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Looking back - UA's service to Hawaii in the 1970's

Looking back - UA's service to Hawaii in the 1970's

Old Jul 5, 2020, 9:52 pm
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Looking back - UA's service to Hawaii in the 1970's

Well, just to tease UA mainlanders from certain cities, FWIW, here's a crop of map of the airports that pmUA flew _non-stop_ to HI back in May 1970 (courtesy of erussell1984/airbus777 on Flickr):




Note that this is _prior_ to delivery of UA's 747s. I get LAX, SFO, SAN as well as ORD, WAS and NYC - but this map shows DTT, KCI/MCI, BUF, CLE, PIT, BOS, PHL.

Let's see if UA opens up some of these routes non-stop back to the islands in the future...

David
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Old Jul 5, 2020, 10:59 pm
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Originally Posted by DELee
Well, just to tease UA mainlanders from certain cities, FWIW, here's a crop of map of the airports that pmUA flew _non-stop_ to HI back in May 1970 (courtesy of erussell1984/airbus777 on Flickr):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/erussell1984/26415986889/



Note that this is _prior_ to delivery of UA's 747s. I get LAX, SFO, SAN as well as ORD, WAS and NYC - but this map shows DTT, KCI/MCI, BUF, CLE, PIT, BOS, PHL.

Let's see if UA opens up some of these routes non-stop back to the islands in the future...

David
Is this for real? CLE-HNL nonstop was a thing?
What equipment and frequency?
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 3:50 am
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Wonder if it was seasonal 1x a week type routes? Hard to believe Kansas City could support a daily non-stop.

But with airline regulations back then could these be mail subsided routes?
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 3:54 am
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Buffalo? I never would have guessed.
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 8:02 am
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Originally Posted by DELee
Well, just to tease UA mainlanders from certain cities, FWIW, here's a crop of map of the airports that pmUA flew _non-stop_ to HI back in May 1970 (courtesy of erussell1984/airbus777 on Flickr):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/erussell1984/26415986889/



Note that this is _prior_ to delivery of UA's 747s. I get LAX, SFO, SAN as well as ORD, WAS and NYC - but this map shows DTT, KCI/MCI, BUF, CLE, PIT, BOS, PHL.

Let's see if UA opens up some of these routes non-stop back to the islands in the future...

David
As always, thanks for sharing timeless UA memorabilia like this.
It was common airline practice at that time to list/display routes that were authorized but not necessarily operated. UA purchased long range DC-8s, actually DC-8--62, to operate routes like BWI-HNL.
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 8:03 am
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Originally Posted by ctownflyer
Is this for real? CLE-HNL nonstop was a thing?
What equipment and frequency?
DC-8s most likely, with DC-10s taking over at the larger stations as they rolled off the assembly line.

People forget how integral Hawaii was to the pre-deregulation, all-domestic United brand identity. Hawaii was what the leisure market mostly knew them for.
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 8:26 am
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Originally Posted by BearX220
DC-8s most likely, with DC-10s taking over at the larger stations as they rolled off the assembly line.

People forget how integral Hawaii was to the pre-deregulation, all-domestic United brand identity. Hawaii was what the leisure market mostly knew them for.
Color me skeptical that BUF/CLE/MCI/PIT-HNL nonstop ever existed.
Is there a timetable that shows any of this?
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 8:51 am
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I was already an airline nerd by 1970 and lived in CLE, and cannot recall any scheduled non-stops CLE-HNL. One-stop direct service (through flights with same flight number) via ORD, LAX and SFO: yes, but non-stop: no.
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 8:53 am
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Originally Posted by 1984SW
I was already an airline nerd by 1970 and lived in CLE, and cannot recall any scheduled non-stops CLE-HNL. One-stop direct service (through flights with same flight number) via ORD, LAX and SFO: yes, but non-stop: no.
Now this makes more sense. But odd that the map says nonstop routes.
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 8:54 am
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MCI would have been MKC at that time. At departedflights.com I find a 1972 timetable; from HNL I only find LAX, SFO, ORD, JFK.
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 9:40 am
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Back then there was a lot of marketing confusion among consumers, perhaps intentional, between "direct" and "nonstop".

Hawaii was promoted in advertising literature as "Our little corner of the world."
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 9:55 am
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1969 timetable shows DTW and CLE as direct via LAX - - http://www.timetableimages.com/ttima...69/ua69-02.jpg
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 10:19 am
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Dc-8-62

The United Dc-8-62 was used for the following longer non-stops: JFK,BWI,DTW,ORD to HNL
all other routes on the map were direct not non-stop

from Cleveland United has had direct but non stop service as follows:
CLE/SFO/ITO. Dc-8-62
CLE/ORD/HNL. 747-100
CLE/LAX/HNL. Dc-8-71, DC8-6,. DC-8-50
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 11:30 am
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Going a little further back, here's my mom as a kid standing at bottom of stairs getting ready to board UA's current inter-island partner (now Hawaiian Airlines).

For the geeks, I looked it up and it seems to be a Sikorsky S-38s or S-43S (probably the former as the one below is a S-43s and the windows look arranged differently). Timeframe would have been late 30s considering my mom's age at that time. Both were in service for Inter-Island at the time.

Last edited by IAH-OIL-TRASH; Jul 6, 2020 at 6:09 pm
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Old Jul 6, 2020, 2:30 pm
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Originally Posted by IAH-OIL-TRASH
Going a little further back, here's my mom as a kid standing at bottom of stairs getting ready to board UA's current inter-island partner (now Hawaiian Airlines).
Such an awsome photo!!! Thanks for posting it!!
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