokane. Three stops, eh? Is there a meal? Yes. And, First Class is available. Hmm… Identify the airline, the equipment and the two enroute stops, then get back with me if you still want to go.

63. Who’d’ve thought that you could fly aboard a pair of stretch DC-8s from Nassau in the Bahamas all the way to Denver, Colorado via a single well-timed connection. Total travel time is just 8 hours. Two airlines are involved and the connection time is an hour and 25 minutes. Identify both airlines and the connecting city.

64. If you want to fly aboard a Boeing 737 out of Portland, Maine, identify which airline you’d call and where you’d be flying to.
A N S W E R E D

65. What would have been Air Cal’s longest flight in late 1984?
A N S W E R E D

66. Flying between West Palm Beach and Oklahoma City can be a convoluted and time consuming process at the best of times, so you’re surprised to learn that your upcoming trip between these two cities can actually be accomplished via a daily two stop direct flight. Identify the airline, the two enroute stops and the aircraft type utilized. For an additional cyber pat on the back, identify the city this flight continues on to from OKC.

67. What was the smallest aircraft operating nonstop between Anchorage and Honolulu? Which airline operated it?

68. The most popular flights between New York and San Francisco are the nonstops that operate out of JFK and Newark. However, your home in Jackson Heights is a lot closer to New York’s LaGuardia Airport which has no nonstop flights and a total of just three direct flights. With unpleasant memories of your last connection through Chicago’s O’Hare still lingering, you’d prefer a direct flight, hopefully one that doesn’t make too many stops enroute. You’re in luck! A post-deregulation airline has recently started serving LGA and offers a one-stop direct flight departing LaGuardia at 9:39am and arriving San Francisco at 2:05pm. Better yet, Breakfast and lunch will be served along the way. Book it, please. Which airline will you be flying, where will you stop and what type of aircraft will you be flying upon?

69. For those flying between Minneapolis and Florida, most travelers need look no farther than Northwest or Republic Airlines for the most convenient schedules, including many nonstop and direct flights. The one city that is not well served is Jacksonville – a city of nearly one million people that from Minneapolis has no nonstop flights and only one direct flight. That direct flight makes one intermediate stop and is not with either NW or RC. Identify the relevant carrier, the enroute stop and the aircraft operated.

jrl767

56- sounds to me like Pan Am and Tower Air

63- to the best of my recollection, the only US carriers operating the D8S in 1984 were Delta and United ... I think Atlanta (ATL) is too obvious a connecting point, and I can’t place DL out of NAS to O’Hare (ORD); moreover, neither of those lines up with the 6+35 flight duration ... Dulles might work time-wise, but not DL-wise ... let’s say JFK

64- I originally envisioned DL to Cincinnati (CVG), but I’m thinking PeoplExpress to Newark (EWR) is a more likely candidate

Seat 2A

56. Remember the good old days when each of the big three offered multiple 747 flights between Los Angeles and New York? Those were the days, alright! These days (1984) just two airlines offer nonstop 747 flights between Los Angeles and the New York area. Please identify them.

Per jrl767 Sounds to me like Pan Am and Tower Air

You guys are so well versed in the movements of airlines and airliners from bygone days that I might as well try to keep this reasonably challenging for you. As such, let's just say that you have correctly identified one of the airlines involved here. Now then which one is it? And what about that other airline...

63. Who’d’ve thought that you could fly aboard a pair of stretch DC-8s from Nassau in the Bahamas all the way to Denver, Colorado via a single well-timed connection. Total travel time is just 8 hours. Two airlines are involved and the connection time is an hour and 25 minutes. Identify both airlines and the connecting city.

Per jrl767: To the best of my recollection, the only US carriers operating the D8S in 1984 were Delta and United ... I think Atlanta (ATL) is too obvious a connecting point, and I can’t place DL out of NAS to O’Hare (ORD); moreover, neither of those lines up with the 6+35 flight duration ... Dulles might work time-wise, but not DL-wise ... let’s say JFK

You're off to a good start here, J. You've correctly identified one of the airlines (Gasp! There's a third DC-8 operator! ) as well as the connecting point (JFK). Now these two facts alone represent some pretty compelling clues toward the ultimate answer. Good luck!

64. If you want to fly aboard a Boeing 737 out of Portland, Maine, identify which airline you’d call and where you’d be flying to.

Per jrl767: I originally envisioned DL to Cincinnati (CVG), but I’m thinking PeoplExpress to Newark (EWR) is a more likely candidate

Correct you are! People Express operated four daily 737-100/200 flights between Portland (PWM) and Newark (EWR).

jlemon

52. Let's go with Aspen Airways operating a Convair 580 with an intermediate stop in Sioux City (SUX).

54. This sure sounds like Frontier Airlines. If so, equipment may have been a B737-200 with intermediate stops in Denver (DEN) and Reno (RNO).

65. Well, technically speaking, sir, I believe the air carrier had changed its name to AirCal by this time! Be that as it may, I believe the furthest destination to the east ever served by AirCal was Chicago O'Hare with nonstop service from Orange County. So I will guess SNA-ORD.

jrl767

60- I'm taking this to mean that we're looking for BUR-XXX-LAS involving two British-built aircraft ... which would involve departing aboard a PSA BAe-146 to Reno (RNO) and picking up a Pacific Express BAC One-Eleven

Seat 2A

52. Denver to Waterloo, Iowa used to be flown nonstop aboard an Ozark DC-9. These days a different airline offers the only direct one stop service between these two cities. Identify the airline, the enroute stop and the equipment.

Per jlemon: Let's go with Aspen Airways operating a Convair 580 with an intermediate stop in Sioux City (SUX).

Correct! Here's the schedule:

AP 704 Denver (DEN) 1103a – 143p Sioux City (SUX) 203p – 253p Waterloo (ALO) CVR X6
AP 710 Denver (DEN) 420p – 710p Sioux City (SUX) 720p – 810p Waterloo (ALO) CVR Daily

54. You’ve just finished spending a month one weekend in Bismarck, North Dakota. It’s high time you got back to Sacramento, California and the sooner, the better. As you dial the local travel agent, you can envision a multitude of connecting flights but hey – whatever it takes to get outta Bismarck sooner than later! Imagine then your surprise and delight when the travel agent informs you that there’s a direct flight from BIS straight on through to Sacramento with just two enroute stops. As an added bonus, it’s even operated with a jet! Identify the airline, the enroute stops and the equipment utilized.

Per jlemon: This sure sounds like Frontier Airlines. If so, equipment may have been a B737-200 with intermediate stops in Denver (DEN) and Reno (RNO).

It does sound like Frontier, doesn't it? But NO! It's another airline operating over a different routing. Please, guess again!

65. What would have been Air California’s longest flight in late 1988?

Per jlemon: Well, technically speaking, sir, I believe the air carrier had changed its name to AirCal by this time! Be that as it may, I believe the furthest destination to the east ever served by AirCal was Chicago O'Hare with nonstop service from Orange County. So I will guess SNA-ORD.

Sorry, JL - on two counts. First, 1988 is a typo as all of these questions are sourced from a 1984 OAG. That said, I checked my OAG from mid-1988 and it did not show OC operating on the SNA-ORD route at that time. Perhaps later in the year... In any event, let's try this one again with the proper date, i.e. What would have been Air Cal's longest flight in late 1984?

Seat 2A

60. You’re in Burbank, CA and you need to fly to the Grand Canyon. You find an alluring connection via Las Vegas, Nevada that allows you to fly upon two British built aircraft with just a single connection. One of the aircraft is a fairly recent model while the other is somewhat older. Identify the airlines and the aircraft to be flown.

Per jrl767: I'm taking this to mean that we're looking for BUR-XXX-LAS involving two British-built aircraft ... which would involve departing aboard a PSA BAe-146 to Reno (RNO) and picking up a Pacific Express BAC One-Eleven

I apologize for any confusion that my wording clearly caused here. What I'm looking for is BUR to GCN via LAS, i.e. Burbank to Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. And - per the question, one of the aircraft is a fairly recent model while the other is somewhat older. More specifically, they are different aircraft types. Please, do have another go at this one!

jlemon

54. Well, let's get really wild, guess-wise, here: Republic operating an MD-80 on a routing of BIS - MSP - SFO - SMF.

65. Hmmmmmm.....let's try SNA-SEA nonstop.