Originally Posted by WHBM (Post 31974651)

Hello from a hotel in DC, arrived here earlier on a BA A380. An impressive aircraft, although being sat right over the main gear, what a noise when it went down and up. Still the class BA service that seems to have changed little over the years. My first experience of the Mobile Lounges at Dulles, which I recall from picking up US timetables in the 1960s and seeing the 15 minute difference shown between aircraft and "mobile lounge time". Despite having the decals that they have been comprehensively rebuilt, they have all the mechanical air of being designed by a tractor manufacturer, awful utilitarian interior layout especially for those standing, entrance arrangements like a 19th century railway car - and so SLOW, both in running and the organisation ! Can you tell I was not impressed ?

This just sounds like TWA, and "the New York City area" seems to imply Newark. Let's think of the "classic" transcontinental TWA route, coming from LAX through Oklahoma, St Louis, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. And lets say it was still a 707.

Originally Posted by Herb687 (Post 31977542)

Let's try IAH-DFW-SLC-RNO then.

Originally Posted by jlemon (Post 31978437)

Originally Posted by jlemon (Post 31978437)

55. You're in Chicago in 1991 and it's time to head back to Los Angeles. Now you could catch a nonstop.....but where's the fun in that?! Especially when you've found an interesting direct flight which makes three stops en route and operates six days a week to LAX. Identify the airport you will depart from in Chicago, the airline, all three stops and the aircraft.
It wasn't Southwest, the equipment wasn't a B737-500 and this flight did not stop at BNA, HOU or PHX....but it did depart from ORD.

Originally Posted by jlemon (Post 31978435)

… wasn't ... not... nor ... wasn't … did not … . But besides all that, I know your next guess will be much closer to the mark.

Originally Posted by jrl767 (Post 31978492)

39- not TW, not a 707, and a “circuitous” routing that doesn’t terminate EWR ... I’ll offer Braniff with a 727, operating to LaGuardia (LGA) via Dallas (DFW), Memphis (MEM), and Washington National (DCA)

Originally Posted by jrl767 (Post 31978570)

55- let’s keep this in the 737 family for now: a United -300, via Des Moines (DSM), Denver (DEN), and Sacramento (SMF)

Originally Posted by jlemon (Post 31979138)

39. Nope, it wasn't Braniff International and the flight in question did not stop at DFW or MEM nor did it in arrive into LGA....which means it terminated at New York Kennedy (JFK). And it did serve Washington National (DCA) which was the third stop and was operated with a 727. So you are making progress here.

Originally Posted by WHBM (Post 31978824)

Well it couldn't be much further away, evidently … !

Incidentally, I wonder was there any TWA offering that year which got close to doing what I suggest ? Once upon a time such a long line linkage would have been one for a Convair 880.

Originally Posted by jrl767 (Post 31979225)

39- 1982, a 727 on DCA-JFK, operated by an airline that also served OKC

either American or United might have gone to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) as the logical first stop, but I sure don't remember them having any ORD-XXX-DCA flights since the days of the Electra or Caravelle respectively; DCA-JFK also draws a blank for both of them at this point in time

Eastern over Atlanta (ATL), continuing via a point in one or the other of the Carolinas, also seems a relic of their Electra schedules, as does DCA-JFK

given that I flew Pan Am on that segment a couple times in the 82-83 timeframe, I'm scratching my head for another option, so herewith my official guess that the first two stops were a legacy National operation -- Houston (IAH) and Tampa (TPA)

Originally Posted by jlemon (Post 31979146)

Originally Posted by jrl767 (Post 31980302)

speaking of Pan Am ...

22 Jan marks the 50th anniversary of the (actual departure of the) first commercial Boeing 747 flight ... PA2, JFK-LHR

Originally Posted by jrl767 (Post 31980304)

58- totally off-the-wall guess here: wasn’t this around the time that Western Pacific was transitioning their COS hub to Denver (DEN)? how about DEN first, then LAS, then San Diego (SAN) ... the jet, of course, being a 737-300

Originally Posted by WHBM (Post 31980582)

I remember its arrival being shown on the BBC TV news when I came home from school. Of course, that was on the 23rd. I wonder if they will commemorate it tomorrow. In those days television only started at 5pm, so the late arrival was not much of an issue, the film (their news crews were still using it then) was motor-biked back to the BBC studios only a few miles away and processed. I believe they also brought, on board, newsreel footage of the departure from JFK, filmed, given to the crew, and then processed in London.