Seat 2A

Per jlemon: 45. Your job has you delivering yachts from your company’s maintenance and repair facility in San Juan, Puerto Rico to various islands throughout the Lesser Antilles chain in the Caribbean. Flying home usually means a seat aboard an American Airlines jet which serves many of these islands from its base in San Juan. However, your favorite jobs are the ones that take you to either Antigua or St. Maarten because if you work it right, you can time your delivery to catch one of this airlines’ fifth freedom widebodies back to San Juan. Identify the airline we’re talking about here.

Connecting through San Juan to and from other Caribbean destinations back in the day, I invariably noticed Lufthansa wide body aircraft at SJU operating scheduled flights. And at one point, LH was operating A340 aircraft into San Juan. However, in 1991 I believe the aircraft type operated by Lufthansa on these fifth freedom services from ANU and SXM was the DC-10. BTW, following a sailing trip a couple of years ago I witnessed what appeared to be a high performance takeoff conducted by a BA B777-200 from Antigua. The aircraft really rocketed out of there using just over half the runway before rotating. Very impressive!

Lufthansa ist die richtige antwort, JL.. Wieder einmal hat deine Erfahrung dir gut gedient! ^

LH 524 St. Maarten (SXM) 505p – 605p San Juan (SJU) DC10 Sat.
LH 514 Antigua (ANU) 220p – 325p San Juan (SJU) DC-10 Mon. Thu.

Per jlemon: 46. The 1970s provided some wonderful opportunities for multistep air tours across America. Northwest’s 9 stop marathon from Miami to Portland has been discussed previously. To that let’s now explore a seven hour and eighteen minute odyssey between Kansas City and Los Angeles. Seven stops were made enroute and a couple of snacks were served. Identify the airline, the equipment and each of the enroute stops in order.
HINT: So far, we know it's Continental starting off MCI-TUL-OKC...

I fondly remember my milk run flights on board Continental between Austin and Los Angeles back when I was attending the University of Texas at Austin. The milk run flights I experienced made a number of stops with example routings being MIA-IAH-AUS-MAF-ELP-PHX-LAX and IAH-AUS-MAF-ELP-TUS-PHX-LAX. Equipment was always a B727-200 and I was always back in coach. However, the routing of the flight in question here was a bit different. We know that TUL and OKC were the first two stops following the service originating at MCI. It also appears the equipment was not a 727 (or 72S) judging by the previous response above. So let's go with a DC-9-10 operating a routing of Kansas City (MCI) - Tulsa (TUL) - Oklahoma City (OKC) - Lawton (LAW) - Wichita Falls (SPS) - Lubbock (LBB) - El Paso (ELP) - Phoenix (PHX) (or was it Tucson (TUS)?) - Los Angeles (LAX).

You're correct on the aircraft type (DC-9-10) and the routing up until Lubbock. Now - anybody well versed enough to have correctly gotten that far doesn't need any more help than necessary, so lets just say that beyond Lubbock, only one of the cities you mentioned is relevant to this routing. That means there's also another enroute stop that hasn't yet been identified. We're counting on you, JL. You can do it!

jrl767

46- I’m going to try for the tap-in here: ELP followed by Albuquerque (ABQ)

Seat 2A

You've got one of the cities correct. Now then, which one?

jlemon

46. Actually, I think it's the other way around with regard to Albuquerque and El Paso as I do not think Continental had nonstop ABQ-LAX route authority at this time. But if I recall correctly, CO did have ELP-LAX nonstop rights which makes our DC-9 routing MCI-TUL-OKC-LAW-SPS-LBB-ABQ-ELP-LAX.

And what a nail biter of a football game this afternoon at the N.O. Superdome. Around three minutes or so to go in the fourth quarter and the Redskins were 15 points ahead. I really thought Washington had it. And then the Saints made a couple of quick TDs followed by a conversion and boom: it was 31-31 and into overtime. A New Orleans field goal sealed the game and the Saints are now 8-2 for the season. Wow!

jlemon

46. One or the other, you say.....ABQ or ELP.

Well, then, it's wild guess time: MCI-TUL-OKC-LAW-SPS-LBB-ABQ-COS-LAX

Seat 2A

46. Re. the above submission - doesn't it seem a bit odd that CO would route LBB-ABQ and then down to ELP? El Paso is one of the cities we're looking for. Neither ABQ nor COS are. Stay south of ABQ and ya'll should be fine.

jlemon

First, a correction: I kept listing ICT for SPS (which reminds me of a song by jazz guitarist Pat Metheney: "As falls Wichita, so falls Wichita Falls")......

So this flight indeed stopped at ELP but did not stop at PHX or TUS.......hmmmmmmmmm.

I do not think the seventh stop was either SAN or LAS so I'm really not sure where this stop was. But I'm looking forward to the answer!

jrl767

we may have spent too much time looking west of ABQ ... Midland/Odessa (MAF)?

jlemon

Ah, I believe you have it!

Seat 2A

46. Re. the above submission - doesn't it seem a bit odd that CO would route LBB-ABQ and then down to ELP? El Paso is one of the cities we're looking for. Neither ABQ nor COS are. Stay south of ABQ and ya'll should be fine.

Per jlemon: So this flight indeed stopped at ELP but did not stop at PHX or TUS.......hmmmmmmmmm. I do not think the seventh stop was either SAN or LAS so I'm really not sure where this stop was. But I'm looking forward to the answer!

Per jrl767: We may have spent too much time looking west of ABQ ... Midland/Odessa (MAF)?

Per jlemon: Ah, I believe you have it!

Winner! Winner! Chicken dinner! (Anybody know the story behind that phrase? It is an old response that probably hasn't been heard in its city of origin for many years...)

Midland (MAF) is correct. I will post the entire routing and schedule here within the hour. BTW - it's -22°F outside my humble abode this morning. I am looking forward to relocating to Kingman, Arizona where I will share Thanksgiving with a couple of fellow Denali drivers. I'll be flying out of here later this afternoon aboard an Alaska 737-700.

Continental CO 191 Kansas City (MCI) 400p-444p Snack Tulsa (TUL) 500p-532p Oklahoma City (OKC) 545p-609p Lawton (LAW) 620p-638p Wichita Falls (SPS) 650p-730p Snack Lubbock (LBB) 745p-813p Midland (MAF) 825p-808p El Paso (ELP) 830p-918p Los Angeles (LAX) DC9 Daily

Seat 2A

We're off to a great start on this batch of questions. Here's the update:


THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE SOURCED FROM A 1995 POCKET FLIGHT GUIDE

21. After a long weekend judging crab cakes at the annual Chesapeake Bay Food & Grog Festival, it’s time to relocate across the country to Los Angeles where your next challenge will be teaching a seminar in gourmet tamale creation at a senior living community center in West Covina. US Air offers three nonstop flights on the BWI-LAX market most days, but the best timed of the three – a 4:45pm departure – doesn’t operate on Sunday. Dagnabbit! A quick check of your trusty Pocket Flight Guide however reveals a pleasant surprise in the form of a once weekly Sunday only flight departing Baltimore at 5:15pm, arriving LAX at 7:30pm. Book it, Danno! Identify the airline and the aircraft operating this flight.

23. It used to be that when you wanted to get from your home in Pomona, CA to your time share in Kihei, Maui you had to drive all the way into LAX, hop a flight to Honolulu and then connect to an island hopper over to OGG. Not anymore! There’s a new nonstop service from nearby Ontario Airport straight to Kahului! Identify the airline and aircraft operating this flight.

24. Oceanside, CA is a beautiful place to live, but when it comes to flying back to Indianapolis to see the in-laws each year, it sure is a royal pain to have to drive up to LAX where the most convenient flights and lowest prices are generally found. Times have changed however, and this time for the better as there is a new one stop direct flight operating out of nearby Lindbergh Field in San Diego. Although you’ve never heard of the airline operating this flight, the price is quite affordable so you book a pair of seats for yourself and the missus. Identify the airline, the equipment and the single enroute stop.

25. Once upon a time Evansville, Indiana enjoyed mainline jet service from a variety of airlines. These days however, the only jets in town (all three of them) are operated by a single airline that offers nonstop flights to just two destinations. At least you can still book a First Class seat out of town… Identify the airline, the single jet type operated and the two cities served.
A N S W E R E D

27. This question may be upon to discussion and/or debate as needed. To wit – as of 1995, what is the longest scheduled nonstop MD80 flight in North America? For purposes of clarification, North America is defined as all of the area covered in a North American OAG.

28. Your job has you commuting twice a month from Kansas City to Atlanta and back. Delta has always been your airline of choice but over the past year or so two new airlines have arrived to provide additional nonstop options. Curious about their service compared to that of Delta, you’ve decided to give them a try – even if it means you won’t accrue any meaningful mileage. You’ll fly one of the new airlines down to Atlanta and the other on the way back. Identify both airlines and the respective equipment each operates on its flights.

29. Identify the only foreign built jetliner flying into Newburgh, New York. Two airlines operate this aircraft type into SWF, so you’ll need to identify both of them as well. Sorry.
The Fokker 100 has been correctly identified, as has US Air as one of the operators. We're still looking for the other operator...

32. You really like 757s. I mean, you really, really like them. You’d rather fly upon a 757 than any other airplane - especially on a good long flight to Honolulu where you’re vacationing next month. Imagine then your surprise to discover that per your 1995 Pocket Flight Guide, there’s only a single 757 flight to Honolulu! Well then, you’ll just have to route through that city. Identify the city from which that 757 departs for Honolulu as well as the airline operating that flight.
HINT: The airline we're looking for is American Trans Air. The departure city is neither PHX or LAS.

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. Partial answers will be summarily ignored.

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 FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE SOURCED FROM A 1991 OAG

36. Per the relevant schedule in 1991, what is the shortest domestic U.S. route operated by multiple widebodied aircraft?

37. Durango, Colorado and Durango, Mexico are each served by a single airline operating a single jet type from each airport to two different destinations. Identify the airline, the equipment and the two destinations served from each airport.

39. During the winter and early spring, the ramp at Yampa Valley Regional Airport serving Steamboat Springs can be quite a busy place, especially on the weekends. Four different airlines provide jet service to HDN from airports on either coast and many points in between. Identify the airline and the aircraft that operates a daily nonstop flight from Steamboat Springs to Los Angeles every evening.

41. Only one airline offers jet service from Ft. Lauderdale to BOTH Freeport and Nassau. Identify the airline and the equipment used.



THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE SOURCED FROM A 1973 OAG

47. You’ve just finished a wonderful three day weekend with the family at Florida’s Disney World resort. Christmas break lasts two weeks however, so you’ve made plans to spend an additional four days in the Bahamas. You’re amazed to find that from the local airport there’s a two stop flight direct to Freeport. Identify the departure airport, the airline, the two enroute stops and the aircraft utilized.

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.
It's not KLM

50. Identify each of the foreign built jetliners that fly into Port of Spain, Trinidad. Of course, the correct answer will also include the airline that operates each jet. And finally, because you are all such a smart bunch of participants, the correct answer will require you to submit ALL of the relevant aircraft. Picking them off one at a time will not be accepted. Go to it, guys!

jrl767

I am fairly certain that Alaska briefly operated the ~2050-mile SEA<-->YYZ (Seattle to/from Toronto) segment with a MadDog ... I'm not sure that it was extant in 1995, but I'll toss it out there anyway

jrl767

how about JFK<-->Philadelphia, equipment perhaps being a TWA L-1011 and a Northwest DC-10

jlemon

25. I believe by this time in 1995 the only mainline carrier operating jet service into Evansville (EVV) was USAir. If so, I'll guess the equipment was a DC-9-30 and the destinations were the US hubs at Charlotte (CLT) and Pittsburgh (PIT).

36. jrl767 has weighed in with JFK-PHL which I believe is a distance of about 87 miles. However, I think there was an even shorter domestic U.S. route served by a wide body in 1991 although it was only served by one airline with one round trip flight a day: Fort Lauderdale - West Palm Beach. The air carrier was Delta, the equipment was a B767-200 and the distance between FLL and PBI is just over 40 miles.

YVR Cockroach

I must have missed these ones to accrue USAir miles. I flew the route in reverse on a DH7 (IIRC) and and return on a F27 in December 1991 to connect to/from EZE on AR.