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Boeing 737
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Other titles in the Crowood Aviation Series
Aichi D3AI/2 Val
Airco - The ircraft Manufacturing Company
Avro Lancaster
BAC One-Eleven
Bell P-39 Airacobra
Boeing747
Boeing 757 and 767
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
De Havilland Mosquito
Douglas AD kyraider
English Electric Canberra
English Electric Lightning
F<1irchild Republic A-IO Thunderbolt II
Fokker Aircraft of World War One
Hawker Hunter
Hawker Hurricane
Junkers Ju 7 tu b
Junkers Ju 88
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Lockheed F-l 04 Starfighter
Luftwaffe- A Pictoria l History
McDonnell Dougla A-4 kyhawk
McDonnell Douglas F-I5 Eagle
Messerschmitt Bf 110
Messerschmitt Me 262
Nieuport Aircraft of World War One
ight Airwar
orth American B-25 Mitchell
orth American F- 6 abre
orth merican T-6
Panavia Tornado
ShortSunderland
V-Bombers
Vickers VC J0
Peter C. Smith
Mick Davis
Ken Delve
Malcolm L. Hill
Robert F Dor r with Jerry c. cutts
Martin W. Bowman
Thomas Becher
Martin W. Bowman
Martin W. Bowman
Martin W. Bowman
Peter C. mithBarry Jones
Martin W. Bowman
Peter C. Smith
Paul Leaman
Barry Jones
Peter Jacobs
Peter C. mith
Ron Mackay
Martin W. Bowman
Martin W. Bowman
Eric Mombeek
Brad Elward
Peter E. Davies and Tony Thornborough
Ron Mackay
David Baker
Ray Sanger
Theo Boiten
Jerry cutts
Duncan Curtis
Peter C. Smith
Andy Evans
Ken Delve
Barry Jones
Lance Cole
Boeing 737
Malcoltn L. Hill
I ~ ~ c lThe Crowood Press
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FirM pubh,heJ In 2002by
The CrowooJ Press LtJ
Ram,bury, Marlborough
Wilt,hire 82HR
© Malcolm L. I Ii II 2002
All right, re,erveJ. 0 part of thi, publicalllll1 maybe
reproJuceJor trammitteJ in any form or by any
I l l e a n ~ , electronic or mechanical,including
photocopy, recording, or any infnrll1fltio!ls(oragc (-lnd
retrieval ~ y ~ t c m , without permission in writing(rom
the publi,her, .
Contents
Acknowledgements
1 TO MESSRS BOEING, A BOUNCING BABY
2 FIRST STEPS
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A cataloguerccorJ forthis book is available from the
Brit;,h Library.
ISBN I 61264046
TypefacesuseJ: GouJy (text),
Cheltenham (headngs).
Typeset anJ JesigneJ by
D & Publishing
BayJon,Marlborough,Wiltshire.
PrinteJ anJ bounJ in Grear Britain by Bookcraft,MiJsomcr Orton.
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Appendix I
Appendix II
Index
NEW CUSTOMERS, NEW APPLICATIONS
I TO ERVICE
IMPROVI GTHE BREED
WORLDWIDE 1 FLUE CE
THE BABY GROWS
A EW LEA EOF LIFE
THE LAST OF THEOLD GE ERATIO
THE EXT GENERATION
THE BB] AND BEYOND
Ear ly 737s- Comparisons with their Contemporaries
The 737,100-900
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CHAPTER ONE
AcknowledgelDents To Messrs Boeing, a Bouncing Ba
American Airlines ordereda large fleet ofmodern737-800sto replace older, less economic,narrow-body
aircraft on their short- and medium-haul network. American Ar nes C.R. Smith Museum
Tu-134 had followed the
phy o f t he C ar av el le , O
DC-9 by adoptingthe inc
rear engine, Ttail configu
Of course, t he l au nc h
no overn igh t whim tho
(Below) Thefirst twin-jet airliner actuallyhai
Union. TheTupolevTu-l04 was designedfor m
service,although i twas also operated on sho
services on busierroutesin the USSR and Eas
(Above) Soon casting off i ts ' late
comer' image,the Boeing 737 went on
to populate most ofthe world's
busiest airports. Tm Kincaid Colecton
The Soviet Union had la te r developed
t he Tu- l04 into a smal ler v er s ion, more
suited to short-haul networks. The result
ing Tupolev Tu-l24 had been in service
since 1962 wi th i ts much redesigned suc
cessor, the Tu-134 first flying in 1963. The
By the early 1960s it was certainly unusual
for the BoeingAirplane Companynot tobe
the trend-setter in p roducing a new com
mercial aircraft type. However, the Wash
ingtonState-based company was definitely
a latecomerwhen it came tooffering a new
product on the short -haul twin-jet airliner
marker. By the time their new model 737
was made available to the world's commer
cial operators, there were no fewer than sixalternatives either already in service or in
advanced stages ofdevelopment, on offerto
the world's airlines.
Boeing'sofficial announcement launch
ing their 737 project into productioncame
on 22 February 1965. This was only three
days before the first flight of t hei r arch
rival, Douglas Aircraft's DC-9, and only
sixweeks before the British contender, the
BAC One-Eleven, actually entered sched
uledairline service. The veryfirst twin-jet
airliner design, alsoRussia's first jet airlin
er, the Tupolev Tu-l04,al though intended
more for medium/long-haul services than
short-haul work had b ee n o n the scene
since 1956. The first twin-jet designed
specifically for short-haul routes, France's
Sud-Est Caravelle had been in worldwide
service since April 1959.
Overseas Pioneershop, Boeing Business Systems, Braathens,
Deutsche BA, Lufthansa and MilitaryAir
craft Photographs.
Whilst everyeffort hasbeen made to iden
tify the source of i l lustra tions used in this
publication, thishas not beenpossible in all
cases. All persons claiming accredita tion
should contact the author via the publisher.
Gradidge,Joe Grant, Ivar Hakonsen,Chris
Harrison, Richard Howell, Tim Kincaid ,
Jeff Luysterborghs, William F. Mellberg,Larry Pettit , Brian Pickering, Jon Proctor,
DennisRegan, Mel Roberts, Frankie Scott,
Becky and Buddy Scott-Ward, RobertWalz
and Tony Ward; and alsoto Aeroflot Russ
ian Airlines, Air France, American Air
lines C.R. Smith Museum, Aviation Hobby
Grateful thanks are extended toall the fol
lowing persons and organizations, whose
co-operation, time and invaluable funds of
informationand memories made th isbook
possible:
Thomas Becher, Steve Bun ting , Ron
Car te r, S ib yl le D ie tr ic h, Mar ty n East ,
Phillip Eastwood, ThierryGatouillat,Jenny
6 7
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TO MESSRS BOEING. ABO NCING BABY TO IESSRS BOEING. ABO NCING BABY
TheBoeingB&W Modell, the company's first aircraft,being manhandled atthe
original waterside factory. Boeing
(Top) By thelate 1920s, theBoe
again busy with aircraft under
thanproducing furniture as a 's
(Abovel The Boeing Model 40B
to thecompany's airline subsid
wearing jointBoeing/Pacific A
United Airlines titles. Boeing
the B-9, had provided a great deal of use
ful d a ta a nd sol ut io ns t o problems that
were arising with the design of largerair
craft. Al though the B-9 failed to attract
an o rd er t hi new technology was chan
nelled into a new civil airliner type, the
Boeing 247
The Arrival of theModern Airliner
Th e sleeker lines of Boeing' new high
speed mili tary typ es were oon being
applied to commercial designs. Research
and development of one mili tary design,
was formed, called United Air Line, to co
ordinate theiroperation,althougheach car
rier retained its identity for the time being.
A maj or improvement in comfo r t for
passengers on Boeing's scheduled service
from Chicago toCaliforniaarrivedwith the
introduction of a new airliner design, the
Boe ingMode l 0 , and slightly larger Model
OA, in 1929. The 12 to I -pa senge r b i
planes werepOSitivelyspacious compared to
the claustrophobicModel 40A and saw the
introduction of a new c rew membe r, the
Stewardess. A numberof Americancarriers
h ad a lr eady emp loyed male s tewa rd s or
'Couriers' on larger aircraft and European
airlines had used stewardsto serve their pas
s enge rs for many yea rs , but Boe ing Air
Transport was the f ir st c ar ri r in the world
to employfemaleflight attendants.
While Boeing Air Transpor t and its
United Air Lines partners were introduc
ing modern styles of air travel to their pas
sengers, the Boeing Airplane Company
wa inc re as ing i t por t fo l io with a number
of successful militarydesigns.
New Owners, New Direction
designed DH-4 'Lib 'tty Planes' that helped
t he ompany survive the I'<mcrtlmcs.
By the mid-1920s, howcvcr, BOCIng was
gaining produ tion ordcrs(or its own ncw
des igns aga in, a s a ser ie s of fighter and
atta k a ir cra ft were suppl ied to the U
military. More civil projects were making
an appearance too, with the Boeing Model
40A, designed to a rry two pas enger s as
wellas 1,200lbs(544kg) of mail beginning
operationsover the San Francisco-Chicago
route in 1927.
Boeing had set u[1 its own airline, Boeing
Air Transport, to opera te the route, and
acquired another West Coast-based carrier,
PacificAir Transport, to expandtheir oper
ation. Boeing itselfwas purchased shortly
afterwards and became pa rt o f t he new
United Aircraft and Transport Corpora
tion that had its headquarters at Hartford,
Connecticut. As well as Boeing and itsair
line subsidiaries, Unit ed soon also con
trolled t he Chance Vought Corporation,
Pratt & Whitney, the aero engine manu
facturer, and the Hamil ton AeroManufac
turing Company that made propellers.
The airline sidealsoexpanded, with pio
neer carriers tout Airlines, National Air
Transport and Varney Air line s a ll b eing
taken into t he UATC family. The large
combined a ir line netwo rk became so un
wieldy that a n ew management company
incorporated his aviation interests into the
new PacificAero Products Company.
The even more improved Model 3 soon
appeared, with a landplane ver ion, the
Model 4, of which only two weresupplied
to the Army a p r ima ry t r aine rs . The
S Navy eventually p ia e d an order for
fifty Model 5s, as thecompanychanged its
name to the Boeing Airplane Company.
The avy order was to be the first sizable
contract to t he US military, which was to
remain Boeing's primary customer for
many years.
Postwar Slump
Throughou t t he immed ia te post-First
World War years Boeingenjoyedmixedfor
tunes. There were simply too many surplus
aircraft around for the military to be inter
ested insponsoring expensivenew projects.
The small number of non-militarysalesdid
littleto dispel the gloom as the valuablemil
itary market had vanished overnight with
the arrival o f t he armistice. The first two
B&W aircraftweresold to theNew Zealand
government for postal work, Boeing's first
international sales and asmall number of B-
Is,a flyingboat design, were alsosold for use
by airmail contractor.
At onepoint th company wasobliged to
start build ing furniture in order to keep its
skilled woodworking force together. Con
tractswerealsogainedfrom theUS military
for conversionand modification of British-
company merely to keep up with airliner
design fashion trend. Boeing had been
studying t he ir s ho rt -h au l j et airliner
options for several years and wereonly pre
pared to offer a definitive design once they
felt that they had got it r ight . i nc e the
entry into service of Boeing's first jet air
liner design, the medium/long-range Boe
ing 707 in 195 , the company had been
wor ki ng t ow ar d o ff er in g a ' fami ly ' of
de ign s. Each d if f eren t m em be r o f t he
'family' was to beable to serve the airline's
needsin different operational markets, but
with enough of adegree of commonality in
d es ign so a s to reduce production costs to
the maker and significantlydecreaseoper
ating costs to the customer.
In the Beginning
Boeing had actually not been a major sup
plier of civil airliners unti l t he adven t of
the 707 in the 1950s. Military orders had
been the backboneof Boeing's production
linesfor many years, with the fewcivilian
designs produced usually being 'spin-offs'
from US military contracts. Initially, even
the Boe ing 707 was ju st such a 'spin-off '
from a designstudy to develop an in-flight
refuelling tanker forhigh-speed jet fighters
and bombers that had emergedas the KC
135. The suitability o f t he new type for
redesign as a jet airliner was recognized
very ear ly in the design process and the
company made the historical decision that
changed it commercial direction.
The Boeing Airplane Company had
be n founded by William E. Boeing, a suc
cessful Seattle businessmaninvolvedin the
local timber industry, and a friend, CdrG .
Conrad Westervelt of the US Navy. Both
hadbeen fa cinated by the new flyingcraze
and had founded the AeroClub ofSeat t le
in 1915. The club's first aircraft,a Glenn L.
Martin Seaplane, was damaged in an acci
dent and Boeing and Westervelt elected to
build an improved ver ion of t he aircraft,
rather than simply replace it from the orig
inal source. Thus, in June 1916, William
Boeing piloted the new aircraft, t heB&W
Modell, a single-engined, twin-pontoon
b ip lan e f rom Lake Union, near eattle.
Westervelt was posted to the East Coast
and Boeing continued to d evelop the
design with an increasing team of engineers
and designers that he was able to attract.
A second design, the improved model 2 ,
the first real all-Boeingproject, took to the
a ir i n 1 91 7, by which t ime Boe ing had
8 9
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TO MESSRS BOEING. A B OU CING BABY TO MESSRS BOEING. A BOUNCI 'G BABY
Boeing's 307 Stratolinerpioneered t he useo f a pressurized cabin in passenger service
theirfleet on transcontinental scheduled flights in July 1940. Via author
vitally needed work. W
enginesand undercarriage
B-17 bomber, the Mod el
was unique i n i ts d ay fo
pI ssuri:ed fuselage. A bl
high al t i tude,above the
promised unprecedented
for itspassengers. Anothe
project also provided the
another ivil type, t he
boat that saw Boeing ret
its marine roots.
The tratolinersaw on
service, with a handful b
TWA, on domestic routes
ican on services to the
South America. The m
Howard Hughesalso acqu
er as his personal 'Flying
giant 314 flying boat saw
sengerservice with PanA
Pacific and At l an t i c schesmall number were aLo
their intenJed delivery t
to serve Great Britain's B
transport services.
Although they failed t
in \ 'ery large numhers, m
intervention of t he e c
the 307 and 314models k
forefront of airliner desig
wasover, Boeingcontinu
pied withmilitary contra
Korean conf l ic t and ong
with Communist Europe.
Bigger Boeings
truggling to remain in the airliner busi
ness after thedebacleof the 247sale:, Boe
ing looked to bigger, even more revolu
tionary designs.A serie, of militaryaircraft
had been more successful t h an t he civil
projects and provided t he company wit h
among others, invi ting tenders to produce
a trimotor, all-metal monoplane. Douglas
came upwith the 12-passenger, twin-engine
design, theDC-I.Thi wasenlarged to a 14
passengercapacityin itsproduction version,
the DC-2. A swell a h av in g a much more
spacious cal in, the DC-2 was actuallyfaster
thanthe 247, wiping out all the 247' initial
advantagesovernight. TWA placed the new
aircraft in to scheduled service in August
1934 and both and foreign carriers were
s oo n b ea ti ng a p at h to Douglas' door to
place orders for the type.
Whenthe DC-2 was enlarged again into
the21-passengerD -3,in 1936,anyhopes
Boeing had for the cont inued production
of the 247 vanished. The DC- 3 wenton to
become one of the most successful airliner
designs of all time, wi th many examples fly-
ing o n i nt o t h e twenty-first century, over
sixty years after the type entered service.
Even United had t oadmit t heDouglasaircraft 's superiority . From 1936, the airline
began to replace the 247's on major routes
with thei rown fleet of DC- 3s.
All Change for the Air MailAct
As well as eHectvely havngshot itself in the foot by
forcing the non-UATC airlnes to look elsewhere for
new equipment,United Aircraft was thrown into tur
moi by the1934 AirMail Act.
Introducedto put an end to growing monopoles
within the transport industries. a Senate Special
Committee investigated both ocean steamship and
airline mai contracts, folowing questons being
raised on the subject of subsidy and the fairness of
certaincontract awards.Ths led to thedisclosureof
some dubious practces and decisions in theway a
numberof airmai contractshad been awarded by the
Postmaster General,Walter Brown.
Al airmai contractswerecanceled with eHectfrom
9February 1934. Another consequenceof theAct was
to forbid thecose te-upof aircraftmanufacturers and
airlnes. As a result. Boeng became a separate com
pany agan.William Boengactualy resgnedoverthe
issue from the company hehad founded,accus ng the
Roosevet administraton of unfairness.
Although innocent partes suHered as much as the
guity, the airlnes soonemerged from the legislativegunsmoke relatively unscathed. The airmai service
was initially handed over to the mi tary, but chaos
ensued. Folowing a number of accidents and agen
eral publc outcry, the airlnes were invited to tender
forthecontractsagain.Certain airlnesand theirman
agements were forbidden, by their pastmvolvement
in Irregular practces, from applying, and a furryof
name-changing andcorporatemanoeuvres folowed.
UATC had already combined its fourmajor airlnes
subsidiares, Boemg Air Transport, Pacifc Al Trans
port, NatonalAir Transport and Varney AirLines, mto
one unit in May 1934, now oHicialy named United Air
Lnes.Anewcompany,TWA Inc, appled forTranscon
tmental & WesternAirs od contracts, and prompty
'took over theo d companyassetsonce theco ntracts
were awarded, swiftly reinstatng the original name.
Simiary, Amercan Airways became Amercan Air
lnes, Eastern Air Transportbecame Eastern Air Lnes,
and soon.
large order, for sixty aircraft, was placed, to
be delivered to its airline divisions. It was
assumed t ha t t he exclusive use o f t h e 247
by UAT 's airlines would give t hem an
unprecedented advantage on America',
airways. Itwas na' ive in the extreme for
UATC to t h i nk t ha t t heo t herairlines were
going to takethis lying down andthe rival
carrier soon a ~ proached Boeing to place
t hei r own orders. However, t he Uni te d
contract totally monopol i:ed the produc
tion capacity for nearlya year. Rather than
have to waituntil the initial order forsixty
was delivered, the disappointed airlines
approachedother aircraft manufacturers to
produce an al ternat ive aircraft.
Transcontinental & Western Ai r con
tacted the Douglas Aircraft Company,
" .- - -
United decided, albeit reluctantly, that
they were wi II i ng t o overlook the lower
capacity , in view o f t h e n ew type's speed
advantage. At over 70mph faster than its
nearest rival, the 247 was a definite trend
setter, the first t ransport to sport a low
wing monoplane and tw in-eng ined con
figuration. The t yp e f ir st f lew i n 1 93 2,
with the first delivery to UATC's airlines
being made on 30March 1933.
The 247's Nemesis
The decision to produce the smallercapac
ity aircraft was to turn out t o be only one
mistake made by n it ed i rc raf t and
Transport in selecting its new·-airliner. A
The Douglas DC-1 was designed atthe instigation
o fTWAandsoon overtook the Boeing 247 in its
developed production version, the DC-2. Via author
(Above) The Boeing 247 finally broughtmodern lines
to airliner design in 1933. The first aircraft, X-13301,
was a production model. There was no designated
prototype and thisaircraftwas laterdelivered to
the Boeing division of United Air lines. Boeng
The ni ted Ai r Lines group had been
struggling against competition from Tram
continental & Western Airand American
Airways, both flying more modern Ford
Trimotors or Fokker models that out
classed the Boeing 80s. Although United's
airline partners were trying their bes t to
compete, they were soon looking to their
Boeing part ner t o provide a new type to
push themahead oftheir rivals.
Although United had wantedan aircraft
as large as the 18-passengerBoeing 80s, the
Boeing 247emerged with capacityfor only
ten pas engel's. Boeing's allegiance t o t he i r
nited Aircraft and Transport partners
meant t hat it wa u na bl e to consider the
Wright I l 20 engine, then under develop
ment, that would have been suitable for a
larger aircraft. Boeingwasobliged to go to
Pratt & Whitney for an engine to power
their aircraft, but theyonlyhad their well
tried, but l es s powel fu l, Wasp to hancl .
Another factor in deciding to develop the
smaller design option was the rather volu
ble opinionof United's pilots. They were of
the view that a large r a ir craf t wou ld be
unstable and difficult to control.
70 77
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TO MESSRS BOEING. A BOUNCING BABY TO MESSRS BOEING. A BOUNCING BABY
Agiganticaircraft fori ts day, the Boeing 314 flying boatoperated luxurious pre-wartransoceanic air services over both theAtlantic and Pacific. Via author
(Above) The De Havilland Comet1series blazed a trail for jet airline travel in theearly 1950s. Unfortunately theirdemise, due to unforeseen metal fatigue, was swift
andonly three airlines and the Royal Canadian Air Force took delivery from a once
impressive order book. Via author
(Below) Contemporary with the flawed earlyComet
Viscount was a much more successful venture. Aerearly customer,eventually operating the type forov
Jenny Gradidge
Postwar Airliner
Developments
Unti l the arrival o f t he 707, Boeing's sole
contribution to the postwar airliner market
to reach the production stagewas the model
377 Stratocruiser. This itselfhadbeen a civil
version of the C-97/KC-97 military trans
portand in-flight refueller,derived from the
B29 bomber design. Despite large numbers
of C-97s and KC-ns being ordered by the
U m il it ary, civilian versions h ad o nl y
enjoyed limited success w it h t h e airlines.
Although its luxurious, spacious cabin and
legendary lower-deck cocktai I bar were
immensely popularwith passengers, i twas a
horrendously expensive aircraft to operate
andma in tainon a commercial basis.
When jet-powered airliners first came
on to the scene i t w as a ll about reducing
flying times over long-ranging flights. Only
f ive years before put ting the world's first
j et l ine r, the De Havi l la nd Comet 1, into
revenue service, advertising for the British
Overseas Airways Corporation 'boasted' of
UK-Hong Kongjourneys taking 'only five
days'! This leisurely scheduled service was
f lown by ShortsSandringham Flying Boat,
w it h n ig ht -s to ps b ei ng m ade en route.
Al though the first commercially operated
jets were usually obIiged t o make a number
of refuelling stops, t hey were assigned to
long-distance flights, still managing to cut
pis ton engine-powered, propeller a ir l iner
schedules in half .
The Turbo-Prop Era
Th e future for shorter-ranging f l ights, in
pa rt i cu lar thos e involving any degree of
'mass travel ' , was perceived to l ie i n the
direction of turbo-prop, or prop-je t, power.
In the turbo-prop the je t engine's thrust is
dive r te d to dr iv ing a propel ler , instead of
directly powering the aircraft through the
air. This is much moreeconomical in terms
of fuel consumption, a lthough giving near
ly the same speed advantages of pure-jet
power. Th e Vickers Viscount, contempo
rary with the omet 1, introduced turbo
proptravelto a ver y enthusiastic travelling
public in the early 1950s.
Sadly, t he C ome t turned out to suffer
from chronic metal fatigue problems. A
trio of mysterious crashes, all involving the
loss of all passengers andcrew on board the
unfortunate aircraft, brought the problem
12
to light. Only an extensive investigation,
on a scale not previously seen in civil avi
ation, finally identified the metallurgical
problem that had l ai n hidden until the
accidents brought it to the industry's atten
tion. Although the turbo-props were still
successfully makingthe i rma rka round the
world, the pure-je ta ir l iner was temporarily
grounded.
Soon, larger versions of the Viscount, as
w el l a s much larger turbo-prop aircraft ,
such as the Vicke rs Vangua rd and Lock
heed Electra , were o n t he horizon and it
was surmised t h at t he turbo-prop would
rule over the shorter ranges, l e av ing the
je ts to concentrate on longer fl ights. Long
range, large-capacity turbo-props, such as
the Bristol Britannia, were also on the
drawing board to opera te economical ser
vices on far-flung flights, the plan then
be ing to leave the expensive pure-je ts to
first-class travellerswilling to paya premi
um fare. This rather cosy plan of action,
however, was soon turned on its head.
If the Comet had achieved one thing, it
was to prove the underlying market for jet
travel. The all-First-C1ass passenger load
factors on t h e early Comets briefly operated
for BOAC, as wel l a s two French airlines,
Air France and UAT, hadbeen well beyond
expectations. Tourist-Classtravel was intro
duced on a handful o f t h e busier routes in
the earl1950s and itssuccess surprised even
the most optimisticsupportersof 'masstrav
el'. As the Comet was being redesigned into
the larger, more robust, Comet 4 series and
Boeing were looking at producingan airlin
er version of the ir KC-l35je t tanker design,
France's Sud-Aviation was putting the fin
ishing touchesto their short-haulje t airlin
er design, the E-210 Caravelle. From the
start, the CaravelIe, a nd t h e jetliners that
followed it, were designed wi th both first
and tour ist-class travel lers in mind. Only
rarely would there be anyta lk of 'First-Class
Only' jet travel, at least until the arrival of
the ultra-expensive supersonic transports.
13
Short-Haul Jet Rev
Whenthe elegantlydesign
Caravelle s t ar t ed Europ
1959, it s oon h ad passeng
their feet. It did not matt
public that the turbo-prop
nom ic over short e r dista
time-savings over close
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TO MESSRS BOEING. A BOUNCINGBABY TO MESSRS BOEING. A BOUNCING BABY
(Above) The Sud-AviationCaravelle was designedfromthe outsetfor
short-haulinter-cityservices. Itsoon outpacedthe large turbopropsoriginally seen as theanswerto economicshort-rangeservice. Va author
(Below) The originalpurposeof the KC-135 designwas as an in-flight refuellerfor
high-speed bombers like theBoeing B-52. Its potential as acommercial jettransport
was soon recognized andthe design was modifiedto producethe 707 airliner. Boeing
Pan American introducedthe 707-100 intoscheduled service in 1958. Theair l ine latertook deliveryof the
larger.more powerful -320 series. as seen here. MAP
Swissair wasoneof the few customers forthe Convair CV-990A. operating them on long-haul services to SouthAmerica and Asia. as well
as busier European routes. Va author
were minimal or even non-existent. Pro
pellers wereold-fashioned. The passengers
wanted jets and they wanted them now.
I f i th ad a p ropel ler on it, the publicdid
n ot w an t t o k now a nd soon sought ou t
the airlines with jet-powered alternatives.
Caught unawares, the British European
Airways Corporat ion, which had placed
,tll i tseggs firmly in the turbo-prop basket
by ordering large fleets of economical Vis
count s a nd Vanguards, were forced to
commissiona 'stop-gap' short-haul version
of t he Comet , t he 4B.
The BEA Comet 4Bs were ini ti a lly
assigned to the longerroutes on thei rne t
work, especially t o t he e as te rn Mediter
ranean,but were soon also pressed into ser
vice on shor t er t runk routes where rival
European operators such as Air France,
Alitalia, Finnair, Iberia, Sabena, SAS and
Swissair were flying their new Caravelles.
Although much less suitablefor theshort
er runs, the Comets were required to win
back passengers until BEA could p la ce a
more economically viable in ter-city jet
into service.
Boeing's Jetliner S
Europe's only long-range c
707, at least in its earlyyea
to the De Havilland Com
'new' Comet 4 was techn
the 707. However, the
achieved the distinction o
first commercially operat
Atlanticwhen Britain's BO
service on t he London- e
October 1958. This was o
weeks before Pan American
14 15
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United'sPostwar Growth TO MESSRS BOEING. A BOUNCING BABY
United's Boeing 727s wereamongthefirstto rolloff what wasto become along and successfulproductionrun. MAP
they would he puttingthe
production.
Winghigh-liftdevicesw
into thedesign for an even
take-offperformance. As w
ful in t he t h in mountain a
h igh- li ft dev ices would
727 operators to introduc
important East-Coast US
New York's La Guardia an
National that h ad r es
lengths.Also, from the cab
the fuselage cross-section
From Four Engines
Boeing's first offering on
jet airliner marketcame ab
direct discussions with a
wanted a smal l twin-jet .
major operat ions centre a
Rocky Mounta i ns , want
and power reserves of fo
were pushing for a yet sm
the 720B. Boeing's engine
persuade the Eastern and U
ments that a three-engine
was a workahle compromis
her 1960, t he company a
The improved take-offand
mance ofthe Boeing nO/n
jet service to a numberof ai
ously able to accommodate
and DC-8s.
and CV-990 jet airliner models specifical
ly with these markets in mind.
[nitially, Boeing had concent rat ed on
improving the long-range and load-carry
ing capabilities o f t he 707. Larger, more
powerful versions wereoffered that elimin at ed t he need for refue ll ing s tops on
many fl ights. However, encouraging early
sales figures for the medium-range Conv
airjets alerted Boeing to a threat to their
customer base, several members of which
were already in preliminary negotiations
with Convair. Not surprisingly, an inter
mediate-range version of t he 707 was also
soon on offer.
Lighter, shorter and more powerful ,
witha redesignedwing and flap layout that
improved take-off and cruising perfor
mance, the Boeing no first flew on Z3
Novemher [959. Boeing took particular
satisfaction in ohtaining early orders for
the no from Douglas DC-8 operators
Unit ed Ai r Lines and Eastern Air Lines,
that h ad h ot h b ee n seriously considering
the Convair options. Established US
based 707 cus tomers , such as American
Airlines, BraniffAirways and Continental
Airlines alsoordered the no, andthe later
turbo-fanned engined version, the nOB,
in some numbers.
Away from t he h om e market, several
foreign scheduled carriers also placed nos
and nOBs in service on longer-ranging
fl ights where passenger loadswere l ighter
and did not justify the use of larger 707s.
introduced their first imported Boeing 707
jets.
Booming worldwide sales of the 707
h ad soo n p ushe d Boeing into the fore
front of civil airliner design, overtaking
Douglas and Lockheed in a few short
years. Sales of the 707's m ai n U S rival,
the similar Douglas DC-8 , had suffered
from b ei ng l at er i nt o service t ha n t he
707, although respectable sales figures
were later achieved and developed ver
sions of t he aircraft kept t he t ype i n pro
duction for many years. Lockheed had
elected to ignore the long-haul jet airlin
er market , and concentrated on develop
ing i ts L-88 Electra turbo-prop for inter
city airline work. The rise of the
short-haul jet was to restrict the Electra
marke t cons i derab l y and Lockheed didnot attempt to return to full-scale airlin
er production for many years.
Boeing and the
Short-Haul MarketThe operationally and commercially suc
cessful use of early model 707s and DC-8s
on domestic routes within the USA had
shown a market for jet services on busy
inter-city sectors. Douglashadbeen selling
versions of t he DC-8 tailored fordomestic
US service and another aircraft manufac
turing company, General Dynamics, pro
ducing aircraft underthe Convair name in
San Diego, had offered their new CV-880
Hawaian network, although these were disposed of as uneconomiccomparedto the
DC-6s andDC-7s that replaced them.With the arrival ofthe jet era, Unitedgreatly influ
enced the design of the DC-B and theBoeng 720 and 727, as well as the737.
Un.teds acquisition of financialy ai ng Capital Airlnes in 1961, saw the creaton of
the largest airline in the Western world. Whenthe 737 programmewas announcedin
1965, Unitedwas operatng thirty-eight Douglas DC-8s, three DC-8Fs, twenty-nine Boe
ing720s, twenty-eight Boeng 727-100s, with eighty-two more 727-100s and -200s on
order and twenty Sud Caravele 6Rs in its jet feet. In addition, United still operated
twenty-three DC-7s, sx DC-7Fs. thirty DC-6s, seven DC-6As, forty DC-6Bs. seventeen
Convair CV-340sand forty-five Viscount 700s in their propeler-driven, piston and prop
jet-engined feet.Most of the survivingpropeler aircraft were planned to be phased
out andreplaced bythe remaining727s on order, as well as thenew order for737-200s.
(Below) The DC-8 had benefitedfroma greatdeal ofinputintothe designfromUnited.
Thetype was to servetheair l inefor near lythir tyyears. Via author
Once establshed as a strong, independent airlne in its own rght. United Air Lnes
enoyed a perod of unprecedented growth. When the USA entered the Second Word
War the airlne, along with mostof thenaton scommercial air carrers.mademostof its
carryng capacityavaiable formi tary use. United operatedatrans-Pacifc air servcefor
the US Navy, as well as fying numerousdomestc contracts forthe US war machne.
After the return of peace, United turned itsattention to modernizing and expanding
its domestc network. Unlke many ofits rvals, it dd not use its wartime long-range
experence to press for international service authority. Instead, United satisfied itself
with extending its coast-to-coastnetwork tothe Hawaian Islands in 1947.
The airlne remained amajor force in US airliner design, beng heaviy involved in the
development of the Dougas DC-4, DC-6, DC-7 seres and Convair CV-340 piston
engined aircraft. Asmal fleet ofBoeng Stratocruiserswas also operated briefly on the
(Above) The BoeingStratocruiserserved briefly on United's new prestigeHawaiian
schedulesin theear ly 1950s. MAP
16 17
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TO MESSRS BOEING. A BOUNCI G BABY TO MESSRS BOEING. A BOUNCING BABY
The 1940s-50svintage, piston-powered DC-6 series still featured heavily in United's fleetin themid-1960s.
AViaton HobbyShop
Wing-mounted engines a
more of t he fuselage was av
paying passengers, wi th
involved in mounting eng
fuselage. The wing-moun
tionsalso led to less proble
a satisfactory centreofgrav
distribution scenarios.The engines could no
pylons, as o n t h e 707/720,
er rroximity of the smalle
to the ground. Instead, the
(Belowl The Boeing 72Ts impres
seen to effecton thistaxying Am
aircraft. was adapted forthe 737.
stall undercertainaerodynamicconditions,
had eventuallybeen solved. Unfortunately
this was not until after the tragic loss ofthe
prototype One-Elevenand its testcrew as a
result of justsuch a stall.
Eventually Boeing opted for the under
wing locat ion for i ts engines, two Pratt &Whitney JT -Os, with a conventional tail
layout. Apart from the deep-stallconsider
ations, the wider cross-section of the Boe
ing made the fitting of t he engines o n t he
rear fuselage an aerodynamic nightmare.
IAbovel The BAC One-Elevenhad to curea 'deep-stal l 'problemwith i tsT-tai ldesign, which l edtothe
lossof theoriginal prototype on atest fl ight. Theeventual solution benefitedall suchdesignsthat
followed. Aviaton Hobby Shop
T-Tail or Pylon?
Two groups of Boeing engineers looked
independently a t e i t her t heT-rail or under
wing engine design o pt io n . T he T ta il ,
with the engines placed o n t he rear fuse
l age, had been a popul ar des ign wit h the
earlier type, especially from t he p oi nt o f
view of reducing noise in the passenger
cabin. A potentiallydangerous 'deep-stall'
rroblem, with Ttail configured aircraft,
where the aircraftentered an unrecoverable
Boeing could rroduce a more flexible jet,carab l e of carrying economic loads over
shorter routes andin t o mailer airfields, as
well as the larger cities, t he company
would have a valuable, profitalle, new
addition to its jet 'family'.
In ovember 1964, Boeing finally gave
the go-ahead for their designers to investi
gate t he op ti ons for the new jet airliner
design. It was specifically aimed at recap
turingmarkets beinglost t o t he BA One
Eleven and DC-9, where the Boeing 727
was regarded as too large. A reliable work
horseaircraft,capable of operatingseveral
sectors a day carrying economic loads at
low cost , was required. The Boeing sales
and market ing departments envisaged a
sales potential of more t han 600 units of
the newdesign.
Wi th t he ir 'family' concept in mind,
the newly formed Boeing project team,
under t he leadership of John E. Steiner,
e le ct ed t o m ak e t h e fuselage o f t h e new
type the same width as the 707/720 and727. This g av e a defini te advantage in
terms of passenger comfort. The BAC
One-Eleven, Caravel le and DC-9 all had
narrower cabins, wi th t he economy-class
passengers in all the aircraft being seated
in a five-abreast, 2-3 configuration. The
Boeing aircraft would be able to offer an
except ional ly comfortable fi ve-abreastlayoutor, as turned o ut t o be the case in
most ai rlines' service, a more economical
3-3, six-abreast configuration.
Design Decisions
hau l j et s had begun to make inroads i nt o
the denser markets, I940s and 50s vintage,
piston-engined, DC-6s, DC-7s and Con
stellation, .hunted f rom longer, p rime
routes by the early jets, still flew thousands
of pas engers on busy inter-city services
every day.
ni tedAir Linesalso flew a sizable fleet
of Vickers Viscount turbo-rrops inherited
when t hey t ook over Carital Airlines in
1961. With t he Capi t al network, United
had also t aken on a number of multi-stop
routes linking both large and small cities.
I t was t hese rou tes that saw the greatestconcentrat ion of orerat ions for United's
remaining turbo-rrop and piston-engined
aircraft fleets. Passenger loads were not
e no ug h t o surpor t t he Boeing 727 and
many of t he airports wereunable to accept
the smallerCaravel Ie, ofwhichUnited did
operate a small f leet on East Coast and
Mid-West route'.
The first generationsof short-haul jetshad
already shown tha t theycould operate as
cheaply, i f not more so, and also attract
more rassengers with thei rmodern jet-age
image. Although initial acquisition costs
were large, the jetswere soonearningtheir
keep, carrying more passengers on more
dai ly sec to rs and beating any pis ton or
turho-prorcompet i tion intotheground. If
W it h t he 727 mak in g its development
flights, Boeing's attention turned more to
the market for smaller, more regionally
focused jetliners,preferably with even bet
ter short-field performance. That s uc h a
marketexi ted was being demonstrated by
Douglas, ud and BAC, with the increas
ing sale' oftheirTtail configuredtwin jets.That a majordomestic customer for Boeing
aircraft, American Airl ines, had ordered
no les. than thirty-one BACOne-Elevens
from Great Britain, t o surpl ement t hei r
much larger 727s on short-haul routes,
gave the design team even more incentive
to come up witha Boeing-builtcontender.
The 1960s s ti ll aw a l arge number of
routesserved by ageing prorellerfleets even
in the largest airline networks. Although
the Boeing 727, and other short/medium-
the Boeing707 seriesand the ideaoff amily
'commonality' was finally ur and running.
Both airl ine placed their firstorders,for
forty aircraft e ac h, a nd t he Boeing 727-
100 flew for the first time on 9 Fel ruary
1963. evera l other carriers, including the
first European customer for the 727, West
Germany's Lufthansa, followed nited
and Eastern's example. The worldwide
sal es f igures for the t ri -j et w er e s oon
rivalling those o f t he already successful
707 and 720 series.
Surviving Props
78 79
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TO MESSRS BOEING. A BOUNCING BABY Postwar lufthansa
Easternopted for the OC-9 as itsshort-haul jet, rather than waitfor the 737, still in its early design stages.
Via author
were of a revised 'string-tube' type, and
attached more directly to the wings. The
wings themselves were designed from the
outset wi thexcel lentairfield performance
in mind, usinglessons learnt from the 727.
The increased dihedral outboard of the
wings not only contributed to this perfor
mance , bu t also added to fuel capacity.
Features such as t he onboard auxiliary
power unit and opti ona l airstairs further
a dd ed t o the 737's attractiveness, as it
would beable to operate from many small
erairports with limited facilities .
By the time Boeingannounced the defin
itive design, as the Boeing 737, in February
1965, the aircraft hadalreadygrown from a
60-seater to a 75-103-passenger airliner.The 'family' concept had survived, with60
per cent commonality with the Boeing 727
des ign being retained. The 727 's dual
hydraulic-powered ailerons, elevator and
rudder, the leading edge slats and Krueger
flaps were adapted for the 737, as was the
707 's dual electric motor-driven variable
inc id ence tai lplan e t rim sys tem, with a
manual backup.The company was also able
to announce itsfirst orderfor the 737 on the
day the final design was revealed.
First 737 Sales
Surprisingly, this order was not from oneof
the major US domestic carriers, despite
Unit ed havi ng been a major target and
contributing a great deal of i npu t i n t o t he
design. At t he t imetha t t hedesign studies
o n t he Boe ing 737 were being initiated,
Unit ed and Eastern Air Lines had been
the only major US carriers uncommitted
in the second-generation, short-haul twin
jet market.
Al though an enthusi::tstic opera to r of
the 727 , Eas tern even t ua l ly op ted for
ordering a large nee t of DC-9s, that could
be del ivered quicker than the 737 that
was still on t he S ea t tl e drawing boards.United, however, continued to co-oper
a t e w i th Boeingon the ir p roj ect . Unit ed
was more interested in the sl ight ly larger
development of t he Boeing design, later
to emerge as the Series 200, 6ft 4in
(lAm) longer t h an t h e Series 1 00 . A s a
result, Wes t G ermany 's L uf th an sa h ad
been t he fi rst t o p l ace an order for twen
ty-two of the ini t ial 737-100 series, thus
becoming the first Boeing a i rl i ner t o be
launched by a non-US customer.
20
Lufthansa had been l ook ing for a jet
replacement f or i ts r em ai ni ng n ee ts o f
piston-powered Convair 440 Metropol i
t an s, as w el l as their turbo-prop Vickers
Viscounts, then ope ra te d on Wes t G er
man domesti c and busy short-haul Euro
pean routes. Also earmarked for replace
ment w er e a handful of piston-powered
Lockheed Super Const el l at i ons , long
since deposed from t he l ong-hau l ser
vices, but sti II used on Lufthansa'shigher
capaci ty domesti c and European sched
ules and some i nc lu si ve -t ou r charter
services.
Lufthansa wasalready operating Boeing
707s and 720Bs on long-range flights , as
wel l a s 727 s on bot h s ho rt a nd mediumlength routes. Originally approached by
both BAC and Douglas as a possible cus
tomer for thei rownshort -haul jetoptions,
Lufthansa h ad b een less impressed with
the smaller capacity and shorter range of
the designs initially on offer. Wit h t he
addi t ion of t he 737, after disposing of its
last propeller-powered airliners, Lufthansa
wou ld be able to offer Boeing jet service
standards to all its customers, throughout
its network.
The original companywas formed in 1926, when two of Germanyspioneerng air trans
portcompanies, DeutscherAero Loyd and Junkers Luftverkehr, merged on24 January,
resultng in DeutscheLuft Hansa. D.L.H. went on to develop into one of Europes largest
pre-warairlnes, both in terms of fleetszeand networkmieage.
The Second WorldWar saw D.L.H., lke most airlnes operatng within the protago
nist natons,working increasingly for the mi tary. A limitedcivi network was main
tained throughout the war years though, and contnued until theadvance of the Ales
madethe operaton impossible. At the end of hostilities, the oncemighty airline was
down to sx serviceableaircraft, aFocke-Wulf Fw200 Condor, aDC-2, aDC-3, two JU
52/3ms and aJunkers JU-88.
In the immediate postwar perod, with theod Germannatondivided into two sepa
rate countres, neither the newly formed Federa Republc of Germany,nor the Peopes
Democratc Repubc ofGermanywere initially permitted to operate their own airlnes.
An East German carrer, initially also caled Lufthansa, later named Interflug, was
establshed by the Communist authorities. However, airlnes of the occupying a les
contnued to operatedomest c flights in West Germanyand international routes were
flownsolely by visiting airlnes of foreign natons.
Eventualy, as theFedera Republc recovered economicaly, permission was granted
for the formaton of a new West German airline and a provisional stock company,
Luftag, was establshed in January 1953.
(Above) Lufthansainauguratedpostwar scheduled
services with Convair CV-340s in 1955. JennyGraddge
TheVickers Viscountwas to be operated by Lufthansa on
European and domesticroutes, Lufthansa
(Below) Lufthansaintroducedthe first 727s to Europe,
namingthem'Europajets'. Theywere operated to North
Afr icaandthe Middle East as well as on busiershort
range flights. Via author
Revvngtheo d nameof Lufthansa on 6August 1954,the airline
domestc network on 1Apri 1955. Ordershad been placed for four
vair CV-340s for regional services and Lockheed delvered an eq
range L-1049G Super Constelat ons. International European flig
1955 and the Super Constelatons inaugurated trans-Atlantic fligh
Over the following years Lufthansa steadily expanded throu
opened more long-rangeflights to South Amerca andthe FarEast
joined the Convairs, the CV-340s being supplemented with im
1958 and the Super Constelations were also augmented by
L-1649A Starlners.
The airlne's success mirrored the financial recovery of the Fe
Lufthansas first jet, the first of a fleet ofBoeng 707s,arrved in
fve years after operatons had started. Boeng 727s, dubbe
Lufthansa,beganappearng on Europeanservices in Apri 1964.
TheBoeng 737 order was placed with a view to replacing the
airlners, then consistng ofthe Convars,Viscounts and the surviv
stelations. The standardizaton on the727 and 737 onthe shor
designed to offer cost savngs byreducing the number of types in
ingthe airline the publc relatonsaccolade of an all-jet feet.
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Boeing 737s f inallvstartedrollingdown the productionline in 1966/67. Lufthansa
a requirement for small fle
networks.
The Third Pilot Iss
The 737also had a politi
in that pilots' unions and
the United S tates were i
aircraft be opera ted e i
pilots, or two pi lo tsand a
This arrangement, aswels iv e f or the airlines,
impractical as the 737
been designed from t h e
p il ot e n vi r onmen t , w it
' jumpseat' available for a
ary personnel thar may n
from time to t ime .
The third pilot issue ha
raised shortly before the
Electra turbo-prop entere
late 1950s. Although nev
operated by just two pilo
Pilots' Association (ALP
thirdcrewmember tobe a
engineer, as had been the
vious three-cockpit-crew
wanted all jet-powered eq
the third pilot. As well as
safety and workload issue
a pilot inplaceof a flight e
as a political move in an
ously weaken the rival
[nternational Association
Two o f t he Electra's e
were targeted by the pi lo
cases during contract neg
view to persuading them
view and establish a pr
based National Airlinesm
a compromise that deferr
it was pu t to arbi t ra t ionw
had been delivered. We
management were less fl
ter strike fol lowed a fa
tions. From 21 February
Western was grounded,
refusing to budge. Finally
threatened to hire new
First Steps
Apart from the Avianca and Mexicana
o rd er s, a ll were for the larger series 200.
The Lake Central, N or da ir a nd o rt he rn
Consol i da te d o rd er s w er e f or v er sa ti Ie,
convertible, passenger-cargo aircraft.
It is interesting to note that, apart from
major US carrierWestern Air Lines, all the
above orders were for comparatively small
numbers. Many carriers were still uncon
vinced o f t he prospective economics of
short-haul jet services. Two of the 'Big Four'
US domestic airlines, Eastern and TWA
had already ordered DC-9s over the 737,
d ue t o their earlier availability. American
Airlines had long committed itself to oper
ating a mixedfleetofOne-Elevensand 727s
on their medium and short-haul network.
This left United as the only'Big Four' carri
er still in terested in the 737. The medium
sized and specialist airlines, although eager
to upgrade their serviceswith jets, only had
New Sales
The finalized design forthe Boeing 737-100 revealed a practical twin-jet
airliner with greatpotentialfor growth and development. Lufthansa
CHAPTER TWO
Despite the difficulties, by the t imethe first
aircraft was assembled and 'christened' in a
much-publicized ceremony a t Seat t le , on
17 January 1967, no less than seventeen
carriers had been wooed by Boeing'sever
effic ient sales department into placing
orders for the 73 7. As well as the launch
orders from Lufthansa a nd U ni te d, t he
o rd er book now in cluded a i rc ra f t for
Avianca (two), Braathens (three), Britan
nia Airways ( th re e) , A er Lingus-Irish
International (two), Lake Central Airlines
(three), Mexicana (two), Nordair (three),
Northern Consolidated Airlines (one),
Pacific Air Lines (six), Pacific Southwest
Airlines (six), Pacific Western Airlines
(two), Piedmont Airlines (six), South
African Airways (two), Western Air Lines
(twenty)and Wien Alaska Airlines (one).
737 was completed, in 1970, fol lowing a
major reorganization within the company
due to financial problems, all f inal assem
blyfor the aircraftwas moved south to the
nearby Boeing factory at Renton.
Located 15 miles southeast of Seattle,
the Renton faCility wasalreadyresponsible
for muchof the company's commercial air
liner product ion and the 737 production
line initiallyran alongside that of the 727.
The move o f t h e f in al a ss embly work to
Renton wasgreatlyfacilitated by the 737's
production jigs for the wings having been
made portable from the beginning. Origi
nally th is had b ee n t o e na bl e t he e nt ir e
assembly process to be moved to Wichita,
ifrequired, at a later date.
With the p lac ing of product ion orders
by Lufthansa and United, and other sales
in advanced states of negotiation, the 737
had finally been firmed up from an ever
changeable'paper' proposition to a defin
itive design. The serious task of trans
forming the paper design into a flying,
commercially viable, working airliner was
now underway.
Uni t ed e vent ua ll y
for forty Series 200s,
Pulling It All Together
TO MESSRS BOEING. A BOUNCING BABY
At first, the final assembly of the 737 was
centred on a new218,000sq ft (20,252sqm)
plant at Boeing Field, the company's main
plant, at Seattle. The wings and main body
of the aircraftwerebuilt a t the existingPlant
2. The ta il was constructed at the Boeing
facility inWichita, originallyestablished for
Boeing by the US government during the
war to build the B-29bomber. The B-47 jet
bomberwasalso laterproduced at Wichita.
Muchof the 737's other com ponents, such
as the building ofthe landing gear and much
of the airliner 's in terior work, were con
tracted out to third parties.
[n 1967,Wichita was given responsibil
ity for the construction of fuselages for all
737s, which were then transpor ted to the
assembly line by train, a practice that con
tinues to the present day. Afte r the 271st
i nt o p ro du ct io n.
placed thei r order,
on 15 April [965.
Lufthansa's Influence
Lufthansa had actually been responsible
for persuading Boeingto stretch the origi
nal 73 7 design. In particular, Lufthansa's
Chief Executive, Technical Services, Ger
hard Holtje, pressured Boeing into pro
ceeding with the design t o mat ch t he air
line's needsmore closel y. As fi rst offered by
Boeing's designers, the 737 wou ld have
been a 55-60-passenger airliner. Holtje,
however, insisted o n a n aircraft capable of
carrying up to eighty-two passengers, the
capacity of thei r Super Cons te l la t ions ,
each with 20kg(44Ib) of baggage,as well as
upto 450kg (990Ib) of cargo and mail over
a 500mi (804km) sector with fuel reserves.
[ n t he end, even the smaller 737-100 was
to exceed these performance criteria, with
the larger, higher-capacity Series 200, ini
tially with less range, offering even more
revenue-earning potential.
Lufthansa signed their order for twen
ty-two Series [OOs on [ 9 February [965,
three days before Boeing officially an
n ounc ed t h e l au nch o f t he 737 project
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FIRST STEPS FI RS T S TEP S
of Lake entral 's long-ser
hegun in 1960 wit h the a
ex-United Convair 340,.increasingly unfashionabl
been in service ' ince the
ing, as Turner Airl ines, in
the Nords arrived to bring
to Lake ent ral 's l ess bus
t he o nv ai rwas too large a
ing D -3s were in de pe
more modern replacemen
with many other regional
t ime, Lake Central star
their second-hand Conva
industriali:ed region, thc airlinewas ham
pered by being obi iged to serve numerous
short inter-ci ty routes in between thesepoints. Some limited non-stop authority
had beengranted between larger citie' on
the network, but it was notenough to turn
red ink into black. Rc-cquipment wasa top
priority a nd t he 737s, as well as two 727
laOs also on order, would h av e b ee n t he
f irst s tep i n rep laci ng a f leet of Convair
580and ord 262 turbo-props, of which a
dozen of each wereoperated.
The a ir li ne had placed a l ot of faith in
the small, 27-passenger ord. Replacement
After strugglingwithequipment problems
and a precari ous f inanc ia l pos it ion for
manyyears, LakeCentral A irl ines, of Indi
anapolis, was to vanish before they could
takc delivery of their 737s, a ft er heg in
hought out by Allegheny Airlines. The
Lakc Central network stretched from east
to west from Chicago to Washington DC
a nd n or th to south from Buffalo and
Grand Rapids to Cincinnati in the south.
Although serv ing a prosperous, l arge ly
US operatorsof the DC-9 and BAC One-Eleven twin-jets were notdirectly affected by theAlPA campaign
fora third pilot on the 737. Pctures courtesyof Avaton Hobby Shop
The Loss of the Lake
Central Orders
Lost Custom
rebuttingthe ATA-AIA arguments, point
by point.
Unti l the disputewas settled, the possi
bility of having to operate the 737 undcr
these conditions was to deter a number of
pos si bl e U domes ti c cu 'tomers. Th is
espccial ly aided Douglas in sell ing both
theirstandard andstretched DC-9s to scv
eral smal lcr American regional airlincs.
The disputc rumbled on, with Boeing,
thc airlinc managemcnts, thc FAA and
ALPA, as well as several other bodics, all
making thcir vicws as well known and as
volubly as possible.
In addi t ion to the th ree -p i lo t issue dcter
ringsome potential customers, not all the
seventcen carriers representcd at thc
christening ceremony were to take dcliv
ery of their ordercdaircraft.orthernConsolidatcdand Wien Alas
ka Airlincs combined their operations in
February 1968 and the 73 7 weredel i \'ered
to the resulting newcarrier,WienConsol
idated Airlines. Mexicana later cancelled
their order, leaving Lufthansa and Avian
c a as the only init ial customers for the
Series 100. However, Malaysia-Singapore
Airline' did eventually order five Series
100s, followed later by a further order for
Series 200s.
The negotiations had failed to solve the
issue by Apri l 1967 and a mcdiation board
was appointed in an attcmpt to find a com
promise betwecn ALPA and United. How
ever, the board was recessed on 25 Julywith
no agreement reachcd. ALPA tooka strike
vote at ni tedand 92percent of their pilots
were shownto favourstrikingifthe 737was
not operated by the three-pilotcrew.
During the Summcr, ALPA proposed
to FAA's Westcrn Rcgion and the FAA
Administrator that thrce-man crews
The FAA. hy estahl"h111ga reqlllre111ent for a
three-man cre\\' for ,urlllle Jet transl'{)rt llpcra
t lUlb, coukl en"oUfe that no car rie r would h a n . ~L 'C0 !101 l l IL II1C l ' l1 t l \"L ' t opronde '\cn'icc with les.
t han the highest p"",hk degree ,,( ",(ety 111 the
puhlic l11tere,r.
opera tc on the Boeing 737and t heOne
Elevcn and DC-9. A cco rd in g t o ALPA:
Following instructions from its membership, ALPA later dropped the request for
three-pilot crews on thc One-Elevcn and
DC-9. onet he less, thc un ion s tated that
if the Boeing 737was to be legally required
to operate with three crew, ALPA would
reopen the issue on the other two types as
well. However, in eptember 1967, The
Air TransportAs ociation of America and
the Aerospace Industries Association filed
a r ep or t w it h the FAA, supporting the
two-crew posi t ion. ALPA rcsponded by
Two or Three on the 7377
A bitterdisputebetweenthe pilots'union. AlPA. and Western Air l ines'management centred around who
should occupy the lockheed Electra'sthird flight-deckseat.pilot orflight engineer. AViaton Hobby Shop
the strikers,a new contract wassigned and
once again t he t hi rd p il ot i ssuc was
deferred.
ALPA and FAA representativcs wcrcshown a mock-up of the 737 fl ight deck
design in the au tumn of 1965. Although
the FAA was unable to make any dctcrmi
nation as to l ikely certi ficat ion based on
thc mock-up, which was very basic with
no working (c,lturcs, Unitcd's pilots wcrc
qui ck t o m ak e it known that they disap
proved of the two-crew conccpt bascd on
this mock-up. Twelve months later, an
animatcd mock-up was uscd to tcst crcw
workloads on th c aircraft, Once again, thc
United pi lots' group concluded that a
three-pilot crew would be required.
O \' ember 1966 saw the meeting of
ALPA's directors adopting a rcsolutionrequiring three pilots on Bocing 737s at
a ll t imes . A month earlier, annual con
tractnegotiations had opened with Unit
ed and the question of crcwingon the 737
soon bccame a major issue. Howevcr, at
the same t ime, the FAA notified Boeing
in writing that it tentatively acceptcd
that the 737 could be operated with only
two pi lots, barring any changcs o r n cw
information that may r es ul t f rom the
flight tcst programme.
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The airline pioneered a n
original passenger handlin
as integral airstairson their
an engine running on tight
employing travelling in-f
issue tickets. Although it w
system was not further exp
west. More conventional h
Pacific's Problems
Yet another o f the numero
World War localservice car
to tak e advantage of the in
in a ir t r an spor t, Pac if ic
originally known as Sout
quite neatly and the merg
step in a substantial perio
the airline. Through later
tions and a vigorouspolicy
sion, Allegheny g rew f rom
service carrier into o ne o f
line operators in the USA.
o f t h e Lake Central takeo
727 and 737formed no par
plans and the orderswere
great surprise when merger negotiations
began between the two companies. These
culminated in a vo te to mergeby both air
lines' stockholders on 14 March 1967,
with Lake Cen tr al 's a bs or pt io n i nt o
Allegheny taking effect on I July.
The Lake Central network dove-tailed
into Al legheny' s more easterly system
FIRST STEPS
done Lake Central any favours a nd t he
tragicloss of the th ree crew and all thirty
seven passengers on oneof theConva irs a
month later, caused by a propeller shaft
failure, sawmore passengers avoiding trav
elling with the airline.
A new management team took overand
began promotingthe carrier as the 'A irlinc
with a Heart' , painting large white hearts
on a bright r ed ta iI. Th is wasa Iso derived
f rom Lake Central's earlier advertis ing
claim to be 'Serving t he He ar t o f t he
a t ion' . New route extensions saw the
carrier reaching St Louis in the west and
Louisville in the south, with Convair 580
f ligh ts f rom Indianapo li s . But i t was too
late to save the airline. Many of the new
management t ea m h ad originally come
from AlleghenyAirlines and it came as no
not r et ur n t o service until February 1967
when problems with water methanol and
mineral CorroSiOl, that had caused the tur
hine failures, had been sorted out. At this
time, negotiations began with Boeing to
acquire a small 737fleet, intended forser
\'ice hetween the larger cities o n t h e net
work. However, the bad publicity had not
H4040S
Pacific Air l ines' choiceof DC-3 replacement was a mixedf leetof Martin 202s and 404s. N40408 previously
served with TWA. Va author
turbine power, with Allison 501 prop-jets
replacing their original pi ston engines .
Unfortunately, serious engine problems
led to g ro undi ng o f t he Nord f le et i n
August 1966. Ithough not leading to the
loss of any of the aircraft, o n n o less than
four occasions turbine wheels had failed in
the French-built aircraft's Turbomeca Bas
tan engines. In one i nc id en t, o n 7 July
1966, a n e ng in e actually exploded in
fl ight. The crewm anaged to regain control
and land safely, but passengers had been
badly injured when parts from the disinte
grating engine had punc tured the cabin .
Following another engine f ai lu re a
month later, the Nords were groundedand
the old DC-3s taken ou to f storage, where
they had been awaiting sale, and swiftly
placed back into service. The Nords did
lake CentralAir l ines hadrel ied on their
faithful DC-3s (above) formanyyears
before introducing largerConvair CV
340s (left) thatwere laterre-engined as
CV-580s with turbo-prop power plants.
Pictures va author
(Below) The French-built Nord262 was
a greatdisappointment to lake Central,
althoughthe modifiedaircraft went on
to serve Alleghenyand itsassociates for
manyyears afterthemerger. MAP
FI RST STEPS
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were utilized when larger aircraft, in the
shape of Martin 202s and 404s, replaced the
DC-3s. Ironically, it was left to one o f t h e
larger major US carriers to refine South
west's novel ticketing methods in to the
highlysuccessful Eastern Air Lines 'Shuttle'
between East Coast cities.
Expansion had led to t he company
name being changed to Pacific Air Lines
in March 1958. Despite operating a mod
ern fleet of Boeing 727 jets and Fairchild
F-27 jet-props t ha t had replaced the Mar
tin 202s and 404s, by the mid-1960s,
Pacific Air Lines was beginning to suffer
from severe local competition from both
low-cost and mainline carriers in i ts Cali
fornia-based network. A Ithough it operat
ed between several important WestCoast
cities and boasted an ex tensi ve ne twork
that stretched from southern California to
Oregon and across the evada borde r to
Las Vegas, PacificAir Lineswas held back
by unprofitable local service routes. Most
of these were left over from Southwest's
original network, designed to feed traffic
from suburban Cali forn ian poin t s i n t o
San Francisco and Los Angeles area air
ports. Legallyobliged by its route licences
to serve the uneconomic smaller commu
nities that i t wou ld dea r ly have liked to
have dropped f rom i ts network, Pacific
relied heavily on revenue from service
between the larger c it i es such as Los
Angeles, Sacramento and its home base at
San Francisco.
FIRST STEPS
The 100-passenger Boeing 727-100shad
entered Pacific service on 20 July 1966. A
giant leap from the 48-passengerFairchilds,
the new jet s were neces sa ry to compete
against the major operators in the region
such as United and Western . As well as
alreadyoperating727s of their own, United
werealsoutilizingtheirlargerfour-jet, medi
um-range Douglas DC-8s and Boeing 720s
in the area. Western also flew later model
Boeing 720Bs throughout the region.
Pacific's attempts to compete by plac
ing the 727s into service on non-stop
flights between the few major cities on
their network were hampered further by
increasingcompetition from local lowfare
rival, Pacific Southwest Airlines. Effec
tively suffering competition from both
mainline and low-fare sectors of industry,
costing i t large amounts of revenue, Pacif
ic wa s finding its situation increasingly
untenable A f le et of 737-sized airliners
was seen as being necessary to compete
more economically.
onetheless, events overtook Pacific
Air Lines' fleet pl ann i ng and, in April
1968, the airl ine was to merge with simi
larly disadvantaged West Coast Airl ines
and Bonanza Airlines to form Air West.
The hope was t ha t t he combined opera
tion, with a new network extending fur
t her i n t o t he Pacific northwestand east as
far as Arizona and Utah, would form the
basis of a commercially much stronger
carrier.
Air West favoured the DC-9 as their
preferred smaller, short-haul, jet. Both
Bonanza and Wes t Coa st had operating
the type since 1966, and Pacific Air Lines'
737 orders were cancelled. Pacific's 727s
continued in AirWest servicefor a while ,
and larger 727-200s were later operated
before the company lost its identity in y et
another merger, in June 1979.
Airborne!
After the January roll-oLit and christening
ceremonies, the development Boeing air
craft, registeredN 73700, was preparedforits
first flight and the ensuingflighttestand cer
tification programme. Taxi tests took place
on 8 April 1967, a yearafter the orderbook
for the aircraft reached the 100mark. In the
year, sales had increased to 141 aircraft.
The next day, at 13.15, local time,
N 73 700took to air for the firs ttime. It was
commanded by B ri en Wyg le , Boe in g' s
assistant director of fl ight operations,with
S.L . 'Lew ' Wallick Jm, t he company's
senior experimental testp ilo t, as co-pilot.
The first flight lasted two and a halfhours.
Although it departed from Boeing field,
N73700 was t o m ake i ts firs t landing at
Paine Field, Everett, a lso in Washington
State.This airport had been designated as
the base for the first ten flying hours, for
preliminary assessment of the 737's han
dling characteristics and aircraft systems.
FIRST STEPS
TheBoeing 737 prototype, N73700.tookto the air for the first t ime. fromBoeingField on 17 April 1967.
Boeing
Pacific's Boeing 727s were taken over i n the Air Westmerger, but were laterdisposed of infavour ofmore
DC-9s. Aviaton Hobby Shop
28
On finally landing at Paine Field, Wygle
reported: ' I hate to quit. The airplane is a
delight to fly.'
Clocking up the Hours
With the programme already well behind
schedule, the company nee de d t o g et the
test and certification work underway assoon as possib le. In i ts f ir st month,
73700managed to achieve a total flying
time of 47 hours, 37 minutes. This was 30
per cent more t han t he 727 prototype had
put in overthe same period, andover three
times t ha t o f t he Dash80, prototype of t he
707, Boeing's firs t jet transport, over t en
years earlieI.
The first of Uni ted's Series 200s flew
on 8 August 1967 and was one o f t h e five
early production aircraft that j o ined t he
test and cert i ficat ion programme as soon
as t he y c ou ld be r el ea sed f rom the
production line. Together with 73700,
t hey accompl ished more than 1,300
hours of flight testing that included,
for the first time in a certification pro
gramme, approaches under CAT II bad
weather conditions. Ship number3 sacri
ficed most for the project. Never intend
ed to fly, the aircraft was subjected tovibration tests, st retched and overloaded
todest ruct ion to prove t he s t reng th of t he
design, andshow that Boeing's engineers
had got t he i r sums right.
The FAA Two-Crew Decision
During the 1967 Thanksgiving holiday
week, t he FAA under to ok a s er ie s of
fl ights wi t h t he 7 37 i n the busy Boston-
29
Washington cor r idor , u si
crew. One pilot was from
other from Boeing.
Two round-trips were m
six days that week. Forty
time were amassed, incl
night flights. Both IFR an
conditions, below minimu
di t ions and diversions to
ports , were examined. Inlated instrument failur
incapacitation were inclu
Primarily as a result of
ing week flying, the FAA
ment in December 1967
two-crew issue.
The far-reaching evaluation o
wasstarred in Septcmber 196
ationof thecockpit mock-up.
uat ionsover the p a ~ l two year:
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FIRST STEPS FIRST STEPS
months later the resultin
modifications were introd
duction aircraft, and upg
made available for adding
aircraft already in service.
As the first production
delivered, the prototype,
its attention to developin
to allow the 737 to operat
runways. Changes include
replace conventional doors
landing gear, were tested o
and soon discarded.
A moreserious problem t
to light by the flight testpro
inc re ased d rag, p ar t icular
cruise, over the predicted a
drag was over 5 pe r cent
in los s in speed of 30kt. Fo
lift than predicted a nd t he
more powerful, flat-rated ]
allowed an increase in ope
This permitted the basicmis
t o h e met . For the long ter
wind-tunnel t e st ing p rogr
barked upon t o c ur e the
were made as a direct result o f t he d at a
gathered. In particular, the 737 was orig i
nally fitted with 'c lam-shell' -s ty le thrust
reversers, as previously used o n t he 727.
These proved to be ineffective o n t he 737
configuration and a n ew d ef le ct or was
designed and tested on the 73 7 prototype.
It was retrofitted on early production air
craft and later becamestandard equipment.
Also, inflatableseals,originallydesigned to
Certification Awarded
In December1967, boththe series 100and
2 00 Boe in g 7 37 r ec ei ve d simultaneous
certification for airline operations. The
early production aircraft that had partic i
p ated in the test programme were finally
handed over to their new owners for the
first a irline crews to be t ra i ned and con
verted to the aircraft. Once the first crews,
and other opera ti ona l and main t enance
personnel, were t rained, they returned to
t rain their own colleagues and preparefor
full-scale commercial operations.
The value o f t he test programme was
apparent by t he number of changes t hat
operations of [he aircraft in " high-densityair
traffic e nv ir onm e n t t o d e te r min e workload ,
cOl11plexi[y, and safety of ope rmions in a fa il
:-,afe concept. T h . c ~ e n i g h l ~ were pa rt o f ( vcry
extensive f l i g h t ~ t c s [ i n g programme accom
plished by [he FAA and Boeing personnel. The
[echnical Findings cOl11ing oU[ of [hese evalua
[ions are [ hm [ he aircraft can be safely flown
with (l minimum of two pilots.
N73700 visitedremote roughairfieldsto demonstrate itsversati l ity and rugged nature. Va author
Western found themselves obliged by their
agreements w it h ALPA to operate the
aircraft with three crew members on the
flight deck. However, they were the only
carriers to be so encumbered, o th er U S
operators and foreigncarriers were under no
obl iga t ion to con sid er add ing t he e xt ra
crewmember. Most of the operated the air
c ra ft w ith a two-pi lot c rew, as originally
designed from the beginning.
Even once the issue had been settled as far
as the federal regulators were concerned, a
number of American Pilots' organizations
insisted on three flight-deck crew for the
73 7a s par t of bargainingnegotiations with
the airline employers. Both Unit ed and
EA-
(Abovel Lufthansa's first 737-100, D-ABEA,participated in the new type's certification
programmebefore beinghandedover to the airline for initial crew training. Lufthansa
(Top) The firstof theslightlylarger 737-200s joinedthe flight test
programme on 8August 1967, wearingfull Unitedcolours. Boeing
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The 737's New Home FIRST STEPS
as services to Mexico anJ
mercially important Ca
orthwest regional flights
However, citiesserved b
minal points were usually
hour'sflyingtime, oreven lroutes were earmarked fo
Western's new 737s. A larg
heeJ Elecrra turho-props a
surv iv ing p iston-eng incd
operated on these US Wes
regional and multi-stop Ca
wcst-Minncsota-Canada
number of piston-powereJ
stellations and ear ly m
engined, Boeing 71 jets
Alaskan network, werealso
DC-9. Initia l models of b
finally been dismisseJ as
only larger version of the D
able, the series 30, was also
bebig enough and the five
gerseating was seen as infe
six-abreast layout.
Western, that claimed to
States' oldest surviving ca
operating a network that,
ing much of t he western h
mostly comprised short int
A fleet of Boeing nOB jets
ed on longer non-stop rou
more distant parts of W
such as Los Angeles-Minn
Western's Short-Haul Plans
Although from oneof Boeing'smorearche
typal 737 cus tomers , the Western Air
Lines' order had been an important boost
for Boeing' corporate ego, and not only as
i t was f or a s i: ea bl e number of aircraft.
Western had seriously considered the 737's
main rivals, the SAC One-Eleven and the
Canada, served by only basic airport facili
ties and unpaved runways. Th e Boeing 737's
abi li ty to p rovide jet a ir l in er service to
remoteareas withdispersedpopulations was
setto becomeoneof itsmajorsellingpoints.
Just as Western was poised to takedelivery ofthe then ultra-modern 737, it became
the proud owner of afleet of vintage ex-Pacific Northern Airlines piston-powered
Lockheed Constellations, following its purchase ofthe latter airline. MAP
33
The first 737-200 was also used for numerous test programmes. Seen here on water ingestion tests,
examining the characteristicsofthe 737s then unique engine installation. Via author
devices and braking improvements and
low-pressure tyres, as well as new deflec
tors fi t teJ toprotect the lower fuselage and
engine intakes from scuffed-up stones and
debris on rough runways. FAA certifica
tion for g rave l runway operations was
forthcoming i n Feb ru ar y 1 96 9. I n Apr il
and may, 73700 demonstrated its new
rough-field capabilities to airline and gov
ernment agencyrepresentatives.
Particularly interested in thesemodifica
tionswere operator such as Wien Consoli
Jated, ordair and Pacific Western. These
carriers were already planning to fly their
737s into smaller, isolated communities on
t he ir n etwo rk s i n A la sk a and northern
(Below) The Boeing Model 367-BO, the precursor ofthe
KC135 and Boeing 707 models, firstflew from Renton in
1954, Boeing
Renton producton lnes instead. However,Boeingceased producton at the end of hos
tilities and only u t zed a smal partof theonce busy facility for storage.The immediate postwar perod saw little activity at Renton, although theWar Assets
Administration t urned t he deeds over t o t he Cit yo f Renton and it became Renton
Municipal Airport. However, in 1949 Boeinveopened thefactory to buid theC-97A
Stratofreighter, the military tanker/transport version ofthe StratocrUiser airlner.
The 875 Stratofreighters built at Renton were folowed, in 1954, by thesingle Model
367-80, forever afterwards known as the'Dash 80'. TheDash80 was a totally private
venture project by Boeing to develop a tanker aircraft to refuel the B-47and B-52 jet
bombers in flight. As well as beingordered in largenumbersby the US mi tary, as the
KC-135A.the designwas further adapted as theBoeing707, Amercan's firstjet airlin
er. The phenomenal successof the707 led to a greatdeal of expansionat Renton and
producton of the 727 tri-jet began on the site in 1963.
(Above) The Boeing facility at
Renton, known locally as 'Jet
City'.Boeing
32
Boengs decIson tomove 737 fma assembly to its Renton facility came
at a tme of increasing hardship forthe company. Commerca aircraft
saes had dpped severey, resultng in massve lay-offs in 1969. Pro
ducton deays and the three-piot controversy had sloweddown saes
ofthe 737 sncethe initial spurtofinterest The707 wasnearng theend
of its producton lfe, with the 747 wide-bodied airlner project barely
underway and sufferng its own teething and delayed producton prob
lems, partcularly affected by late engnedelveres. The 727 producton
fguresthat had experencedsteadygrowth, dpped sharply in response
to wordWidef nancialproblemsand overcapacitywithin the airlnes. As
par t o f i ts cost-cuttng measures, Boeng decded to consoldate the
707n27 and737 producton lnesat Renton,the first Renton-assembed
737, a Senes 200 forIndian Airlnes, beng fown in December 1970.
Thecompanys associaton With thesitedated back to IS earlestdays,
with aBoeng B-1 fying boat havmgbeen basedat amakeshift seapane
facility on the shoreof Lake Washington in 1922. The fYng boatwas
operated by EdwardHubbard(who aso flewpart-tme as atest-pilot for
Boeingl,asamai servce to Victora, overtheCanadanborderin Brtsh
Coumba. Anew,unpaved, landing stnpwas buit onthe same site,at
Bryn Mawr, later that year. Hubbard sod hs mai flight operaton in
1928, onhs becoming avice-president of Boeng Air Transport.
In October 1928, the airfield was renamed Renton Airport. Over the next few years,although overshadowed by the developmentofSeatte's Boeng Fe d as the northwests
man aeralgatewayforcommercalairlne operatons, Bryn Mawr remained in use as a
busygenera aviaton feld,servngthecityof Renton.
Word war was responsiblefor Rentons sudden transformation from backwater air
field tomajor aircraft assembly plant July 1941 sawthe US Navy and Boeing announc
ingthe immediate erecton of a new aircraftconstructon planton theshores of Lake
Washington, on aplotof land totheeast of Renton Airport Orginaly, it was intended
that Boeng would buid large fying boatpatrol bombers on the1.6million sq ft site.
Opened in Apri 1942, the plant had an immediate effect on the localeconomy, with
Rentons populaton rsingfrom4,000to 16,000durngthewar years. Although few fly
ing boats were finallybuilt at Renton, 1,119Boeing B-29 heavybombers roled off four
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FIRST STEPS Ship One
N73700 was initially placed in storage atthe end o f i ts 737 developmentwork, before beingrescued by NASA. Boeing
ANew life
Re-registered N515NA, the aircraft was delvered to Langley on1
considerablework was completed for NASA by Boeing. The most s
was the additon of a second cockpit in the forward cabin. Ths
equipped with experimental layouts and could be used to control th
conventonal cockpit still manned and capable of taking overat any
For over twenty years, N515NA participated in the development
technologies. The 'glass cockpit flight display, microwave landing
formance evaluaton, windshear sensor and wake-turbulence testin
of over twenty aerial researchprojectsassignedto the aircraft ove
Folowing its replacementat Langley by aBoeing 757, retremen
September 1997, withal dueceremony. That evening it was flow
place at BoeingField, to its newowners at theMuseum of Flgh
Moses Lake, Washington and still with amodest3,000hours fyin
will eventualy join aBoeng 247, 727, the prototype 747and aDe H
in the museum's newairliner extension at BoeingFe d.
confgured aircraft, theTerminal ConfguredVehicle Program even
redundant N73700 asan ideal airborne test-bed.
Once the initial certification and test flights were completed,the first 737,development
aircraft N73700, was effectively redundant. Apart f rom the rough-feld operatons
research that contnued into eary 1969, work assignments for the pioneerng aircraft
wererapidlydeclning. Later producton-model aircraft tended to undertakeany devel
opmentresearch, any modifications beingable to be made durng thatparticularair
crafts manufacture. As such, several 737s took on N73700sBoeingl very,with simiar
generictest registrations. However, the actual prototypewas parked up, engineless,at
Renton,havng completed 978hours of testf ying.
Havngbeen much modifed durngthe test programme,conversionfor resale andcer
tification forcommercial operaton ofN73700was out of thequeston. It would have
required an expensiverebuid, even assuming acustomer fora single Seres 100 could
be found.
After fouryearsin storage,N73700 finally found asaviour intheshape ofthe Naton
a Aeronautcs and Space Administration. NASA had originally been formed topromote
and organize the US space programme, in responseto Russan success in the 'Space
Race. As space-ore nted workdeclned, NASAbecame more involved in research into
fixed-wing aircraft operatons and technology. Much of this involved work on civian
projects andan aircraft was needed foranew projectat NASAs Langley Research Cen
ter in Virginia. Establshed to investigate advanced technology for conventonaly
Both Wien and Northern Consolidated madegood
use o f the DC-3 on their Alaskan services for many
years. Via aUhor
conditions on routes into operationally
d iff icu l t a i rpor ts, many a t h igh a l t itude
with basic facilities and rest r ic tcd run
ways. The Avianca aircraft were intended
for the busier dome t icand regional route
network, b a e d on the Columbian capi
t al , Bogota. Even Bogota' s own airport
was a t 8 ,355ft (2 ,547m) above ea-Ievcl,
with notoriously difficult, mountainous
approaches.
By the mid-1960s Avianca was operat
ing it longer-ranging services to the U A,
the Caribbean and Europe using Boeing
720B. ew Boeing 727jetsalso flew major
regional and domestic fl ights, alongside
Lockheed Constellations, dcposed from
international routes by the 720Bs. A large
fleet of piston-engined,DouglasD -3s and
D -4s operatedon the domestic nctwork.
Many of th ese were f it te d with uprated
engines, and even rockets, to assist takc
offsfrom hort runways a t h igh elevations.
The addition of the 737 t o t he Avianca
fleet would allow the retirement of more of
thc agcing piston aircraft and see the intro
ductionofjet ervice to moreregional cities.
Thc type' promisedhigh pel{ormance from
smallcr airfields was especially attractive to
Avianca, and others, operating routes into
airports locatcd among difficult tcrrain.
Any disappointment within Boeing over
the initiallyslow d ome t i cs a le o f t he 737
wereoffsetbygrowing interest from export
customers. Avianca's choiceof the h igher
pcrformance Series I 0 was dictated by
Foreign Interest
the geographically challenging Alaskan
terrain. Wien also flew a handful of larger
aircraft, such as DC-3s , -46 s, a Fai r ch ild
P ac ke t, as w el l as i ng le examples o f t h e
much larger DC-4and a Lockheed L-749
Constellation on busier service. Both air
lines had also been carly operators of the
Fairchild F-27B turbo-prop. Their F-27Bs
had large forward cargo doors and were
convertible to a varie ty of passenger/cargo
configurations. This flexibility wasimpor
tant for the rugged, cver-changing, Alas
kan commercial air transport scene.
The merger of the two car r ie r s was
approved by the Civil Aeronautics Board
in Feb ru ary 1968. This crcated a much
stronger carrier, better a bl e t o compete
with an increasingly strong A laska ir
lines a nd t he powerful new entrant into
Alaska, Western Air Lines, following the
latter's take-overof Pacific Northern. The
Wien Consolidated Airlines' 737s, espe
cially those f it t ed wi th cargo doo rs and
convertible cabins, were to provide new
jct service to morc rcmotc arctic points,as
well as l ink ing the major laskan cities.
Northern Frontier Customers
AIthough the one-plane orders ofNorth
ern onsolidatcd and Wi en laska Air
lines were destined to become a 'f leet ' fol
lowing the merger o f t he two carriers , it
was still asmall order by Boeing standards.
However, for the airlines concerned i t was
a majo r le ap fo rward in equipment policy.
Fairbanks-based Wien wa the sen ior
airline of the two, tracing i tsorig ins back
to pioneer'bush' carriers in Alaskaoperat
ingas early as 1924. Northern Consolidat
ed Airlineshad begun operations in 1945,
from Anchorage. Both had benefited from
a postwar boom in the Alaskan economy,
as well as a redistribution of a numberof
local trunk routes previously operatcd by
A la sk a i rl in es and Pan American'
Alaskan subsidiary.
Routeswere served by a varie ty of small
typcs, such as Cessna and Pilatus single
and twin-engined a ir craf t , wel l sui t cd to
whenWcstcrn tookover Pacific Northern
Airline in 1967.
The much publicized 'commonality'
with other Boeingtype also worked heav
i ly in favour of Western ordcringthe 737,
with ome part, suchas tyres, being inter
changeable with the Boeing 720B fleer.
LargerBoeing727-200swere al 0 ordered
by Western to supp lement the 737s and,
eventually, rcplace thc 72 Bs.
34 35
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f rom S r eg io na l c ar ri er s
matic of t he interest in the
ing sector of t he U airlin
viding prof i ta b le jet ser
routes. Two other regional
resented a t t he ' chr i st eni n
take delivery o f t he ir or
Pacific outhwest Airlines
Airlines,op erated very diff
s( 'rv ing very different c
onetheless, both were a
advantage ofthe 737's promon thei r regional routes.
CHAPTER THREE
Despite the Lake entral and Pacific Air
Linesorders being cancelled after the carriers vanished in mergers, other order
US Regional Interest
for which it had originally been conceived.
A lthough a number of suchcustomerswere
placing orders, the 73 7 was increasingly
b ei ng s ee n as a candidate for charter ser
vice, regional international routes and even
some longer-range operations.
New CustoDlers, New Application
NewMarkets
The neat, two-pilot, flight-deck ofthe initial Boeing
737-100. Lufthansa
When the ordersfrom various pontificating
carriers did start to come in for the 737, it
was not alwaysfrom operators interested in
utilizing the aircraft in the purely short
haul, in ter-city , scheduled airline climate
arrangement for the single Comet had been
terminated when five second-hand omet
4s were purchased from BOAC, the first
having been del ive red in late 1965. Th e
new fleet enabled jet services to be extend
ed to Manila , Taipei, Perth and Phnom
Penh. Longer-ranging ambitions s aw a pai r
of Boeing 707s beingordered for new routes
to Europe, and the 737 s were o rd ered to
eventually replace the Comet on the
regional jet flights.
(Belowl The first 737-100s displayedlufthansa·sthencurrent tail livery,soon
replacedby a new design before delivery. Boeing
FI RST STEPS
supplementeda fleet of DC-3s, a DCA, Vis-count 700 sand a new f le et of Fokker F-27
Friendships. The omet flew regional trunk
cheduled services from Singapore to Hong
Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Bangkok.
A change of name to Malaysian Airways
followed the 1963 formation of the Federa
tion of Malaysia. T he n ex t change, to
Malaysia- ingapore Airlines in 1967, oc
curred afterSingapore had secededfrom the
Federation in 1965. By t he n t he leasing
Eastern Market Entry
(Above) Ex-BOAC De Havilland Comet 4s were thefirst jet equipmentfor the
Singapore-based carrier. Aviaton HobbyShop
The choice of the 737 by Malaysia- inga
pore i rl in es , the type'sfirst Far Eastem cu
tomer,had less t odowith operations into dif
ficult airports, although the high take-off
pelformance would certa in ly prove useful
under s om e t ro pi ca l c on di ti on s. M A,
whichbeganoperations as Malayan Airways
in 1947, opened je t services in December
1962, with a leased BOACComet 4. This
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Southern Regional Pioneer
PiedmontAirlines hadfollowed a tradition
al evolution in US local airservice. Formed
in 1940 as a charter and general aviation
company in orth Carolina , Piedmont
moved into scheduled services in 1948. As
the newcarrier expanded during the 1950s,
a large fleet of DC-3s was built up linking
numerous southern towns with larger citie ,
roughly borde red be tween Washington,
Charleston, Atlanta and Louisville.
404
NEW CUSTOMERS. EW APPLICATIONS
Th e airline had been a pioneer among
the l oc al s er vi ce c ar ri er s i n operating
turbo-props, Fairchild F-27s, a version of
the Dutch-designed Fokker E27 Friendship
built under l icence in the SA, from 14
November 1958. However, Piedmont was
not to totally abandon piston-engined
operations, placing the fi rst of a large fleet
of second-hand Martin 404 s in se rvice in
1962. Large r Fai rchi ld FH-ZZ7s began
replacing the earlier F-27s from early 1967.
A surpriseorder,for ten japanese-produced
ihon Y -II A, 60-passenger, turbo-prop
airliners was placedlater that year.
Turbo-Prop to Jet
Expansion of Piedmont's network, w it h a
numbe r o f n on -s to p route authorities
being granted, l ed t o the airline actively
looking for jet equipment. The acquisition
of jets by regional carriers was initially
resisted by the Civil Aeronautics Board,
which was re pon ib le for allocating mail
subsidy payments, a vita l lifeline for most
ofthe local servicecarriers. However, their
awarding of routes encroaching on the
major trunk airlinesleft t he CAB with lit
tle choice but to approve the upgrading of
equipment in order for the smaller carriers
tob e able to compete with the 'majors' on
their new routes.
Intervention by the CA B had led to the
cancellation of a number of earlyordersfor
the British BACOne-Eleven from U c ar
riers. However, such action was resisted by
Mohawk Airlines, who per i st ed in their
wish to acquire a jet fleet for their local
routes. Mohawk eventually convinced the
CABtha t they would not require anyextra
subsidy to operate the jets. Within four
years, everyone of t he local service carri
ers, as designated by theCAB, hadordered
jets. For the mostpart, their orders werefor
the Douglas twin-jet, the DC-9, but t he
larger 73 7wasalso at tract ing ome interest.
Piedmont's Jet Debut
Piedmont actually began je toperations on
15 March 1967, when a Boe ing 727-100
was leased from the manufacturer. As well
a s p rovid ing a competitive edge on new
direct flight to New York and Washington,
the use of thisaircraft wa to provide Pied
mont with valuable je t experience before
taking delivery ofthe 73 7s. A second leased
727-10 arrived inApril. However, tragedy
struck on 19 julywhen the original aircraft
NEW C STOMERS, NEW APPLICATIONS
was involved in a mid-air collision.Climb
ing out o f Asheville/Hendersonville,dur
ing an Atlanta-Asheville/Hendersonville
Roanoke- ew York/La Guardia service,
the aircraftcollidedwith a Cessna 310 light
twinaircraft that was approaching the same
airport. The seventy-nine occupants of the
727, and the three in the essna, all per
ished in theen uingcrashes. Piedmont Air
line 's in itial 737 order was for s ix ser ie s
200s, earmarked for longer routes between
largercities on t h e network.
California's Jet Commuter
Like Piedmont A irl ines, Pacific Southwest
Airlines had a lr ea dy be n a jet operator
before ordering the 737. Their Boeing727
fleet had entered s ervic e in 1965 and a
fleet o f t h e larger 727-200 were also on
order to replace their i ni ti al e ri e 100 s.
The 737s were on order as more economic
supplements to the 727s on services with
lower average loads, in addition to replac
ing the last of a fleet of Lockheed Electra
turbo-props.
PSA was seen by the trunk carriers asa
'maverick' carrier and its continued sur
vival was a major headache for United and
Western ir Lines, encroaching as it d id
on their traditional West Coast operations.
Initially operating asa flying school at an
Diego, in southern California, founded by
Kenneth Friedkin in 1945, P A inaugurat
ed a scheduled service from an Diego to
San Francisco on 6 May 1949.
A single DC-3 was oper
Southwe t'searly passenger
in through the lobby o f
school, using a set of bath
weigh baggage. Despite the
of t he early operations, 15
were carried on t he route i
o doubt th is was mostly
P A f are of 10, instead of
charged by ni ted and We
able to undercu t t he o t he
cheduled services werewh
within the borders of t he s
nia, and therefore the feder
jurisdiction over the c omp
PSA satisfied the Californ
ties Commission as to its fi
it could set its own fares w
influence other than mark
CCA's Failure
Although concerned at th
traffic, the incumbent carri
ed PS A to be a passing
nother low-farecarrier, Ca
Airlines, was alsooperatin
nia PUCauthor i ty a t t he t
began operations with DC
1949,with scheduledflights
cisco (Oakland) to Los Ang
Larger DC-4s, Martin 202
Lockheed Constellation w
cope with t he demand fo
9.99, one way. However,
tral hael made the mistake o
(Above) The piston-powered Martin 404 was introduced into Piedmont Airlines'
serviceafterthecarr ier had alreadyacquiredturbo-prop F-27s. A viaton HobbyS hop
(Be/owl The Japanese-designed NAMC YS-llA turbo-prop also
served on Piedmont'sregional andlocal services. Va author
38
CaliforniaCentral 'scolourful fleetof Martin 202s fai ledto make money.despite attractinghigh passenger
loads on theirlow-fare services. MAP
39
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N E W C U S TOM E RS . N E W A P P L I CA T I ON S N E W C U S TOM E R S. N E W A P P L I CA T I ON S
(Above) The use ofnew lockheed l-188 Electras made PSA's major airline
rivals start to takethe San Diego-based airline seriously. Aviaton HobbyShop
Braathens' Shippin
Beginning with a handful
operators in the l at e 1
1950s, the inclusive-tou
mushroomed, until by th
started to rival scheduled
carriage of the majority
within Europe. The road h
easy one, wi th many early
ning foul of regulatory aut
cumbing to commercial pr
A subsidiaryof a long-esta
concern, Braathens had b
a s a long -haul scheduled
services from Norway to t
South America. Norway
in the formation o f SAS
Airlines System), the join
the Danish Airline DOL, t
rier ABA and orway's D
the orwegian authorities
renewBraathen'sauthority
al scheduled services when
renewal in 1954. The agr
the th ree Scand inavian c
that SAS was to begiven t
such routes.
Braathens survived as asc
tic carrier within Norway a
A n ew mar ke t that was to become very
important to Boeingin the following years
was the rapidly growing number ofcharter
airlines,especially in Europe. The indepen
dent Norweg ian a ir line , Braathens , h ad
ordered the 737 for its scheduled domestic
network, but alsooperatedan extensive programme ofcharter flights. The bold place
mentof an order by all-charteroperator Bri
tannia Airways, based at Lut on i n the
United Kingdom, for brandnew 737s sent a
message to their commercialrivals to mod
ernize as well or soon risk losing business.
The postwar explosive growth of com
mercial charter flights , especially in the
European inclusive-tour holiday market,
had been an extraordinary phenomenon.
Charter Airline's Choice
competed. When, in 1965, it opened ser
vices from San Jose to Los Angeles, it
practically wiped o ut t he long-standing
operator on the route, Pacific Air Lines,
overnight. PSA was a bl e t o charge $12,
while CAB-controlled Pacific was legally
obliged to charge $24. Th e adverse eco
nomic effect of PSA on Pacific's opera
tion was one o f the main factors in Pacif
ic Air Lines' eventual dire need to merge
in toAir West.
The Douglas DC-6Bs served Braathens on worldwide charters as we l l as seeingservice on the busier
routes on its Norwegiandomestic network. MApl
ANew Fleet
PSAmadea verybo ld move in 1957, with
the announcementof anorderfor three new
Lockheed Electra turbo-props. Friedkin had
actually announced his intention to order
two FrenchSud AviationCaravelIe jetsfor
PSA earlier that year, butthe deal was never
finalized. Instead, the 98-passengerElecn'as
were acquired, entering service in Decem
ber 1959 and quickly replacing the DC-4s.
Wi th t he arrival of the Electras, United
and Weste rn f in al ly b egan to tak e PSA
much more seriously and introduced low
fare jet services to compete. However, by
nowPSA was firmlyestablished as a popu
lar alternative to t he t ru nk carriers and
managed to f ight o ff the big guns. Three
add it ion al Ele ct ra s b egan a rr iving f rom
1961 as frequencies and l oa ds b ui lt up
throughout PSA's exclusively Californian
network. Even with the arrival of the first
727s in 1965, the Electrascontinuedto pro
vide valuable, economical service to PSA.
As well as the trunk carriers , PSA's
operations also had a major effect on
local service carriers on whose routes it
establishments up anddown theCalifornia
c oa st . A s a r es ul t, PSA soon gained the
nickname of 'Poor Sailor's Airline'.
Los Angeles-San Francisco (Oakland)
f ligh t in 1955. The 31-seat DC-3s were
rep lac ed by 70-sea t DC-4s , purcha sed in
ovember 1955. The frequent, low-fare,
services were popularwith passengersfrom
many different walks of Californian life.
They wereespecially popularwith person
nel on leave from the many US Navy
(Below) Pacific A i r l i n e ' s F-27 turbo-prop servicesfrom San Josewerebadly
hit bythearrivalof PSA jets on localroutes from thearea. Va author
United and Western sat and waited for
PSA to follow CCA's fate, only introduc
ing nominal fare reductions and schedule
changes to combat PSA's in trusion into
their ' te rritory ' . However, they wer e t o
be disappointed. Four DC-3s were in ser
v ic e wi th PSA by 1952 and new routes
were only steadily introduced, including a
P S / ~
too quickly and was struggling to cover the
costs of day-to-day operations, let a lone
expensive re-equipment costs. CCA record
ed a def ici t of over $1,000,000 in 1953,
notwithstanding the impressive total of
137 ,000 pas senger s c ar r ied. In Feb ru ary
1954, Cal i fo rnia Centra l Airl ines went
into voluntary bankruptcy.
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NEW CUSTOMERS. NEW APPLICATIONS NEW CUSTOMERS. EW APPLICATIONS
The suddendemiseof once-busy Overseas Aviation lefttravel companies like UST with angry and
inconvenienced clients throughout Europe. Va author
43
Euravia's Constellation,G-AHEN, hadoriginallybeen deliveredto BOAC. It had laterbeen California
Central'ssole Constel lation, wearing California Hawaiian titles. before being sold on to los Angeles Air
Service and EI AI. finally joiningEuravia at luton. Jenny Gradidge
The arrival ofsecond-handBristol Britanniaturbo-props promptedEuravia to change itsname to Britannia
Airways. Jenny Gradidge
BritanniaAirways. Although theConstel
lations continued i n us e u nt il l at e \965,
they did not t ak e o n t he new name.
A well as offeringa more modern, com
fortable, quieter ride t ha n t he onstella
t io n , the Britannia also enabled Britanniairways to offer one o f t h e first hot-meal
cateringservices by a Britishall-chartercar
rier. Their reliability becamelegendary in a
ectorofthe K's airline operations far too
used tooperating ageingairlinerswith dubi
ous maintenanceschedule. As Britannia,
and the other IT operators, switched over
to more modern types, the industry finally
began to gain a reputationfora much high
erquality of product andattract even more
of the mass travel market.
The Expanding IT Market
Euravia eventually chose to re-equip with
a fleetofex-BOAC Bristol Britannia 102s,
then in s torage a t Cambridge A irpor t .
Configured for 117 passengers, the Britan
nias entered service witha Luton-Tenerife
charter in December 1964. Their arrival
a ls o s aw a c ha ng e o f c ompany n ame, t o
much of i t was snapped upby other inclu
sive-tour companies and Euravia's reputa
t ion w ith in the industry grewapace.
The e igh t onste lla tions inu se in 1963
were oon averaging 1,300 h ou r o f rev
enue flyinga month. However, the trusty
Lockheed were rapidly reaching t he e nd
of thei r useful life and Euravia began to
look a t t he ir o pt io ns for a replacement.
42
hangerage at Luton Airport, nor thof Lon
d on , in ear ly \ 96 1. Three second-hand
LockheedConstellationswereacquiredand
the first UST clientswerecarriedfrom Man
chester to Palma in May \962.
W it h t he financial security of Tbehind them, Euravia's management were
able to offer a standardof professional sel
vice rarelyseen in the independent sector
before. A ft er o nl y o ne s umme r season,
Euravia bought out anotherConstellation
operator, Skyways Ltd and, with the addi
tion ofthe Skywaysfleet and more second
handConstellations, the airline had a 1 60
per cent increase in passenger capacityon
offer for 1963. As well as using the ex tra
capac i ty to increase UST's operations,
EuraviaTakes to th e Skies
Euravia (London) Ltd, as the new airline
was initially named, established offices and
a number of abrup t bankruptc ies among
Britains' independent airlines, including
several contracted to U T.The most significant of the e wa s the
ce sation of operations by Overseas Avia
t io n, w hi ch ope ra te d a l ar ge f le et of
Canadair Four and Vicker Vikings from
Gatwick. U T was just one o f t h e ir cus
tomers lef t w i th c l ien t s t randed all over
Europe. The tour company wa deter
mined never to be l ef t in that position
again a nd t o takemore direct control over
the air t ranspor t sect ion of the hoIidays
they sold.
Britain's Holiday Specialists
andjet speeds ofthe 73 7s on orderwasto be
welcomed by Braathens in both markets.
I t was the order from Britannia Airways
that drew other non- cheduled operators'
attention to the potential o f t h e Boeing
7 37 a s a charter a ir cr af t. t il l a compara
t ively young airline, Britannia Airways
had started operations in \962, formed as
a subsidiary of Universal ky Tours, one of
the UK' leading inclusive-tour operators.
UST had previously chartered from sever
al d i ff e rent companies to carry their
clients. However, the summer of \96\ saw
fly internationally on cha rt er services
throughout the world. Defiantly continuing
to operate as Braathens outh American
and Far Eas t i rt r an spor t AI , which was
conven ien tly contrac ted to 'Braathens
.A.F.E.' in the aircraft livery, the airline
enthusiasticallyentered the IT market as it
grew in Europe.
o rweg ians enjoy a cheap halid::lY as
much as any other Europeans and soon
Braa th en s was f ly ing c l ient s for several
Scandinavian tour operators. The charter
network rapidly expand d to reach as far as
southern Europe and Africa. On a dai ly
basis, Braathens' fleet of Fokker F.27 turbo
props and piston-enginedDC-6Bs were just
as l ik ely to be car ry ing sun seeker s to a
M diterranean island resort, as carrying
Oslo bu inessmento appointments incities
near the Arctic Circle. The extra capacity
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NEWCUSTOMERS. NEW APPLICATIONS One Rule for One?
BEA used much of their fleets spare capacity on 'nighttourist schedules, improving utilization for their
Comet 4Bs and other types. Alarge proportion of the available seats were sold to travel companies for use
on IT holidays. Via author
The upgrade to jets wasseenas a serious threat by the independen
establishedservices. BOAC also protestedthat the Bermudan subsidia
than a 'paper airline, with the bulk of its operations now undertaken
parent company thatwas notlicensed for the scheduledservices und
However, the whole argumentsuddenly became immaterial only a
whenthe shipping lineowners ofCunardEaglesold the trans-Atlant
with the707s, to BOAC, in June 1962. All the CunardEagleCaribbean
work had been absorbed into BOAC by September. The European n
Eagle, bought back by the airlines disgruntled founder, Harold Ba
rebranded as BritishEagle International Airlinesand expanded its UK
CunardEagle Airways registered itsBoeing 707 with its subsidiary, CunardEagle (Bermuda), lor sc
trans-Atlanticservices. Aviation Hobby Shop
BOAC imported a large fleet 01 Boeing 707s, claiming that the UK-built alternativeswere less suita
operations. Via author
(Below) Followingthe acquisition of Cunard Eagles Atlanticnetwork,a number 01 BOAC aircraftca
Cunard'titles. Aviation Hobby Shop
PastLoophoes
One independent carrier, Cunard Eagle Airways, had found itself with an alternative
option in the early 1960s. Eager to replace its fleet of Bristol Britannia turbo-props with
jets, Cunard Eagle ordered a pair of Boeing 707s. Despite being powered by British
built Rolls Royce Conway engines, just like BOAC's early
707s, Cunard Eagle was faced withan import tax bill.Orig
inally intended for a London-New York service,the licence
forwhich was revoked following BOAC's protests before
operations could begin, the Cunard Eagle707s were quick
ly reassigned to Caribbean routes.
Cunard Eagle, when still known as Eagle Airways, had
establishedsubsidiaries based in the Bahamas and Bermu
da in the late 1950s. Operating Viscount-scheduled ser
vices to mainland USA, and later across theAtlantic to the
UK with London-based Britannias, the subsidiaries were,
effectively, local airlinesoutside the control of UK authori
ties. Thus, the first Cunard Eagle 707 was re-assigned to
the Bermudan company,with a Bermudan registration and
opened scheduled trans-Atlantic services from London to
Bermudaand the Bahamas, in May 1962
BOAC was unlikely to let Cunard Eagles actions go
unchallenged and a legal appealwas expected.The original
licence for the route hadbeen granted on thebasis of low
fare, low-frequency, 'coach class' services being offered.
British government permission to import such expensive
items as airliners depended on there being no alternative
item available on the home market. Otherwise,expensive
customs duties would become due on their importation.
State-owned BOAC hadmanaged to avoid payinginflated
duties on their largely American-builtfleets overthe postwar
years by consistently 'proving thatthe UK-produced alter
natives were 'inferior. Even where BOAC had, reluctantly,
accepted aUK-built fleet,such as with theVickers VC-l0ver
susthe Boeing707, BOAC would demand some sort of sub
sidy to cover alleged extra costs ofoperating theBritishtype.
Also state-owned,British European Airways had notbeen
able to persuade the governmentto allow it to import aircraft
from abroad. BEA operated its services with a fleet ofBritishbuilt Tridents, Comets, Vanguards, Viscounts, Dart Heralds
and Herons.The last foreign-builtBEA fixed-wing aircraft in
service had been DC-3s that had beenwiththe airlinesinceits formation in 1946and that
were disposed of in 1962. Asmall fleet ofAmerican-built Sikorsky helicopterswere oper
ated on scheduled and charter flights, in the absence of any viable European, let alone
British-built, alternatives. Perhaps in an attempt to placate the UK industry over BOAC's
apparent pro-US tendencies, BEA was repeatedly told to 'BuyBritish.
neer of eighr Britannia's wirh identical seating
capaciry. Brimnnia Airways will he the firsr
operator of rhe 200 Series in Europe, follOlved
closely be Aer Lingus. The invesrment, includ
ing spares is abour £4,250,000.
Of course BrimnniaAirwayswould have pre
ferred ro buy Brirish jers. However,our srudies
led inexorahly to the conclusion thar Brirish
jers offered r ous could only he operated, in our
particularset of circumstances, at a loss.
Ar rhe requesr of rhe rhen MinisrerofAvia
tion we rried again last December wirh a lead
ingBritish manufacturer tofind some way outof
our dilemma. This efforr too failed. The Min
isrry of Aviarion have never quesrioned our
basic G-1SC presented (0 them months ago in an
a i d c ~ t l l c m o i r e .Under rhe rerms "f rhe Import Dury Act o f
1958,a Brirish airlinerequiringaircrafrof foreign
manufacture in order to compete with foreign
airlines on international routes may be a l lowed
waiver of importduty. Thiswa iver hasnot heen
allowed on rhe grounds tharsimilar aircraft arc
procurable in rhe UK. Britannia Airways refutesthis vicw and are asking fora rcvcrsal of this deci
sion. To describe an aircrafr which can only he
operated againststrong competition fromforcign
airlines at a loss (similar' t o o n c whi c h c a n suh
smntially assisr rhe development ofrhe Bririshair
transporr indusrry is clearly preposrerous.
Unlike the government owned airlines, our
traffic rights arc norprotecred,nor is rhe chaner
rare we charge conrrolled in any way. If foreign
airlinescan offer bettcr rares than wc can there
is nothing to stopthemtaking away our business.
Britannia's Case
Although still Iiable for a 14 per cent
import duty, Britannia Airways went ahead
withtheir 737 plans and finally announced
t hei r orde r for three Series 200s i n J un e1966. Reacting to sensational newspaper
headlines of the 'Britannia Orders Ameri
can I' variety, the airline's then managing
director, J.E.D. Williams, wasswift to justi
fy the irchoice of the foreign option:
Rr ir annia Airways has nbwined government
permission to import rhree Boeing 737-200 air
craft for delivery in spring 1968. The new twin
engined jer wil l he operared on package holi
days wirh 117 scats in addirion to rhe exisring
44
Eleven, butsoon dismissed i tas a viableBri
tannia replacement. The early One-Eleven
models lacked the Britannia's capacity and
a l though the stretched Series 500, st il l on
the drawing board a t the time, would match
it, Britannia wanted to increase their pas
senger-carrying capacity. Th e onl y o t he r
home-produced passenger jet of suitable
size, the three-engined Hawker Siddeley
Trident, was deemed too expensive opera
tionally on char t er services. Th e airline's
preference soonsettledon thetwin-engined
Boeing 737, in particular the larger Series
200. However, the major obstacle of import
duty h ad t o be resolved before Britannia
Airways could take delivery of any aircraft.
The Competition's
Jet Services
Th e use of jets on UK IT services was very
limited in the early 1960s. The Comet 4B
fleet o f t h e state-owned British European
Airways operated a number of night-time
ITcharters and cheaper,scheduled, night
ra te touris t flights when not flying their
European schedules in the daylight hours .
The imminent arrival of BEA's fleet ofTri
dent je tswould see the Corporation mak
ing even more use of spare capacity for IT
charters and tourist-class flights.
Th e independent British air lines did
not offer jet services on any appreciable
scale until t h e i nt ro du ct io n o f British
United Airway's BAC One-Eleven and
VC-IO f le et s i n 1964/65. British Eagle
International Airlines followed with their
One-Elevens i n 1 96 6. Both BUA and
British Eagle sold much of the i r je t capac
ity t o IT operators from the beginning of
their One-Eleven operations, supplementing their use on scheduled services. More
One-Elevens were on order for operators
such as Channel Airways and Laker Air
ways, which were alreadymajor players in
the I T m ar ke t. Dan-Air Se rv ice s took
delivery of the first of what was to become
a sizeablef leet ofsecond-handComet jets,
with ex-BOAC Comet 4s entering IT
charter service from Gatwick i n 1966 .
Eager to remain competitive , Britannia
Ai rways a lso looked at t he B AC One-\
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NE W CUS TOM E RS. NE W A P P LI CA T I ONS NE W CUS TOM ERS. NEW APPLICATIO S
Caledonian's Dilemma
London/Gatwick-based Caledonian Airways faced a similarduty problem to Cunard
Eage, a few years later, when it attempted to order some707s to replace its Britan
nias on trans-Atlantic charter services, Faced with a cripplng tax bill imposed for
importing the Boeings, Caledonian was forced to lease outits first 707 to an Ameri
can charter carrer, FlyngTiger Lne, for ayear before the dispute was finally settled
'amicably' with the UK Customs authorities. The airline still had topay a sizable
import duty.
Caledonianwas verykeenon orderng the737-200for use in its European IT services.
The Boeng 'commonalty' with Caledonians 707swas amajor factor in the airlne's
choice, as was thehgh performance promised and its increased capacityavai able over
rval types. Caledonian came close to signingthe 737 contract. but found thecustoms
issue getting in the way again.
Face with another longdebate with the authorities, the airlne was aso warned that
it may be expected topay increased duty on itsalreadydelvered 707s if the737 order
went ahead. Underincreasing pressure from tour companies to replace its remaining
Britannias with jets as soon as possible, Caledonian was forced to withdraw from
negotiations with Boeng. Instead, a fleetof British-built BAC One-Eeven Seres 500s
was ordered and placed into service in 1969.
Refusal to waive duty in sueh circumstances
would weaken the British air transport industry
without prorec t ing the manufactur ing industry
to thesl ightestdegree .
Britannia Airways advised the government
six months ago that under no c ircumstances
could the irope ra t ion be viable with a Br it ish
manufac tured je t and suppor ted this a sse r t ion
w i th t e chn ic al a nd e c onomi c d a ta . We s t a t ed
that, regardless of the government ' s decis ion,
we could not buyBritish.
Ifour assertionsare acceptedthere is no ques
tion of p r ot e ct i ng t h e home indu st r y a nd no
casefor the refusal of waiver.If ourassertionsare
not accepted we should be told why. We have
repeatedly offered to give the government any
informationthey maydesire. othing has been
requested sinceour original aide-memoire.
Very detailedstudies of the capabilities of jet
aircraft currently offered by British and Ameri
can manufacturers, in Ollr particular c i r c u m ~stances, led us to theseconclusions:-
I. A commerciallyacceptablereturn on invest
ment could not be obtained in our particular
business on any British jet.
2. Ifwe hought a British jet we could besW8mped
loy any of several foreignairlines iftheybought
Boeing737-200s or DC-9-30s.
3. The procurement of a l30eing 737-200 fleet
would en8hlc us to offer che8per than ever
t r8nsport be tweenthe UK and the Medite r
r anean,giving the opportuni ty of a holiday
in the s un t o a n e ve n larger s e ct or o f t h e
population.
l3efore commencing negotimions with Boeing,
weplaced our studies and ourconclusions before
the leading British aircraft manufacturers and
begged them to knock holesin our arguments. We
offered them access to most confidential data
regarding our businessso tha t theycouldcheck
for themselves. They did no tm a ke t h e slightest
dent in the inexorable logic of the case.
We gave I3ritish Aircraft Corporation from
July 1965 until February I , 1966, 1'0 c ome up
with a proposa l tha t could m8ke sense. They
were not able to do so.
The Foreign Threat
Britannia's worries about foreign carriers
being able to obtain 737s on more
favourable terms, and therefore be able to
undercu t t hem in contract negot iat ions
with tour operators, were more than mere
'make-weights' in thei r argument against
import duty. Whe n t he inclusive-tour
industry first took off, the carriers used
were almost exclusively from the passen
gers' originating countries. However, both
nationally and independently owned car
riers o f t he resort countries soon latched
on to the lucrative financial possibilities of
the growing IT industry.
Spain's Iberia was partic
t h is market , v ia i ts sub si
Iberia leased o r c ha rt er e
members of its mainline fl
ment Aviaco's own chart
Iberia's Super Constel latio
especially busy operating A
once they had been displac
uled services by jets. The
arrangement allowed Iberi
IT work at lower charter
would havebeen allowed to
name by stringent lATA ru
Ali tal ia had also set u p
lATA' subsidiary, Societa A
ranea Spa (SAM), opera
various marks, deposed fr
scheduled services by Jets.
heavily involved with the U
IT marke t that a busy sea
eventually established at G
ing several Italian resortare
As well as t he t h rea t to t
from these subsidiaries, Brit
other i ndependen t UK ch
were facing competition fro
ing number of foreign inde
better financed, but still vu
ers such as Bri tannia and i
l eagues f rom several ot
nations were starting t o l
shoulders a t t hei r sout hern
Spantax,TAE, and TransEu
(Top) Deliveryof Caledonian Airways' first Boeing 707 was delayed by the question ofimport duty, Via author
The expanding operationsof 'non-lATA subsidiaries, like Alitalia'sassociate, SAM,soonstartedto provide
a commercial threatto UK charter carriers, MAP
G - A W W XALEDONIAN
(Above) Eventually, Caledonian was forcedto abandon plans to acquireBoeing 737s tocomplementits 707s. Instead, three'stretched' BAC One-Eeven Series 500s were placedin
service on European IT charters. Via author
46 47
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NEW CUSTOMERS. NEW APPLICATIONS
UK charter carr iers accelerated their jet acquisitionplans oncecontinental charteroperatorssuch as Air
Spain began modernizingwith modernturbo-props, such as theBristol Britannia. MAP
as l ikel y t o be carryi ng Bri ti sh hol iday
makers. Lower operating cost were often
the key t o t hei r ga in ing cont rac t s frolllnorthern European tour companie .
everal o f t he Med it er ra ne an -b a ed
independent charter carriers had already
expre sed an interest in acquiring some of
the handful of fir t-generation j et t ha twere
start ing to c ome o n to th e second-hand
market.The 'non-lATA' subsidiariesalready
had accessto jetfleets, through theirsched
uled parents. The newjets were more than
a fashionable whim, they were becoming
increasingly vital for commercial survival.
Pacific Western
Another airline represented a t t he 'christening', Pacific Western Airlines, would
use their 737s for a mixture ofcharterandscheduled flying. Init ial ly operating as
Central British Columbia Airway, in
1945, t he name Pacific Western Airlines
was adopted in 1953 as t he ne twork
expanded, mostly by the merging or purcha ing of smaller operators. By 1965 the
NEW CUSTOMERS. NEW APPLICATIO S
company was r anked as Canada's third
large t ai rl ine, operating forty-seven air
craft on a scheduled network throughout
Bri ti h Columbia, Alberta, askatchewan
and t he o rt hw es t T< rritories.
A pai r of DC-7 operated internat ional
charters, including trans-Atlantic services,
while the schedule were operated by a fleet
as d iv er e a DC -6 s and DC-6B , DC-4s
and DC-3s, C-46s and several smaller types
such as Beech I s, DHC Beavers, Otters
and even two Grumman Goose amphib
ians. Turbo-prop CV-640s entered sched
u le d s er vi ce in F eb ru ar y 1967. A giant
Lockheed Hercules turbo-prop cargo air
craft was also on order to operate interna
tional and domestic all-cargo flights. The
Pacific Western 737s were intended for
both regional scheduled and longer-rang
ing charter flights, especially t o t he south
e rn SA, t he C ar ib be an and Mexico.
Aer Lingus Second Choice
The Irish national carrier, Aer Lingus, had
beenoperatingjets ince late1960. It t rans-
Atlantic division, Aerlinte
introduced Boeing 720s o
hannon- ew York route,
Lockheed Super Con tell
December that year. On sho
the K and Europe, Aer Li
fleet of OC-3s, Viscounts an
A small fleet of Aviation Tr
conver ted DC-4s , opera ted
cargo services. The propel
had init ially encountered o
competitionon someEurop
rival carrier such as Air F
gium'sSabena-operated ar
Nonetheless, Aer Lingu
t o updat e t he i r image and
fleet by operating jets on t
um-haul network. Initial
their own Caravelles wer
the Iri h government's ref
the purchase. Eventual ly,airline was a bl e t o refut
men t' o bj e t io n to a shor
and a quart e t o f BACOne
introduced into service in
Even before they entere
Lingus recogni:ed t hat t he
Pacific Western'svaried operationsincludedscheduled localfl ights by DC-3s, supplemented by Convairs,
DC-6s and DC-7son busier routes. The largerDouglasesalsooperateda substantial international charter
programme. Va author
48
later versionsof the Vickers Viscountcontinued to form thebackboneof Aerl ingus's European services
throughthe 1950s and 60s. Aer Lingus
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NEW CUSTOMERS. NEW APPLICATIONS
AerLingushad been an earlycustomerfor the BAC One-Eleven, buying four Series 200s. Theair l ine soon
realizedthat theaircraft was toos m all and ar guedfor a l arger v ers ionto be produced. Va author
Elevens were too small for the projected
markets. When Boeing 707s replaced the
720s on trans-Atlantic routes, the medium
range Boeings were transferred to some of
the higher-density European and UK ser
vices, especially the Dublin-London route.
The 115-passenger720s had the capacityfor
the busy roUte, but operating a four-engined
jet airliner on s uc h a short s ec tor was an
uneconomic proposal. When the last two
720s were leased out by Aer Lingus, to US
carrier Braniff International, Aer Lingus's
even larger Boeing 707s supplemented the
One-Elevens on the LondonService.
Bigger is Better?
Aer Lingu s was very keen for the One
Eleven's manufacturer, the British Aircraft
Corporation, to bui ld a large r v er sion of
their twin-jet. Several othersamong BAC's
early One-Eleven cus tomers were jus t a s
interested and Brita in 's BEA had actually
refused to place an order fora long-awaited
'Viscount Replacement' until a bigger ver-
sion was available. Unfortunately , BAC
procrastinated over their decision and by
the time the larger Series500 One-Eleven
wasfinally launched, manyofthe potential
customers had lostinterest and/or patience
and had o rde red r iv al Douglas DC-9s or
Boeing737s instead.
Aer Lingus' own patience had run out in
1966. On 9 Mar ch , a 6 m il li on o rd er was
placed for two I17-passenger Boeing 737
200s. It had been announced that the 737s
were intended for use principally o n t he
Dublin-London rou te whe re t ra ff ic h ad
continued to increase. In 1965over 285,000
passengers and 4,700 tons of cargo wereflown between the tIVO capitals. However,
extraorderswereeventuallyplaced for more
737s and i t became clear tha t Aer Lingus
had plans to operatetheir new jet on more
far-reaching routes aroundEurope.
Poised for Launch
Far from restricting their customer base to
the short-haul scheduled carriersoriginally
50
envisaged, Boeing's sales team had found
themselves talking t o a ver y d is pa ra te
cross-section of the airline industry . It was
c lea r tha t the 737was poised to make an
impact on more t ha n one market, with
some carriers even makinga stand against
their governments for the right to operate
the aircraft.
Orders were soonadded f roma number
of other operators scattered around the
world. Canadian Pacific Airlines and
N ew Z ea la nd a ti on al Airways, among
others, had p laced new orders and some
earlier c us tome rs h ad o rd er ed f ur th er
737s. II ippon Airways, of japan, wasnegotiating not onlywith Boeingto place
an order, but also with the ir own govern
ment for permission to import the aircraft
for their extensive domestic network.
Even before carrying a single fare-pay
ing passenger, the 737 was promising a lot
to the operators. Would they prove to be
promises it could live up to?
Lufthansa Leads the Way
In keepingwith theirpioneeringorder for
the 737, Lufthansa was ableto takedelivery
of thei r first production Series 100 on 27
December 1967. Remainingin Seattle for a
little over a month, the aircraft immediate
ly began to be u sed to convert the first of
Lufthansa's crews to operate the type. This
was less than two weeks after the 737 had
received i ts FAA type cer t if i ca t ion and
only a l i tt le over e igh t months since the
prototype 's first flight in May of that year.
After receiving its West German regis
tration D-ABED, the first Lufthansa 737
made the trans-Atlantic ferry flight from
Sea t tl e t o t he airline's maintenance base
at Hamburg, in Northern Germany, arriv
ing on 4 February 1968. Greeted bya large
crowd of Lufthansa employees, media and
well-wishers, D-ABED was soon whisked
away, a fter due c er emo ny a nd m uc h
speechmaking. Work then began on fit
tingout the passenger cabin in preparation
for scheduled service.
Within the week, after further busydays
of training and route-proving flights, D-
ABED joined Lufthansa's operating fleet
as the first '737 City jet' as the carrier had
chosen to promote the aircraft. D-ABED
was to receive the individual n am e o f
'Flensburg'. Previously, the airline's Boeing
72 7s had been christened as '727 Europa
jets'. The distinction between 'Europa'
and 'C ity ' was prompted by Lufthansa's
initial plan for operatingthe larger 727s on
medium-haul flights around Europe and to
the Middle Eas t, wh ile the 737 s were
intended for the ultra-short hauls withinWestGermanyand to neighbouring states.
On 10February D-ABEDtook on its first
load of fare-paying passengers, for flight
LH147, the 07.25 departure from Frankfurt
toMunich. From there ,it became LHO16 to
Hamburg, then re turned to Frankfurt as
LI-l709, arriving at 12.45. A little over an
hour l at er , i t d ep ar te d f or Cologne as
LH731, the first of two returnruns between
Frankfurt and Cologne, before closing its
enginesdown for the last time that day, back
CHAPTER FOUR
Into Service
D-ABED arrived at avery cold, very damp Hamburg on 4 February 1968. Luhhansa
lufthansa'sChiefExecutive- TechnicalServices, Gerhard Holtje (centre). was on the
deliveryfl ight. Holtje had been a majorinfluence on the 737's final design.Behind
himis Capt Emil Kuhl. lufthansa'sChiefPilot - 737 Fleet. Luhhansa
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INTO SERVICE INTO SERVICE
The Boeing 737-100s quicklybecame busy membersof the lufthansa European fleet.
Lufthansa
Boeing 727-200s and s ix m
200s. Th e la rgest s ingle a
PSA, i t was worth $69 mi
PSA was hoping to expand
all-California services to P
and Seattle , Washington acraftwouldbe needed to op
as wellas speedingup the re
airline 's remaining 727-10
Th e 737s were beaten
PSA's first twin-jets by a p
the first of w hi ch had be
1967. However, the Do
replaced by the 737sas the
built up. One of t he DC-9
O za rk i rl in es in 1969 a n
craft was used on PSA's ex
The Trickle Becomes a Flood
more 727s and 737s a rr ived f rom Boeing
and were placed into service for United.
As production aircraft began to be deliv
ered, albeit a month or two la te , to their
patient customers, the 737 finally started
to make an impression o n t h e world's com
mercial airways. Western, Piedmont, PSA
and Wien Consolidated were among the
US domestic carriers that followed United
i nt o t h e U S 737 family over t he following
months.
February 1968 had seen PSA plac ing a
record repeat order for no less t h an n in e
As the delayed 737s were finally delivered,
United swiftly distributed the new aircraft
to other bases on t hei r s ys tem. The
stretched 727-200ssoon followed the 737s
and the increasing shortand medium-haul
jet fleetswererapidlydislodging the remaining DC-6s and DC-6Bsfrom even the qui
eter routesto which they had already been
consigned.
By the beginningof 1969, the only pro
peller-powered passenger a ircraft in regu
l ar s erv ic e in United's f lee t were the jet
prop Viscounts. However, the British-built
Viscount 's days were numbered, a s were
the airline's less economic Caravelle twin
jets. Both typeswere already earmarked for
disposal within t henex t two years, as even
William F. Mellberg (left) and hiscousin Dave MellbergenjoyUnited's
legendary'FriendlySkies' cabinservice on theshort inaugural 737-200
flight from Chicagoto GrandRapids. William F. Mellberg
(Above) N9003U was allocated to United's first 737-200 revenueservice
on 28 April 1968 from ChicagoO Hare. William F. Mellberg
That morning I hoardcd Unitcd Flight 6 4 8 a t
Chicago-O'liarc with my cousin , D""c Mcll
bcrg. \Y)c wcrc 16-year-old high school studcntswho shared (l keen i n r e r C ~ l in airliners. So,
when we heard tha rUnited \ V a ~ inaugurating a
737 ,cn·icc in thc Unitcd Sta tc s with a f l ight
hctwccn Chicago and Grand Rapi,",Michigan,
wc madc ,urc wc wcrc on board' Taking off at
7.39am, our brand ncw 737, N9003U, 'C i t \' o f
Gnllld Rapids', touchcd down 30 minutcs latcr.
There wereinaugural celehrations onhoard the
flight and a r cd carpct W,ls rollcd out for us at
Grand Rapids. (Flight 648 was t hc f i r" schcd
ulcd jctliner rn bnd thcrc.)
Chicago Debut
Promoted by the airline's public relations
department as 'The BiggestThing in Little
Jets', the 737-200 entered commercial ser
vice on regional f lights o ut o f U ni te d' s
busiestbase, Chicago's O'Hare Airport, on
29 April 1968. William F. Mellberg was a
passenger on the first flight.
aircraft. The first United 737 was de liv
ered to the airline on 21 December 1967,
o nl y t wo weeks after Lufthansa 's f irst
Series 100 was handed over.
version of t he Boeing 727, the Series 200,
was due to enter service, joining theorigi
nal Series 100s that had been i n use since
1964. The arrival o f t he t wo n ew jets
wouldsee the final stage of the phasing out
of t he airline's remaining propeller-driven
lufthansa'spassengerssoonbeganto appreciatethe 'bigjet' feel ofthe 737's cabin.
Lufthansa
While Lufthansa was busy introducing its
new '737 City Jets' to the European travel
l ing publ i c, back in t he USA, Unit ed was
also busy, converting crews to the larger
Ser ie s 200 , in preparation for their own
introduction. s wel l a s the 737s, a larger
Into the Friendly Skies
at Frankfurt, at 19.25.Typical of what was to
become the daily utilization of a Lufthansa
737, D-ABED'sfirst day onthe line marked
the beginning of a long and very successful
association between the airline and aircraft.
Asfurther 73 7s rolled off the Seattle pro
duction line, or were released from devel
opment or tra ining work, the followed D-
ABED over the Atlantic. Lufthansa W<lS
anxious to introduce the aircraft through
out their intended network, following the
productionand delivery delays. On arrival,
they were quick ly a ss igned to more and
more of Lufthansa's domestic and regional
flights. The remaining Super Conste lla
t i ons had a lr eady been ret ir ed in October
1967, in anticipation ofthe 737's arrival on
the busy inter-city domestic routes. The
Convairs b eg an t o b e withdrawn as the
737s became established in service andthe
airline was soon c lo se t o i ts ambition to
become an all-je tcarrier. A handful of t he
turbo-propViscounts were to remain in use
for another couple of years,but weresoon to
follow their piston-engined colleagues out
of Lufthansa's fleet.
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INTO SERVICE INTOSERVICE
International or Burbank Ai rport s . This
journey, even by highway, could be a tiring
one, especia lly in the Los n gel es r us h
hour. As well as saving the Orange Coun
ty residents the trials of a drive across Los
Angeles, the major touris t a t trac ti on of
Disneyland was nearby and could be relied
on to attract traff ic to the new services.
The young businessmen were joined in
January 1966 by a number of seasoned air
line executives, includingJ. Kenneth Hull,
formerly president of Lockheed Aircraft
International, andThomas Wolfe,ex-Vice
President of Sales for Western Airlines.
They became President and Chai rman
respectively, of t he new carrier, by now for
mally named Air California. Incorporated
flat-bed truck, complete with Air Califor
nia stewardesses, to Los Angeles Airport.
On the side of t he truck wasa banner read
ing, 'If you came here from Orange Coun
ty ... You could have been in San Francisco by
now", emphasizing the time-saving of
using their local airport.
Early resultswere very encouraging and
the first of a p ai r of short-body DC-9-14
jets entered service o n t he original route
on I Apri l . The introduction of jets had
been achi eved only after a numbe r o f
objections, o n t he grounds of noise nui
sance, had beenovercome.Orange Coun
ty-San Francisco flights now operated
seven t imes a day. Services opened to San
Jose and Oak la nd on 23 September and
the badly-needed additio
In mid-1968 Air Californ
$ [ million loss on an ear
$6,650,000. Finally, Air Ca
solution to the twinproblem
larger aircraft and f inancia l
of theGATX/BootheAircr
Specializing in l ea si ng
GATX/Boothe had taken o
cancelled 737 delivery pos
the Pacific Air Lines place
200s, the aircraft were inte
out on both short and lon
to airlines. Wien Consolid
advantage of their aircraft's
ty by leasing in GATX/Boo
gurate their je t services in
Western'sBoeing 737-200s were used to link smaller cities on a networkstretching fromsouthern
California tothe GreatLakesand midwesternCanada. Jenny Gradidge
June 1968, whilst waitingf
layed aircraft deliveries.
A t the end of the
GATX/Boothe negotiatedAir California, buying th
and two DC-9s and repla
the 737-200s on lease cont
performance was regarded
patible with the noise-sen
requirements a t Orange C
The improved rate of clim
ed nois e abatement proced
The I[S-passenger 737
October 1968, o n t he O
San Francisco route and a
Growing Pains
Air California'srapidly increasing passenger
boardingsshowed no sign of slowing down.
However, the still comparatively new air
line's resources were insufficient to finance
two more Electras j o ined t he busy fleet.
The number of passengers carried in Air
California's f irst year - 293,604 - encour
aged expansi on and inves tment to thepo in t t ha t a new maintenance base was
o pe ne d a t S an Francisco International
Airport in early [968.
on 12 April, Air California was granted its
first route certificate by the California Pub
lic Utili t ies Commission. The certificate
covered a minimum of f ive daily flightsfrom Orange County to San Francisco.
Turbo-prop to J et
Services began on 16 January 1967, with
two ex-Qantas Lockheed Electra turbo
props painted u p in an eye-catching yel
low, black and red livery. Aiming its sales
drives firmly a t t he residents of Orange
County, one gimmick involved driving a
The OC-9 was Air California'sfirst choice of pure-jetequipment,supplementingthe Electras. Aviaton HobbyShop
and t he S an Francisco Bayarea. They had
commissioned surveys that indicated a
huge traffic potential from the area.
With a populat ion of well over a m il
Iion, Orange Countywas oneof t he fastest
growing metropolitan areas in t h eUSAa t
the time. A t ri p by scheduled airline from
t he O ra ng e C ou nt y a re a w ou ld have
required a long car journey to Los Angeles
a ir s er vi ce i n California. [n December
1965,a group of five Californian business
men met in Corona d el Mar , in Orange
County, southeastof Los Angeles. William
Myers, Alan H. Kenison,Mark T. GatesJr,
William L. Pereira Jr and Lud Renick met
to discuss forming a new airline to operate
a scheduled service from the under-used
Orange County Airport, near Santa na,
'WESTER.N(11 ••••••••••••••
The Boeing 737-200 proved an idealstablematefor PSA's larger 727s, operating on lessbusyfl ights on the
intra-California services. Jenny Gradidge
California Competition
Others s t ar t ed to look to emulate PSA's
success in providing low-cost intra-state
and conversion programmes that it had
operated f or a number of airlines and cor
porate customers.
54 55
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services from Hollywood/Burbank and
Ontario to the Bay Area. The airline car
r ied a to ta l of 650,000 pas engers during
196 and, early in 1969, celebrated carry
ingit millionth passenger on 27 February.
Ye t fur the r expansion inc luded Palm
prings-Bay Area flights and 1969also saw
Air alifornia offering first-clas 'Fiesta
Service' on its 737s, the first regional carri
er to 0rerate a two-classservice.
INTO S ER VI E
Canadian Debut
Further north, as Western's 73 7s madeearly
appearances on their cross-border routes
in to Canada , the aircraft's anadian cus
tomers werepoised to join the clubas well.
Ear ly o rder s had been p laced by ordair
and Pacific We tern, but t he production
delays meant that they would not take deliv
e ry unt i l l ate 196 /ea rly 1969. Canadian
Pacific Airlines, that had ordered their first
five 73 7s in 1966, tookdelivery oftheir first
Series 200in October 1968. The aircraft was
the first to be delivered displaying the air
line 's new image as CP Ai r, in a br igh t
orange, red and silver livery.
The CP Air 737s, Iikemany of thoseof
many new 737 operators, were being used
to rerlaceoutdated equipment on region
al and 10 al service, in their case, mostly
within anada. Canadian Pacific had
grown steadily since its formation in
1942, f rom a co llect ion of merged local
carriers into a major dome tic operator
w i th in Canada. Long-range expan ion
saw the company even tua l ly orerating
in tercont inen ta l e rvices to A i a, Aus
tralia, Eurore and outh America from
its Vancouver h<'lse. Dougl<'ls DC-6Bs,
o ri gi na ll y o pe ra te d o n t he l on g- ha ul
routes , were s ti l l f ly ing on regional ser
vices within western Canada after being
disrlaced from international and trans
Continental servicesseveral years before,
initially by Bristol Britannia turbo-rrops
<'lnd, la ter, by DC-8 jets.
The 737 entered scheduled service with
CP Air with a Vancouver BC-Whitehorse,
Yukon Flight, on 20 November 1968. Fur
ther 737 servicesweresoonopened, taking
over from the DC-6Bs on flight ' to Whitehorse,Terrace and Prince Rupert.Whenthe
final two 73 7s of the initialorder weredeliv
ered in March 1969, the last of the DC-6Bs
weresoldoff.This left CP Airan all-jet air
line, excert for a " ingle DC-3, operated on
local and charter flights. The 737s orerated
thcir first trans-Continental dome"tic rev
cnuc flight forCPAiron 1Apr il 1969. o r
dair hadbeen the nextCanadian airline to
rlacethe 737in -crvice, on an Arctic route,
w ith a Montreal-Frobisher Bay service on 3
Deccmher 196 .
11 TO SERVICE
The 200 Series Finally
Reaches Europe
Britannia Airways were eagerly awaiting
their 737s and had hoped to havethem in
service in t ime for the peak o f t he 196
summer touri t sea on. However, the trou
blesome production delay at Boeing had
ruled thi s out . A lready suf fe ring a s ligh t
capacity shortage following the tragic loss
ofoneof their Bristol Britanniaturbo-props
ina fatal crash at Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, the
year before, Britannia relied on the sched
uled arrival of the new aircraft to fulfil its
1968contracts. Instead, a pair of addition
al Britannias had to be leased in from rival
carriers for most of the 1968 season. Like
those in their own f le et , t he se wer e e x
BOAC aircraft. One came from Laker Air
ways, one from BKS ir Transport.
The first Britannia irways 737, andEurope' s f ir st Se rie 2 0 , G-AVRL finally
arrived a t t he airline's Luton Airport base
on J ul y 196 . This was actually a fell'
days early, according t o t h e term of a new
renego t ia ted con trac t w ith Boeing that
t oo k a cc ount o f t he p ro du ct i on delays.
ndeterrcd, Britannia Airway's initia l
ordcr for thrcc aircraft had already been
increased w five. Ithough the delays had
disrupted plans for thc 196 sea son' s jet
operations, deliveries for t he n ex t year
wcre expccted to bc on time.
A great deal of British e
incorrorated on to the B
includingMarconi ADF, a Co
der,as well as the galley fitti
ment. To facilitate cabin se
charter flights, the galley
accommodated in the forw
the cabin, with passenger w
centratedat the rear. The in
capacity of 117 on Britannia
exactly matched that of t
102s, which assisted in s
transition from turbo-prop
tion. An increase in the 737
ger caracity, up to 124 on
charter services, was plan
introduction and the new s
layout had already re
arproval.
Into Charter Service
The first five Britanniacrew
to the 73 7 received their co
ing with Boe ing in Seat t le
was comrlcted back in the
ingpilotson loan to Britanni
crews, rcquircd when the
entered scn'icc, were to be c
Seattle-trained instructors.
the second 737, G-AVRM,
i ts time at hannon on train
(Above) The Boeing 737-200s introducedCanadianPacific'sbright new image
as CP Air. Jenny Gradidge
(Below) GATX/Boothesupplied 737-200sto Air California in a leasing deal as
part ofa major re-equipmentprogramme. Aviaton Hobby Shop
56
G-AVRLwas to be the first Boeing 737-200 to be operatedin Europe. andthe first 737 to be flown by an all-
charter carrier. Va author
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INTOSERVICE INTOSERVICE
Early Jet Days at Piedmont-AVRL received its UK Certificate of
Airworthiness on 10 July, two days after
delivery. On 19 July a proving flight was
operated byG-AVRL from Luton to Palma,
Maj or ca , a nd o n t he 2 2nd it entered
commercial servicewith a n I T charter from
Luton to the Yugoslav resort ofDubrovnik.
G-AVRM carried its first revenue load of
holidaymakers on 16 August with a
Luton-Venice IT charter .
Although too l a te to make much of an
impact on the 1968 summer season, Bri
tannia werestill well impressedwith their
new aircraft. All five o f t he initial 737
orders we re i n use in time for the J969
season and plans were in hand to acquire
more of the Boeing jets. The 73 7s operat
ed on most o f t h e growing IT network,
no ton ly from Luton,serving London, but
also from regional points such as Man
chester,Glasgow,
Birmingham and New
castle. The increase in ITs originating at
regional pointscontinued t o g r ow t o the
po int tha t a numbe r o f t he mor e impor
tant c it ie s g ai ne d y ea r- ro und hol id ay
charter service for the first time in the
winterof 1968/69.
I t wa s calculated that , even with the
original 117-seat layout, e ac h o f t he air
line 's 737s was as productive as 212 Bristol
Britannias. A part of the Britannia turbo
propswere taken out of service at the end
of 1969, a l though the older type was to
continue to contribute t o Br it a nnia A i r
ways' charter operations, a longside the
737s, until t he e nd o f 1970.
Early Days with Lufthansa
While Britannia was i n tr oduc ing thei r
Series200s to the hoiidaymakers of Britain,
Lufthansa continued to deploy their Series
100s on m or e a nd m or e routes on their
domestic and European network. Even
withtheir previous experience in operating
bigger Boeing jets, Lufth:lIlsa W<lS very
impressed with the comparatively trouble
free introduction into service o f t h e 737.
There had b ee n no m aj or e ng i ne prob
lems. A t the very beginning of 737 opera
t ionstherehad been a starter valveproblem
when sand from treated runwayswas ingest
ed. A filterscreen had simply not been up
to its job and the problem was fixed using a
new screen with a finer mesh, assuggested
by Boeing. Unscheduled engine removals
in the first nine mon th s o f operation
amounted toonly
threeexamples, twocaused by reports of vibration and one by
high oil consumption. There had been no
in-flight engine shutdowns and no fire
warnings, even false ones.
The auxiliary power un it (APU) gave
some trouble at first. Thermostat difficul
ties had led to crews having trouble getting
some systems on line w itho ut t he APU
shutting down. New accelera tion control
thermostats were designed and d id m uch
bet ter . A certain amount of nosewheel
corrosion was noted and put downto prob
lems with the alloy used and there were
some problems with the r am a ir inlet sys
tem that was solved by re-rigging.
The self-contained airstairs gave Luft
hansa the most t r ouble . A l th ough t he
r ea r s t eps , mounted in the downward
opening door, were the most complicated
design o f t h e two, these gave little trou
b le . I t was the simpler, forward steps that
folded into a small compartment under
the passenger door, that caused some
del<lys. The improvement in the electri
cal circuit reduced the p robl em . A s
stowage of the forward airstairs was oneof
the last systems operated pr ior to depar
ture, i t was more likely t o c aus e a delay
thanany o ther problem that maybe fixed
before departure time. Thus the blame on
the airstairs for most delays was made t o
look worse than i tw a s i n delay statistics.
The rear airstair arrangement was an
optionnot taken up by many 737 customers.
It allowed swift turnarounds at airports
not equipped w i th je tt i es for embarking
passengers and saved having to have
expensive mobilestepunits hand. Howev
e r, a Ithough used by some earl I' operators,
especially Lufthansa, Wien Consol idated
and Piedmont, they were usually removed
in later years and a conventional door fit
t ed ,a s a weight-savingmeasure. A few air
craft retained their original configuration,
especially the 'combi' aircraft that carried
freight in the forward cabin and passengers
in the rear section and could only load
their passengers th rough the rear doors.
The smaller, forward airstairs, however,
w er e a useful opt io n t ak en up, and
retained, by most customers.
Being an earlycustomer,Piedmont Airlines also played itspart in ironing out the wrin
kles as the 737 proved itself in daily service. Eventualy retiring as a DistrictSales and
Marketing Managerfor US Airvvays,Joe Grantwas originallya UtilityAgentwith Pied
mont,hired in 1966, after his honourabledischarge from the USAF, with whom hehad
been amechanic in Japan and Vietnam.
Joe's first base wasthe airport for Staunton/Harrsonburg,a smal staton servingthe
ShenandoahVal ey in Vrgna that one customerdescribed to him as reminding her 'of
Africa.
Asma staton istough towork asyoumust knoweverythng aboutrunnng it. For instance,
the tcket counter and customer servce, reservatons(a done localy inthosedays, no cen
tra reservatons offce!. weight and baanceof aircraft, weather, teetype, ramp servce,
loadng and unoadng, airfreight,air express,some mantenance andevensomeair traffc
control. Lke I sad, a lot to learn.
As alreadymentoned, Piedmonthad leased a pair of 727s to coverthe latede very of
the 737s.Orgnay intended for United, they still had the largerairlines comfortabe
3-2, fve-abreast confguraton. Despitelosing the first aircraft i n t he Ashev e md-air
collision, the 727s proved a success with Piedmont and boded well for the smaler,
much moreeconomic, 737 on their network.
In1968
Joe Grantvisited Renton.
I boarded Pedmonts frst 737, N734N, whie it was st beng buit. I t had apywoodf oor
andthe cockpt was protected from dust bybengencosed inahuge plastc bag! Pedmont
was one of the fewairnes tohavethe rearboardng airstairsinstaled. Severa years later
theywere removedbecause theywere heavy 10 fy around,p us theywere expensveto f x
if brokenand they aso got inthe wayof'new' modernday caterngequpment. The frst Ped
mont737s were aso ftted with the3-2 seatng confguraton. Itfelt l k e f rs tcass. Later the
seatng waschanged to3-3, al coachc ass.
The orginal engnes of the 737had rather non-effcient thrust reversers. These were
repaced by huge 'clam-shel reversers thatworked'almost 100 good compared to t he o d
ones. Captans sad, referrng t o t he od stye reversers, thattryng to stop with themon a
wet runway was as s ppery as puttng your feet in a pe! The aircraft alw
hydropane in those conditons.
Ron Carterwas a mechanic with Piedmont when both the 727s and
service:
The arrval of the727srequred a lotoftrainingfor the piots, mechancs a
dants.When the727s were leasedin we hadMartn 404s, YS-11 sandFarch
ingwas veryhelpful in settng up our training needs. Atthistme Pedmont
tranedmechanc group but we werenot used to suchcompexaircraftand
inthe electrcal systems.Boeng hed additonalcasses in aircraftelectrcal f
greatdv dends later. The 737 waslesscompexthan the727, sothe trans
Inital in-servce probemswith the 737 werethrust reversersand hydra
aswel as abuffetng probem. These were soon corrected,with Boeng insta
ofthrust reverser and issung numerousservce buletns to correct the hydra
Vortex generatorswere instaled to correct the buffetng.Weaso had to ana
oi and change it at frequentintervals. Afterabout ayear thiswas changed
neverchanged except at overhau.
The P&W JTBD engne had inital probemsbutthesewere soon correcte
the engne smokedand it was desrable to have thiselminated.Theburnerc
soved this probem - butstartedtwo others! One was off-dle stal of the
otherwas that thefumes were more toxc than when the engne smoked.B
lems were corrected in abouttwo years.The auxiary power unit was acon
troubes, butwe hadgood technca supportandeventualyso vedsome of th
clmate is very hOI and humd in the summer, but the coong system hande
The aircraftwas very relable, but needed a few years to correcta lot of prob
coud not have pcked abetter aircraft than the737to enter the jet age,or a
to gude us thanBoeng.
Piedmonts introducton ofthe 737 had benefted from the airlines earli
leased 727s, and the valuableoperatonal support of Boeing. JennyGra
BritanniaAirways had five 737-200s inservice in 1969, with more on order. Jenny Gradidge
58
PIEDmo
5 @--5 @
N737N
••• ••
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Interiorconfiguration on the 'QC' 737 could be swiftly modified by seatunits on
tracks, loadedthroughthelargeforwardcargo door. Lufthansa
The 'Quick Change' Artists
Lufthansa took delivery on 17 December
196 of t he first order for six 737-200Q
'Qu ic k h ange ' aircraft. Ortions had also
beentaken outon two more. The airline's
f ir st l on g- fu se la ge 7 37 wer e equipred
INTO SERVICE
withlarge cargodoors in the upper forward
fuselage and strengthenedcabin floors, the
convertible aircraft being intended for
passengeruse in the daytimeand for con
version to freight services at night. The
swi tch from passenger to cargo configu
ration was designed to take less t han ha lf
an hour. Lufthansa was already orerating
a fleet ofconvert ible 727s on similar er
vice, alongside their all-passenger 727
100 and -200s.
The convert ible 'combi-version' of the
737 wasfirst placed into service in Alaska,
byWien on olidated in ovember 196
(Abovel The Boeing 737·200QC wasable to operate
bothpassenger and cargoschedules on lufthansa's
European network. Lufthansa
In all-cargo configuration, the 737 ould
carry up to seven standard ral lets or con
tainers. The units wereloaded slightly off
centre, to the right,allowing a rassageway
to the left. With only six pallets, eleven
passengers could be carried, and with onlytwopallets installed,up to eighty-one pas
sengers could be accommodated in the
rcar section.
As well as serving the more populated
poin t amongthe 170 scattered communi
t i e servedby the airline in Alaska and the
Canadian Yukon, the 737's joint passenger
and cargo-carryingcapabilities were put to
good use on contract work for the Trans
Alaska PipelineSystem, from Anchorage.
Weste rn 's 737 s were a lso soon reaching
Alaska and operat ingon busier local and
regional route taken over in the merger
with Pa i fic orthern Airlines, of Fair
hanks.
imilar rugged work was to be shortly
undertaken by convertible 73 7 placed
into service by Nordair, Pacific Western
Airlines and Transair, a ll serving remote
towns and outposts in northern anada.
The smaller Canadian operators' 73 7s, and
those of Wien Consolidated, were alsofit
ted for gravel runway operations. As well as
low-pressuretyres, deflectors were attached
to the undercarriage to shield the fuselage
from stones being k icked up on landing.
Vortex generatorswere alsoattached to the
front ofthe engine nacelles, to blowdebris
away from the intakes and protect them
from gravel damage. However, these air
craft were also just as likely to spend their
weekends flying tourists from major Canadian cities, escaping from the northern
winters to the sun of Florida, the arib
bean, or evenMexico.
INTO SERVICE
Further South
The New Zealand NationalAirways Corpo
ration ( Z AC), became the operator of
three 737-200s on 14 October 196 .
Ordered t o replace Viscounts on trunk-
cheduled services within ew Zealand,
the 737swould join a fleet of Fokker E27
that had begun to replace DC-3 on local
f ligh ts f rom 196 . The first of t he trio had
been delivered to Wellington, after a long
island-hopring trek from Seatt le, on 1
September and the introduct ion of t he j e t
fleet within a month was a l au da bl e
achievement for the carrier.
NZ AC was the nationallyowned dom
estic airline of ell' Zealand, international
servicesto Australia and trans-Pacificflights
being the preserve ofAir ewZealand with
their fleet of long-haul DC-8s and Electra
turbo -p rops . Twenty- five des tin at ion s,served by 4,000 miles of routes, comprised
ZNAC's network within andbetween the
o rt h a nd South Islands of the country.
ew Zea land 's l ink to
membership of theCommon
to high hope in the K of
from Z AC for the BACO
Oneof BAC' development
i ted ewZea land dur ing a w
in 1966,operating demonstr
Z A b et we en D une di
Aucklandand Whenupai be
the touronwards to Australi
Iy for BAC,it hadbeenfelt t
ate financial and political pr
applied tosway ell 'Zealand
ing the One-Eleven and, a
British aircraft was rejected
for NZN 's Viscount repla
The One-Eleven f ared
Australia, with only a pair of
Australia's air force for VIP
Australia's largest domestic a
vately owned Ansett-A Ament-sponsored Trans Aus
both chose the Boeing 72
DC-9 for th ei r sho rt -haul
Nordair and Transair operatedthe
moreremoteregions. as well as b
services and vacationfl ightsto su
Via author/AVaton Hobby Shop
60 67
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INTOSERViCE INTO SERVICE
The Fokker F28 'Felowship'enjoyed amoderate success as an econo
alternative to earlier turbo-props. Via author
r.\. -s\\
mance. The F.28 sereswas later totally redesigned and updated as t
100 types, withnew engines and updated flght-deck systems and equ
typesremained in producton unti Fokker succumbedto economic pr
forced to cease al manufacturing operatonsin the late 1990s.
B R A - l I T H ~ N S j6 :A Fit
_ . ~
7
U 1I (JUS/ R /SH / NT ERN T ~ O ~ N ~ A ~ l l · ~ · ~ n D I I J [ i J ; . I I \ ~ I l P ~ ~ i ,
,-n
TheDutchTwin-Jet Option
The long-establshed aircrah manufacturer, Fokker,
based in the Netherands, had a very different concept
for its offering in the short-haul twin-jet market. Delb
erately aiming at a smal capacity replacement forits
F.27 Frendship,the Fokker jet design, when it did final
ly emerge, was originally confgured for upto sixty-five
passengers, about half that of theBoeng 737. Fokker
alsodeclaredfromthe beginning that it preferred steady
salesovera long-termperod, rather than agreaternum
ber of orders over a shorterproducton life.
Powered by two Rols Royce Speyengines, the F.28
received its first producton order in November 1965,
some three years aher the project was officially
announced by the company. The producton of the air
crah was an early example of inter-European colabora
ton, with Short Bros and Harand,of Belfast. producing
the outerwings and undercarrages andGermanys MBB
and VFW manufacturing the centre and rear fuselage
sectons, tai units and enginenaceles.
The first orderwas paced by theWest German charter airlne, LTU. However,Braathens
was the first carrer to pacethe aircrah into revenuese Vice,on
28 March 1969.Ordersfolowed from operators in Australa, Argentna, Coumba, Span and theNetherands,
fromoperators as diverse as Ibera, Spansnatonal carrer, the Argentnegovernment
and Aviacton, asmal start-upcharteroperator inWestGermany. Al hadavarietyof uses
for the versat e Fokker jets hgh performance, especialy fromshort or rough runways.
Larger andmore powerful versions of the F.28 wereoffered laterandthe typebecame
popular asan economic mainlne and feeder airlner, as well as its 'outback' perfor-
The Aerlingus 737s were originally ordered specifically for the busy Dublin-london route and were to be
seenat london/Heathrowfor manyyears. Malcolm L. H
route was one such schedule, with the extra
f reight sales capacity supplementing lower
passenger loads at certain times of the day.
All-cargoservicesalso includeda number of
bloodstock char ters, f lying racehorses from
the I rish studs to race meetings and sales
a ro un d t he UK a nd Continental Europe.
A l ar ge programme o f IT services from
Dublinand other Irish cities kept the 737
and One-E leven f leets busy around theclockover summer weekends, when there
was l ess d emand on t he business traffic
based scheduled routes. Aer Lingus had
operated subs tant ia l numbe rs of both
charter and scheduled flights to Tarbes,
transporting pilgrims to t he C at ho l ic
shrine at Lourdes, in southern France, for
many years and t h e 73 7s were soon regu
larlyassigned to these services. During the
busier months, daily utilization of up to 18
hours a d ay w as getting to be the norm.
..
haul jet fleet of four BAC One-Elevens and
were a lso supplemented by l ar ge r 7 07 s
when loads demanded it.
A 737 simulator was added to Boeing
720 an d BAC One-E leven examples
a l ready in se rv i ce a t t he airline's Dublin
head office. With m or e a nd m or e 737
operatorsstarting to come on line, some of
them with comparatively small fleets, Aer
Linguswas increasingly leasing out unusedt r ain ing hour s on i ts simulator. This was
the beginning of a whole new sourc e of
income for the ai rI ine, w it h t hird-party
maintenance a nd e ve n short-term crew
and aircraft leasing gaining in importance
over t he next few years.
The 'QC ' aircraft were not only utilized
on night-time cargo services. 'Combi' pas
senger/cargo fl ights operated on some
scheduled services to regional points in the
UK. Th e Dublin-Bristol-Cardiff-Dublin
New Zealand NationalAirways' 737s brought jet comfort to their domestic routes.
JennyGraddge
Braathens Boeing 737-200s operated as far north as the Arctic Circle and as far
south as Mediterranean resorts. Steve Buntng
New Northern Highlights
Irish Deliveries
Aer Lingus, the national carrier of Eire, the
I ri sh Repub li c , was c lo se on the heels of
Braathens in inaugurating i ts 737 services.
The airline's first aircraft, EI-ASA, 'St Jarlath' arrived at Dublin on 2 April 1969,
closely followed by two others . The trio
began revenue services later t ha t month ,
flying t o L on do n a nd Paris. Three more
737s, including two convertible 'QCs' were
delivered by the end of 1969. The arrival of
yet three more in early 1970 saw Aer Lin
gusable to offerall-jet flights on their Euro
pean routes, andthe withdrawal of their last
Vickers Viscount turbo-props. The 737s
operated alongside rhe esrablished short-
The 737 seemed to be getting a reputation
a s a c ol d weather native , especially when,
on the European side of the Arct ic Circle,
Braathens took delivery of their first two
73 7s in Decen,ber 1968 and January 1969.
Within a matterof weeks, Braathens had
also taken delivery of their first Fokker
F.28 tw in je t, intended f or use on routes
where the 73 7 wa s considered too large.
The F.28 also possessed exceptionalshort
and rough-field capabilities , making it a
worthy successor to the E n turbo-prop
that i twas intended to replace.
The arrival o f t h e 737 d id not see the
immediate demise of t he seven Braathens
DC-6Bs that i t w as intended to replace.
The first Braa thens DC-6B had entered
s er vi ce i n 1 96 1 and the classic piston
engined airliner was to remain a feature ofthe Norwegian airline's s cheduled and
charter operations for over ten years.
One service o n w hi ch t he D C- 6B had
heavily featured was a regular charter from
Tromso to Spitzbergen, in the Arctic. Sup
portinga joint orwegian/Russian coalmin
ing operation by Store orske Spitzbergen
Kullkompani, landingswere at first made on
the sea ice, then a gravel strip.Although the
DC-6Bs shared the service with F.ns and,
later, the F.28s, only the 737 could match
the DC-6Bs' load-carrying o n t he u ni qu e
service. Both passengers and cargowerecar
ried on t h e flight, with the 737sfreight-car
rying capacity being put t o especially good
use. A tarmac stripwas later laid in the mid
1970s, but t he special weather conditions
and unique opera tiona l restr ictions sti IImeant that an aircraft of the 737's outstand
ingcapabilities was required.
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INTO SERVICE
CHAPTER FIVE
SAL
with a single DC-3 on 27 oveThe n ex t spring, another DC
airline, Challenger Airlines, b
Lake ity, operated its first ch
vices to Denver via several sm
outhern Wyoming . Arizon
began its DC-3 schedules a t t h e
flying from Phoenix to c it ie i
Canyon area.
All three airlines struggled
theyalso managed some limite
to their slTlall route networks
with the Denver, Colorado-b
since1966. Frontier had aclassic
al c ar rier h is to ry , i ts antecede
begun operations shortly after
WorldWar,with fleetsof ex-mil
The first of three smallairlines w
e r resul tcd in thc formation
Monarch Airlines, inaugurated
services ove r t hc Denver-Dur
Frontier Airlines actuallyordered their first
737s as replacements for their fleet of Boe
ing727-100s, five of which hadbeen in use
Rocky Mountain Boeings
restrictions. AIt ho ug h t hc O ne -Elevenswere disposed of as soon as the 737s
entered service, Alohacontinued to oper
ate a sma ll f le et of Vickers Vi coun ts on
local and supplementary fl ights.
the Aloha One-Elcvens had been popular
with passengers and crewsalike. However,
weight limitations had mean t tha t Aloha
had been forced to operate under severe
restrictions from some o f t h e smaller air
ports, with usable traffic loads making the
One-Eleven services less e onomic. The
737s , wi th thei r be tte r runway perfor
mance, were acquired to counteract these
South Afr ican Airwayswas to becomea long-term 737 customer.Seenin a laterl ivery, 737-200 lS-SIJ
displaysits Afr ikaans titling on i tsstarboard side. MAP
IDlproving the Breed
737 customer had operated jets on the irshort-haul networks before. The 737s were
intended either as replacement for earlier
jets, such as loha's One-Elevens, or to
supplement larger 727 on shorter or l es
travelled routes into smaller airports,as was
the case with SAA andANA.
Aloha had been operating a f le et of
three BA One-Elevens on their inter
island Hawaiian network s in ce A pr il
1966. Introduced to compete against D
9s o f t he ir a rc h rival Hawaiian Airlines,
While Bocing was developing t he 'Ad
vanced' version, the original 737 models
werc continuing to spread their wings over
an increasingly wide range. ewoperators
wcrc as scattered as South African Air
lines, Aloha Airlines, Frontier Airlin s
and All ipponAirways. Many ofthc new
Worldwide Distribution
A Day-to-Day Success
extra expense and continued to operate the
unmodified aircraft undertheiroriginal per
formance criteria,orderingnew 'Advanced'
aircraft inany repeat or new orders.
The 737 in 196 and 1969 established
i ts el f i n s er vi ce with several airline
around the world, operating a staggering
variety of operational scenarios. For the
most part, the airlines andtheir pilotswere
pleased with the aircraft. One pilotcom
mented that it was: 'A great aeroplane. It
just goes and goes l '
There was an increase in the droop of two
slat sections, the exten ion of the Kreuger
flaps inboard,sealing the gap between spoil
ers and flaps and smoothing the leading
edge that was exposed beh ind the flaps
when deployed. One result o f t he refine
ments incorporated in the 'Advanced' 737
was an increasein range to 2,370 mile. All
ippon Airways, the japane e domestic
carrier, placed the first 'Advanced' 737-20
inserviceinjune 1971.
Significant as the improvements were,
although kits were made available to cus
tomers for converting theirearlieraircraftto
the new 'Advanced' standard, none were
sold. Instead, the operators shunned the
(Belowl United's 737-200s were soon scheduled on
busy inter-cityroutesthroughoutthe air l ine's
network, l inkingsmallerairports to majorcities
aroundthe USA. Aviation Hobby Shop
Malaysia-Singapore Airlines was one of the few
customers forthe smaller 737-100. AviallonHobby
Shop
The Series 200 Carries On
Onc the outstanding orders for the erie
100 had been del ive red to Avianca and
lalaysia- ingapore Airlines in 1969, the
eries 200was the soleofferingfrom the 73 7
stable. Although various combinations of
passenger/cargo configurations and rough
field-equipped versions were available,
there was only theone basic 737 to hane\.
As wel l a the aerodynamic improve
ments already made to reduce drag, and the
option ofthe later, more powelful, versions
ofthe jT8D engine,from the 280th aircraft
much moresubstantial improvement were
int roduced to the production standard
Series 200 aircraft. The extr a changes
included more aerodynamic refinements,
espe ially concentratedon the wing design,
including a thickening of the enginc strut
and a minor repositioning ofthe slats.Improvements inshort-field takc-off and
landing characteristics had been brought
about by refining the flaps system and the
installation of an automatic brakingsystcm.
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I IPROVING THE BREED IMPROVING THE BREED
Frontier's first equipmentcomprised afleet oftr ied andtrusted DC-3s inheritedfrom thethree local
carr iersthat mergedto formthe new airline. AViaton Hobby Shop
Changes at th e Top
ineteen sixty-eight saw the a
larger Boeing 727-2 Os and t
nell ' routes i n t o Memphi s
Rock. Thus, Memphis hccam
city and Tennessee t he [ 6t h
served hy Frontier. In terms of
of citicsserved, Frontierwas
ond largest air carrier in the U
The following ycar Lcwis
resigned from Fronticr and wa
E. Paul Burkc as Prcsident and
man. O nc o f t h e new manag
decisions was to replace the ori
were soon to be d ispo sed of
allowcd the transfcr o f Conv
routes. Within a couple of yc
600s were replaced by morc
standardize the turho-prop nee
not begin scheduled scrvice until Septem
h cr 1 94 9, u si ng a nCel o( small Beech
Bonanzas on rou te s f rom For t Wor th t o
Dallas and points in Oklahoma Statc. DC
3s had entered s crvicc in latc 1950, w i th
CV-240 s fol lowing in thc car ly [960s
whenCcntral rook ovcr a numher of local
routes from American Airlincs and East
ern Airl ines. Ccnt ra l had also optcd for
turbo-prop convcrsion of their Con vail's,
although they cho sc t o f it Bri ti sh Rol lsRoyce Dart-. As such, their 'nell" Com'a
irs were designated CV-600s and markcted
on Central Airlines sen'ices as 'Dart 600s'.
Thus, when Fronticr mergcd with Cen
tral, twodifferent versionsofConvair turho
propwcrein use on the network. The result
ing neet consistcd offivc Bocing 727- [OOs,
twenty-two CV-5 Os and c1cven CV-600s,
as well as no less than scventeen surviving
DC-3s that werestill in use with bothcarri
e rs a t the time of the merger. The DC-3s
FRONTIER
The Central Airlines Merger
services and t he ext ens i on of routes from
Wichi ta andTopeka to Chicago. The air
line hegan to apply for several more route
extensions, including services to Seattle,
Houston, New York and Washington, cit
ing their use of 727s which allowed Fron
tier to operate non-stop he tween most of
the cities concerned. Frontieralso claimed
t ha t t headd i ti onof t heextra services to its
network would allow the airline to forego
its nccd for i ts 7 m il li on annual suhsidy.Howcvcr, the CA B refused mos t o f t he
more amhitious reque-ts, such as non-stop
California- cw York nights, claiming that
'routc :trcngthening does havc its limits'!
On 1 Octohcr [967 Frontier took ovcr
Fort Worth, Texas-based Central Airlines.
Ccntral hadbeen founded in [944, but did
(Below) The 727-100s were to be ousted by the 737s
from 1969. Via author
The Convair CV-340s inFrontiers fleetwere
converted to turbo-prop power to improve
performance. The increasedspeed and smoother
r ide ofthe redesignated CV-580s wasmuch
appreciated by their passengers.Crews appreciated
theextraavailablepowerat high-altitudeRocky
Mountain airportswith shortrunways. AViaton
HobbyShop
to do so. The re-engined Convairs, redesig
n atedCV-5 0 -when fitted with the Allison
5 1prop-jets ,wereplaced intoservice on I
June 1964. The 'new' CV-5 Os couldoper
ate 100mph faster than the CV-340s. The
extra power provided by the A II isons W,lS
greatly appreciated at the small airports
served by Frontier, many of which were at
rarefied altitudes that had restricted the pis
ton-engined aircraft's operations.
1963 and 1964 boardings hadcont inued
to increase and new non-stopauthoritywas
granted between several ofthe larger cities
on Frontier 's network. This prompt ed
Dymondto place an order for the five Boe
ing 727-100s, at a cost of 55 million. The
first two ofthe 99-passenger jet wereintro
duced on bu ier rou te s f rom Denver and
alt Lake City in [966. By the time the
727s werein service, eighteenConvairs hadbeen converted to 5 0 s tanda rd . on-stop
nights were inaugurated between Denver
and t Louis by the 727s, with the CV-5 s
nying new Denver-Kansa City-St Louis
services, on 13June 1967.TransWor ld i r
l in es t oo k a v er y d im vi ew of Frontier's
entry into itstraditionalmarkets at St Louis
and Kansas City and trebled its own com
peting jet servicesto Denver.
Other new routes awarded to Frontier at
t he t imewere non-stop Denver-Las VeW1s
orth and outh Dakota. The next year,
four more citie were added in Montana.
New Management, NewEquipment
The expanded netwo rk cal l ed for more
modern aircraft andthe first of what was to
grow into a large neetofsecond-hand Con
vair 340s entered service on busier routes
in t hesummer of 1959. The 44-passenger
Convairs brought great improvements in
passenger comfort over the DC- 3s. They
were pressurized, which allowed the air
craft t o operat e a t altitudes above most of
the rough weather, especially importanton
the Rocky Mountain services. Their
increasedcargo and passengercapacitywas
useful and at t racted further revenue wherethe DC-3s had struggled to accommodate
available traffic.
A new management t eam t ook ove r
Frontier i n 1 96 2, headed by Lewis W.
Dymond. Improved schedules, nell' 'stand
by' and generous family fare were intro
duced, resultingin a 26 per cent growth in
passenger boardings for the last six months
of [962. Dymond also signed contracts for
the conversion of the CV-340 neet to turbo
prop power, the first of the regional airlines
Challengerhad reached Billings, Montana
and Arizona new as far south as EI Paso.
With Mona rch' s n etwork nea tly sand
wiched in the middle itsoon becameclear
to all three that a merge r wou ld c rea te a
moreviable carrier. Approval for the merg
er was granted by the Civil Aeronautics
Boa rd in 1950 and the new company was
named Fron tie r A ir l in es , s erving rou te s
that stretchedfromMontana toMexicovia
seven s ta te s in the Rocky Mountain and
Southwest regions. Operations began under
the new name on I June 1950.
A period of teadygrowth followed, Fron
tierutilizinga neetof trusty DC-3sthrough
out the network. Although stretching over
a large territory , the a ir line s ti ll s erved a
region where populations could he sparse,
with few big citie. However, growth in
exploration for oil, natural gas, uranium,plus reclamation dam projects and tourism
t o a ti ona l P ark in the area provideda de
perate need for transportation where little
other public transportexisted and road con
ditionscouldbedifficult.Growinguse ofthe
airline was made by businessmen, construc
tion finns, the military and vacationers.
1n late 195 , Fron tier 's h ard work was
rewarded with the award of routes t o n o
less than twenty-four newcities in Nebras
ka, Missouri, Wyoming, Colorado and
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Frontier's 737s filled av i talnichebetweenthelarger727-200s andthe turbo-prop
fleetof CV-580s. Jenny Gradidge
727-100swith more economic Boeing 737
200s. The first a ircraft was delivered to
Frontier that summer and by the end of
1969, ten 737s lI'ere in use. The smaller,
moreflexible, 737lI'a· able to operate from
smaller airport than the 72 7-lOs had and
introduced jet service to more cities on th e
Frontier Airlinesnetwork.
The 7 37 wa s a ls o mor e econom ic on
some of the non-stop flights bet\\'eenhug
er cities and proved useful on new routes
all'ardedin 1969,such asKansasCity-Dal
las a nd S al t Lake City-Denver-Dallas,
operating alongside the Boeing 727-200s
when loads might not justify the use of the
biggeraircraft. In total contrast, in 1970, a
small fleet of 19-passenger de Havilland
Canada Twin Otters was introduced on
loc al f ligh ts in northern Montana and
North Dakota.
Financial Problems
Generally, 1970 had been abad yearfor the
airlines, with a sharp slow-down in traffic
growth, brought about by inflation and
excessive competition. However, Frontier
fared slightly b et te r t ha n s ome carriers,
although i t was unable to produce a profit
that year. e ll' routeawards lI'erestill f ind
ing their way to the airline, with jet service
inaugurated be tween Omaha , Chicago ,
Denverand Phoenix, amongst others.
The steadily increasing fleet of Boeing
737s was useful o n t he n ew routes, being
better able to operate profitably with the
lowerloads encountered whilst traffic was
built up. The four main elements o f t he
Frontier fleet, the Twin Otte rs, the CV
580s, the 737s and the 727-200s provided
a wide range of capacity and performance
well suited to the airline's varied network.
However, during 1971/72, following
another management change, increasing
financial problems led t o t he disposal of
the 727-200s to Braniff Airways. Other
internal changes were made and t he ser
vice standards were overhauled in an effort
to reverse the carrier's decline. The mea
sures were highly successful and Frontier
Airlines carried 13 per cent more pas·en
gers in 1972. The revenue loads increased
a ga in in 1973 a nd t he CAB statistics
showed that Frontier Airlines received
fewer passenger complaints than anyother
regional carrier. With the depar tu reof the
727s, the ver sa t il e Boe ing 737 f le et h ad
become Frontier's front-line jet equip
ment. Its ability t o o pe ra te b ot h local,
IMPROVING THE BREED
regional and trunk l ine was a major factor
in Frontier 's being able to survive a diffi
cult time in the indu try.
Repeat Business
Repeat orders sail ' orig inal 737 customer
such as nited, Lufthansa, Piedmont, Bri
tann ia, Aer Lingus and Braathens fleets
increasing on a yearly basis as the airlines
came to rely on the 73 7 on more of their
services. Piedmont retired the last of their
piston-engined Martin 404s in 1970, oper
ating to their network of seventy-eight
ci tics wi th a fleet of 73 7 jets,supplemented
by FH-227B and Y -II A turbo-props.
They carried2,234,999passengersin 1969.
Services had been introduced intoChica
go that year and more nell ' services lI'ere
opened to Char les ton , ou th Caro l ina . By
1972 Piedmont was able to report record
earnings and a net profit of 3,323,317 in
its 25th year of operation.
Britannia and Braathens, in particular,
appreciated the increased range and
improved short runwayperformance offered
by the later, 'Advanced' 73 7-200models.As
well as being able to offer non-stop services
to further ranging points, travel companies
were able to develop new resorts and offer
their customers increased choice to points
only served by basicairport f:Kiliries.
68
Cargo operations a lso fea tu red more
heavilyin thecharter carrier's737 service·.
The abilityto convert the 737 to all-cargo,
o r e ve n 'combi', configuration allo ll'ed
increased utili:ation during traditionally
slack t ime when t he aircraft might other
wise be idle. Britannia introduced its first
convertible aircraft, G-AX A, into ser
vice inearly 197 and the aircraft was kept
especially Iusy with bloodstock charters
between the K, Eire and France. Britan
nia 737swerealso used tocarry the British
ShowJumping Team from Luton to Kiev.
As their lastt urho-prop Rrisrol Rrirannias
were withdrawn, the Britannia Airways
737s began to operatemuch longer-ranging
(
passenger flights, albeitwith necessary refu
ellingstops, including services from Luton
to both orth America a nd t he Far East.
Bangkok, Colombo, Hong Kong and Kuala
Lumpur lI'ere all served on affinity group
charters from the K, although fuelling· to ps h ad t o be mad e e n r ou te , u ·u al ly at
Zagreb, Damascus, Dubai and Karachi.
Braathens also exploited the convert
ib le 737s, taking delivery of cargo-door
equipped 'Advanced' examp les in 1971.
Whennotoperating passenger flights on the
orwegianairline's scheduled and charter
network, the Braathens convertible 737s
flew cargoes throughout the world . A reg
ular operation was the airlift of oil-drilling
equipment ::Ind per sonne l , f rom o rway to
\
IMPROVING THE BREED
Pltumunl
•
(Top) Piedmontbased a considerable expansionprogrammearound the 737-200 as more were deliveredto supplement theoriginal aircraft. Aviat
(Middle) Bolder,updated, colours were seen on United's '737 Friend Ships'from 1972. Jenny Gradidge
(Bottom) The flexibility ofconvertible 737s, such as G-AXNA, allowed Britannia Airways to increaseuti l ization inthe quieter winter months
when passengercharter work traditionally decreased. Via author
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IMPROVING TilE BREED IMPROVING THE BREED
SportingAer l ingus'slatertai l l ivery,EI-BDYwears Eastern ProvincialAir l ines' red cheatline,the legacy
of an off-season winter lease. Va author
The large cargo doorofthe convertible 737 allowed theeasy loading of awkward andoutsize loads, such as this
dismantled helicopterbeing transported from london/Gatwick to Greenland by Braathens. Ivar Hakonsen
Air Algerie was an early client forAer l inguss leasing outof spare 737 capacity. EI-ASBis seen in Air Algerie's
Caravelle-era livery. Aviaton HobbyShop
70
West Africa. With weather in the orth
Sea t oo rough for oil exploration drilling
in the European winter, operations were
moved to the West African coast. As their
737 fleet increased, Braathens also posted
two or three aircraftin neighbouringSwe
d en o n a year-round basis, flying IT to
Mediterranean re orts in the summer and
to the Canary Islands in the winter.
Seasonal Leases
Early on, Lufthansa had leased out a t least
Lhree of their Series IOOs to its charter sub
sidiary, Condor Flugdienst. The 737s oper
ated alongside six Boeing 727-100s, also
leased from Lufthansa, o n I T charter' from
a number of West German cities. The
Condor 737s replaced the airline' last
Vickers Viscount turbo-props and allowed
the ca rr i er to c la im to be one of the first
all-jet charter airlines in Europe.
As well as longer-term leases, like that
from Lufthansa to Condor, a number of
carriers managed to lease out their spare
73 7 capacity in their lessbusy seasons. Aer
Lingus, which had pionee red such unde r
takings with their Br)eing 720, 707 and
RAC One-Eleven fleets in the past, was
one o f t h e fi rst to exploit the 73 7 in th is
way. The very first wint er of Aer Lingus
73 7 operations, 1969/70, saw El-ASB
leased to Air Algerie for three months,
supplement ing the North African airline's
fleet of Caravelles.
Later winter contracts usually saw at
least some o f A er Lingus' 737s returning
regularlyto the African continent and also
migrating to Canad,l , t he Cari bbean and
the US on short-term seasonal leases.
Those t hat remained i n E ir e continued
operating o n t he Irish airline's scheduled
services, although frequencies on some
routes were much r edu cd in the winter
months. IT charter flying was almost non
existent until the summer and thesecom
bined factors allowed the releasing ofoth
erwiseidle aircraftfor lease work.These highly profitable arrangements
usually took effect b et we en t he e nd o f
December and early March, when the air
craft would r et urn t o er Lingus and their
regular scheduled r ou te s f rom E ir e to
Europe. Often , t he 737s that had bee n
leased out would he seen back on the Aer
Lingusservices till wearing at leastpartial
liveries o f t he lease customer, t here no t
having been t ime to completely repaint
the aircraft.
71
737 Newcomers
ot all of Boeing's custome
were est<lbl i sh ed o pe ra to rs .
carrierstarted their operatio
craft in June 1971. The road
ration of Southwest Airlines
vi es within Texas had been
their suc essful strugglewast
tant to Boeing over the foll
Ithad been asearlyas 196
of a low-fare, frequent-serv
ing Texas had first been m
time Rollin King was cons
down a commuter service
and operated, also called
lines, that waslosing mone
services from an Antonio,
cities such as Laredo and E
t iny airline operated a coll
eight-passengeraircraft, mo
Piperaircraft. Considering
King eventually h it o n t he
commercial operation, se
biggest three commercial
Houston andSan ntonio.
A yea r later King presen
study to his lawyer, Herbe
Kelleherhelped King incor
company, originally called A
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and dispose of the loss-making commuter
carrier. Kelleherwas not keen on the pro
posal at first, but agreed to under take the
legal work free of charge. Kelleher then
s tar ted check ing ou t similar operation,
such as t h at o f Pacific outhwest in Cali
fornia, and started i nv e t in g i n the idea,
and, more importantly, persuading other
t o d o t he same.
Most of the first 100,000raised went on
the cost of preparing an appl ication and
p roduc inga p rope r p ro sp ec tu s. n option
was also taken out with American Airlines
for three of their surplusLockheed Electras,
w ith f inanc ing f rom Allstate Insurance.
The new company managed t o a tt ra ct
extra financing from several important
IMPROVING THE BREED
unanimously, on Z F ebr ua ry 196 8, to
back Air outhwest. However, t he n ex t
day the established carriers, in theshape of
Braniff Airways, Trans Texas Airways and
Continental Airway obtained a re train
ing o rd er , prohibiting the commis ion
from delivering th certificate. The case
wa refer red to the Aus ti n t at e District
Court that summer.
The major airlines argued that they
already providedadequate service between
the cities concernedand that there was no
r oom for any more compe ti t ion . Air
Southwest actually lost the first trial and
had to resor t to appea l ing t o t he Texas
Supreme Court. A II the $543,000 raised
had been spent on thecourt cases and AII-
flights, the Air Sou thwest board was also
faced with having to refinance the airline
if it was t o h av e a ny chance of starting
operations. Trained accountant ami e x
president of a number of airlines, M. Lamar
Muse was hired inJanuary 1971 and given
the task of getting the company airborne.
A swel l a h ir in g an experienced manage
ment team, Muse used every skill andcon
tact he had acqui red in h is long career to
g at he r t og et he r t he desperately needed
funds.
Gradually, the new finance package was
assembled by Muse and veteran airlineexec
utiveswerehired toorganize the new airline.
The man who had comeup with the whole
idea in the first place, Rollin King, became
its operating name from Air Southwe t to
outhwest Airlines, King'soriginal compa
ny now being defunct. Wearing titles to
that effect, the first of the o rde r for four
737s was delivered to Dallas in June 1971.
The company adopted a bright eye-catch
ing livery in orange, red and 'desertgold'.
Other innovations introduced included
pre-punched 1MB-card packets of tickets
for regular customers, monthly billing and
stewardess uniforms that included hot
p an t o r red vinyl mini-skirts.
Underway but Still under Fire
Scheduled operations finally began on 18
June 1971. Th e liZ-passenger 737 'Love
Birds', christened to reflect Southwest's
choice of home base at Dallas'sLove Field,
IMPROVING THE BREED
Repeated fares wars, e sp ec ia lly with
Braniff, dogged the airline over the next
fewyears, as it struggled to e tablishitself as
a profit-making business. At one point,
Braniff had reduced their fare o n t he Dal
las- Houston route to 13, half t ha t o f
outhwest. Although Braniff, with their
large domestic network and international
serviceswould beable to absorb the loss, at
least in the shor t term, Southwest would
have bankrupted itself trying to match it.
Instead, Musedevised a programme where
by passengers were still charged Z6, but
were offered a gift. Anyone declining the
gift was entitled to a refund of the fare dif
ference. Initially, 76 per cent of the passen
gers took the gift, a nd o ut hw es t could
pocket the extra revenue. The percentage
later dropped considerably as the novelty
was a popular move. Sout
began toe tablishitselfin th
Texas public asa practical,
native ro the big-name airli
One o f the four original
sold after a federal distric t c
nounced that outhwest co
fly harters outside Texas. T
airline of a potential source
also left them with an idlea
times in the schedule. Altho
profit was made o n t he sale
to Frontier Airlines, South
with the problem of coverin
uled flights o n t h e network.
A solution was found b
the 10-minute turnround,
become a leg end in the indu
turnrounds hadbeencomm
Pacific Southwesfssuccessful California operationwas to providethe modelfor aTexas-based imitator. MAP SouthwestAirlines' brightly painted 737-200s finally started revenueservices within Texas inJune 1971.
Martyn East
Texas concern that bought rock in Air
outhwest, raising 543,00 .
Legal Wranglings
As with P A and Air Cal i fo rnia fu rther
wes t, as l on g a Air o ut hwes t c on fi ne d
thei r ope rat ions to wi th in the borders of
thei r home state, they would not require
federal approval from the Civil Aeronau
tics Board. The company would onlyneed
the go-ahead from the Texas Aeronautics
Commission, with whom the application
to begin commercial operations was filed
on Z7 November 1967. Th e TAC voted
state Insurance h ad w it hd ra wn t he ir
financing for the EI c tr as . However , in
March 1970, the Texas upreme Court
overturned the decision ofthe lower court,
and in December that year, the
upreme Court refu ed to hear an appeal
by the rival airlines.
Certified - but Bro/<e'
Even now, the rival carriers werestilltrying
to sabotage Air outhwest , a t tempt ing to
dissuade underwriters from buying stock
and filingspurious complaints to theCAB.
Although i t was nowfree to begin revenue
72
executive vice-president for operations.
Kelleher continued to participate on a part
time basi as he was till working for his law
firm. Although the Alls tate d ea l for the
three Electras had now lapsed, th is turned
out to bea blessing in disguise. Boeing was
not onlywillingto look at an orderfromAir
outhwest for four Boeing 737-Z Os, Jut
theywere preparedto finance 90per cent of
the purchase cost. These were unheard-of
financial terms and i tw as t o b e the begin
ning of an excellent rela tionship between
customer airline and aircraft manufacturer.
In March 1971, during the height of the
legal wrangling, the airlinequietlychanged
operated twelve round-trips daily between
Dallas a nd Hou st on a nd six a day from
Dalla to an Antonio. Fares were pitched
a 40 round-trip, undercutting Braniff
and Texas International, a s Tran s Texa
had become in the meantime, by 14 and
16, respectively. The inaugural flight
had been able to t a ke p la ce despite yet
another eleventh hour attempt by Braniff
and Texas In te rna t ional to enfo rce a
restrainingorder that would have prevent
ed services beginning. Only the afternoon
before, Kelleher man ag ed t o h av e t he
order overthrown by the Texas Supreme
Court in Austin .
wore off, but the p romotion lasted long
enough for outhwest to win that particu
larskirmish in the fare war.
Loads had taken a while to pick up, with
some early flights opera ting with on ly a
handful of passengers. ome rescheduling
and revamping of the fares structure fol
lowed and passenger boarding figures start
ed to how some improvemen t . One more
major change was to switch the Houston
terminal from the new In te rcon tinen tal
Airport, milesoutside the city, t o t he old
Hobby Airporr, much closerto downtown.
This served the needs of Southwest's large
ly commuting passengers much be tte rand
73
of the 0 -3, o r e ve n som
turbo-prop operations, b u
with the larger jet aircraf
round t imessla hed, the rem
wer e a bl e t o m ai nt ai n
schedu le minus the sold
speedy tu rn rounds cont inu
enablingthe airline to sche
perdayperaircraft,aswella
capital cost ofextra aircraft
required to maintain a more
gramme. The success o f t
round system spoke volum
ceived reliability of the B
high-pressure operations.
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IMPROVING THE BREED IMPROVING THE BREED
The Love Field Factor Southwest and MuseAir
SouthwestAirlines resistedmoves to make it transferoperations to the new
Dallas/FortWorth Airport.Instead. it headquartereditself atthe downtown love Fe d
nearDallas. TIm Kincaid COecton
One disputethat was guaranteed to keepSouthwests lawyers in steady employment
was the problem of Love Fed versusDallas-Fort Worth.
In 1968. al the airline operatorsthen usingDalas original airport at Love Fed. sgned
an agreement.the 1968Regona Airport Concurrent Bond Ordnance. tomove to anew
airport beng built nearGrapevne. Texas. to jointly serve the citiesof Dalas and Fort
Worth. Situated roughly halfway between the twocities. the costy new facility would
haveto attract a l t he airlnes to use it for it to have anyhope of being profitable. The
airlnes who sgned up for the bondwere notonlyoblged tomoveto thenewairport.
but were also lablefor anylosses it incurred. However. SouthwestAirlnes was not in
existencewhen thebondwas set up andwasnotabouttos gn up to it .withits expen
sve conditons.
As Love Fe d was on y t en minutes from downtown Dalas. Southwest also
recognized its convenience forits business commuters. whichwould give it amajor
TranStar Airlnes and with its fleet painted a striking 'Empyrean Blu
airlne became Southwests longer-rangingassociate.offering premiu
Soon. TranStars route network stretched from Texas to Calfornia.
Nevada and Okahoma as wel as still offering flghts l nk ing t he
(co
TheMcDonnell Douglas MD-80 was MuseAir 'schoicefor its region
TIm Kincaid Collection
Old Dog, New Trcks
The new arrangementworked quitewell for the first year, Southwest
ing their different customer bases in their ownway. Unfortunately
embroied in avicious war of fares with Contnental Airlnes. In 1982
raton, the owners of Texas International Airlnes, had acquired Co
which couldtrace its operatons as far back as 1937. Despite contn
its employee ranks,much ofthe merged workforceobjectng to asom
new management style, Texas Air Corporaton merged the two op
older and larger airlne's name.
After thebankruptcy of Braniff International thesame year, the 'ne
then operatng under 'Chapter 11 bankruptcy protecton and now
Houston, was anxious to establsh itself as the major operator both
fromthe state totherestof the US. Contnental sawTranStaras a th
tous plans, the smaler carrier having built up aconsiderable traffic
ing routes fromHouston.Contnentalintroducedmuch reduced, non-
Fares, countered by TranStars 'StarFares' and 'MediFares' programoffered improved, two-class, service with a new Business Cass u
Cass in an attempt to improve revenue yields. However,losses mou
able levels and Keleher finally gave up the fight in 1987, closing
August that yearin an effort to protect SouthwestAirlnes.
On 28 March 1978,M. LamarMusesuddenlyresigned as SouthwestAirlne's President
and CEO. In the interim. HerbKeleher was appointed as atemporary replacement. until
Howard D. Putnam,the VP-Marketng Services at UnitedAir Lnesacceptedthe per
manentpost.threemonthslater.Putnamwas to remain until 1981,when he left to take
the reigns of the, by then, ai ng Braniff International. Herb Keleher was finally per
suaded toreplaceh m on afull-time basis. Practicaly snce Day One, Keleher had been
an important infuence on Southwest Airlnes, butonly asan outside advisor andlegal
representatve. Now he wasto lead the airline hehad been instrumental in founding.
Lamar Muse's departure from Southwest was folowed by that of hs son, Michael.
who hadbeen vp-Financeunderhis father. A non-competton clause was written into
the agreementsreachedover their leaving Southwest. but within daysof this expirng
a newairlne, Muse Air,came intoexistence in 1981. Under the control of father and
son, Muse Air immediately began rval services over Southwests core Texan routes.
There were significant differences inthe style of operaton adopted byMuse.Aiming
for a more select clentele, Muse offered assigned seatng, with three facing-seat
lounge areas in the cabin, extra cabin attendants andupgraded refreshment services.
Interestngly, Muse Air was the first US carrier tooperate a ful non-smoking polcy on
its aircraft. The Muse Air fleet comprsed brand-new,159-passenger MD-80s, of vari
ousmarks, later joined by slightly smaler,130-passenger DC-9-50s, boughtfrom Swis
sar. The al McDonnel Douglas-buit fleet was painted in aunique lvery with Muse's
signature across thefuselage.Rather than try to compete by spending money on upgrading their own passenger
amenites, Southwestrespondedwith its strengths, and increasedfrequencies on routes
where the twoairlnes werenow competng head-to-head. Although Muse Air managed
to makea dent in Southwests traffic and even expermented with expanding its route
system within Texas and to inter-State points, the Southwest phiosophy of frequent.
low-cost travel with basc amenites won through. Muse Air never made a profit and
eventualy, in 1986, Lamar Musetook up HerbKelehers offer to buyout the company.
Rather than just absorb Muse Airsoperatons. the airlne was reorganzed. Renamed
Initia l servicesbegan on th e newexpand
ed intra-Texas n etwo rk t h at w in te r a nd
were increased in the spring of 1977, as
more 737s were delivered from Boeing to
operate them.
With its colourful pres enc e now be ing
felt throughout its home state, Southwest
would have to start looking further afield
for any future deve lopment o f the net
work. Muse began studying the possibility
of setting up a new subsidiary of the com
pany, to provide a SouthwestA ill inesstyle
of service from Chicago's Midway Airport.
Once the main airport for Chicago, Mid
way had been eclipsed by the open ing of
the new facility at O'Hare and was, by the
1970s, very little used. However, moves
were being made in Washing ton tha t
would release Southwest f rom i ts intra
state shackles and allow new routes to be
opened without the need for out-of-state
subsidiaries to be formed.
commercial advantage over itslargercompettors. In 1972. the cities of Dalas andFort
Worth broughtthe f irst of a seresof lawsuits in an effort to make Southwest move.
Several years of litigation later. Southwest was told that it coud operate from Love
Fe d as long as it was an airport. Southwest had actualy been told thisafter the first
hearng. but appeals from the cities and larger airlnes had kept the casein thecourts
foryears.When the other airlnes moved outof Love Fed. Southwest took over the
prestgious gate positons previouslyoccupied by giant Amercan Airlnes. The little air
lne was growing up.
Aeronautics Commission. Unfortunately
for Texas International, they were suffer-
ing from industrial ac tiona t the t ime and
their flights were strike-bound. Therefore
they were una bl e t o put up much of an
argument and the judgedecided that any
service was b et te r t h an non e, a nd threw
theirobjectionsout of court.
As it was, the legal dispute had delayed
Southwest beginning service from Harlin
gen until 1975. Their presence in the area
was immediately felt though. The year
before, 1974, had seen 123,000 passengers
flying from the Valley to Dallas, Houston
and San Antonio. Eleven months after
Southwest introduced their service, this
had risen to 325,000.
Encouraged by the success of the
Rio Grande Valley flights , Southwest
appl i ed to introduce similar flights from
Corpus Christi, Austin, Midland-Odessa,
Lubock and EI Pas o, i n March 1976.
One ' advantage ' o f Southwes t Airlines
finding i tself in almost continuous legal
dispute with the larger airlines was that it
had t o c u rb a ny temptation to expand too
quickly. This was a common trap that
many mher inexperienced carriers had
fallen into in the past. However, the fre-
quent court cases kept the Southwest
management's attention focused on main
taining s t andards and maxim iz ing rev-
enues on the existing network.
By 1973 though,Southwest 's operations
were s t ar t ing to show a p ro fi t and some
modest expansion was considered feasible.
First targeted was the Rio Grande Valley
area, served by the airport at Harlingen.
Texas International already served routes
from Harlingen and would, normally, have
been expected to put u p a f ig ht against
Southwest's application to the Texas
Slow Expansion
74 75
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IMPROVING THE BREED IMPROVINGTHE BREED
soonoperat ing over much mAsian network.
In 1972 though, MSA wa
six-year agreementbetween
tries t o opera te t hei r airlin
joint venture having expired
ber. MSA became Singap
o
1969. Their initial f1eet of Series 100swasintroduced on scheduled f1ights from
Singarore to Kua la Lumpu r, Penang,
Bangkok, and Kota Kinabula, ousting the
long-serving Comet 4s. More 737 routes
were introduced as the l at er order for
Series 200s arrived and t he aircraft were
. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ .. __ _.....•...
Texas International's arguments againstSouthwest'sexpansioninto theRio Grande Valley fell f lat. as
Texas Internationalwas groundedby a st r ike a t thetime. Via author
New Services Worldwide
The Boeing 737 was, by the 1970s,
becoming a common sight at airports in
every corner of t he world. Malaysia-Sin
gapore Airl ines became the first FarEast
ern operator of the aircraft on 21 August
Singapore Airl ines' inheri ted' the MSA Boeing 737 f leetwhen the original carrier was split into two
airlines. Avaton Hobby Shop
Southwest and MuseAir continued
Southwest acquiredcontrol of its Muse Airrival in 1986. lim Kincaid Coecton
Muse Airwas reorganzed as TranStarAirlines, replacing Muse Airs 'signature l ivery withanew 'Empyrean Bue
desgn. lim Kincaid Coecton
76
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IMPROVING THE BREED IMPROVING THE BREED
Renamed Wien Air Alaska,the Alaskan pioneer airline made good useof i tsconvertible 737-200Cs
throughoutthe northernstate. Jenny Gradidge
More 'Rough Field' 7
continent in 1970/71. Indian
operated a small fleet of Car
major route' for several year
props such as the Viscount,
74 operat ing on local rou
with i ts improved runway
ovcrthe olderCaravelIe, was
duce jet flights to more citie
As well as having establish
on in rough-field operations
of Wi en Consol idated, renam
l as ka I nc in M ay 1973,
Pacific Western, suitably m
werealso soon demonstrating
talents elsewhere in the worl
In the more remote part o
A si an and Cen tr al / o ut he
cont inents there was a s m
high-capacity aircraftcapabl
economicallyand safely from
Iy equipped airports, as there
ka or arcticCanada.
The enhanced performan
of t he 'Ad van ed' 73 7s lent
1969/70 . Both car r ie rs had previously
beenoperators of first- and second-gener
ation European jet ai rl iner s. VA P
already flew a pair o fBAC One-Elevens,
and cont i nued to do '0 for many years
after the VA P 7 37 f le et h ad h een con
siderably expanded. The contract for the
f ive VA P 7 37 s had r ep la ed an order for
five much larger Boeing 727-200 , the
contract for which had been s ign ed in
1968. Aero l ineas Argen ti nas opera ted
several Caravel les and DH Comet s o n
domesticand regional flights - both types
were fated to be d ispo sed of as the 737s
entered Aerolineas's service.
Avianca had actually withdrawn their
737-100s from service after only two year's
use, in late 1971, deciding instead to con
cent rat e on the Boeing 727 for domestic
and regional jet Trvice. The 737s were
originally sold to the West German Ai r
Force, but were soon sold back to Boeing.
The two aircraft were eventually bought
by Aloha ir linesin J973.
Back in sia, the statc-owned Indian
Airlines Corporation had introduced a
fleet of Boeing 737-200s on to i ts huge
domestic network throughout the sub-
b as ed i n i ng ap or e, and t he Mal ay 'i an
Airline ystem, based at Kuala Lumpur.
ingapo re i rl ine s rook over most of the
jet equipment, Boeing 707sused on long
haul flights, andthe 73 7s. Malaysian rook
over most of t he fleet of F.27 turho-props,
operated on local flights, eventually leas
i ng in B oei ng 7 7s, and order ing nell'
737s, to open t he ir own jet service
throughout the region.
mong an increasing number of new
operators, outh African Airways intro
duced their f le et in 1969 as part of a gen
eral modernization p lan for their short
and medium-haul routes. Boeing707shad
operated on long-haul services ro Europe
for many years ami the 727 had a lso been
introdu ed on major domestic ,1Ild region
alflights in 1965. The 737swere intended
to supplement the 727s and replacc a si:
ablc flcct of Vickers Viscounts operating
on domestic routes.
Thc Brazilian domest ic airlinc VASP
(Vi ac ao A er ea a o Paulo) and Argen
tinean national carrier, Aerolineas Argen
tinas, had fo llowed Avianca 's example
and placedSeries 200 Boeing 737s in ser
vice on t he ir South American routes in
(Below) Avianca's 737-100s were onlyto servefor two years before beingsold
on. AViaton Hobbyshop
(Above) Malaysian Airline Systemacquired Boeing 737-200sto operate
regionalschedulesfromits Kuala Lumpurbase. Steve Buntng
78 79
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Thestretched Fokker F.28 2000 couldcarrya more economicload ofpassengers, but stil l soldin
comparativelysmall numbersagainstthe 737's muchmoreimpressivesalesfigures. Via author
the more demanding operationalenviron
ments. Rival type, such as the Fokker
F.28 Fellow hip, and t he m uc h modified
erie 47S ver ion of the B AC One
Eleven, designed specif ical ly as rough
field aircraft, were soon eclipsed by the
73 7 ale f igures as i t encroached on their
targeted markets.
A ll the r ival types were capable of S<1tis-
factory operation f rom difficult environ
ments. They were also mode rn and com
fortable e nough t o be util ized o n m or e
important regional services, even where
the rough-field capability was not required.
This gave a degr ee of flexibility in styles of
operation that precluded the need for dif
ferent types of aircraft on different parts of
the network.
Where the 73 7 scored over the equally
versatile, but smaller, types wasits capacity
and range. Th e original Fokker F.2 carried
only sixty-five passenger, although this
wa incr eased in laterver ions,still capable
of rough-field operations, ro seventy nine.
Th e er ies 47SOne-Eleven could carry up
ro eighty-nine, in a high-density configura
tion. A convertible 737 could carry these
sorts of loadsin the rear cabinand still have
the forward passenger cabin in a generous
cargo configuration, in a dd it io n t o the
standard below-floor cargo capacity. Th e
IMPROVING THE BREED
small f leet of F.2 s oper<1ted by Braathens
was soon ecl ipsed by the airline's 737s and
the Fokker s were sold in f avour of more
Boeings.
By 197 , the 73 7 was a Iso serving mixed
pre t ige and ' second- level ' service with the
likes of Air Algerie, AirGabon, A i rMada
gascar, Air auru, Air Tanzania, Air Zaire,
Cameroon Airlines, hina Airlines
(Taiwan) , DETA (Mozambique), Far East
ern Air Transport (Taiwan), Gulf Air
(Bahrein), I ran Air, I raqi Airways, Kuwait
Airways, iger iaAirways, Royal Air Maroc,
Royal Brunei Air lines, Saudia (Saudi Ara
bia), SAHSA (Honduras), Sudan Airways,
TAAG Angola Airlines, Thai Airways,
TA Airlines (Honduras), Yemen Airways
and ZambiaAirways.Although not allthese
operarors rook advantage of the rough-field
modifications, they all used their versatile
73 7 on disparate service throughout their
regions.
Coping with Crisis
Despite the steady pread o f t he 737
throughout the worldwide airline system
during the late 1960s and early 1970s,Boe
i ng was going through a financial crisis.
The increasing costs of t he 747 wide-body
80
programme, the cancellation of the
S T proje ct and a general down-turn in
world financial markets was having a eri
ou accumula tive effect.
At one point, af ter 737 sales had plum
meted, a taskforce set upby Boeing in 1973
seriou Iy considered the option of s l Ii ng
the whole 737 programme to Japan. Th e
fact that most of the 73 7 production jigs
were portable led to the choic eof the twin
jet as an asset that might profi tably be sold
off to savemoney. From a sales high of 114
in 1969, only twenty-two were ordered in
1972 and barelyfour teen in 1973. However,
a turnround began with thedevelopment of
the 'advanced' version and order began to
slowlybuild upagain.
Changes Afoot
Despite the ongoing production delays and
expensive difficulties in introducing their
newgiant 747 'Jumbo', the earl y 1970s aw
Boeing with relat ively healthy order books
for most of their available models. On the
horizon though, wasa slow-down inair trav
el generally,massive fuel price increase and
a wor ldwi de wav e of deregulation, that
would change the air transpor t industry 's
goalpostsforever. Testingtimes were "head.
IMPROVING TilE BREED
Carriers as geographically separate as North Africa's Air Algerie and Air Nauruof the Pac if i c found use for
the 737 on theirdiversenetworks. Via author/MAP
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I ~ I I ) R O V I N G TilE BREED
Saudia,of Saudi Arabia (above) andaircraftof the
Indian Airlines Corporation (left) wereflown into
bothmajorcities and remoterpointsin their
respective countries. Both pictures va author
(Below) The Boeing 'family' of jet airliners, as
offered inthe late 1960s.737-200, PP-SMA, of VASP
ofBrazi l . 727-200, N1783B, eventuallydestined for
libyan Arab Air l ines. PP-VJH, a 707-320C, later
deliveredto anotherBrazi l iancarr ier, VARIG, and
747-100, N731PA wearing Boeing titles overits Pan
American colourscheme before delivery. Boeing
The Ripples Spread
airframedesignersweredesp
trim asmuch weight and ae
aspossible off the forthcomi
The oil crisis also affect
revenues in otherways. Indu
cial institutionssuffereddec
a result of their own , and
increased fuel costs. Some c
out o f business, the survivo
wherever possible, often ca
backs in corporate travel. W
force was hit by redundanci
leisure travel suffered and th
losing passengers fmm all
The effect continued into 1
advance bookings and mor
price rises. Europewasas b
where, with the UK suffe
strike as well. Petrol ration
ened in the UK; in the end,
to be introduced, a l thoug
public did have to suffer e
cuts from the electrical ind
One importantUK chart
Line Aviation, ceased ope
middle of August 1974, at th
summer travel season. Th
operator flew a large fleet
Elevens and a p ai r of Lo
wide-bodies throughout E
spots,as well as some longe
Canada and the Caribbean
corner by the increased fu
vicious price-war among th
nies, including Clark,ollS
Hori:on Travel, both owne
holding company as the air
group was unable to avoid
tion when the workingcapi
Court L in e Avi at io n' s
bour, Britann i a Ai rways ,
weather the storm. By now
sidiary o f t he powerful an
diverse Thomson Group,
able to survive with on ly
and cost-saving measures.
types with high fuel consumption at a prof
it. This changed overnight, and aircraft that
had previouslybeen viable were found to be
an expensive liability. The Convair series of
medium-range, four-engined, jet airliners
suffered especially. TWA and Deltaoperat
ed large fleets of t he CV-880 in the USA,
and withdrew them from service assoon as
they could be replaced by more economic
aircraft. Suddenly, Boeing and all theother
airliner manufacturers around the worldwere having to pay much more attention to
fuel consumption in their designs. Engine
manufacturers were under pressure to pro
duce fuel-efficient power plants and the
Worldwide Influences
CHAPTER SIX
The Oil Crisis
ne worldwide crisis that not only con
tributed to Boeing's woes but alsoaffected
nearlyevery industrial undertaking in the
civilized world, struck in 1973. That year,
the rganization of Oil Producing and
Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to
incre,lse the price of t he oil they supplied.
Fuel prices rocketed in all sectors, trebling
within days and plunging the financialworld into chaos.
Up until then, airlines had enjoyed the
benefit of comparatively cheap fuel for their
aircraft and had s ti ll b een able to operate
lufthansa soon acquired Series 200 737s to operate alongsidetheir original Series
100s. The likes of D-ABHU, 'Konstaz',and itsfleetmates,were already established as
oneof themost popular regional jetair l iners,when the oil cr isis changedthe
operationalparametersof the air l ineindustry forever. Lufthansa
82 83
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WORLDWIDEINFL ENCES WORLDWIDE I I FLUENCES
and G.P. Gurelman. Boas
image, in contrasr ro earli
cialisrs, the air line started o
an ex-Easrern Airlines B
Three early model Boe i
jo ined the single 720 on I
rhroughour Europe and
longer-haul desrinarions.
T wo e ri cs 200 737s ar
following rwo leased wide
A300Bs rhar had joined rhe
Wirh anorher series 20 o
European was to find rhe 7
crafr for irs needs and was
on acquiring further aircra
major expansion of irs oper
(Below) PH-TVH was one of the first ofTransavia's737-2
oustedthe Caravellesfromthe Dutch charter carrier 'sfl
Belgian Pace-setter
I r was a fur rh er rwo yea rs b efore anorher
European charrer carrieradopredrhe 73 7for
ir horr-haul needs. Trail' European Air
ways, based in Brussels, Belgium's capital,
wa one o f rhc ncwcr brccd of charrer air
line, wirhour irs roots in rhc propeller era .
Trans European h ad nor bccn foundcd
unril Octobcr 1970, to opcrarc IT charters
for parcnr Bclgian travel companicsTIFA
Of rheseven, one was leasedfrom Brirannia
Airways and rhreewere on l ea se f rom n ir
cd Airlines.
(Above) Transavia's Caravelle 3, PH-TRP had previously served with SAS andSwissair.
Duringits timewith Transavia it spenttime leasedout to Tunisair. Aviaton Hobby Shop
fleer a r r he end of 1969. More 707s were
leased in over rhe subsequenr years.
The fuel crisis hir rhe Caravelle 's eco
nomic viabiliry very hard and Transavia
began lookingfora lessrhirsry replacemenr.
Twelve of rheFrenchrwin-jcrswerein use by
1973, operaring over an increasing nerwork
ofIT charrers,as well as beingin demand for
ad hoc and shorr-rerm leasing contracrwork
wirh other airlines hort of capaciry. This lar
reroperationwas to becomea Transaviaspe
cialiry in rhe yearsro come.
The Caravelle replacemenrs started to be
del ive red in May 1974 and by rhe follow
ingMay rherc were seven Boeing 737-200s
in scrvicc wirh rhe Durch charter carrier.
MEY-A IR
rI"o DC-6s ami one DC-6B. The follow
ing ycar rheDC-6 flecr consi'red of no lcss
rhan rcn aircrafr , afrer rhe arrival of rwo
convcrtible passenger/cargo D -6As and
fivc more DC-6Bs.
Transavia operared irs firsr jcr cquipmem
i n r he shape of a singlc Boeing 707-320C
rhar flew long-disrance charters berween
May and October 1 96 . T wo Caravel Ie 3 ,
leased from rhe manufacrurer, enrered ser
vicc on rhe IT roures from t he e rhe r
l and s in 1969. More Ca ravel l es were
acquired second-hand, f rom wis sa ir and
Unired, replac ing rhe leased examples, as
wcl l as rhe lasr DC-6Bs, which lefr rhe
Mey-Air Transport's attemptto expand into jet charter operationseventuallyfai led.
LN-MTD later found a new home with Piedmont as N754N. Jenny Gradidge
ccasing o p e r a r i o n ~ and undergoing rhe
ignominy of having irs jcr flccr rcpossessed
by Boeing for non-paymem. Dcspirc Mey
Air's disappointmcnt, Belgium's Trans
Europcan Airways and rhc crhcrlands'
Transavia had both finally opred for the
737-200 to rcplacc rheir oldcr jcr flccrs.
Transavia was rhe longer-csrablished of
rhe rwo airlinc" having been founded in
1965 a s Transavia (Limburg) V. Re\'
cnuc operarions, however, did nor begin
umil 17 I ovembcr 1966. On rhar dare,
supporting personnel ami a r ti s t' o f r he
Durch Dance Thearre wcre f lown to
aples. Transavia's inirial fleer comprised
More European Charter 7375
Aftcr being oncof rhe 737s fcw supportcrs
for all-charter services in Europe, by rhe
mid-1970s Britannia was finally joined by
more inclusivc-tour operators. Gcrmany's
Condor, thar had leased 737s from
Lufrhansa for several years, had rerurned to
onlyoperating 72 7·forrheirshorr-haul fleer.
However , o rweg ian car ri er Mey -A ir,
prcviously an opcraror ofConvair propeller
aircrafr, rook delivery in 1971 of rwo 737
200s. Operaring an exrensive IT and ad hoc
nerwork from candinavia, Mey Air was ro
become a vicrim of rhe posr-OPEC slump,
re cove ry saw rhcir flccr of 7 3 7 - 2 0 0 ~increase to rhirtccn, including rwo con
vcrtiblc modcls. A pair of long-rangc 7 0 7 ~hadbeen operared bricfly in 1971-73, on
flighrs to rhc USA, Canada, rhc Carib
b ca n a nd Far Easr. Howcvcr, rhcy had
bcc n r ct urn cd t o t he ir lcssors aftcr
changcs in US law had madc ir uncco
nomic for Britanniato operatc lhcirchar
rcr, rhcrc. Thc all-737flcct was now opcr
ating from a numbe r o f K rcg iona l
poims, as w el l as thc Luton hcad office.
(Above) Britannia Airways managedto survivethe
turmoil ofthe fuelcr isis,with thebackingof i ts
powerful owners and careful management.
JennyGradidge
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WORLDWIDE INFLUENCES WORLDWIDE INFLUENCES
u
Deregulation in the USA
, - TEN .A IR . ~ ~ ••••..... ,
•• il. L!J' .-• • • • • • u .- .
Although acommercial failurefor its maker, the few Dassault Mercures built enjoyed long and successful,
accident-free, careers with French domestic carrier, Air Inter. Dassaut
Trans European opted for the 737 to replace larger, but ageing, Boeing 707s and 720s. Via author
Air Florida began its short-range, intra-Florida services with a highlyunsuitable, long-range, Boeing 707.
Via author
Caribbean Lease
France's national carrier, Air France, had
joined the ranks of European cheduled 73 7
operatorsas early asOctober 1973. Howcv
er, it was not the extcnsive Europcan-sched
uled network of Air France that was to sec
the 737s, but the airline's regional services
between the French ter ri to ri es in the
Antilles Islands chain in the Caribbean. In
addition to providing an important feeder
service to Air France's trans-Atlantic flights
to and from Paris , the Caribbean network
provided regional links to other import<lnl
islands in the vicinity,as well as to Floridain
the southern USA. A ir France had previ
ously assigned Caravelles to the area to
operate the local network.
Two Boeing 737-200s were leased from
Western, the first, 4522W was chri tened
'Antilles' once i t was painted in Air France
colours. The s econd, 4504W, was chr is
tened 'Guyane' and arrived inJanuary 1974.
Being operated as dictated by Western'
practice' asagreed with their pilots' unions,
the aircraftleased to Air France were oblig
ed to be flown with three flight-deck crew
members. The French airline was also in
tcnding to use the period o f t he lease to
cvaluate the 737 asa possible replacement
for the remaining Caravelles on European
scheduled services. Air France had already
introduced Boeing 727-200s on busier ex
Caravelle routes within Europe.
Once again, t ho ugh, t he three-crew
que'tion wa s r ai se d by the Air France
pilots' unions and was to delay the compa
ny's decision. Despite theo ther European
operators o f t h e 737 all opti n g f or a two
pilot flight-deck crew, the French unions
concerned, S PL and OMAC, both
pressured for Air France t o ad opt t he
three-crew option. The two organizations
disputed Lufthansa's assertion t ha t t he
two-crew operation was per fec tly safe.
However , a n ew joi nt , 9 -month , FAA /
NASA study from the U A, presented in
1978,reaffirmed that it 'found no evidence
to indicate that a two-man crew aircraft is
a detriment to safety'.
The study had reviewed the record of
five trunk carrier aircraft, namely the Boe
ing727, 737, BACOne-Eleven, DC- and
DC-9. The furrher study of th ree versus
two c r ew membe rs c on cl ud ed t ha t t he
records studied:
prccludcd makll1g any ,ralCmCI1l hCYllnd rhar
rhcrc is nll S1gnl!lcantLhff crcncc 111 rhc Ic\c1 llfsafcry hcrll 'cen rhc IlI'll ,md rhrcc m,1I1 llpcra
tion.
onetheless, the lack ofan agreementon
the matte r l ed to Air France cancelling a
lease package for th irreen 737-200s. 1twas
to be December 1981 before Air France
was able to announce an order for twelve
737-200s.
Air France's Alternatives
One serious alternative to the 737 for Air
France was a French-built option, the Das
sault lercure. Dassault had developed the
Mercure as a 'mini-airbu 'seating 130-15
passengers, specifically on shorr-haul oper
ations. The company had discerned that
the rival types then in use were basically
medium-haul airliners, believing their
bas ic d es ign had been compromised by
stretchingto provide more capacityover a
shorter range. Resemblinga much enlarged
737, the Mercure was designed from the
beginning as a high-capacity , shorr-rang
aircraft and the first prototype first flew on
28 May 1971.
Powered by imporred Pratt & Whitney
JT8D-15s , the Mercure was offered to
many European carriers and marketed as
a viable a l ternat ive to the merican
choices. However, the much hoped-fo r
A ir F ra nc e o rd er failed to mate r ia l i:e .
Other t ha n a n o rd er for ten from Air
bIter that placed the first into service on
its dome'tic French network i n 1 97 4,
there were no other rakers for the Mer
cure . P lans for an enlarged version were
soon abandoned. A ir In ter la te racqu ired
one of the prototype Mercures a' well and
were very satisfied with the ir fleet, but
there were no more Mercures produced
after the initial product ion ba tch , a
financial disaster for D<lss<lult.
The AirlineDeregulaton Actwas passed by the US Congressin 1978, WithWide sup
port f rommostsdesof theparty political fences. In effect, theAmercan scheduledand
charter aircarriers hadpreviously been stringently controled by the CAB and FAA In
everythingfrom routel cencesto fares theycould offer Under deregulatIOn the airlnes
were tobe 'set free', at leastdomestcaly, fying wherethey thoughttheycould make
a profit andcharging what they thought the market wouldalow. The carrers hadonly
to prove to the authorities that they were 'fit, willing and able' to conduct their opera
tons safely and inthe publc Interest. On overseas services, for thetme being,regu
lation contnued as most foreign routes were governed by Internatonal agreement
The main aimofthe act was to reduce airline fares and offer morechoiceto the trav
e lng publc. For manyyearstheprme transcontinental routes were thesole province
ofthe majorcarrers. Amerca,TWA and Unitedrued thenon-stopcoast-to-coast ser
vices. With Braniff, Eastern, Delta and National operatng the main north-south routes
on the eastcoast and to thesouth and southwest.Contnental. Northwest and West
ern lnkedthe west coast with the midwest and southwest as well as flying someof
the 'thinner transcontinental flights inthe northand southof the country. In between,
themajorcarrers had their 'sphereof influence' in varous regions, often in compett on
With a regional or local service carner There were overaps and In
instance,both Deltaand Natonal operated transcontinental routes
the USA, albeit usualy with at least one en route stop. Nonethe
establshed status quo that wasaboutto be serously upset.
Once the act waslaw, therewas an upsurge in new routes and
trying to take advantage of the situation The establshed carrier
glng with the effects of the oil crisis and financial down-turn in
omy that had left themWith half-empty aircraft being flownat a lo
intentioned, some of the new operators found themselves flound
carriers that expanded theirnetworks overnight were having trou
cost of theiractions.
Even themajorestablshed carrers were not immune. Compett
fare carriers was one of the factors blamed for the eventual demise
iff Airways, Eastern Air Lnesand Pan Amercan WorldAirways I
someof the survivorswere badlymauled in the fightfor revenue.
Word Airlnes eventualy found itself shrunk to a shadowof its fo
international networkespecialy hit by low-fare competton and wo
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WORLDWIDE I:-<FL ENCES WORLDWIDE INFL ENCES
Ex,SIA 737-100sheraldedthe arr ival ofthe many -200s,both new and second,hand, wi thAi r Florida. Aviaton HobbyShop
The Boeing 727,200provided more capacity as routes expandedthroughout theeasternUSA. Va author
The People's Cham
\ \ ' '1 ; ' about to land o n t he
them. The pressure this p ut
clear the runway for the ap
ern 727 was cited as a possi
crew missing signs that a l
with t he engine thrust rea
haps choosing n ot t o give
tion as they should have to
snO\\' o n t h e aircraft's wing;
Air Florida had always
slim profitmarginin an eff
offer the cheap fares ithad
t i on on . The inevitable d
boardings, fo llowing t he
Washington, hi t the compa
cially. Although some im
eventually achieved as t im
Florida never managed to
from the adverse public
closed down in the summe
While Air Florida hadbeen
carrier that took advanta
t i on t o change itselfbeyon
another feature of the po
e ra was the formation of
l ines, estahlished to mak
under the new rules.
Formed in 19 0, PeoplE
was the brainchild of Don
MBA , w ho h ad b ee n Pres
InternationalAirlines.Bur
a newlow-fareairline, with
agement style. Having pion
'peanut fares' at Texas Inte
Pettit,two of the flight attendantsand sixty
nine of the passengers,four personsunfllrtu
nate enough to havebeen in vehiclesonthe
bridge alsoperished. All the survivors from
the aircraft, one flight attendant and four
passengers, had been in the rear section of
t he c ab in , w hi ch h ad b ro ke n away and
remained partly above the icc and water in
the river. The survivors were hoisted or
towed to safety by a US Park Police heli
copter that had managed to reach the crash
site in twentyminute,'. When a female sur
vivor lost her grip on a rescue rope, two
bystanders from the b ridge, inc lud inga S
Congressional Budget Office clerk named
Lenny Skutnick, jumped into the freezing
r iv er to h elp her . One passenger, who had
survived the in itia l impact, had been seen
to unselfishly assist others reach the heli
cop te r' s r es cu e l ine , b efore he 'lipped
beneath the water and drowned.
The Aftermath
In the subsequent inquiry , a number of
unfllr tunate factors were found to have
cont r ibu ted t o t he crash. The in itia l de
icingwas criticized as having been under
taken with an incorrect mix of glycol and
water. Evenso, human errorwas deemed to
have been a majo r fa ctor , w i th some seri
ously flawed j udgement on the part of the
operating crewbeing accredited with much
of t he blame. The airline itselfcame in for
somecriticism with regards to trainingpro
cedures. However, the control lerat Wash
ington had asked the crew of N62AF for
'No delay on departure', as another aircraft
Airport had reopened at 15.00hrs, follow
ing snowclearance that had closedit down
for an hour. Following de-ic ing, N62AF
was pushed back f rom t he t e rm ina l and
awaited its turn for departure with several
other aircraft, mostly also debyed.
N62AF sat o n t he taxiway for nearly
another hour before finally being given
clearance for take-off. In that t ime, snow
had bui l t u p o n t he wing ;,urfaces and ice
hadalsobuilt upin the compressor inlet;,of
the engine. Blockage of the inlet tube;,
wou ld g iv e fal se indications of thru;,t,
showing a higheramount than wasactual
ly being developed. On take-off, the ,mom
alous readings from the blocked tubes led
the crew to helieve that they had reached
a safe tak e-of f sp eed before th ey actu al ly
had. In addition, the renewed snow and ice
o n t h ewings andempennagethat had built
upagain as the aircraft waited o n t h e taxi
way, caused the aircraft to pi tchupas soon
a s i t wa;, airborne andthe aircraft was 'oon
in a dangerousstalling condition.
In a nose-high at t i tude, wi ththe under
carr i age down and flap;, s till partially
ex t ended, N62AF barely reached 300ft
(90m) in altitude before starting to descend
again . Ina slightleftturn , the crew tried to
raise the nose and apply power, but their
efforts were in vain. The aircraft crashed
i n to t he 14th treet Bridge, about a m il e
from the end ofthe runway. lidingover the
roadway o n t he bridge, packed with early
rush-hour traffic, 62A F plunged into the
iced-up Potomac River.
As well as killing the flight-deck crew,
Capt LarryWheaton and FirstOfficer Roger
As its tenth anniversary approached, Air
Flo rida was able to boa st a f le et that had
increasedfrom one 707, to threeDC-lOs,six
727-200s, four 737-100s and nineteen 737
200s, with fi\'e more 737-200;, on order.
There wasalso an orderforthree of Boeing';,new high-capacity twin-jetmodel, the 757,
in the p ip el in e. Celebra tion s for the
anniversary took on a decidedly muted air
though, following tragic los;, o fo n e o f t he
737-200s at Washington in January 1982.
Already runningwell behind schedule as
a result of exceptionally harsh winterweath
e r in the northeast, Air Florida's 737-200,
N62AF, was o ne o f t h e ex- nited aircraft.
I t was operating Flight 90 on 13 January,
a Washington-Fort Lauderdale ;,ef\'ice,
with ;,eventy-four passenger and five crew
memberson board. Washington ,Hilmal
America also came on line as oon a' aircraft
couldbe found to openthe routes.To aid the
growth of the network, Air Florida also
acquired halfa dozen Boeing727-200s from
a cancelled BraniffAirways order.
The modes t a ribb ean and Bahamian
international network was soon eclipsed by
the opening of trans-Atlantic schedules to
Amsterdam, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt,
London and Madrid. Long-range, wide
body, DC-I 0-30s were leased in to operate
the long-haul schedules.
Pride before the Fall
Take-over and Meteoric Expansion
More DC-9s joined the fleet and local com
muter operator, Air Sunshine, also based
at Miami, was t aken over in July 1978.
Although the AirSunshinefleet of DC-3s
and Convair CV-440s was not retained,
Air Florida added several extra Florida
cities to the network via the huy -out . e \\ '
international r ou te s w er e a ls o opened
from Miami to points in the Bahamas and
the Caribbean.
Air Florida joined the ranks of 737oper
a to rs in 1979, when the first of four ex
Singapore Airlines cries 100s arrived at
Miami. Over t he next two years the com
pany under took an explosive expansion
programme, taking full advantage o f t he
nell'freedoms available under deregulation.
More 737s,all cries 200s, wereacquired,
with tweh'e'Ad\ 'anced' aircraft on order.In addi t ion, second-hand aircraft were
acquired to speedup the expansion. As well
as nine ex-United aircraft, two of which
were leased from Transavia , another two
were contracted infrom leasingcompanies.
The much enlarged fleet was soon open
ing newscheduled services from Florida to
neighbouring southern states, the Midwest
andthe Great Lake;,.Most importantly,des
tinations in the affluent northeast, such as
Boston, e\\ 'York, Philadelphia and Wash
ington were aIso served by the 737s. e\\'
destinations in the Caribbean and Central
Amongthe U carriersalreadyin operation
that wereswift to takeadvantageof the new
rules, Air Florida was, at least for a while,
one of the more successful. Originally
formed under the old regulations, it was an
intra-state carrier, based in Miami. Eager to
repeat the California and Texan success of
P A and Southwest Airlines, Air Florida
began 'cheduled sef\ 'ices from Miami to
Jacksonville and Tampain eptember 1972.
Curiously, Air Florida'sfirst aircraft was
none other t han a Boeing 707-320. Even
in pre-fuel-crisis days, this was far f rom
suitable equipment for the brief flights
within Florida's borders. In short order, a
pair of much more economical Lockheed
Electra turbo-props replaced the 707 , in
March 1973.
Although soon joined by a third Electrain 1974, the small fleet was initia lly strug
gling against the local might of Eastern
Air Lines and Nat ional Airlines. A leased
Boeing 727-100 jet was acqui r ed in 1976
and operated alongside the Electras. Steady
r ou te e xp an si on b ro ug ht G ai ne sv il le ,
Or l ando, Panama City, Pensacola, St
Petersburgand Tallahassee, all s till with
in Flo rida , i nt o t he network. After a
change of management in 1977, an injec
tion of investment capital followed and
f i \ ' t ~ ex-AirCanada DC-9-15Fs replace the
727 and Electras.
Post-DeregulationScramble
88 89
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WORLDWIDE INFLUENCES
INTRODUCING
NEW SER VICE TO:
Chicago (.1id... y) ColumbusCincinnati DetroitCleyeland Indianapolis
St.Thomas &St.Croix Il .5.VirginIslands)
was wel l awa re t ha t t he paying public
wouldforgo expensive amenitie in return
for cheap, frequent, re liable airservice. In
particular, h e h ad a v is ion of maximum
responsibilities to the employees, for min
imum supervision. This wasunlikely to be
approved by his then boss, Frank Lorenzo,
the entrepreneur who owned Texas ir
Corporat ion that controlled Texas Inter
national.
Burr, and two other Texas International
associates, Melrose Dawsey and Gerald
Gitner, resigned from the Texas carrierand
set about gathering finance for their new
venture. Fromseveral options, the base for
the new carrierwas narrowed down t o the
then much under-used Newark Interna
t ional, in New Jersey. Initial stock offerings
gained the company 25 million to finclnce
its start-upand several other talented exec
utivesdefected from Texas International to
join PeoplExpress.
Lufthansa's Series 100sCome Home
Lufthansahad been offering itsearlySeries
100 Boeing 737s for sale , as more, larger,
'Advanced' Series 200s arrivedfrom Seat
tle. The offers Lufthansa received for the
aircraft varied from the sublime to the
ridiculous. One prospective purchaser
WORLDWIDE INFL ENCES
wanted one aircraft to ferry his casino's
clients free of charge, another wanted
'over-favourable' credit facilities for eight
aircraft over t en years. One presented a
contract full of holes and t henex t 'candi
date' wanted an astronomical commission
paid to him personally 'under the counter'.
PeoplExpress were willing to pay 51.
million for a lease-purchase agreement for
fourteen of the aircraft. Well experienced
in s e ll ing of f urplu members o f t he ir
fleet, Lufthansa knew a good deal when it
was presented and, after protracted nego
t i at ions , involv ing dozens o f c on tr a ct
rewrites, an agrcement was reached. The
deal included modification o f t he 737s
into a high-density, I18-passengerconfig
uration, pre-delivery overhauls , cockpit
instrument conversions back to US stan
dards and the repa i nt ing o f t he aircraft
into PeoplExpress's cream, burgundy and
brown livery. A further thre' aircraft were
added to the order at a later date, the last
five Lufthansa 737 -I OOs being sold to Far
Eastern Air Transpor t o f Taiwan later in
1981.
The first three 737-100s weredelivered
to Newarkreadyforservice inauguration in
early 19 I, wit h routes opened from
ewark to Buffalo, New York, Columbus,
Ohio and Norfolk , Virginia , witha typical
one-way fare of 35. More routes opened a.
the rest o f th e Lufthansa aircraft wcre
delivered over the next twel
PeoplExpress began itsmete
the start, the new airlinetarg
f ly er s as a major pa rt of it
Burr wanted to attract pas
buses, trains and even outof
make air transport accessibl
Th e unique administrati
airlinesawsubstantial staff a
'cross utili: ing ' a ircraft crew
based jobsin addition to the
Other ground-based functio
taken in a similar mann
money-saving moves include
of passengers for any baggag
a p ie ce . A ll r ef re shments o
charged for as well, and mos
ingactivities were undertak
the cabin crews. ewstaffw
buy a minimum of 100shar
pressstock. As longas the a
ing money, the quarterly pro
out went a long way towards
significantly lower salaries
industry norm.
Explosive Expansion
Despite the rather basic natu
v ic e, PeoplExpres s' s f ligh
among thc most popular in
July 19 3, an incrcdible load
pcr ccnt was achicved. On 6
Air Florida's careful lybuil t empire was to slowly crumble inthe wake ofthe Washington tragedy. Va author
Whenlufthansa deliveredthe lastof PeoplExpress's -100s, the Germanair l ine's engineerspainted farewell
tears on theaircraft's tai l logo. Va author
90
Ex-BraniffInternational Boeing 747, N602BN, was oneof severaloperated on PeoplExpress'smuch
expandedtranscontinental andtrans-Atlantic low-fare network. Aviaton Hobby Shop
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WORLDWIDEINFL ENCES WORLDWIDEINFL ENCES
TheBoeing 727-200 becamethe most commontype inthe PeoplExpressfleet.outnumberingthe 737-100s
and -200s. Malcolm L. Hi
Despitethe best efforts ofi ts staffandmanagement. thesale ofFrontierto
PeoplExpressfai led to save the carrier fromeconomicoblivion. Jenny Gradidge
PeoplExpress a welcome
Western markets.Neverthel
ed tooperate Frontier as a s
for at least five years before
integration. This was bec
more traditional approach,
unionized workforce, con
with Burr's system of 'staff e
Unfortunately, Frontier co
moneyat an a la rming rate
I million aday atone point
substantial investment instartingto look veryrisky. I
clear, by the 'ummel' of 19
could not survive and it loit might take PeoplExpress
In a desperate b id to k
bay, an attempt was madeon to United. However
employees' unions objecte
put forward for integratin
staff and the deal ne\'er matthe talks with United brok
t ier was forced to s top f ly
Loren:;o made hismove. Te
ration purchased the assets
tier and PeoplExpress; hy
on the brink of insolvency.of the two heleagueredairlinental took effecton [ Feh
Another Texas Air Corp
La Guardia Airport-hased
wasalso absorbed intoCon
same time. Founded by Tex
al, initially as a r ival t o t
IishedEastern Air Lines 'Sh
La Guardia, Bosron and Wa
York Ai r h ad started low
services on 19 December 19fleet of three ex-Texas Inte
9s had grown as t he netw
into further New England p
south as Florida and Louisi
ty a ircraf t were in usc by t
consol idat ion into Conti
DC-9 and MD- Os, but a h
were in service as well.
Texas Air Corpora t ioacquired Eastern itself, but
putes wi th i ts employees
thoughtsof integrat ion int
Instead, Eastern's few pr
were disposed o fo r transfe
nent al and the remainder
slip into bankruptcy ami ev
tion in January 1991.Continental had only re
a 737 operator itself, shor
multi-mergers. As well as s
o n the ex-Frontier, New
FRON"'ERQ
i:able presence at Denver. [n the mean
time, Burr and PeoplExpress offered 24 per
shareand, to the Frontier employees' relief,
finalized the dea l in t he au tumn of 1985.
Frontier continued operations,now as asub
sidiary of PeoplExpress, for the time being.Burrdid intend toeventuallyoperate as one
carrier, the Frontier route system giving
False Optimism
Frontierhad continuedto operatea mixedfleet ofConvair CV-580s andBoeing
727-200s. bothtypes taking on a brighter.modern.red andorangeliveryin lateryears.
Malcolm L. Hi
A one option, inearly 19 5, the airline'sowner offered Frontier A irl ine's employees
the chance to buy the carrier for 21 [
million, at $17a share. However, Lorenzo
steppedin and offeredsubstantially more to
the shareholders, leaving the employees
hopelesslyoutbid. The employees,fearful of
Lorenzo's reputation, tried to block the
move by threatening court action, citing
the monopoly that would be created by
the enlargement of Continental 's already
hostile t o t he ex ten t t ha t t heCont inen ta l
employeeshad been treated t oan unpleasa nt e xamp le o f Lorenzo's management
style when drastic reductions in pay and
b en ef it s h ad b ee n f or ce d upon them,
despite vociferous union objections. [n an
attempt to further expand h is a i rl ine
empire, Loren:o had made a b id for Den
ver-based Frontier Airlines.
Frontier had con ti nu ed t o s e n' e t he
Rocky Mountain area of its origins, even
tually 'erving twenty-six states, as well asinternational
flightstofour cities in
Cana
da. The Convair 580s wereslowly replaced
by more 737-200s, and, later, MD-80s,
until the last were retired on 1 June [982.
new holding company, Frontier Hold
ings Inc, took over the airline as its prime
subsidiary. nfortunately, t he economic
downturn in the A followed soon after
wards and, in [9 3 the a i rl ine po ted i ts
fir t annual lossfora decade, of [ 3. mi l
lion. The results in 19 4 were even worse,
with projections for 19 5 not showing any
sign of improvement.
Burr'sold bo s, FrankLoren:o, of TexasAir
Corporation, had recent ly merged Texas[nternational with Continental Airlines
after a hostile takeover. The takeover was
DenverAmbitions
widespread, a lack of accountability to a
supervisory body causing incompetence to
go unchecked and even criminal abuse ofthe in-flight ticketing, and other revenue
gathering systems, becoming rife. While
most ofthe employees were intensely loyal
and trustworthy, the actions of a few oppor
tunists within the organi:ation were drain
ing bad ly needed funds f rom the airline.
Within four years PeoplExpresshad certain
ly g rown b ey on d i ts f ou nd er s' w il de t
dreams, and even proved theconceptof air
line scats as a commodi ty to besold a t t hecheapest rate the profit margin would bear.
onetheless, Burr and the [eop[Express
management were sailing the airline very
close to the wind, financially, and it would
takejust one mistake to bring about disaster.
ex-Braniff [nternational Boeing 747, with
485 sca ts , was p laced into service on a
Newark-London (Gatwick) trans-Atlantic
schedule, with similar low-fare features.
F ive s ligh tly large r 737-200s had been
acquired from CP Air inearly 1982, as the
original seventeen -1OOs were stretched to
their operational limits. The extra 737s
were soon eclipsed by the arrival of eigh
teen [ 5-seatBoeing727-2 Os.
Eventually, the 727 was to outnumber
the 737 in PeoplExpress service, with no
less than fifty-one being acquired, alongwith an eventual total o f n in e 747s, as
routes were extended from coast to coast,
south t o Florida andeven a further trans
Atlantic r ou te , f rom ewa rk to Brussels
was opened. Unfortunately, the explosive
expan ion soon began to t ak e a t ol l on
PeoplExpress service reputation. The air
line's claim to 'Fly Smart', no longeralway
lived up to expectations.
Burr's revolutionary staff empowerment
philosophy also became unwieldy as the
carrier grew. Abuse o f t he system was
92 93
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Northern Stars
Whienew 737 operators were using the aircraft in a leading role in explorng new
formsof commercialair transport, italsocontnuedto make itsmark inmoreruggedf elds,
literally,with its Alaskan andCanadan operators
Wi en Air Alaska had contnued to operate its socialy vital scheduled network
throughout Alaska durng the 1970s and eary 80s. 8y 1982, the fleet consisted ofthir
teen737-200s, tenof them convertble to 'combi passenger/freight operatons, fve of
which wereof the'Advanced'model. The remaining three wereear y modelsleasedin
from United. The airlne also flew fve 727-100s, one ofthem an al-cargo freighter. The
carrier hadbeen the subject of speculaton regarding apossible takeover byWestern
Air Lnesin the eary1980s, as itsone-tme neighbour Pacifc Northern had oncebeen.
On this occasion,however,the merger talks came to nothing. Unfortunately,Wi en Air
Alaska began to suffer from financial problems and, with no other viablepurchaseron
thehorzon, succumbed to thepressures in 1984andceased operatons, bringing to an
end neary sixty years of service to Alaska.
Alaskas othermajor carrer, Alaska Airlnes hadbased their jet fleet on a variety of
optons overtheyears. Initaly, Convar 880and 990As had repacedthe piston-powered
OC-6on manroutesfromA aska toSeatte and Portand.Eventua y,theConvar jetswere
joined by Boeng 707sand 720s on the 'Goden NuggetServce and Boeng 727-100s
joined Alaska Airnes in1966.The727was much better suited toAlaskasoperatons, with
itsability tooperatefrommore airfields on the airlne's local network than thelarger jets.
For the first tme, jets could serveout-of-the-waycities lke Nome, Kotzebue andUnalak
leet. The airlne introduced its first 737, a leased 'Advanced'convertble aircraft, in Jan
uary1981.Two more, new,convertble aircraft arrved from Seatte a few months later.
In Canada,the 737was proving as useful a transportation tool as ever. On both inter
city commuter, holday flghts to sunnierclmesand Arctic services to remote commu
nities, the aircraft was invaluable.Nevertheless, company poltics began to intervene
andthe aircrafts operatorswere to gothrough a seres of changes.
PacifcWestern Airlnes had already absorbed the fleet of fellow 737 operator, Tran
sar, in 1979. in 1986, CP Air had reverted to itsoriginaloperatng name, CanadanPacif
ic Air Lnes. Shorty after this, PacifcWestern Airlines' parent company acquired con
trol of t he larger airlne in 1986. This and later moves also brought 737 operators
EasternProvincial, Nordair andQuebecairunderthe control ofthe same group and the
survivingoperatons ofal theairlines were merged underanew name, Canadan Air
lnes International. Some of the less economic regional serviceswere assigned to new
subsidiaryairl nes. However, the combined feets still consistedof morethan eightyair
craft, of whichsixty wereBoeing 737-200s.
AlaskaAirlinesoperated amixedf leetof 727sand 737s . V ia author
Transair had been absorbed by PacificWesternin 1979, their 737 fleetscombining to create an impressive operation.
Jenny Gradidge/AviationHobby Shop
Another round ofmergers,acquisitionsand renaming broughtEasternProvincial intothe new Canadan Airlines
International. SteveBunting/Martyn East
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WORLDWIDE INFLUENCES
Another ex-Western aircraft, 737-200, B2613 f lew for Far Easte
ofTaiwanfrom 1979 to 1996. Avaton Hobby Shop
G-BADP was named 'Sir Arthur Whitten-Brown' in Britannia Airways service. Steve Buntng
------=---
Delta ordered a fleetof 'Advanced' 737-200s to replace older DC-9s. N303DL
was oneof thef i r s t. ar ri v ingin 1983. Via author
as appearing on some international Euro
pean routes. Pan American' s buy-out of
Miami -based Nati onal Air li nes i n 1980
hadbrought a number of short-haulflorid
ian routes into thenetwork,wherethe 737s
a lso proved more economic. F ive ex-Air
Florida 737s were acquired to increase the
Boeing twin-jetfleetand the aircraftserved
inWest Germany as well as Florida.
The reunification of Germany, in 1990,
sawPan Americaneventually withdrawing
from Berlin. Pan American itself was now
in decline system-wide, struggling against
ser ious mismanagement , unabl e t o cope
withlow-farecompetitionfromderegulated
carriers. The 737s returned to Miami where
they replaced more 727s. A total ofsixteen
737swereto beoperated by Pan American.
96
being rebranded as 'Midway Metrolink'.
These offered all business-class facilities,
whilet he Florida-based 737s flew allecono
my-class flights, as 'Midway Express'. Even
tually, the twooperationwere merged into
one. The airline continued its expansion,
replacing the 737s withmore DC-9s, of var
iousmarks, untilmountinglossescaused the
company to cease a ll opera ti ons i n 1991.
Another concern also took overa num
ber of Air Florida's aircraft. Veteran long
haul carrier Pan AmericanWorld Airways,
had already introduced a handful of 737
200s on their Internal German Network.
Leased-in from 1982 to replace less fuel
efficient Boeing 727-100s, the 737s flew
from West Berl in to Frankfurt, Hamburg,
Munich,Nuremburg and Stuttgart, as well
Pan American acquired 737-200s to replace 727-100s on WestGermanand US
domestic services.N388PA 'Clipper Reinickendorf' was l easedinfor theBer l in
based operationsin 1983-84. Via author
Air Florida Aftermath
PeoplExpress Boeing 737s (of three differ
ent marks), Boeing 727s, 747s, McDonnell
Douglas DC-9s, of several models, MD-80s
and DC-lOs made up the highly diverse
f le et . I n add it io n, e x-Ea st er n A ir bu s
A300Bs were short ly t o make the i r own
maverick contribution. The varied net
work serviced not only l ocal domesti c
routes, but also transcont inental , t rans
Atlantic and even trans-Pacific longer
haul services. Few of the routeswere mak
ing m uc h, if any, mo ne y a nd t he n ow
highly unwieldy Continental Airlines
entered i ts second period of Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection within months of
the mergers takingeffect.
Continentaladded the PeopIExpress/Frontier/NewYork Air 737s to itsalreadyover-diverse fleet, in 1987. Martyn East
With the demise ofAir Florida, there was
a g ap in the low-fare market in the 'Sun
shine State'. Quick t o s te p i n t o t ry t o f ill
t he breach was Chicago-based Midway
Air li nes , which took over some of the
assets, including the more profi table local
routes. Midway also tookoversome ofthe
ex-Air Florida Boeing 737 fleet , offering
employment to many of the defunct air
line's staff.
Midway Airl ines had begun operations
from Chicago's older airport in November
1979, operatinga fleet ofDC-9s on services
t o Cleveland , Detro it and Kansas Cit y.
Expansionfollowed with new routes open
ing toNewark,New York and Washington,
wit h t he Chi cago opera ti ons eventua ll y
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(Above) Delivered tothe Imperial Iranian regime in 1977, Boeing 737-200,
EP-AGA continuedto operateVIP servicesfor the post-revolutionaryIslamic
Republicgovernment. MAP
(Right) USAir's N247US began
life in 1982as N793N,'Su wanee
Pacemaker' with Piedmont
Air l ines.The aircraft was
transferredto US Airways
Metrojet in 1998. Steve Buntng
(Below) F-GLXG was operated
byTrans European, Rotterdam
Airlines, TEA (UK) and GB
Airways before joiningEurope
Aero Service in 1993. MAP
(Bottom) Air Malta's 737-2oos
fly an extensiveIT charter
programmeto theMediterranean
island, as well asvital scheduled
services. Martyn East
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United has flown 737-300, N330UA
in 1988. Steve Buntng
(Below) Deutsche BA hasbased its
success around the 737-300. Deutsc
(Top) A MaerskAir 737-300, on leas
Airways, shares the Bristol. UK, ram
Airways 737-200 in 1989. Martyn Eas
(Above) Inter European's leased 737
turn-round atBristolwith Paramou
1990. Martyn East
/
BRI71SHAIRWAYS
•••••••••••••••••••••••
Air Hollandoperated 737-300, PH-OZAon IT
charters from Amsterdam in the early 1990s.
Malcolm L. Hi
(Above) N307AC was retained by American
Airlines forjust over three years after the
airlinetook over AirCal. American Ar nes
CR Smith Museum
(Below) EC-EBY wasdeliverednew
to Hispania in 1987. It later served with
Transwede, TEA (Switzerland),Air Europa,
TAESA, NordicEast and Western Pacific,
before becoming N334AW with America
Westin 1999. Richard Howel
airho?and
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(Above) 737-500, N507SW is one ofseveral SouthwestAirline's aircraft to wear
the special 'Shamu' livery, promoting Seaworlds famous killer whale attraction.
SteveBuntng
(Belowl France's Air Outre Meroperatesa number of 737 ver
scheduled and charter services.737-500, F-GINL was deliver
1998. MAP "
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WORLDWIDE INFLUENCES
Following Pan American's withdrawal from Berlin, the 737s returned to the USA. N68AF, 'Clipper Rainbow',
an ex-Air Florida aircraft, carries the final 'Billboard' livery, on push-back fromTampa for a short flight
back to Miami. Malcolm L. Hi
flights. The Egyptair 737
already in service in the r
Air, Iran Air, Iraqi Airwa
Sudan Airways. Egyptair
craftfrom their 737 fleet
line, Air Sinai, that ope
flights domestically with E
nationally on schedules to
chartersto Europe.
I n Eur ope, among o
national carrier, Olympic
the 737-200 in service on
and European schedules. B
had replaced their last Car
ing 727-100s with 737-20
1974. Sabenaalso leasedai
charter subsidiary, Sobelair
withTEA's Boeing 737 op
Airways, a new Brussels-ba
ated737-200s alongside 70
ing its name to Air Belgium
Luxair replaced their own
737-200s, flying them on E
ules, as well as a popular p
from its Luxembourg base.
Air France's own, long-
737 -200s f inal ly a rr ived
December 1982.They rep
the airline's surviving Ca
that had been in service w
since 1959!
More NewOperators
commercial flight by an aircraft o f t he
original Pan American World Airways
was operated later that day by a Boeing
727-200 on a scheduledservice from Bar
bados to Miami. Ironically, the 727 wasnamed 'ClipperGoodwill'.
An interesting addition to the ranks ofUS
737 operators was scheduled Air Express
carrier , Federal Express. A small fleet of
convertible 737-200Cs were delivered to
FederalExpressfrom 1979, and operatedon
their extensive night-time cargo network.
The convertible version had been chosen
as, at the time, thecarrierwas considering
diversifying into passengercharter or low
fare scheduled services, to occupy the aircraft when not required for the freight
work. However , the se p lans were soon
abandoned and the 737s disposed of by
1981, in favour of larger all-cargo aircraft.
In the Middle East, Egyptair leased two
Air Lingus 737-200s in 1975, prior to tak
ingdelivery of their own fleet of eight new
aircraft on order from Boeing. The 737s
were to replace the airline's ageingfleetof
Comet 4Cs and Russian-built 11-18 and
AN-24 turbo-props on local and regional
Beginning by selling off its Pacific net
work, Pan American continued to sell off
assets and close routes in an effort to save
money.New, smaller,Airbustypeshad been
imported from Europe to replace 747s on
domestictrunk routes, and were later seen
on some of the international flights. The
sale of the prime US-London/Heathrow
routesfollowed, alsosold to United.
A dealwas reached with Atlanta-based
Del ta Air L ines , whe reby Del ta wou ld
acquire the remaining trans-Atlanticnet
work and domes ti c 'Shuttle' operation
between Boston, New Yorkand Washing
ton, one of the few profitable parts of the
airline. Pan American would continue on
services to the Caribbean and Central and
South America, based at Miami. The 'tac
t ic al r et reat ' t o Miami was seen as the
chance for a new start, and t he only
chance for the car ri er to survive in any
substantialform.
However, at the last minute, Delta
withdrew vitalfunding. The 'Shuttle' and
the remaining trans-Atlantic routes had
already been transferred to Delta, butthe
expected life-span of t he rest of P an
Americancouldbe counted in hours. The
tattered remnant of the historic carrier
wasforced intoan ignominious bankrupt
cy on 4 December 1991. The very lastTop) British Midland's new image asbritish midland bmi was unveiled in 2001.737-500,G-BVZH was one of the first to wear the revised livery. Aviaton Hobby Shop
IMiddle) Lufthansa operates its737-300aCs on night-time cargo and mail services around Europe. Lufthansa
(Bonom) Maersk Air operate 'Next Generation' 737s, including 737-700, OY-MRC, alongside earlier versions. Aviaton HobbyShop97
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low-Fare Hopefuls WORLDWIDE INFL E CES
(Belowl The singleaircraftfleet of AirSinai,operating alimited domestinetwork, contrasteddramatically with Sabena's wide-ranging use of its
various versions,throughout Europe. Both pictures courtesy of Steve Buntmg
SAE l ENA I
(Abovel Federal Express only operated the 737 fora short time,replacing them with larger 727-200 freighters when plans to operate
passenger services were dropped. MAP
Pansto replace the 737s with an al-BAe 146 fleet werespeeded upas the company
contnued to losemoney and entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protecton. Eventualy the
company was reorganzed as aUnited Express carrer, operatng on behalfof the larger
airlne on routes from Dules. Even thissupport faied to save Presidental and, after yet
another reorganizaton and renewal as Presidental Express, operatng BAe Jetstream
commuterturbo-props, Presidental finaly ceasedoperatonsfor goodin December1989.
Amerca West Airlnes managed to survve, despite experencing its own growing
pans. The Phoenx-based airlne was forced into Chapter 11 itself anumberof tmes, for
the first tme in 1991. In what was seen later as acassc case ofoverexpanson, apair
of second-hand80eing 747 wide-bodies had been paced in servce on short-ved, loss
makng,schedules to Hawai. For once, as with other less fortunate airlnes, this didnot
foretel thebeginning of the end. AmercaWest used itsperods ofbankruptcyprotecton
as auseful breathing space in which to reorganze and, where necessary, reinvent itself.
(Belowl Originaly Britanniaairways G-AVRO, Presidental Airways N313XV is pictured at Luton before
itstrans-Atlanticdel veryfl ght. Steve Buntng
(Above) Amerca Wests initial growth at Phoenix was based around
the 737. Steve Buntng
PeopExpress, and its initial success, soonfound some disciples around Amerca. One
to take up much of the PeopExpress phiosophy, including a version of the staff
empowerng concept, was AmercaWestAirl nes, based at Phoenx, Arzona.
Founded as acompany in 1981and beginning operatons in1983,Amerca West initial
ly operated a trioof Boeng737-200s on routesfrom Phoenx to Coorado Sprngs,Kansas
Cty, Los Angeles andWichita. By the end of the first years operatons, ten 737s were in
use servcng twelvecites fromPhoenx. Internatonal operatons, with routes openng to
Canada, folowed shorty aftelWards, as did seasona ski-flght schedues to Coorado.
Further east. Presidental AiWays began operatons from Washington'sDul es Inter
natonal Airport in October 1985. Highfrequency, low-fare, flights served Boston,Hart
ford, Cincinnat, Cleveland, Miami, Orando andWest Pam Beach with a fleetof twelve
737-200s.Asmal fleet of British-built BAe 146-200s began joining Presidental inmid
1986, on lower-capacityfl ghts.
98 99
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WORLDWIDE INFLUENCES
CHAPTER SEVEN
seater, short/medium-range
publicreference to the new t
as the 737 -300 , wa made
ough ir Show in 1980.At
was still negotiatingwith th
didates to supply the new
CFM International, with th
Rolls Royce with the propos
'FM International final
and, when the 737 -300
launched with the first pro
March 19 I, the aircraft w
powered. CFM Internatio
owned by General Electric
ECMAof France. The Cd ev el op ed a a p os si bl e r
older types of engines o n t
Boeing had planned to off
frames fitted with the eng
retrofitting existing aircraft
gramme was later cancelle
engine was used to re-engin
707s and KC 135s. An upd
for the new 737saw the use
ins trumentation and new
temssuchas digital avionics
dard on Boeing's new 757 a
Go Ahead for th e -300
Boeing finally made itsdecision to proceed
with an improved 73 7 inJanuary1979.The
established design would form the basis of
the company 's offering for t he 100 -150
the -200 a nd t he airline came close to
placing a production order. However, an
all-new design, originally designated the
7N7, was finally chosen for development
by Boeing. This eventually emerged as the
twin-engined 757. The last new 727 rolled
off the production l ine in September 1984.
Al though the 727 had eventually been
completed replaced, Boeing opted to study
an upgraded 73 7, asan alternative to design
inga whole new type, The 73 7 studies cen
tred on re-engining the design, preferably
with more fuel-efficient high-bypass turbo
fans, then under development. As wel l as
offering the required fueleconomie
, thenewengineswouldbe much quieter,Further
improvements looked at for the new 737
versions included a moderni:ed flight-deck,
revi ed systems and refined aerodynamics.
What Next?
The Baby Grows
Britanniaairways updatedtheir 737-200 fleetoverthe years,replacing olderaircraftwith more modern
versions. G-BJCV, 'Viscount Trenchard'was deliveredin early 1982. Va author
With the 1980s approaching, the 73 7 sales
figures had mainta ined their recovery from
the early 1970sslump, Withthe 'Advanced'
version making its mark, Boeing was finally
able (() sLart looking to Lhe future of the 73 7
programme.
A major factor to be considered was that
of fuel economy. Since the original OPEC
c ri si s in 1974, the price of aviation fuel
had leapt up several time'. The compara
t ively thirsty JT Ds were becoming less
economical as the years went by. ew
noisepollution
legi lation was on th e hori:on as well that would eventually restrict
opera tions of bo th the early model 737,
a nd t he larger 727s. There were at least
only two thir ty and noi'y JT8Ds on the
737, compared to th ree on the 727.
Developmentof an even more tretched
727-300 s er ie s was f in al ly ahandoned,
although it had found favour with several
airlines. United, in particular, had co
operated with Boeing on the design stud
ies for the proposed 727-300, that would
be a further 18ft 4 in (5 .6m) longer than
(Left) Sabenas charter subsidiary, Sobelair,
operatedits 737s to resortareas aroundthe
Mediterranean. Va author
(Below left) Air France finally placed theirown
737s intoservice on European routes in 1982.
F-GBVP ispicturedduring a turnroundat Geneva.
Malcolm L. Hi
Deregulation Aftermath
Although thedebate will certainly rage for
year' as t o t h e benefits or otherwise of the
deregulation of t he US airline industry,
there is no doub t tha t it had a dramatic
effect of the travelling habits of America.
While some operators th rived under the
new conditions, some faltered and many
fa iled in short order. Similar reforms were
soon to be copied the world over in the following decades, with varying degrees of
success.
Throughout the upheava l, the Boeing
73 7 had played a part, both plying itstradi
tional trade with the established carrier,
and bla:ing pioneering trails with the new
breed of low-cost airlines. As the regulato
ry changes beganto make theirmark on the
airlines, Boeingwas looking closely at the
basic737, Wasitto beseenashaving served
its purpose and conf ined to h is to ry as a
1960s and 70s phenomenon?Or was there
life in an updated design'
(Below)luxair's busy fleetof 737-200s flew both
scheduled and IT charters within Europe. Luxair
100 101
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THE BABY GROll'SBetter late Than Never
The 737-300 flight-deck incorporatedmany advances originally designed for thethen new 757 and 767models. Lufthansa
Although BrtanniaAirways' success with the 737had notgoneunnotced with theUnit
ed Kngdom's natonal carrer, it was to be over ten yearsbefore Brtsh Airways was to
put their own aircraft into servce. BA's predecessor, Brtsh European Airways had lob
bed for permission to order the737 for many years. Operatng as anatonalzed corpo
ratonat the tme though, there was agreat dea of poltical interference in the airne's
operatons. As a result. localy produced aircraft suchas the Hawker SiddeleyTrdent and
BAC One-Eeven hadto be favoured, even though theywere less economic to operate.
By the tme the two natonal airlnes were merged into one company, BritshAirways,
in 1974, the British aerospace industry was in serous declne, which occurred as a
result of poltCal interference.As such, its proposals for new aircraft for Britsh Air
ways EuropeanDivision, as BEA had initially become, werefor themostpartuncom
petitive. Yet further anlarged versions of the Trdent and One-Eeven were proposed,
but soon rejected, as was the French-buit Mercure.
Once freed from its governmentcha ns, BA wasable to actvely consider US aircraft for
its short-haul needs. In late 1977, underthe pretext of a capacity shortage, Brtsh Air
waysleasedinboth McDonnel DougasDC-9-51 sand Boeng737-200s,fromFinnairand
Transava respectvely, to assess the performance of bothtypes on their short-haulnet
work. The Finnair DC-9s ony operated on the London-Helsinki servce. The Transava
737s, initially wearng BA stckers in additon to Transavas coours,were used on flghts
from Londonto Amsterdam,Brusses, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Istanbul. Stavangerand Stock
hom, as wel as aso appearng on the Helsinki route. As the study contnued, the
Transava aircraft wereeventualy repaintedin ful BA lvery.Also
wasthe Boeng 7N7projectthat BA later ordered asthe Boeng 75
As a result of the assessments,Br tsh Airways paced an order f
in July 1978. To be promoted asthe 'Super 737s, byBA, the airc
version of the Advanced 737, with CAT 3Aautolandcertification, m
capabities of theTrdents that they were to replace.The f ght-dec
ed and theavionicsincorporated anew digital Automatc Flght C
Britsh Airways' own 737sentered service in February 1980, a
craft were returned.Coincident with the arrival of the737, amas
prcerse wasimposed,makng their arrival even morewelcome a
retirement of more thirsty Trdents and One-Elevens. The f ac t t
could be operated with two flght-deck crew, as opposed to the
added to costsavngs that arrved with the737s.
Nine more 'Super737swere ordered to re-equip BAs charter s
tours. Originaly fying ex-BEA Comet 4Bs,as BEA Airtours from1
had taken on anew identitywith the emergence of BA after the m
BOAC Boeng 707shad already replacedthe Comets,but these w
nomic on the shorterEuropean charters. Lockheed Trstarstookov
flights and the 737s were to finally replace theageing 707s from
Britsh Airways itself ordered a further sixteen 737-200s that, a
of Boeng 757s, would accelerate the retirement of the last Trden
"I . ~ " .-
. ' ~ ' '. i . _ ~ . --.....;;:;v",",,"
(Below) BA subsidiary, British Airtours,specialized in ITcharters w
hadreplaced older 707s. SteveBuntingThe CFM56 was a I'ery different engine
design from t he jT8D. Much bigger, the
h igh bypas s rat io eng in es cou Id not be
hung below th ' 737 wings as with the ear
lier versions o ( t h e aircraft. Instead, they
had to be cantilevered out a he ad o f t he
wing' s l e ad ing edge. The o rigina l 737
design's inherent lack of centre of gral'ity
problems made this fairly major re-design
possible, Anyother engine locationwould
havemade use of themuch larger CFM56
difficult, if not totallyimpossible. To solve
the problem of ground clearance with the
wider engine, the lower section o f t he
engine nacelle wasslighrly flattened at the
bottom and el'ensome parts of the engine
were repositioned.
The power added by the n,OOOlb thrust
of the CFM56 allowed Boeing to initiate
the first major stretch ofthe 73 7 since the
-200. Two fuselage plugs, o ne o f 3ft 8in
(1.lm) forward of the wing, one of 5ft
(1.5m) a t t he rear, increased the ol'erall
length to 109 ft 7 in 03m). In a high-den
sity configuration, this would allow the
seating of up to 149 passengers.
Bigger Yet
The initial stretch that produced the eries
300 was not to b e the end of the story. Boe
ing continued to tudy whole new designs
in the 150- ,ea t range th rough the mid
1980s, evaluating aiI'I ine reaction to a ' 7 -7 '
702
de-ign, to be powered by IAE V2500
engines. Later this design was refined into
the '7j7' proposal that was expected to be
built in c lo se co-opera tion w ith japan .
Despite, or pos sibly a s a resul t o f, h eingpowered by propfan engines and incorpo
rating f1y-by-wire, totally electronic con
trols, the 7]7receil'ed a (airlycool reception
from the airlines.
onetheless, Boeing kept the 7 j7 p ro
posal alive and offered a further stretch of
the 737 as a 's top-gap ' until the 7]7 tech
nology wasperfected into a more practical
airliner design. The a ir li ne s h ad b ee n
pressuring Boeing to make a decision and
the eries 400 was finally announced in
la te 1985. Further ·tretched by 6ft (1.8m)
(Above) BritishAirways own 737-200s were operatedfrom February 1980 on both
domestic and international servicesfrom London/Heathrow. Malcolm L. H
..i;...."."" ••• Britishairfours............
----.-
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to offer a cost-effective,
w i th inc re ased a ir craf t u
allowing lower rates to be
terers. The olderfleet oper
was unableto offer the lowe
increasingly demanded b
other tour operators.
A deposit was paid to B
new 737-200 'Advanced' a
craft's f inancing came
investment group and inv
lease-purchase agreement
novel idea, but n ow a st
practice, the arrangemen
evolution of earlier ty les
tices. In addi t ion to the i
c ra ft , two mor e 7 37 s w e
delivery in time for the 19
Lat e 197 t o e ar ly 19 79
flurry of organization, r
train ing. Determined to la
charter airline's reputation
able aircraft and indiffer
Europe's management laid
on employinga cadre of pr
whotookpride in theirwo
a t London /Ga twick bec
when the first aircraft, regi
(after MikeHarry Goodma
on 10Apri11979. oonjoi
(after MartinO'Regan) and
ErrolCossey), commercial
Getting Air Europe Underway
Tile BABY GROwS
The strong financial backing meant that
Air Europewas able to gostraight to Boe
ingfora brandnew fleet.The whole pretext
behind Casey and O'Regan'splan hadbeen
to introduce modern aircraft with lower
operating cost and operational reliability.
As a result, theyfelt that theywould beable
starting to look seriously at their options
for replacing their thirstier fleets.
The first o f t he ' new breed' of British
charter carriers to emergewas Air Europe,
which began operations i n M ay 1979.
Established with the hacking of Intasun,
t h en one o f t h e largest UK IT travel com
panies, both organizations had entrepre
neur Harry Goodman as their chairman.
The original founders of the airline, Errol
Cossey and Martin O'Reganhad bothbeen
with leading British independent, Dan-Air
ervice', as Commercial Director and
Group Finance Director respectively. They
decided to strike ou ton thei rown after the
Dan-Air management rejected their pro
posals for modernizing the fleet to make it
more economicand attractiveto potential
charterers. Goodman had been in te re' ted
in their ideas and offered backingto estab
lish Intasun's own 'in-house' airline.
Despite the post-fuel-crisisdepression, the
seemingly inexorable rise of the inclusive
tour market in Europe was to lead to furthe r expansion of the 73 7's presence on
the con tinent in the early 1980s. Estab
lished operators found themselves in the
position ofhav ing to lease in extra capac
ity to ca te r for the demand as the holiday
indu try recovered. o me new carriers
quickly stepped in to exploitopportunities
in the growing marke t and were soon
showing their colours on a irport ramps
around Europe. Cost-cutting was s ti ll a
h igh p rior i ty a nd cha rt er o pe ra to rs o f
o ld er , l es s f ue l- ef fi ci en t a ir cr af t w er e
More UK Charter 7375
As a result of the Mohawk acquisition,
Alleghenyoperated a number ofthe, basi
cally similar, American-built DC-9-30s
and British-built SAC One-Eleven jets,
the la tte r inher ited from Mohawk. The
je tswere supplemented bya large f le et of
Convair CV-5 0 turbo-props. The first of
an initial order o f seven 737-200s joined
the U Air fleet to begin the replacement
o f the o lderOne-Eleven and DC-9s, with
new 727-200s also jo in ing the airline's
inventory for n ew Pittsburgh-California
longer-range services.
TilE BABY GROWS
forward and 4ft (1.2m) aft, the 737-400
fuselage was only Sin ( l2 .5cm) shor ter
than the original 'Dash Eighty', the proto
type Boeing 707/KC135.
The 7J7 was officially'indefinitely post
poned', while the supposedly 'stop-gap' 737
4 0 was launched into production with the
firstorders receivedin June 19 6. Over 17
passengers could now be accommodated in
the stretched 737-400.
(Above) Southwest's 737s steadily expanded their
sphere ofinfluenceunder deregulation. Tm Kincaid
Colecton
USAirtook delivery of 737-200s as partof amodernizationprogramme, beginningthe
gradual processof replacing olderDC-9sand SAC One-Elevens. Steve BuntngThe Series 200 into th e 19805
Even as Boeingwas refin ing the proposed
Series 300, the Series 200 continued to
attract customer.The Series 300 wa not
intended as an immediatereplacement for
the Series 200. 1ndeed, the Series 200 and
300 were to be produced side by side for
some years.
Estahlished U operators ofthe 73 7 con
tinued toexpandtheir fleets of cries 200s.
outhwe t Airlines had been swift to takeadvantage of deregulation andexpand ou t
of its Texan confines. Othershad stumbled
i nt o t he post-deregulation era and over
stretched themselves. Nonetheless, under
Herb Kelleher's direction, outhwest had
controlledtheir g rowth, whi le t il l s u tain
inga healthy expansion. As well as extend
ing the established network to the east and
west, eventually reachingArizona, Califor
nia, evac.Ia and Tennes ee, n ew Kansa s
ityserviceswere extended northwards to
St Louis and Chicago/Midway.
nlike other pioneer 737operators,
California's Pacific Southwest Airlines
had eventually disposed o f t he ir fleet.
f ter a financially disastrous a t tempt to
operate wic.Ie-bodied Lockheed L-lO II
Tristars on their high-pressure, inter-city
network, P A had standardized o n t heBoeing727-200. Over thirty were operat
ed by the airline at the tr ije t 's PSA zenith .
Later, eventhe 727swere replaced by more
economical MD- Is and several DC-9-30s
were acquired second-hand. A number of
UK-built BAe-146s were also introduced,
a f re qu en cy of service became a priority
over aircraft capacity.
Other long-term 73 7 operators, United,
We te rn and Piedmont, were still s teadily
increasing their fleets of e ries 200 s. e c
onc.I-hand aircraft were often acquired, as
well as new examples off the production
line. Even Lufthansawa still takingdeliv
ery of 737s, taking their 70th aircraft on
charge in March 1985. All these operators
wereshowinga healthyinterestin the Series
300/40 development, as was outhwest
Airlines.Air, the renamed Allegheny Air
lines, whose takeover of Lake Central in
196 had led to thecancellationof the lat
ter's own 73 7 order, finally tookdelivery of
the t yp e i n 19 2. Another takeover in
1972 had seen the network and fleet of
ew York tate-based Mohawk Airlines
being integrated into Allegheny. The
much expanded carrier had changed its
name t o A ir i n 1979 i n o rd er t o g ive the
airlinea lessparochial image and reflect its
ambitions to expand nationwide.
a i r e u r o p e............. ,
•
Air Europe's brand new fleet was oneof themost modernavailablefor IT work i nthe UK. MAP
704 705
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THE BABY GROWS TilE BABY GROWS
in the off-season. oon,
ciali:ing in longer-term le
craft specifically to under
tracts, using them only br
charter services.
Dan-Air only opera te
Bl V, through 19 1. Init
ly used on IT, for theTho
organization, for whom
hoIiday passengers throu
was not until 19 2 that
also leased from Maersk
737. However, further le
followed from various so
(Above) Maersk began large-sc
Boeing 720Bs.eventually repla
leasing contractssoon became
airline's operations. 737 OY -AP G
outto Tunisair in 1978. Jenny G
night service division of its
Fokke r E27s had opened
nights in 1979, later unde
schedules ami ITs for a num
companies, As the IT mar
Denmark asswiftly asanyw
sk replaced the Fnkkers ont
t er s w it h second-hand
resplendent in their all-blu
Maerskbegan to replace
737-200sin 197 , l ikeoth
it, Maerskstarted leasing o
maintain. The tour companie were also
hecoming reluctant to accommodate their
cI ients on Dan-Air'solder aircraft and were
threatening to take their business else
where. As the last ofthe Comets wa final
ly withdrawn from service, a t t he end of
19 ,Dan-Airtook deli\'ery of ire first 73 7,
The s in gl e Ser ie s 2 was operated on lease
from the Danish airline, laerskAir.
Maersk Air,a suhsidiaryof the giant A.P.
Moller Group, owners of t he Maersk h ip
pingorganization, had hegunoperationsasa
G-BICV was the first 737 to wear thefamousDan-Air 'Compass Rose logo, Va author
Dan-Air Services, based a t Gatw ick and
Monarch Air l ine s, Br it a nnia Airways'
neighbourat Luton, both introduced 737
200s intotheir neets in late 19 O.
Dan-Air had finally recogni:ed that
their neet needed moderni:ation. Its char
ter operations were based mostly around
neets of second-hand Comets and B C
One-Elevens, with larger Boeing 717-I OOsand -200s. Despite having been compara
tively cheap toacquire, the Dan-air aircraft
were increasingly expensiveto operate ,1Ild
I ga\"(o up" Clllnmand on Vi,count,Wi th R I A to
go fly 7 )7, a , " Fir,t O(f,ccr (,omcthing I now
'lLk"cFlO, net'a to do - ,omctimc.' It " I'crydif
ficult to gct hack In thc Icft hand ,cat '). Apart
from 'lI1glc cnginc Jc t; in thc Roy,,1 Air Forcc,
thi, w,,, Ihc fiN I ypc of Jc ta i rcr"f t I h"d f lown .I
w","ma:cd "t hmv muchfurthcrahcad of thc air
craf t 1had to think. For im tancc ,havingto plan
Topor I)c,ccnl points, dcpcndcnton winds, air
era lt weigh t , ATe altitude rc:-,triction . , C C
m'htly up to 110 n"utic,,1 milc, rromlhc airport'
Thc .,ircfi,rt, '" "rc "II jct" hccamc a h lgg l id
c rw l lh t h c cngll1c,,It Idlcpowcr. Ofcou"c, on
thc Vi, counts , propc l lcr , could pnl\' ldc cnor
moll'. <l1l101l11(', o f drag to . Iow down ,lnd
de c c n J , hut could ~ l l s o pnl\'IJe 1!l . t,lnt<lIlCOU'I
n: pon .c toJc!J\'cr po\\'er. ThiS was not . 0 on t h e
J T ~ I ) " on which anc lght ' ccond,pool-up t lmclrom Idle to full powcrcould hc cxpcctcd. Th"
could hc pOlcntl"lly d"a,rrou,"t low he,ght, 10\\
powcrconflguf,llion, ifilllll1edl,HC(ull po\\,er \\'(1 .
reqUired, llence, h Ighd rag agilllbt high power
. ,ppro"d,C'wcrc much "tfer. The 7)7 lI'a, onc 01
t h c f iN aircraft to Il1CIlfIIlfIlC high !tIt del' ICC'
and ,f "II werc extended - sh it " flal"and ,f, upon
landing, the ,peedhrakewa, extended, It looked
'" though the rew" , ha rdlyanythingon the wing
th,lt \\a", not extcndcdor mO"lng, ; ) ~ you could,ee nghl Ihmugh III
The Orion717, were , , ,cdcxtcn,ivclyon hol
iday IT wllfk. Bccause of the highdensi ly con
figuration of 110 p""enger scats rorflighls of up
to four h O l l r ~ , \\'ith n . ~ ~ e r \ ' c ~ , thi", l11eanl "OI11C-
time., having ro inc lude technic t l , refucllll1g,
'tol" on flighr, t o a nd from thc etl1ary Island"
e'peclally (rom airfield,further north tI1the UK.
Operal ing the aircraft to the maximumextentof
It ... r ange and field pcrformancc, \\'Ilh tcmpera
ture, in Ihe holid.ly de,tinarHtI1' oftcn hCll1g
,'cry hOI In.
lImmcr, lip to 30-40°,mC,lnt th ;11 \ \C
werc hecomlng \'cry adept at "'qucc:lng the la ... t
kilo out or thewe ightand ha l"ncec" lcula t' o" , .
More IT Interest in the 737
Airways, the only carrier with any signifi
cant presence at East Midlands upuntil the
arrival ofOrion irways. Although Chris's
introduction to the Boeing 737 was to he
sometime after the type made it debut, his
experience of transition from propeller to
jet was tohe typical of manyover the years.
As well as Air Europe and Orion's usc of
the aircraftas the basis of t he ir new oper
ations, a numberofother charter operators
around Europe s tar t ed taking in te r es t in
the t yp e a s a replacement for their older
fleets , In the UK, established operators
Among t he pilots recruited was Chris
Harrison, originallywith British Midland
One Pilot's View
Operations were initially undertaken sole
ly for Hori:on, eventually serving twentyfive holiday destinations in nine countries.
When three more aircraft were delivered
in time for the 19 I s ea so n, operations
werealso being undertaken from Birming
ham, Luton and Manchester, with other
regional points eventually joining the IT
charter network.
Staff and c rews were recrui ted and
trained throughout 1979, in preparation
for the 19 summer ' ca so n. n li ke Air
Europe that based i t se lf at London's
Gatwick irport, Orion irll'ays adopted
East Midlands Airport as its headquarters.
East Midlands Airport, ncar Ca st l e Don
ington, had heen opened in 1964 to serve
the metropolitan area encapsulated hy
Derhy, ottingham and Leicester. Up until
the opening of East Midlands Airport, the
area had heen dominated hy Birmingham's
Elmdon Airport, much further to the west
and inconvenient for the population of the
more eastern cities in the reginn.
Orion's first three Boeing 73 7-200s were
delivered in February and March 1980.
with a Gatwick-Palma ITcharteron Friday
14 May, carrying 130 Intasun customers.
Another Holiday Flight
Newcomer
s ir E ur op e was getting itselfgeared up
for i ts f ir st summer season, another K
tour operator was also setting u p i ts own
737 airline. Horizon Travel had heen one
o f t he pioneers o f t he industry, nying its
first IT passengers from Britain to Corsica
in 1949. Expanding steadily over the years,
the inevitahle corporate 'ups and downs'
included the company heing a part o f t he
Orion Airways had thebacking of Horizon. oneof themost distinguished andlongest
established ITholidaycompanies. S teve B untng
giant Clarksons organization when it
entered bankruptcy i n 1 97 4. J Inll'ever,Hori:on survived, being sold on to nell'
owners by the official receiver.
Ilori:on soon regained i ts place among
the busiest tour companies. Like lntasun,
Hori:on became dissatisfied with the ser
viceoffered by established charter airlines
and looked to provide a superior service
while being able to reduce costs by operat
ing its own airline division. The new air
line, Orion Airway, wa, formed in lare
1978, hut was not to hegin operations until
the 19 0 summer season.
..
106 107
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THE BABY GROWS THE BABY GROWS
Monarch Airlines leased in 737-200sfrom Germany'sBavaria. MAP
An early production 737-300 was displayedat Farnborough in 1984, wearing basic USAircolours. Jenny Gradidge
however,as the aircraft we
end ofthe 1980season foll
financial collapse. The
Maersk Air also lost out
November 1980,a newGe
line, Supair, had thei r air
by Maersk within a month
the airlinefailed to begin
The Series 300 De
The fi rstSeries 300 Boein
air for the first time on 2
Orders werealreadyflood
craft, the customersbeing
the prom i sed inc re ase
economy and reduced no
levels o f t he new engines
the year, orders for the
reached no less then 252
customers bringing the t
seriesas a whole to 1,418.
One o f t he f ir st 737 -3
colours o f USA ir , t he l
with Boeing titles, and
such at the 1984 Farnbo
in the UK. By t he n end
year the new version had b
AirCal ( t he rebranded
Leasing False-Starts
Al though the increasing use of leasing
contracts instead of outright purchases by
a ir li ne s was a popular one, it di d not
always work out . A s a number of leasing
operators increased, GATX/Booth were
soon joined by the lines of International
Lease Finance Corpora t ion (lLFC),
Bavaria, Ansett Worldwide, Guinness
Peat Aviation (GPA), American Finance
Group, Pacific Aviation Holding Co.,
Integrated Aircraft Corporation and oth
ers, as well as airlines such as Maersk Air
acquiring aircraft specifically to lease out
at a profit. The more favourable economic
terms meant that the smaller airlines no
longer had to wai t for the bigger carrier's
'cast-offs'. The established airlines alsosaw
the advantages to themselves of leasing in
their fleets fromfinancial and leasing com
panies. They no longer needed to have
such large sections of their capital t i ed up
in owning their aircraft outright.
Not all the customer airlines werefinan
cially stable enough to support their 737s
though and soon fell by the wayside. In
1980, GPA leased737-200s to French char
ter operator Aerotour, that had previously
flown Caravelles. Th e leasewas short-lived,
aircraft were fitted with 's tick-pusher' s tall
warning devices that were not approved by
the American authorities.
This ' swap ' was repeated t he n ex t two
years, unt il Air Florida ceased operations.
As Air Florida lurched into i ts final finan
cial crisis, Air Europe ins is ted i t b e paid
every 48 hours for the cont inued use of
their 737s. Whenthe endcame for t heUS
carrier in 1984, i ts sudden demise into
bankruptcy left Air Europe with a serious
capacity shortage as the promised aircraft
were no longer forthcoming. The airline
wasforced to lease in extra aircraft atshort
notice, a rather expensive exe rc is e, to
cover the shortfall.
Air Europe, under the wings of i ts par
ent company, the Intasun Leisure Group,
l at e r r e ti t le d the Internat ional Leisure
Group, or ILG, survived the loss o f A ir
Florida's loaned equipmentand cont inued
its appa rent ly unstoppable expansion.
Brand new Boeing757s, among the first in
Europe, had j o in ed the f le et i n 1 98 3.
Long-haul flights had been introduced,
with the 757s operatingover the Atlantic
to Florida. Orion, still deriving much of its
income from Horizon, steadily expanded
its 737-200 charter operation, with sever
al new bases opening around the UK.
and Eagle Air of Iceland, all in variations
oftheir combined liveries.
Air Europe, however, came to a firmer,
more regular, agreement with Air Florida,
whose slackest time, the summer, Florida's
lowseason, was Air Europe's busiest. This
worked both ways, with Air Europe having
spare capacity in the winter, when thou
sands were trying to escape the potentially
harsh northern American winter and head
south to the 'SunshineState' .
Two of Air Florida 's Boeing 737-200s
s pe nt t he summer of 1981 operating
Europe-based inclusive-tour charters from
the UK alongside Air Europe's fleet of six
similar aircraft. When they returned in the
autumn, thre e Air Europe aircraft joined
them andspent the winteroperating on the
Florida-basedscheduled flights ofAir Flori
da. Although a convincingly 'tidy'arrange
ment, the operation was not without its
problems, not least with America's Federal
Avi at io n Admi ni st ra ti o n a nd Britain's
Civi l Avia t ion Authority . Both offic ia l
bodies found objections to the 'foreign'
a ircraft. For example, the UK-registered
at Luton that had already been flying from
the Bedfordshire airport for twelve years,
the new 73 7s began ope ra ti on on
Monarch's inclusive-tour network soon
afterwards.
Seasonal Swaps
ir E ur op e pioneered a new leasing
arrangement with foreign carriers , in an
effort to boo st u t il i za tion in t he win te r
months. As already mentioned, leasing
contracts were undertaken by a number of
airline operators. Aer Lingus, Britannia
and Transavia, among others , had all sent
aircraft off to tempora ry new homes in
their slack traffic periods. The lucrative
contracts were often repeatedover several
years, but were u sual ly a one-way street.
As well as enjoying a steady influx of
new aircraft of its own most years, Britan
nia of ten leased in extr a aircraft to cover
seasonal shortages. Amongthe sources for
Br itannia' s extr a s ea sona l aircraft were
Pluna of Paraguay, Quebecair of Canada
Monarch Joins the Club
Monarch Airlines had intended their 737s
to replace their fleet of BACOne-Elevens
that operated alongside Boeing 720Bs on
European ITs from bases at Lut on a nd
Manchester. Like Air Europe and Orion ,
Monarch had been se t up by a tour compa
ny, Cosmos Holidays, in 1968. Originally
operating a fleet of Bristol Britannia turbo
props,Boeing 720Bsand BAC One-Elevens
had eventually replaced the prop-liners.
The first pair ofMonarch 737s werealso
lea sed in, a s was the increasingly popular
f ashion , thi s t ime f rom Bavar ia Flugge
sellschaft. Although originally a charter
carrier, f ly ing BAC One-Elevens from
Munich, Bavaria had sold its commercial
airline operation to another operator, Ger
manair. However, Bavaria continued to
existas a separatecompanyand beganspe
cializingin leasingaircraft to other airlines.
The first of a p ai r of Bavaria 737-200s
arrived atMonarch Airline'sLuton base in
late September 1980, followed by the sec
ond a month later. Joining Britannia's 73 7s
708 709
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Non-Airline 737s THE BABY GROWS
(Belowl Aviogenexs main IT charter market, to andfrom Yugoslav resorts on the
vanished overnight when war broke out between newrival states in the region.(Above) JArs 737-300 operations were stalledfollowing
the violent break-up of the former Yugoslavia. Steve Buntng
L
•••••••••••••••• • TNI-AU.........."-'" '' ". ,-,
•••••••
DespteBoengs traditonalmi tary connectons,the 737
remaned a largelycivi an project. ashad been intended
from the beginning. However, long-standing Boeng cus
tomer, the US Air Force, didpace an order for nineteen
speca zednavigaton trainers, to be based on the 737
200 airframe. The aircraft was designated theT-43A by
the USAF. With most windows removed, the cabin
rearranged to accommodate up to twelve trameenavga
ton statons and four astrodomes fitted to the top ofthe
fuseage, the first T-43A wasdel vered in July 1973.
From 1992, at least f veo f the T-43As were transferred
to a Civ an operator, E.G. & G. Inc, who operate them
alongside ex-airlne 737-200s on 'Special ProJects, per
sonne and equipment shuttes from Las Vegas, m con
necton with US governmentworkat theremoteRoswel
Air Forcebase.
Ten years later,the Indonesangovernmenta soordered
specialy modified 737s for military use. Designated
Boeing 737-2X9s, the three aircraft are equipped with The USAFT·43Anavigat on trainer was based aroundthe 737-200 airframe. JennyGraddge
Indonesia's 737-2X9s feature radarhousings built intothe fuselage. Boeng
IBelowl N1288 was a737-200 suppled to Essex Internationalas aprivate corporate jet in late 1969. Via author
Motorola side-ooking, mult-mission radar instaled in
distnctve housngs above the rear fuseage. The aircraft
are used to patrol theIndonesanIsands to detect i egal
martme actvites.
The 737wasa soadopted as aVIP orcorporatetrans
port by a numberof civilian operators, as well as pro
viding luxury accommodaton for military organizatons
and government heads throughout the world.Some companiesaso operatedairlne-style confgured
aircraft on prvate 'scheduled'sel\ cescarryingcompany
personnel between far-ranging plants and locatons.
Range could be extended to 4,606 mies by the additon
ofex tra f uel cels in one of the lower cargo hods. The
moreluxurousexecutve interiors,whererequired,could
be instaled by Boeng,but in many cases the customers
preferredto use outsidecraftsmen.Civi ancustomers for
prvate737-200sIncudedDome Petroeum, EdoradoOi,
Essex, Maritime, NogaandPetroar. Military operatorsof
bothnew andsecond-hand737s incuded the air forces
of Braz. Inda, Mexico, Peru, Thaiand and Venezuea.
110 77 7
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TilE BABY GROWS TilE BABY GROWS
--, , ~ ~ . . . ~ I >
Airways International Cymru
:;.._--- .I•• ' r- - I - I - I - I - I_1_1_1-1-:::1 1 1 1 1 1 I ~ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 •• ••
AirwaysInternationalCymru operateda largeproportion of their fl ightsfromBristol/lulsgate, acrossthe
SevernEstuaryfrom itsmain base atCardiff. G-PROK, thesecond 737-300, isseen here,taxying awayfrom
the oldBristolterminal. Martyn East
G-BAZIcameto Airways International Cymrufrom Britannia Airways,via a leasing company. Rchard Howell
One-Elevens wasleased out to BritishMid
land Airways, but was replaced in 19 5 by
an cx-Bri tannia Airways 737-200, G
BAZI, obtained via Havelet leasing.
Although at t ract ing a number of contract from important tour operators, such
as o smo s, Air Cymru, as the company
name t ended to be shortened to in every
day use, had a chequered reputation. Pop
ular with pas engersfori t friendly ervice,
and with i ts staffasa pleasantcompany to
work for, the daily opera ti on t ended to
uffcrfrom an unusual number of technical
d lays and operational problems. The air
line's situation was not great ly helped
w he n t he unworld a ircraf t a rr ived i n
19 6. The operational fleet then consisted
The 737 in Wales
One of t he unworld International aircraft
found a t emporary home a t Cardiff, the
capital o f t he UK principality of Wale.
Airways Internat ional Cymru (Wales
International Airways) had begun opera
tions in 19 4 with a pair o f BAC O ne
Eleven.Owned bya local travel company,
Red Dragon Travel, IT charters operated
from Cardiffand the nearby English cityof
Bristol to European resorts. One of the
USA. The DC-9s onlycontinued inservice
for a short while before the airline ceased
operationsdue to financial problems.
In high-density, inclusive-tour,configu
ration, the Series 30 carried 148passeng er , eighteen more than the -200's maxi
mum. This increased revenue potent ial ,
linked to lower fuel costs, at t racted the
cost-consciou charter carr ie r i n part icu
lar. Monarch took delivery of their first
-300 in 19 6, supplementing their earlier
eries -200s and hastening the ret irement
of t he last of t h ir ne-El evens. New Boe
ing757s had replaced the last of Monarch's
highcapacity720Bs and were used on long
haul flights as well as supplementing the
737s on European ITs.
curtailed and most of t he fleet disposed of.
Limited charter services later restarted
wit h a s ingl e 727-200 o nc e o me sem
blance of peace r et ur ned t o t he region.
New York Air w a ~ to be merged into
Continental by the two airlines' owner, the
Texas Air Corporation, when PeoplExpress
was taken over. unworld Internat ional ,a
low-fare schedul d and cha rt er carrier
based at Las Vegas, operated three leased
73 7-300s only briefly, supplement ing i ts
DC-9 services throughout the west of the
Monarch's 737-300 servicesencompassed most ofthe mainholidayairportsof southernEurope.G-MONH is
pictured atone ofthe busiest,Palma, Majorca. Martyn East
halt ed when Yugoslavia was broken up
into several states, following the fall of
Communism i n Eas te rn Europe. ]AT's
once extensive network was closed down,
or severely curtailed, for long periods andthe fleet either stored or l eased out.
AnotherYugoslav 737 operator to uffer as
a result of t he political unrest in thecoun
t ry was Aviogenex. Formed as t he coun
try's IT specialist, Aviogenex operated a
pair of 737-2 Os a lo ng si de a f le et of
Tupolev Tu-134As and Boeing 727-200s,
on ITcharters from the Adriat ic resorts to
Western Europe. When the Yugoslav
tourist industry collapsed with the violent
break-up of the country into independent
states, Aviogenex operations were greatly
America West, Cameroon Airlines, Con
tinental, CP Air, Dan-Air, ]ugoslovenski
Aero t ran por t OAT), Maersk Air, ew
York Air, Orion, Pakistan International,
Piedmont, Southwe t, u nwor ld Interna
tional, United, U Ai rand We' te rn .
Many of t he e cu t omers were new 737
operators.In the case of ]AT, ew York Air
and unworld International, their previous
main equipment had been DC-9s . ]AT 's
effort, to replace i t medium/short -haul
fleet with the 737 were to be temporarily
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New Mediterranean Operators
OPPOSTE PAGE
(Top) Air Algerie built up a considerable 737 fleet for
domestc,regional and trans-Mediterraneanscheduled
services. Steve Buntng
(Bottom) The 737-200 joined Air Malta in 1981, with
leased aircraft replaced by their own fleet in 1983.
Richard Howel
(Middle) Arkia f lew itsf irst 737s only briefly on IT
charters and scheduled services in 1983/84. Other
versions were acquired by Arkia some years later.
MAP
As well as Europes chartercarriers suddenly fnding the
Boeng737 the answer to their re-equipment prayers,
even more scheduled carrers were seeing the lght.
As already related. Air Algerie had been an early
lease contract customer for AerLnguss737s sncethe
late 1960s. Air Algerie later went on to operate a not
inconsiderable fleet of their own, finally replacing their
ageing Caraveles. Tuns Air had introduced their first
737-200 in 1979, serving an extensiveregional network
that extended to Europe.as well as neighbourng North
African states. With Tunisa boastng anumber of popu
lar coastal resorts, Tuns Airs 737s were soon chartered
out to touroperators for IT flights, especialy from north
ern Europe.
Already popular with Arabian carrers, the type was
alsoadopted by the Israel natonalairlne, E AI. Prev
ously almost solely an operator of longer-range aircrah,
E AI leased in two 737-200s from Trans European, of
Belgium, to evaluate the aircrah for use on regional
schedulesfrom Tel Avv. The pairof leased 737s joineg
E AI inOctober1980and were operated on schedulesto
Europe and around the Mediterranean. An order was
placed for two of their own 737-200s, delvered in Jan
uary1983, replacing theleased aircrah.The independent Israel airlne. Arkia, alsotook delv
eryof Boeing 737-200s, its first, asecond-hand ex-Wien
Air Alaska aircraharriving in 1981. When two new air
craftweredelvered toArkia in 1983,the original aircrah
was sold. The aircrah were operated on scheduled
domestc and regional flights, as wel asan extensive
programme of charters to Europe. Unfortunately, Arkia
suHered fnancial problems after much of their sched
ued networkwascoseddown for political reasons,and
the aircrahwere sod orleased out in 1984.
Air Malta took delvery of their f irst 737 in 1981,
leased in f romTransava ofthe Netherlands.The first of
AirMalta's own order, for sx 737-200s,was delvered in
1983. Operatng on scheduled and IT charter services
throughout the Mediterranean region and to Europe,Air
Malta's 737s were acquired to replace the companys
first aircrah, a fleet ofsecond-hand Boeing 720Bs.
In 1983, the Boeing 737-200 also joined the f leet of
the Portuguese national carrer, TAP-Air Portugal. The
new aircrah were replacing older Boeings, in theshape
of 727-1 ODs on TAP-AirPortugal s scheduled and holday
charter network. The airlne's charter subsidiary, Air
Atlantis, based atthe southern resort of Faro, alsooper
ated737s from 1985. Air Atlantis, too, flew ahandful of
727-200s and even long-range 707s on higher-capacity
and further-ranging flights.
" . ~ : i : ~ " r. ",.. ;«-< • ~ .
in ear ly 1987, i t was joined by two othcr
ILFC 737-300s, one of them also an ex
Sunworld Intcrnat ional aircraft. This at
least gave the fleet some semblance of
standardization. At t he e nd o f 1987, thc
737-300s were returned to ILFC a nd t he
Scrics200 wassubleascd to a ncw US start
up to bebased in Miami .
Unfortunately, thc contract wcnt sour,
with t heUS airlinc failing to bcginopcra
t ionsand strandingthe aircraft, alongwith
its scconded Air Cymru c rcws , in Miami
amid the legal wrangles. An ill-advised,
(Below) The larger 737-300 provided Orion,and its other operators,
with increased revenue potential forsimilar costs, Steve Buntng
.. _ ~ _ e ~ ~~ 1 i i...~ ~ \ ~ .
AirwaysIntQrnatlonalCymru
__ . QR\QN
- - ~ " . . - . . , . . . "LJ
o f t hr ce aircraft, onc Onc-E levcn , one
737-200 and the 737-300, all with totally
diffcrent seating configurations (89, lJO
and 148, respectively),
Should any t e chnic a l or opcrational
problems occur, none of t he aircraft could
covcr thc othcr's flights, cvcn if available.
The first ex-Sunworld aircraft was returned
to itsowncrs, 1LFC, at thecnd of thc 1986
scason, with thc -200, G-BAZI, going to
Acr Lingus on lease for four months in the
wintcr, Icaving thc Onc-Elcvcn a lonc in
Air Cymru service. After G-BAZI returned
A cartoon 737 featured in Airways
International Cymru's promotional
material. Via author
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THE BABY GROWS
Atypical UK airport l ine-up inthe 1980s. No lessthanfour different UK 737 operators, OrionAirways, Air
Europe, British Airtoursand Britannia Airways all sharethe Manchesterramp. Steve Buntng
been taken over by Atlan
Air Lines, a nd A irCa l h
out by American Airlines.
Western had struggled in
u la tion e ra . As a cos t -c
emphasis was diverted aw
expensivebases, suchas Los
cut-throat competitionwas
small profits there were, Th
concentrati ng fl ights at less
suchas Salt Lake City, inU
important airline, operatin
all-metal-based livery. The latter compa
ny hadacquired Piedmont, afterpurchas
ing a majority shareholding. However,
with protracted legal wrangles and opera
tional problems, i twas to be another eigh
teen months before the Piedmont identi
ty was to be fully absorbed into USAir. In
the spring of 1988, USAir further expand
ed itsswiftly growing network by acquir
ing Pacific Southwest Airlines, giving it abadly needed foothold in America's west
ern states,
CHAPTER EIGHT
A New Lease of Life
As the Series 300s began rolling off the
Renton production l ine , beside the still
popular -200s , Boe ing was ref ining an
even larger 737.The 9ft6in (2.9m) longer
-400 was f it t ed wit h e xt ra o ve r-wing
emergency exits, two each side instead of
one, and stronger wings and landing gear
were fitted t o c op e with the increasedgross weight of upto 142,0001b(64,4lOkg).
The first Series 400 flew on 29 April 1988,
The Next Big One
,
I found rhc workload much lowcr on r h c 300
due [() rhe assistancc of INS, auromared powcr
scnings and calculations i n r h c climb. Evenru
ally, when rhe ' g la ss cockpir ' c amc our , onc
couldhave a much bener 'situational awareness'.
established analogue technology. Once it
was more widely available though, the air
lines and thei r pilots were soonenthusing
abou t the new systems and thei r advan
tages overolder versions.
Chris Harrison flew bo th the Series 200
and 300 with Orion an d, from 1986
onwards, other operators:
the last o f t he Elew'as were finally dis
posed of.
More interstate flights were added,with
service open ing to Seat t le and Phoenix .
Shortly before the in troduc tion of the
MD-80s, in 1981, the company identity
was amended to AirCal, with a smart new
modern logo and colour scheme. The air
line was purchased from WestgateCalifor
nia by a new company, AirCal Invest
ments Inc, for $61.5 million.
Twelve Boeing 737-300s were ordered
in June 1984, with op tions taken ou ton a
further eleven, as p ar t o f a l ar ge f le et
In the hands of new majority shareholders,
the Westgate-California Corporation, since
1970,Air California had continued asteady
unofficial attempt to repossess the aircraft
caused even more legal expenses for Air
Cymru. Without suitable aircraft for the
forthcoming season, a nd t he US legal bills
eating into its operatingcapital, the com
pany was forced to cease operations in
early 1988.
Air California Progress
Thearrivalof theeven further stretchedSeries 400 saw the 737 finally losing its'Baby Boeing'tag, Boeing
expansion throughout the decade, carrying
its ten millionth pas senger in 1976. As aresult of deregulation, Air California was
able to expand outside California's borders,
initially beginning in te rs tate s ervice to
Reno, Nevada, in December 1978.
By 1979, nine 737swere operated along
side three ElectJ'as, the latter type reintro
duced into the fleet in 1975 to operate ser
vices to ultra noise-sensitive Lake Tahoe.
Also in 1979, an order was placed for five
162-passenger McDonnell Douglas MD
80s, wi th options for up to eight more,Two
more Boeing737-200s arrived in 1980, as
replacement p ro gr amme . i ne of the firm
orders came from AirCal i t se lf - the
remaining three wer e f or a ir cr af t t o b e
leased from ILFC.Th e -300s were intend
ed to eventually replace t he t he n e nt ir e
fleet of fourteen 737-200s, two leased
-I OOs and seven MD-80s.
The New Boyan the Block
Although advanced electronic flight sys
tems were to be in troduced on the 737-
300, the earliest examples were built with
It gavc one rhc abiliry [() scc, almost as on a
map, your reference [0 waypoints , track, t h L l n ~d e r ~ t o r m s , airpolTs and, evcnrually wirh TCAS
(Tcr rain Collis ion Avoidancc Sysrcm) , othcr
aircraft around you.
The forthcoming Series 400 promised even
more technical advances, linked t o t he
higher capacity offered by the yet-further
stretched fuselage, However,as well asbeing
a natural development ofthe 737 breed, the
Series 400 was developed in response to a
growing threat to the type's sales from
Europe. Would it riseto the challenge?
the first production delivery being made
to launch cus tomer , P iedmon t Airl ines ,
on 15 September the same year. Piedmont
placed the aircraft into service on 1Octo
ber 1988.
Th e Piedmont Airlines 737-400s were
delivered in a h ybr id Piedmont/USAir,
Californian Merger Mania
The loss of Pacific Southwest Airlines was
the la test in a series of mergers and acqui
sitions that saw the disappearance of no
less than three of California's 'home based'
c ar ri er s. In 1987 Western Air Lin es had
bodies to Hawaii and M
Boeing 727-200s and 73
had begun introducing the
side the olderversions. De
the chance to extend itsne
and took over the ailing6
as of 1April 1987,
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A NEW LEASE OF LIFE A NEW LEASE OF LI FE
Dallas operat ion and mo
smaller hub already esrab
City, retainingOrlando as
The 737-20 s were lea
Polaris Aircraft Leasing Co19 7, to supplement the
Elevens. A largeorder was
Airbus A320 ,intended as
aircraft for Braniff. nfor
after the first of the A320
from KansasCity, BraniffI
tions in eptember 1989.
Once again though, Br
The operating authority o
carrier, EmeraldAirlines,
newowners and i twas tur
Braniff. Once more flying
o me o f t he e x-Ai rC al /A me ri ca n a nd
Western s er ie 2 00 737s found temporary
newhomeswith the re-e tablished BraniffInc. After a dramatic ces a t ion of opera
t ions by the original Braniff Airways in
19 2, t he c om pa ny r em ai ne d d orma nt
u nt il a n ew f in an ci al p ac ka ge was put
together under new ownership. Braniff
r eo pe ne d s er vic e from Da lla s w it h a
much reduced fleet of Boeing 727-200s in
March 19 4. Later, Orlando-based Florida
Express Airlines was t aken over and thei r
fleet ofBACOne-Elevensjoined the 727s.
After a per iod of reorganization and re
trenchement, Braniff closed down the
Braniff Revival, and Revival
Il
Eventually, the ex-AirCal 737- weregrad
ually disposed of or rerurned to Ie sors as
contractscame up for renewal . American
rookdeliveryoffurther MD- Os, their pre
ferred twin-engined jet, to replace them inalifornian service as s oo n as i t became
practicable to do so.The ex-Piedmont aircraft suffered no
u h ignominy. The length of t ime it had
taken for the two airline to merge had
allowed them to co-ordinate their fleets
wel l before they became one. PSA's MD-
Os and DC-9s were fi tted i nt o t he com
bined f leet a wel l, although, in t ime, the
British BAe 146s werestored and then dis
posed of, after SAir had decided t o c u t
backi tsWest Coast presenceafter all.
(Be/owl Delta had ordered their own
'Advanced 737-200s to replace older
jets. The ex-Western 737-300s, like
N303WA, soon appeared throughout
the Delta network in full colours.
Via author/SteveBunt ng
Western'sattempts to survive after
deregulation were doomed to failure.
Its second 737-200, N4502W, wasstill
in the fleet and taken over by Delta in
1987, nineteen years after it had been
delivered. Va author
Post-Merger Operations
Following the acquisitionby theirnewown
ers, both t he fleet of Western and AirCal
started appearingin 'hybrid'schemes, usual
ly comprisinga new name painted overtheir
old liveries. Delta had actually been in the
process of introducing their own fleet of
'Advanced' 737-200s, to replace older DC
9s, when the Western 737-200s and -300s
wereadded.
American Airlines, t ho ug h, h ad n ot
previously been a Boeing 737 opera to r.
1984 - a landmark year - the airlne carred 13m i o n passengersand exceeded $1 bi
lon inrevenues.thus offCialy becominga 'major airlne. In January 1985.Piedmontwas
named 'Airline of the Year by the influential magazne, Air Transport Word.
May 1986saw Piedmontacquiring New York State-based Empre Airlnes that oper
ated a fleet of Fokker F.28 jets from Syracuse. The addition ofthe Dutch jets brought
Piedmonts fleet up to 149 aircraft. Ths consisted of sixty-three Boeing 737-200s, thir
teen737-300s, thirty-four 727-200s (the 727-1 ODs had left Piedmont in 1983), twentyFokker F.28-1 OOOs and nineteen F.28-4000s. The 1.177 daiy departuresserved eighty
seven airports in twenty-seven states, the District of Columbia and two international
points in Canada.
Internationalexpansionplanswere implemented, withnew wide-bodied Boeing 767
200s opening a Charlotte-London service in June 1987. The 767s aso operated on
transcontinentalservice fromthe hubsin theeastern states. New international flights
also opened to Nassau, in the Bahamas in November. By then though, negotiations
were well undervvay for the USAir purchase of Piedmont and,on 5November, the air
lne became asubsidiary of USAir Group Inc.
Operatons contnued independenty forawhile, as the full merger of the two sizable
airlnes was engineered.However,f naly, on 4 August 1989 the last Piedmont flight
ever left Dayton forSouth Bend, Indiana. The next day, Piedmont ceased to exist and
al operatons were conducted underthe USAirname. At the tme ofthe fnal mergerPiedmont Airlnes wasf ying sixty-two 737-200s, forty-two 737-300s,eight 737-400s,
sx 767-200s. thirty-four 727-200s, twenty F.28-1000s and twenty-five F.28-4000s.
Rorh Amcrlcan and AII'Cal arc \\ 'lI1nc". Rorh
afC Ciln,do, qualityorientated o r g a n l : a t J ( ) n ~ , full
of ralcnrcdpcoplc who hclicl'crhey can achicl'c
anyrhing rhcyscrour (() do.
t he 3 , 700 AirCal employees, m'er 95 per
cent were offered j obs within the new
operation.
American' s Chai rman and President,
Robert J. Crandall was expans i ve in h is
praise for the AirCal staffas he welcomed
them intoAmerican Airlines:
Since its introduction ofthe 737-200, in1968, Piedmont Airlnes had never looked back.
Asustained programme ofgrowth and expansion hadseen the once humble Loca Ser
vceCarrer that had struggled to lnk the Oho RiverValeytotheAtlantic coast,become
one ofthe USs leading regional airlnes. The remaining vintage Martin 404shad left
the fleet in 1970 tobe replaced by the Japanese-buit YS-llAs.ln 1972. the airlne's
25thyear of operaton. Piedmont reported record earnings and a profit of $3.323,317
In 1979,Piedmont had fought off ahostie takeoverbid by thethenexpansiveAir Flor
daand in 1981 anewhuboperatonwas openedatCharotte. NorthCarolna. Ths was
folowed ayear later with anothernewhub beinginaugurated at Dayton. Oho. The last
turbo-prop YS-11 As were sod off by 1982. and Piedmont became an all-jet airline,operatng thenow long-establshed737-200s,alongside amixed fleetof 727-1 ODs that
had re-entered Piedmontservice in 1977,and 727-200s that had arrved in 1981.
Yet anothernew hub operatonwas opened atBaltmore in 1983.with twenty-ninedai y
flghts to fourteen destnatons. Henson Airlnes. asmal commuterairlne basedin Sa
isbury. Maryland. was taken over in 1983. Henson was then operated as a 'Piedmont
Regona Airlne', thebeginningof anetwork of sma er, associated airlnes thatwere to
feed traffic intoPiedmonts mainlne network as 'PiedmontCommuter carrers.The fol
lowing year. a transcontnental servce was opened to Los Angeles andSanFrancsco. In
The737-200had proved itself the ideal aircraft forPiedmontsnetwork, leading to
sustainedgrowth for the airline. Jenny Graddge
The Rise and Rise of the Pacemakers
American' s i n ten ti on t o buy AirCal
was announced in November 19 6 and
the dealwasclosed in Apri l t henex t year.
As with Delta and USAir, American fclt
t heneed to increase it' profile in the west
ern ha lfo f t heUSA, hence its interest in
AirCal's succe sful network. The merger
became effective on 1July 19 7,withAir
Cal's identity beingreplaced by American
Airline's image from that date. The order
ly integration of A i rCal employees and
aircraft into American was t o m ak e t he
merger 'nearly invisible' to passengers. Of
778 779
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A NEW LEASE OF LIFE
720
Both AirCal's 737-200s and -300swere to acquire
American Airline's titles as soon as the merger took
effect. Bothpictures courtesyof American Airlines C.R.
Smth Museum
the 'new' airlinewascontracted for a num
ber ofcharter services by travel companies
around t heUSA. An attempt to re tu rn to
scheduled services, from Dallas t o N ew
York and Los Angeles , was ini t ia ted in
1991, and the networkwas later expanded
to i nc lu de For t L au de rd al e, I sl ip a nd
Newark. However, scheduled serviceswere
closed down as uneconomic later that year
and, inJuly 1992, the third Branifffollowed
itspredecessors into bankruptcy.
Air Europe- and Family
Air Europe had followed Orion by intro
ducing the Boeing 737-300.An Orion 737
300 was leased-in for crew training before
the type entered charter service with Air
Europe in 1987. Orders were placed a t t he
(Top) American Airlines retained the
ex-AirCal 737s long enough to justify
repainting, but they were disposed of
as more MD-80s arrived to replace them.
AmericanAirlines C.R. Smth Museum
(Above) Braniff's ex-Western 737-200,
N4509W is seenat Tampa on the afternoon
of27 September 1989.Withina couple
of hours of this photograph being taken,
Braniff had ceased operations.
Malcolm L. H
Air Europa was Air Europe's first attempt
at establishing a 'family' of airlines. Its
737-300s operated their first Spanish-based
IT charters in November 1986.
Rchard Howell
A NEW LEASE OF LIFE
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same time forfive more757s, as well as five
737-400s, for 1988/89 delivery.
Not all t he A ir Europe o rd er s were
intended forUK-based operationsthough.
In June 1986, ILG had invested a 25 per
cent holding in a n ew Spanish [T operator,
initially ent it ledAir Espania. The operat
ing name was changed to Air Europa
before operations be ga n i n ovember
1986, with their aircraft flying in an only
very slightly modified Air Europe livery.
The adoption of the new title and identi
cal livery wouldenable swifttransferofthe
aircraft between the two companies, with
only one letter o f t he title and the nation
al flag needing to b e changed.
The 'Airline Family'
Concept Spreads
Air Europe was far from the onlycharter
carrier t oembrace t he 'family' concept of
linked airlines. In 1988/89, Trans Euro
pean Airways had established both a n ew
Turkish subsidiary, TUR, and a UK-based
operation, Trans European Airways (UK)
Ltd. New 'TEAs ' were a lso set up in
Cyp ru s, France, I ta ly and Switzerland,
with various levels of shareholding by the
Brussels-based 'parent' ai rI inc.
Air Europa inherited Air Europe's 'mis
sion' to establish more professional, mod
ern, airline practices within the indepen
dent Spanish airline community. Its 737s
were to jo in those operated by long-estab
lished charter specialist, Spantax, and rela
tivenewcomer,Hispania that hadbegun IT
charter operations witha fleet of Caravelles
in 1983. H isp an ia ini ti al ly lea sed in 737
200s, and later-300s. The Spanrax aircraft
were part of a modernization programme
that was intended tosee the replacementof
a n a ge in g f le et of Convair CV-990As.
Unfortunately, Spantax's attempts at reor
ganizing and its eventual sale to newown
ers failed to revive its fortunes and the air
l in e cea sed ope rat ion s in 1988. H isp an ia
survived long enough to introduce Boeing
757s alongside its737-300s, but also ceased
trading, due to financial problems in 1989.
Other Spanish Hopefuls
Universair wa s a n ew IT operator formed
by t he Span ish hot el group, Hola. With
backing from the UK's Orion Airways and
Belgium'sAir Belgium, both 737 operators
in their own right, Universair opened its
A NEW LEASE OF LIFE
Palma , Ma jo rca base in 1987. The fleet
had grown t o t h ree 737-300s by J988 . In
1990, Universair merged with two other
Spanish operators to form Meridiana SA,
a new scheduled carrier, and cea sed to bea
737 operator.
VIVA (Vuelos Internacionales de Vaca
c i ones SA) was set up in 1988 and was
owned by Iberia and Luf thansa, w i th a
modern fleet of four 737-300s. The first
flight, a uremburg-Palma charter, took
place on 15 April. Initially concentrating
on t he t ra di ti on al IT charter markets,
VIVA began undertaking scheduled ser
vices on behalf of Iberia, especially after
Iberia bought out Lufthansa's share in
1990. Eventually VIVA opened a sched
uled networkof its own, centred on Palma,
Majorca and Malaga on the mainland. At
i tspeak the VIVA 737 fleet stood a t n i neSeries 300s. The scheduled services oper
ated f rom [991 to 1996, when Iberia took
over t he routes and VIVA reverted t o a n
al l -charter operat ion. In 1 99 9, I ber ia
decided to close down the airline and inte
grated itsaircraft and staff.
Shorter-lived was Nortjet, a n ew Span
ish charter operatorthat began IT services
in 1990 with the first of three Boeing737
400s leased from GPA. However, Nortjet's
fleet was repossessed by GPA in February
1992, after the airline ceased operations.
Much more successful was Futura , estab
l ishedin 1989 with backingfrom Aer Lin
gus and Banco de Santander. Using a s in
gle Boeing 737-400, operations began on
17 February 1990. With its sol id fi nanciaIbacking, Futurasurvived and was flyingsix
737-400s by 1993, from bases at Palma and
Tenerife. Throughout , Aer Lingus main
tained a 8 5 p er cent shareholding. InMay
1997 a Palma-London/Gatwick schedule
opened under t he name of Futura Direct.
Air Europe Acquisitions
Air Europe's 737-400sstarted to enter ser
vice in the 1989 summer season. The high
denSityconfigured, 170-passenger 737-400s
joined the airline's -300s and replaced the
last ofthe -200s, which were disposed ofor
l ea sed out . A s ingle Boe ing 747 had a lso
been lea sed in for a y ea r and f lew to US,
Caribbean and Far Eastern destinations.
The establishment of t he Spanish sister
company was the beginning of lLG's 'Air
lines of Europe' policy that envisaged a
European network of aiII ines. Other sub
sidiarieswere opened in Italy and Germany,
722
both operating Boeing 757s on charter ser
v ic es .A o rweg ian charter carrier, Norway
Airlines, was purchased and itsBoeing737
300s painted in Air Europe'sfull livery. Ini
tially the Oslo-based airline was renamed
Air Norway, t he n A ir Europe (Scandi
navia). As well as continuing to operate IT
charters from Oslo, Air Europe (Scandi
nav ia) ' s a ir craf t were a lso u sed t o o pen
scheduled services to London/Gatwick.
Change of Direction
Air Europe had started t o a dd scheduled
services to it s UK operations since the
ear ly I980s . At first, leisure-orientated'
destinations were served, but from 1988
more business traffic-based services, from
London/Gatwick to Amsterdam, Brussels,Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Geneva, Munich,
Paris and Zurich were opened. A sma ll
Gatwick-based commuter carrier, Con
nectair, was acquiredin 1989 and rebrand
ed as Air Europe Express, flying Shorts
330sand 360s. Guernsey AiII ineswas later
b ou gh t o ut a nd merged in to th e n ew
'Express' operat ion that operated sched
uled flights from points in the UK t o the
Channel Islands and from Gatwick t o
Antwerp, Dusseldorf and Rotterdam.
St il l l ed by [-larry Goodman, ILG, the
a i rl ine 's owner s, were very keen for Air
Europe to establish itself as a major UK
scheduled operator. Goodman's ambitious
scheduled service plans eventually led to
Air Europe' s o rigin al founder s, Errol
Cossey and Martin O'Regan, leaving the
company. They grew increasingly wary of
Air Europe's owners' apparent determina
tion to leaveits original specialization, the
hoiiday charter, and con cen tr at e o n t he
much riskier scheduled network.
A fleet of Fokker 100s was in the process
of being acquired for use on the less busy
scheduled f ligh ts f rom la te 1989. For the
longer term, Air Europe had ordered no
less than eight wide-bodied MD-Ils from
McDonnell Douglas, as well asstill further
737s and 757s. However, t he e nd came
suddenly, on 8 March 1991. On that day, a
number of banks andother creditors took
s tep s to re tr i ev e f, 160 m ill ion owed to
them by the financially overstretched ILG
group. That morning, Air Europe's aircraft
were impounded and the whole organiza
tion was placed under administration.
Various 'rescue' plans were put forward,
but ILG collapsed and A ir Europe never
t ook to the skies again. The German and
A NEW LEASE OF LIFE
Although Universair wasluckier thansomeSpanishcharterhopefulsin that it survivedthrough merger, the
resulting carrierdisposed ofthe 737-300s. Richard Howel
Air Europeuti l izedits 737s on new scheduled services as well as theoriginal IT charter programme. Steve Buntng
723
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The European Challenge A NE W LE A S E OF LIFE
By the 1980s, Europes first bd to rval the 737, the Dassault Mercure, had proved a
fnancialfai ure, attracting only one customer, and the quantity producton of theear
lier European jet airliner t ypes was drawing to a cose. The larger-capacity,
medium/short-rangejet market seemed to be firmly in the hands ofAmercas Boeng
and McDonnel Dougas. The new -300 and -400 Boeng 737sand the newMD-80
seres of enlarged DC-9s from McDonnel Dougas were attracting orders fromairlnes
and leasing agents worldwide. TheFokker F.28 andBAe 146weresel ng in respectable
numbers,but were of a considerably lower capacity thanthe larger Amercan aircraft
and aimed at amorespecialzed market.
Recognzng that the smaler aerospacecompanies of Europehad no hope of produc
ing serous rivals to the giant Amercan concerns, the European industry had already
taken steps to combine forcesand offercompett ve products. As eary as 1970, an
Anglo-French study into medium-haulwide-bodied types had led tothe formal estab
lshmentof Airbus Industrie, amultinational consortum of aerospace and aircraft man
ufacturing companies. Eventualy, Airbus comprsed contributions from Aerospataleof
France, British Aerospace loriginally Hawker Siddeley) of the UK, Deutsche Aerospace
of Germany, Fokkerof the Netherlandsand CASA ofSpan.
The new consortum's first commercial project, the wide-bodied Airbus A300, first
flew in October1972. Although initial saes were slow, theA300 eventualy establshed
a substantal customerbase for the aircraft. Amajor breakthrough was achieved with
thesale of A300sto US-basedEastern Air Lnes, with later US saes of developedver
sionsto Amercan Airlnes and Pan AmercanWord Airways.
Airbus had always planned to offer a portfolio of airliner types and the first newvar
ant. the slightly smaler Airbus A310, folowed in 1982. Airbuss first narrow-bodied
type, the A320, was formaly launched into development in 1984 and the first flight
occurred in February1987. The A320 wasadirect rval to theenlarged737 models, with
simiar capacity tothe 737-400. The sae of theA320 to long-establshed 737 operator
UnitedAirl nes, as well as a largeorder placed by Minneapols-based NorthwestAir
lnes, an operator of a substantal fleet of DC-9s of different varants, setalarm bels
rnging inthe Boengand McDonnel Douglas saes offices.
(Belowl Although init iallysellingony slowly, theAirbus A300B eventuallyestablished
itsell as aserious contenderin theinternationalairliner market. Malcolm L H
(Bottoml The acquisition oflarge fleets of Airbustypes IA320 illustrated) by major US
carriers, such as NorthwestAirlines,madeBoeing examine itsown offerings very
closely. Northwest via author
Norwegian subsidiaries also ceased opera
tions. Nonetheless, the Spanish and Ital
ian operations f ou nd n ew owners and
eventually thrived as Air Europa and air
Europe (Italy). Air Europe Express even
tually re-emerged as a n ew commuter car
rier, Euroworld, la ter renamed CityFlyer
Express.
M ore U K Comings and Goings
Orion Airways had disappeared in 1989.
Its parent company, Horizon Travel, had
been taken over by the Thomson Travel
Group that year. Horizon's operations were
merged into Thomson Holidays and, not
surprisingly, Orion's services were merged
i n to Thomson ' s own established airline
subsidiary, Britannia Airways. At the t imeof the merger, Orion was operating its 73 7
300s and a p ai r of wide-bodied, Airbus
A300Bs. As Britannia was operat ing the
similar Boeing 767, the Airbus A300Bs
found themselves surplus to requirements
and were returnedto their owners. Orion's
737-300s were retained for a while though
and were flown alongside the long-serving
737-200s.
I n Apr il 1 98 8, a new airline had risen
from the ashes of Airways International
Cymru. The ex-AIC 737-200, G-BAZI re
emerged as G-BOSA in the livery of
Amberair, t heoperat ing name ofCardiff
based Amber Airways. A second 737-200,
G-BKMS, was ~ I s o leased in and the pair
operated IT charters from several UK
points. Amberair barely operated for one
seasonbefore itwas taken over in October
1988, by Bristol-based ParamOLlnt Air
ways. Paramount f lew mos tly MD-80s ,
although a single737-300 was also operat
ed. The ex-Amberair737-200s wereeven-.
tually returnedto their owners. Paramount
itselfceased operations in 1990, following
a financial scandal involving i ts owner 's
group of companies.
Inter European Airways had started
Cardiff-based 737-200 IT char t er opera
tions in May 1987. Utilizinga single leased,
ex-Maersk Air aircraft, Inter European had
been founded by a Cardifftravel company,
Aspro Holidays. Owned by the Asprou.
b ro th er s , Asp ro Hol id ay s special iz ed in
tours to Greece and Cyprus, as well as serv
ing traditional Spanish destinations. The
737 flew from Cardiff and Bristol for the
1987 season,being returned to itsownersatt heendof t ha t summer's flying programme.
lEA remained dormant for the winter, but
came back in s ty le in 1988, lea sing in two
brand-new 737-300s.
This time,operations continued through
the winter months and over the following
years more 737-300s wereacquired, as was
a single 737-400. In additionto Cardiffand
Bristol, newbases wereset up at Manehes
tel' and London/GatwickasAspro Holidays
greatly expanded i ts successful tour pro
gramme. AirbusA320sbegan to replace the
737-300sin 1993, joining Boeing757s that
had entered service the previous year.
As wi th Orion tbough, lEA was to van
ish as the result of tour company mergers.
Manchester-based Airtours took overAspro
Hol id ay s in 1993, r eb rand ing the tour
company as i ts low-cost s
European's 757s and A320s
by Airtour's own airline ope
International. The r emai
were returned to theirowne
Aspro contracts had beenco
Ai r UK Goes 'Leisur
While Air Europe wasstru
from charter to schedul
British scheduled airline,
moving in the opposite dir
operated a network of s
mute r an d tr un k servic
Britain and t o nearby poin
tal Europe with a large flee
props and BAe 146 jets .
In June 1987, Air UKannational, a charter broke
became the majo r inves to
charter company, to be n
Leisu re . Bas ing i ts el f ini
don/Stansted, Air UK Lei
ery ofthree second-hand B
in t ime to commence ope
1988. The first commercia
charters from St ans ted t o
and Rome, departing on 1
also opened from Manch
Midlands t he n ex t day ,
Rhodesand Palma, respec
The 737-200s were'repla
1989 by the first of an event
Series 400s.As well as oper
Leisure's expanding networ
al leasings saw some of t he
124
Orion's 737-300s took on B ri ta nn i a ' si d e n ti tyfo l l o wi n g the merger o f t h e two airlines in 1989. JennyGraddge
125
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A NEW LEASE OF LIFE A NEW LEASE OF LIFE
Novair's Series 400
CaledonianAirways , in 19
ilarly cottish themed carri
ated alongside each other
Gatwick. However, in Ma
renamed Novair Internat
The next yea r, a p ai r of B
was delivered to avail' In
operated on IT f ligh ts
Birmingham, Glasgow, M
ewcastle, upplementin
Unfortunate ly, Rank wa
with the profitability ofthe
ovair up for sale . After f
buyer, Rankdecidedto cut
operations wereclosed dow
at p ar t o f t h e BCal buy
Airways was Bri t ish Cal
charter subsidiary, Britis
Charter.Originallyformed i
nership with the Rank Org
Charter operated ex-LakerA
on IT charter ervices origin
by Rank to the defunct ca
19 2 bankruptcy. In 19 4, R
BCal's r ema ining shareho
branded the airline Cal Ai
while retaining the BCa l
When British Airways
own charter operator, Brit
eventuallydelivered asSeries400s, the first
a rr iv ing in 1991. In the meantime, four
eries 3 Os were leased from Maersk Air.
As the newer versions arrived at
Heathrow, the earlier-2 sweretransferred
to either Birmingham or Manchester, to
begin replacing the airline' urviving One
Elevens. Fora while, the aircraft wore either
'Birmingham' or 'Manchester' suffixes to
their t i tles, as the out tations were given
more autonomy under the British Airways
Regional Division banner. Later, the titles
were amended back to their original format,
although the Regional Division continued
to be responsiblefor the aircraft'soperation.
Airways, t a king over the Gatwick-based
independent in late 19 7, it inherited the
latter's order for the rival Airbus A32 .
Originally intended to replace BCal's fleet
o f B AC One-Elevens, the A320s were
del ive red to BA and initially entered ser
vice on t he Gatlvick network. However,
t he A 32 0 were soon moved to the
Heathrow base and replaced at Gatwick by
Boeing 737s.
In October 19 8, SA placed a largeorder
fo r up to twenty-four more 737s, with an
option to choose which variant would be
delivered at a laterdate. !)artof a largerorder
that included six wide-bodied Boeing 767s
and an extra 757, all twenty-four737s were
British Airwayshad heenverysatisfiedwith
their ' uper 737-200s'. When B hecame
the su cessful suitorfor British aledonian
BA 737 Expansion
BAF h ad t urn ed t o more conventional
cheduled and charters in the I970s, replac
ing their speciali:ed 'Carvair' aircraft with
turbo-prop Heralds and Viscounts, before
introducing One-Elevens as their first jets
in the 1990s. The 737-30 s displaced the
One-Elevens, which were finally with
drawn in December 2000.
British Worldspread their small 737-300 fleet between basesthroughoutthe UK.
G-OBWZ isseen at london/Gatwick. Aviaton Hobby Shop
7 37 -3 0 was acquired in 1999, soon find
ingitselfin demand withTitan'sc lientele .
A two -c la ss layou t was adopted for the
737, with eight bus in es s-clas s ami I I
economy-class eats , a ll in leather.
March 2000 saw the 737-300 appear in
the colours of BritishWorld Airlines. Three
aircraft entered ervice during the year on
IT and ad hoc flights from crew bases at
Stansted, Ganvick and Manchester. British
World had previously been known as
British Air Ferries, until the airline's name
was changed in 1993. BAFowed its unusu
al t i t le to long-running car ferry scheduled
services once operated by the company
across the English Channel from Southend.
More Stansted 737s
with EEAfrom March 1993 to p ri l 1994,
before the Greek company ceased opera
tions. Virgin then took overthe route itself,
w it h irbus equipment.
In 1992, Air K Leisurewas joined hy a
ubsidiary company, Leisure International
Airways . LIA was e tahlished to operate
long-haul charters with a sma ll f le et of
wide-hody Boeing767-300s, ba,ed at Lon
don/Gatwick. Fora while , operationscon
tinued separately, hut in 1996, Air UK
Leisure was merged into L lA . L IA was
now par t o f t he U ni je t t rave l g roup , a
major IT holiday operator. The 737-400s
were eventually disposed of, in favour of
more long-haul aircraft, although Airhus
A320s and A321s were la ter acquired tef
operate European IT charter services. LIA
lost its identity when Unij e t was hought
out by First Choice, another IT operator,and LlA was merged with First Choice's
own in-house airline, Air 2000.
Titan Airways, based a t S t an·ted, special
ized in contract, ad hoc and short -not ice
charters, the latteroften on behalfofother
airlines. Beginning operations in 19
with a sma ll f le et of Cessna twins, Titan
grew to fly horts 36 and ATR-42 turbo
p rops , a s wel l as BAe 146 jet·. A s ingle
--------'";G-
to South East EuropeanAirways, of Athens.
EEAoperateda small network of domestic
flights in Greece, with Fokker F.50 turho
props, hut i ts main activ ity was providing
aircraft and crews for Virgin Atlantic Air
way's Athens-London scheduled service.
Flying in full Virgin li\'ery, the 737-4 0 flew
Inter European Airways began operations with a single 737-200, G-BNGK, leased in
forthe summerof 1987. Richard Howel
other airlines' li\'eries, e,peciallyin the qui
eter winter month,. Malaysian Airlines,
Ind ian chedu led car ri er Mod iluf t and
anadian charter operators Odyssey Inter
national and Vacationairall took out short
lease, on A ir UK Leisure's eric, 400s. G
KLB wa, leased out on a longer contract,
G-BNZT'Flagship St Andrew' was one of thetr ioof 737-200s used to inaugurateAir UK leisure's IT
services in 1988. Va author
726 727
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A NEW LEASE OF LIFE
The 737-300 featuredin the Dan-Airfleet from 1985.
G-BOWR was an ex-Orion/Britannia Airways
Aircraft. MAP
(Below) British Airtours' 737-200s were transferred
to 'new' charter subsidiary,Caledonian Airways,
revivinga respected airline name fromthe past.
Richard Howel
A NEW LEASE OF LIFE
Dan-Air's 737 fleet grew steadily overthe years,operating o n a n expanding scheduled network in addition
to charters. Va author
Novair Internationaloperated its 737-400s for onlya yearbefore the Rank Organizationclosed downthe
carr ier when it fai ledto finda buyer. Aviaton Hobby Shop
night-stopped at Madrid an
next dayas a BAoperat ion
The few retained aircraft
combined with BA's alrea
Gatwick short-haulbase.Th
operations were organized
sidiary, 'British Airways Etions at Gatwick', later th
ened to 'EuroGatwick'. T
737-300s were only retain
while,being returned to the
end of their lease contract
1994. More 737-400swere
Heathrow though , t o rep
increase the BA profile at
hub was developed. As wel
ordered from Boeing, BA al
ond-hand Series300sand -4
ofthe type increased.
BAe 146s, four BAe 748 turbo-props and
no less than nineteen Boeing 737s of vari
ous marks. Only three 737-300s and nine
737-400s were to be retained by BA. The
rest o f t he fleet, thei r crews and support
staffwould be rendered redundant.
As their IT charter contracts ran out forthe 1992summer season, the Boeing 727
200s and most of the One-Elevens were
placed into storage. The 748s, 146s andthe remaining One-Elevens were disposed
of as their scheduled routes were either
closed down ortaken over by BA. The end
finally came for Dan-Airon the eveningof
8 November 1992. The very last Dan-Air
fl ight was operated by Boeing 737-400,
G-BN K, on flight DA689, a scheduled
service from London/Gatwick to Madrid.
Departing Gatwick at 20.20, the aircraft
boost, when it h ad b een w it hi n days of
insolvency itself.
The Dan-Air management had finally
recognized the hopelessness of the situation
and began looking for prospect ive buyers
for their airl ine. Richard Branson's Virgin
group came close to buying the scheduledoperation, but, eventually, British Airways
bought Dan-Air f or a t ok en one pound.
Hardly the bargain i t sounds, Brit ish Air
ways also took on t he obligations for Dan
Air's not inconsiderable debts, as well as
responsibility for the welfare of its staff.Only Dan-Air's Gatwick-based scheduled
network was of interest toBA andal lchar
ter work would cease.
At the time of the takeover, Dan-Air
was operatinga diversefleet of twelve BAC
One-Elevens, seven Boeing 727-200s, four
BAe 146 jets on less-busy flights. Dan-Air
found i t very hard-going compet ing with
the established national carriers, despite
gaining an enviable reputation for profes
sional customer service. Dan-Air actually
gained a breathing space with the demise
of Air Europe, against which i t had com
peted on a number of importantGatwick
based scheduled routes. The transfer of
Air Europe's displaced passengers to Dan
Air gave the latter a welcome revenue
services that had been part of the compa
ny's act ivi ties for many years on a much
small er sca le , p roved expens ive. Even
once Dan-Air hads t a rt ed t omake much
needed changes in i ts commercial opera
t ions , i t soon became clear that it was a
classic, sad, case of 'too l i tt le, too late' .
Both the BACOne-Eleven and Boeing
737 f leet s were used on new scheduled
routes from Gatwick to Brussels, Dublin,
Lisbon, Madrid, Nice and Paris, with new
BA's Dan-Air Buy-out
British Airways found itself the new oper
ators of a who le n ew f le et of 73 7s fromOctober 1992, following i ts purchase of
ailing, Gatwick-based, Dan-Air Services.
A leading independent airline, first estab
l is he d in 1952, Dan-Air had suffered
severe financial problems throughout the
1980s. An attempt to switch the compa
ny's focus from charter to more scheduled
128 129
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A NEW LEASE OF LIFE A ~ E I V LEASE OF LIFE
GB Airways' smartlivery was to disappearafter the airline signed up tobecome a'franchise carrier' for
BritishAirways. Martyn East
(Above) Transavia was tobaseits prosperity on the 737 for many years, -300s
joiningthe original -200s at Amsterdam. Malcolm L. Hi(Below) Lufthansautilized the 737-300 on their European serv
BA's 'Associated' 737s
The British Airways takeover of Bri tish
Caledonian also led to drastic changes in
t he operat ions of British Airtours. The
charter subsidiary was rebranded as 'Cale
donian Airways', taking on t h e identity of
one of BCal's original constituent airline.
Withcabin crews taking over BCal" cot
tish tartan themed uniform and image,
British Airtours fleet of Lockheed L-I II
Trimm and Boe ing 737 -200 s were re
painted in their own version of the grey
t op pe d BA livery, complete with a
heraldiclion paintedon the tail. The 737s
were eventually replaced by larger Boeing
757s and weredisposedof.
For many years, BAs predecessor, BEA
had been a ssoc ia ted wi th a sma ll a ir line
based at Gibraltar, a British territory on the
southern tip of Spain. Gibraltar Airways,its
title shortened in daily usc to Gibair, had
been founded locally , in 1931, to operate
scheduled service to neighbouring Spain
and Morocco. Postwar, BEA took a 51 per
cent share in the airline and Gibaircontin
ued to p rovide v ital loc al l in ks for the
island, as well as feeding trafficfrom North
Africa to BE' s services from Gibraltar to
London . Sma ll tw in -eng ined types had
steadily been replaced by single leased DC
3 and turbo-prop Viscount' overthe years.
Gibair laterbecame GB Airways and, from
Apr il 1979, s ervice s were ope ra ted f rom
Gibraltar to London/Gatwick. The new
service utili:ed 737-200 leased from Bri
tannia Airways, replacing a previous pool
ing arrangement using BEA/BA aircraft to
London/I-[eathrow.
The contractwith Britanniawasreplaced
by GB Airways flying their own 737-200s,
initially with three l ea sed in v ia Bri ti sh
Airway. From 19 9 the airline had moved
its headquarters and main base to Lon
don/Gatwick, although Gibraltar wasstill
an importan t po i nt on t he network. More
leased 737-200s replaced the original air
craft a nd G B Airways expanded quickly
with flights to Casablanca, Funchal, Mar
rakech, Tangier and Tunis from Gatwick,
with some services also being scheduled
from Heathrow. A Manche'ter-Gibraltar
schedule was operated, as wel l a s sched
uled services from Gibral tar to asablan
ca, Marrakech and Tangier. In the summer
of 1994, two of the airline's 737s were
gi v en 'GB Leisure ' ti t ies and operated IT
charters from Gatwick and Mandle'ter.
From 1995, GB Airways began operat
ing as a BA 'franchise' carrier, adopting
BA's livery, uniforms and flight prefix. BA
had actually sold its last shareholdings in
GB Airways that year, but maintained an
influence und er t he franchise contract.
Two ex-BA erie' 40 737 s were t r an s
ferred to join GB's own five 737-200s and
new routes opened from Gatwick to Mur
cia and Valencia, in Spain.
730
Elsewhere in Europe
The Trans European 'family' concept fared
as well as thatof ir Europe.The group suf
fered financial collapse in 1991. The Bel
gian and UK operations had added Series
300 737s to their original fleets of Series
200s. T R, in T urkey, TEA Italy, TEA
wit:erland, TE Cyprus andTEA France
initia lly survived the group 's coilaI' e ,
al though the Cypriot, French, Italian and
Turkish companies later suspended opera
t io ns . f te rTEA UK ceased operations its
operating authority was later used to estab
l ish a new company , Excal ibu r Airways ,
which operated Airbus A320s. The origi
nal Belgian company was quickly revived
a EuroBelgian Airline, again operating
737s.
In t he e th er la nd s, Transavia st 'adily
expanded their all-737 fleet, eventually
adding Series 300 737s and 7 57 . As well
as their own IT charterservice, Transavia
cont inued to be active in the leasing mar
ket, operating hoth eries 200s and 300s
for the Dutch nat ional carrier, KLM. The
flag-carrier t ha t h ad t ak en a f inanc ia l
interest in Tran savia was to eventually
take delivery of its own 737-400s, replac
ing a long-standing fleet of DC-9s.
A very short-lived Dutch 737 operation
saw asingle erie' 200 operated by Rotter
dam Airlines. The aircraft wa' leased from
TEA and flown on scheduled Rotterdam-
London/Gatwick services several times a
day from ovemher 1983, as well as some
IT work. The aircraft was far too large for
the available marketon the London route,
especially Jur ing t he traditionally quiet
winter season, and all operations ceasedin
March [9 4. A i r Hollandhad been estah
lishedin 19 5, operating IT charters with
a pai r of Boeing 727-200s. During a che-
quered career, Air Holland halted opera
tions for reorganization several times, but
survived long enough t o ope ra te t hr ee
737-300s over i ts various incarnations.
In Germany, althoughan early customer
for the r iv al i rb us i ng le -a is le t yp es ,
Lufthansa cont inued to utili:e their large
737 fleet, throughout their European and
domestic network. Iso in Germany, hoth
737
new and established charte
begun to introduce 737s in
dor reintroduced the type,
hoth Series 200s and -300s
at various times in the 19
Hapag Lloyd replaced t
727s and BAC One-Eleven
Germania, previously foun
Caravelles and 727s, intro
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A EW LEASE OF LII·E
L-10 11 Tristars weretransthe network. The original
byfive more leased aircraft
was discarded in favour o
fleet of Airbus aircraft.
Long-established Thai
delivery of their first 737-2
plementing a fleet of H -
Other 737sfollowed, as wel
wide-bodie , as Thai's origi
work was expanded to
in ternational points . How
merged into the country'sfl
.\ n . ft .\II . t ral ia.
The network and fleet latergrew rapidly asAsiana wasencouraged by the Korean gov
ernment to be the country's 'seconddesig
nated carrier' afterKorean Air Lines.
In Hong Kong, Dragonair was founded
in 19 5 and began flights to Kota Kina
balu, with a ing le Boe ing 737-200 leased
from Guinne s Peat. ew route licence
saw the airline opening services to eight
points in mainland China ami to Phuket,
in Thai l and . a t hay Pacific, the major air
linein Hong Kong, took a financial inter
e st i n the bUlkling carrier and Lockheed
Elsewherein the Asian and Pacific regions,
rapid financialgrowth hadseen several new
operators emerging, with bot h t hem and
established airlines choosing the new ver
sions of the 737 as theirmedium/short-haul
airliner.
I n Kor ea , a brand new carrier, Asiana
Airlinesbegan regional and domesticoper
ation with a f le et of 737-400s. As well as
the 737s, anew international and long-haul
networkwas establishedwith Boeing 767s.
p ,.r.1 l u u n ~ DRAGONA IR
A loW LEASE OF LIFE
Eastern Growth
Hong Kong's Dragonair began operations with asmallfleet of 737-200s. MAP
Ansett chosethe 737 to modernize itsfleets in the 1980s. MAP
Antipodean 7375
Originally operating under registry, Air
Berlin greatly expanded their 737 IT char
ter services from other German cities, fol
lowingreunification. The reunification also
l ed t o Germania taking over Berlin-based
Berlin European UK, that had operated ITs
with leased 737-300ssinceApril 1990.
The New Zealand NationalAirway' Corpo
ra tionwasmerged with ewZealand's long
haul operator, Air New Zea la nd , i n 197 .
Ten 737-200s made the transition, along
witha fleet of Fokker F27s, More 737s were
delivered in the following years, including
severalSeries 300s.AlthoughNZNAC had
heen an early operator of t he Boeing 737,
ew Zealand's higger neighhour, Australia,resisted the arrival of the aircraft for some
time.
Originally, the Australianairline indu. try
was heavily regulated, with the two major
domestic carriers, Ansen and Trans Aus
tralia, beingforced to compete under very
restrictive conditions.Flights had to leave at
identical departure times, usingcomparable
aircraft. Originally,TAA had favoured buy
ing in Caravelles as their firstjets, and larer
lohbied to buy BAC One-Elevens. Howev
er, Ansen did not want the European
designs and, finally, both airlines ordered
fleets of Boeing 727s and Douglas DC-9-30s.
Eventually the regulations wererelaxed
and t he airlines were able t o en joy more
freedom in their equipment policy. Ansen
originally began importing 737-200s as
replacements for t hei r DC-9s i n 1 98 1.
ewer version Series 300s followed and
Ansen also bought Airbus A320s to oper
a t e on t hei r domesti c ne twork alongside
them. Ansen bought shares in a local
New Zealand-based carrier, ewmans
Air, renaming it Ansen New Zealand and
re-equippingthe airl ine with737 to bet
t er c ompe te a ga in st A ir ew Zealand.
BAe146s eventually replaced the 737s,
and anot h er c hang e o f owner sh ip a nd
name change saw Ansen ew Zealand
become Qant a s N ew Zealand in 2000.
Trans Australia changed thei r name to
AustralianAirlines in 19 6, the same year
they introduced the first of a large fleet of
Boeing737-300s to replace thei rown ear
lier jet . However , in eptember 1992,
Australian Airlines was bought ou t by
Qantas Airways and became the domestic
arm o f wha t had previously been Aus
tralia's international specialist.
base at Fredrchshafen in southern Germany. A co·
operaton agreement hadbeens gned with Lufthansa
coverng the Delta Air network from Fredr chshafen
and Stuttgart. International schedules served Geneva,
Zurch and the Channe Islands.
The acquisition of Delta Air by BA and the banks her·
aided amajor change in the commutercarrer. Renamed
Deutsche BA, the 'new' airline began commercial ser·
vces from Berln·Tege to Stuttgart and Munich, in
June 1992. An Initial fleet of three leased 737-300s
was joined by four more later in the year and new
routes opened to DusseldorfandCoogne.
The airlne's head office was moved, In 1994, to
Munich, althougha largeprogramme ofscheduledand
charter flights still opera ted f rom the Ber n base.
Smaler Fokker100s were leased in to supplementthe
737sand SAABs thatcontnued in operaton. The orig·
inal turbo·prop network was sod off in January 1997.
Soonreplacing BA completely, which coseddownor
transferred its Ber n·based facilities as Deutsche BA
grew,the 737-300 fleet contnued to expand IT charter
routes were opened for German travel companies In
1993and international schedulesopenedfrom Bern to
Nice, Oso, St Petersburgand Stockholm,and fromDres
den t oPars. New routes were opened in 1994 from
Munich and Frankfurtto Pars and from Munich to Dus
seldorf and Madrid London/Gatwick was l n ke d t o
Deutsche BA's network in 1995withflights fromBremen
andMunich.B erlin-Gatwick servcesbegan in 1996 and
the last Fokker 100was returned to its owner in eary
1998. Year 2000saw Deutsche BA operatng eighteen
Boeng 737-300s from bases at Ber n and Munich.
All Change at Berlin
Deutsche BA adopted 'Germanized'versionsof BritishA irways new 'WorldImages' l ivery for their 737-300s.
Deutsche SA
The reunifcaton of Germany led tofundamental changes
in the airlne servcesoffered fromBer n. At the end of
theSecondWord WarBern had been divided up, with
itswestern half bured within the boundares ofEastGer·
many. Orginaly, Air France, Amercan Overseas Air nes
and Brtains BEA had taken on thetask of l nkingWest
Ber n with t he res t o f t henew Federa Repub c. Later,
AmercanOverseaswastakenover by Pan Amercan and
Air France operated itsBern f ghts in associaton with
BEA,ater Brtsh Airways,underapoolng agreement.As
long asEastGermanyexsted as aseparate country,West
Germanregistered aircraftwere forbidden In its arspace
and,thereby,dened accessto Bern.
Air France eventualy ret urned t o t he Bern marke t
though, with the founding of a newcarrer, EuroBer n
France, in partnership with Lufthansa. Servces opened
in 1988 from Bern·Tegelto Dusseldorf, Hamburg and
Stuttgart,eventualy uti zing seven 737-300s. IT char·
ters also operated from Bern to southern Europe at
weekends. Over 885,OO passengers were carred In
1991, ofwhich 850,000 were carred on theschedued
servces. EuroBern wascoseddown in1994 after Ger·
man reunification had removed its manreasonto exist.
Pan Amercan's Bern serviceshad been disposedof
as partof its cost·cutting measures, but British Airways
had contnued to operate a Ber n base. However, BA
eventualy tooksteps to withdraw, but still maintained
a commercial presence underthe new regime.
A consortum, comprsing BA and three German
banks,acquired a sma West German commuter oper·
ator, Delta Ar, founded in 1978 By 1992, Delta's fleet
of SAAB 340s was operatng several routes from Its
132 133
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A NEW LEASE OF LI FE
CHAPTER NINE
The Last of the Old Generation
There wasstill an identifiabl
a lower-capacity aircraft, neare
200 size, especially with sched
operators. So, in 1987, Boeing l
Series 500, basically a new ve
Series 300, shortened by 94in
the removal of fuselage plugs
(Belowllufthansa acquired 737-500s to complementthe larger -
i n i ts f l eet, and replace theolder -200s. Lufthansa
obvious success, the final Series 200 ver
sioncould no longer be updated, especial
ly with the original engine. Environmen
tal regulations were making it difficult to
economically ope ra te the jT8D-powered
aircraft within the new restric tions that
were becoming prevalent worldwide.
A New Short-body 737
Th e Series 200 version of t he Boeing 737
ended its 21-year production run in june
1988. Over 1,000 jT8D-powered 737s were
produced, including over 100 convertible
aircraft, fitted with cargo doors. Despite its
(Abovel The 737-500 launch customer was long-term client Southwest
Airlines. Steve Buntng
The Future?
As t h e 1990s ran their course, many of the
Boeing 73 7 s ope ra to rs were hav ing t o
rethink their operation. In particular, they
were having to address the worldwideobses
sion with deregulation and cost-cutting,
linked with often difficult financial circum
stances. To conquer these challenges, both
Boeing and the operators had to make fun
damental, dramatic changes to both thei r
basic philosophies and daily operations.
Nothing was likely to be the same again.
japanese use of the 737 had waned slight
ly a fter A ll Nippon Airways disposed of
their fleet in favour of larger types. Howev
er, ANA subsidiary, NKK (Nihon Kinkyori
Airways), continued to operate asmall fleet
of 737-200s on domestic services,alongside
YS-l IA turbo -p rops . KK was l at er
rebranded Air ippon. Southwest Airlines,
based at Naha o n t he island of Okinawa,
operated 737s on regional fl ights a nd t o the
main japanese islands. Later renamed japan
TransOcean Air, japan Air L in es t oo k a
majorshareholding in the company.
Thai Airways International, in 1988. Thai
Airways Internationalcontinued to expand
the 737 Fleet, taking delivery of i ts first
Series 400s in 1990.
Air Pacific, of Fiji, regularly upgraded
their small 737 Fleet, operated on regional
Flights, with new versions replacing older
aircraft as leases came up for renewal. Air
Vanuatu and Solomon Airlines also joined
established operators such :1S Air Pacific
and Air Nauru in operating smallfleets, or
even single 73 7s, of various marks, on the ir
Pacific region services.
QANTAS
• • I ~ t
THE SPIRIT Of AUSTRALIA
The -300 and -400 versionsof the 737 became popular and reliable aircraft in daily service worldwide.
Steve Buntng/MAP
734 735
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THE LAST OF TilE OLD GENERATIONTHE LAST OF TilE OLD GENERATION
Braathens 737-500s operated a growing regional network, includinginternationalscheduledservicesfrom
Norwayto Newcastle inthe UK. MAP MaerskAir (UK) operatedtheir new 737-500son BritishAirways-branded scheduledservicesfrom Birmingham. Via author
Maersk Airnot onlyplaced
into their Denmark-hased
1993,Maerskhad operatcd
Maersk Air (UK) Ltd . T
Maersk sBritish Connec
hetween Stockholm, Gothc
a nd me a. Ever y momin
scats arerefitted into the ca
craftoperate IT charters to s
as well as a scheduleddome
Stockholm to Umea, in no
FAL.CONA'R• •••••••••••••••••
By 19 the wedish PostOffice had pur
chased the companyto ensure control over
its important pos ta l network. A fourt h
Electra joined Falcon and the operating
hase was moved to Malmo. In 1990 the air
taxi operation was sold and i n 1991 the
Electras werereplaced with three new Boe
ing737-300QCs.
Conversion of FalconAir's 737s frompas
senger to cargoconfiguration takes less than
an hour. Every evening the aircraftare re
configured to rake up to sixteen containers
and the a ircraf t opera te mai l servi ces
S£,DPA
•••••••• ••••••BRITISH AIRWAYS ~ ~ : : < i i
fleet into its ranks, moreof the aircraft were
Ica'ied out on contractsof \'arying lengths.
Sweden's Postal 'QCs'
In the 1960s, Falcon Air was founded at
Gothenhurgand flew as an air taxi compa
ny with a fleet of Cessna, Piper and
Beechcraftlight aircraft.The small compa
ny's operat ions were transformed in 1986
when the first of a fleet ofthree Lockheed
Electra freighter turho-props entered ser
vice on cargo and mail-carrying contracts.
The convertible 'ac' 737-300s ofFalconAir operate passengerflights by day and carrySweden'smail at
night. AViaton Hobby Shop
division was not part of the Braathens pur
chase and eventual ly ceased operat ions.
A fleet of Boeing 737-2 was included
in the inventory ofTime Air weden,which
also operated much largerTri tar. and DC-
s. Time Air weden opera ted IT chart ers
from weden and Finland hetween March
1991 and Fehruary 1993, when flights were
suspendedfollowing financial prohlems.
The candinavian region's hugest carri
er, the multinational Scandinavian Air
lines System, c am e t o operate the 737
almost in passing. Long known for operat
ing a large fleet of DC-9s on its European
regional services,SAS took overthe oper
ations of Swedish domestic carrier, Linje
flyg, in 1993. Linjeflyg had flown a purely'
domest ic scheduled service network in
Swedensince 1957 and utilizeda largefleet
of Fokker F2 s. In late 1990-early 1991,howe\u, the airline had taken delivery of
a numher of leased Bocing 737-500s.
As well as the domestic scheduled
flights, the 737-500salso operated charters
for Linjeflyg to Malaga, Rome and Zakyn
thos. No less than ten were dclivered to
L injd lyg and the last two direct to AS
after the takeO\'er. Prior to the merger, two
aircraft were suhleased to LOT, the Polish
a ir li ne. As A tr ie d to assimilate the ncw
Scandinavian Expansion
Braarhens certainly appreciated the eries
500's capahilities as a c ri es 2 00 r ep la ce
ment. The Norwegian carrier had already
placed f ive eri cs 400s i nt o 'en 'icc on IT
chart ers and hus ie r schedul ed servi ces
hetween i t. more impor tan t point. The
Braathens cries 500fleet was toeventually
grow to twenty-oneaircraft,ousting the last
of thei r Serics 200s. In neighhouring Den
mark, Maersk used the Series 500to expand
its scheduled network,especially from Dan
ish regionalpointssuch as Billund, as wcll as
finding ita useful aircraftfor its long-estah
lished charter and leasing husiness.
Braathens hadexpandedout of the Nor
wegianmarket in 1996 when the company
a cqui re d a 50 p er cent interest in Tran
swede Airways of Stockholm. Transwcdeoperateda networkof scheduled services as
well as char te rs, w it h a f leet of Fokker
F100s. Braathcns later mergcd the Tran
swede schedules with another Swedishcar
rier that it had acquired, Malmo Aviation,
under the name Braathens Malmo. Tran
swede alsoflew holiday charters under the
name of Transwede Leisure, with Boeing
737-200s, -300s aml-500s, Ica'edin for the
IT contracts over the years. The Leisure
aft of the wing. The new version incorpo
rated all the largeraircraft's improvements,
including the use of t he C FM 6 engine.
Before launching the cries 500, Boeing
had actually studied an even mailer ver
sion of the 737, originally designated the
737-250. The 100-seater eries 250 fai ledto attract orders and the proposal was can
celled in 19 6, infavour of thc eries 500.
Faithful 73 7 customer, outhwest Air
lines, hecame the launch customer, even
tually taking delivery of 25 Series 500s.
Braathens, Euralair and Maersk Air soon
placed orders of their own. A Ser ies 500
was the 2,000th 737 to he del ivered, f it
tingly to the original programme's firstcus
tomer, Lufthansa, on 15 Fehruary 1991.
The aircraft was also the German airline's
100th737.
The Series 500 soon found a niche foritself in the 737 family of a ircraf t. As a
replaccment of the older c ri es 2 00 , it
couldhe seen as ideal. ot everyonewant
cd thecxtra passengercapacity of the larg
e r er ie s 300and 400. The CFM6's hetter
fuel consumption and cxtra power ovcr
the ]T8D could just as wel l he translated
into more rangc or he tte r short-runway
performance, as in to theex tra load-carry
ing ofthe higger versions.
736 737
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G-OBME wasin service with British Midland for only amatter of mo
seven ded on board it inthe Kegworthcrash. Via author
AIR2000
••• ••••••
formed when Birmingham based-Brymon
European Airways was 'de-merged' into its
original constituent parts, Brymon Airways
and Birmingham European Airways. The
two airl ines had been jo ined i n J989 , Bry
mon having opera te d s cheduled services
with a f leet of De Havilland Canada DHC
8 turbo-props from Plymouth and Bristol,
and Birm ingham European operating a
scheduled network from Birminghamwith a
fleet mostlycomprised of BAC One-Eleven
jets. The merger had not been a success,
with both units still maintaining largelysep
arateoperations.
Instead, Maersk Air, already a minority
shareholder, bought out t he Birmingham
based h al f o f Brymon European. Th e
southwest-based division, the original Bry
mon Airways, reverted to its oldname and
was bought out by Brit ishAirways. Jt wenton t o opera te its scheduled routes as a
wholly owned 'franchise ' carrier i n BA' s
name. MaerskAir (UK)'saircraft also took
up British Airways l iv er y, a s a contracted
'franchise' ca rr ie r , f ly ing f rom Binning
ham. Th e Danish parent company trans
ferred several Series 500s to the UK ser
vice to replace the old One-Elevens. As
wel l a s operating the BA flights, M<'lersk
Air (UK) ' s a i rc r af t a r e a ls o u se d fo r IT
charter work, in their own right.
British Midland's
Boeing Twins
UK independent airline, British Midland
Airways,was to becomethe maincustomer
for SAS's excess 737-500 capacity. After a
THE LAST OF THEOLD GENERATION
briefperiod in the early 1970s, when a trio
of new BAC One-Elevens were operated,
BMA had preferred to operate turbo-prop
aircraft on i ts largely domestic network.
Th e One-Elevens had been disposed of as
too expensive for BMA's then modest net
work. For some years af ter , apart f rom a
numbe r o f second-hand 707s f lown on
charter and leasing contracts, the airline
stuck to propelleraircraft. Th e Vickers Vis
count, a long with a handful of Dart Her
alds, Fokker E27s or Shor ts turbo-prop
types over the ensuing years, formed the
backbone of the airline'sfleet.
A s in gl e l ea se d DC- 9 b rought t h e jet
back to BMA's scheduled network in 1976.
Routeexpansion into moremajordomestic
services and the eventual openingof a larg
er international presence from London to
Europe saw moresecond-hand DC-9s joining the carrier. Th e first appearance of737s
with British Midland t it le s w as i n 1 98 7,
with the delivery of the airline's first Series
300, for opera tionon the busierroutes from
London-Heathrow. LeasedSer ies 200s also
operated briefly and BMA's first Series 400
wasplaced into service in late 1988.
As the British Midland 737 f leet grew,
the type was seen increasingly on scheduled
services from other b as es , a s w el l as an
expanded IT charter programme. I n addi
t i on to flying ITcharters on behalfofBMA,
spare 737 capacity was sub-chartered to
other carriers, in particular Air 2000, a n I T
charter carrier tha t then operated Boeing
757s and Airbus A320s of its own.
A ir 2 00 0 h ad actually l ea sed a single
Series 300, C-KKUH, f rom ILFC for the
summer season of 1989, and optionswe re
taken out on two 737-400s . Howeve r,
before confirming the order, Air 2000
decided on the Airbus A320 as i ts smaller
jet to supplement the 757s. Coincidental
ly, C-KKUH went on to be leaseu t o both
Linjeflyg, as SE-DLA 'Vaermland II' dur
i ng 1 99 0, and British Midland, as C
OBML (w ith whom it of te n opera te d A i r
2000 sub-charters) , f rom 1991 to 1997.
The increased use of the 737s soon leu to
the gradual runuown and disposal o f t he
DC-9 fleet and the first of the ex-Lin/SAS
Series 500swas l eased inby BMA in 1993.
Aer Lingus Fleet Update
Th e Series 500 was taken up by Aer Lin
g us a s replacement for the ir long-serving
Series 200. Having already replaceu theleased Ser ies 300s w i th larger 400 series
737s on thei I' busier routes, the Irish
national carrier neeu a lower capacity air
craft on its European network. The ageing
Series 200s woulu soon fall foul of envi
ronmental regulations, as woulu the air
line's quar tet o f BAC One-E levens tha t
hadbeen i n u se even longer than the 737
2 00 s. In f ac t, the 737 -200 s h ad b ee n
intended to replace the One-Elevens, but
the British je tshau continueu in use, f inu
ing a useful n icheon Aer Li ngus'sless busy
routes and as back-ups to the 737s.
Th e arrival o f t he 737-500s saw the
swift ueparture of the remaining 737-200s
and One-Elevens. I t a ls o s aw t he e nd o f
all-cargo and 'combi' services, with the
departure of the last 'QC' 737-200s. Fromthen on, t he airline's cargo was carried in
,
THELAST OF THE OLD GENERATION
Tragic lessons at Kegworth
Soon after the first pair of Seres400s entered BMAservice, the first aircraft, G-OBME. ground. Even more bad luckcame their way as, instead of open coun
crashed at Kegworth, while attempting an emergencylanding at BMAs homebase at havemade the crash moresurvivable, directly in the stricken 737-4
East Midlands Airport. The aircraft was operatng flight BD092, an evening scheduled M1 motorway.
flight from London/Heathrow to Belfast. Whie flying 20 nautcal mies southeast of After it struck thegroundand smashedthrough a fence, the aircraft
East Midlands, passengers andcabin crew notced smoke entering the cabin through on totheman carrageway ofthe motorway and contnuedacross it.
the air conditioning, as well as sparks coming out ofthe left engine. The flght-deck fortune there were no vehicles directy inthe aircrafts path as it carr
crew,CaptKevn Hunt and FlO Davd McCleland, alsonotced thesevere vibration and into the others de, finally coming to rest. its fuselage shattered,tow
smel o f smoke. Ashe disengaged the auto-pilot and took control of the aircraft, t he embankment.For ty -seven of the 118 passengersper shed in thecrash
Captain asked which enginewas causing theproblem. By an appalng seres of mis- havebeenmuch hgher,but fortunately there was no post-crash fre d
understandings thewrong engine, the right-hand one,was switched off. ofleakng fuelaroundthearea.As adirect resultofthe accident.emer
Declarng an emergency and turning towards East Midlands Airport, the piots redesgned, with more emphass on cockpit/cabin communicaton pro
attempted toincrease power on the left enginewhen the lowered landing gearcaused
more drag. They were genuinelyalarmed to fnd it gave no response and it wastoo late
to attempt to restart the rght-hand, serviceableengine. With the runway agonizingly
in sight andlned up, the aircraft wasunable tomaintain height and glded towards the
Boeing 737s, including -300 G-OBMA, eventually replaced DC-9s with British Midland Airways. MAP
738
G-KKUH was intended to be the first ofmany 737-300s operated by Air 2000 on European ITs. However, the
airline elected to orderAirbus A320s instead. Via author
739
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THE LAST OFTHE OLD GENERATION THE LAST OFTHE OLD GENERATION
Boeing 737-200QCs, opera
chartersand scheduled ser
of Air France andAir Inter
reverting to cargo/mail op
night. After sl ightly rework
name to In te r C ie l Servi
more attractive to customer
work, the company name w
LAeropostale as more n ig
contractsweretransferred f
a nd A ir Inter. The L'Ae
grew to accommodate the i
load, with no less than fiftee
'QC' vers ions wit h l arge
opera ti ng t he ex tensi ve
cargo/postal network.
The owners of EAShad a
in the creation ofAir Toulo
operated Caravcl les briefly
newfinancing led to the app
Toulouse [nternational in 1
ex-EAS Caravel les. A sing
200 , a lso ex-EAS, eventu
from the Caravel les and a
s ionsawsix i nuse by the su
The expansion provedto be
Air Toulouse International
bankrup t i n June 1999. S
namechange followed refi
charters began under t he na
July 1999, withfour 737-30
The French 'Combis'
remaining seventeen aircraft were quickly
put t o use alongside the established Series
200s on t he European and domesti c net
work. However, Air France had also ordered
a large fleet o f t h e Boeing 737's rival, the
Airbus A320,instead ofthe larger737 vari
ants, and the Europeantypewassoon tofind
favour with the airline. [n 1997, Air France
absorbed the large, Airbus-oriented, fleet of
Air Inter (that had already been renamed
Air France Europe),and the Boeingsbegan
to beseriously outnumbered.
Before i ts demise, EAShad participated in
the establishment of a newspecialist oper
ator. Along with Air In te r and Transport
Aerien Transregional, EAS formed Inter
Cargo Service. Operating a p ai r of Van
guard freighter turbo-props, Inter Cargo
had opened scheduled freight services in
1987, f ly ing from Par is t o Toulouse, for
TAT,and toMarsei lles and othersouthern
Frenchtowns,for AirInterand AirFrance.
The Vanguard operat ion came to a tragic
end though, whenboth aircraftwere lost in
crashes within weeks of each other in 1989.
lCS wasreorganized though and restart
ed operations with a pai r of ex-Lufthansa
l " ' A EROPOSTA l E
independent , AOM French Airlines. Star
Europeleased two Boeing737-400sin the
winter season of 1996/97, but they were
replaced bytwo newAirbus A320s int ime
for the 1997 summer season. Corsair ini
tially operated 737-200s to supplement
their original Caravclle fleet, later replac
ing themwith largerSeries 300and -400s.
Air France i tself also took delivery of
a fleet of Series 500s, the first arriving in
1991. The original order for twenty Series
500s was l at er reduced by three , bu t the
F-GIXI hadbeen convertedto 'QC' configurationfor L'Aeropostale afterflying with AerLingus, Futuraand
Viva. Steve Buntng
Acromaritime was the non-scheduled sub
sidiary of UT A ( Un io n de Transports
Aeriens), Air France's arch rival on long
haul routes. Aeromaritime operated a large
fleet ofboth 73 7-300sand -400s on itsEuro
pean and orth African charter network.
UTA was purchased by Air France in 1991
and its fleet,and thatof Aeromaritime, was
eventually absorbed by Air France and Air
Charter. In 1992 Europe Aero Service flew
six 737s, both Series 200s and -500s, four
Caravel les and four Boeing 727s, on IT
charters and a rapidly increasing scheduled
network. However, EAS later ceased opera
tions, following financial problems.
Charter operatorsCorsair, Minerve and
Star Europe a lso f lew the 73 7 on the
French registry. Minerve was later merged
with Air Outre Mer to form a new, large,
programmes, Euralairoperateda number of
services on behalf o f A ir France's non
scheduled subsidiary, Air Charter. Air
France also leased in Euralair's 73 7s for its
own scheduled services and as a result ,
Euralair'saircraftoften wore variouscombi
nations of livery and joint titles.
A similar arrangement was contracted
by Air France with French independent
carriers, Acromaritime and Europe Aero
Service, for the use of their 73 7 fleets.
Aeromarit ime Ul I••••••••••
family, with A320sand A319s being ear
marked to eventually replace the remain
ing Boeing 737s.
More French Interest
Euralair, a French IT charter operator, had
operated the Series 200beforetakingdeliv
ery of i ts f irst Ser ies 500 in June 1990. [n
addit ion to its own charter and scheduled
\\''''
the holds o f th e passenger configured
fleets, or contracted-in freighter aircraft.
However, Aer Lingus's apparent faith
fulness to Boeing came toan endwi t h t he
introduction of Airbus A321s in the late
1990s. Airbus A330 wide-bodied airliners
had already replaced long-serving Boeing
747s on the airline's trans-Atlantic routes
from 1994. The successful introductionof
Airbus A321s eventually led to orders for
more examples o f t he Airbus short-haul
AerLingus 737-500s displacedthe lastof the long-serving -200s on the Ir ish carrier 's
European and domestic routes. Steve Buntng
~ u a sa..................
Boeing 737-3005 servedAeromaritime on Paris-based charter fl ights unti l the fleet was absorbed by AirFrance. Steve Buntng .
140 141
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The Series 500 in th e USA
Although outhwes t A ir l ine h ad b ee n a
launch customer for the Series 500, there
was little other 'home market ' in terest in
the variant. One of the few majorcustomers
o f t h e 737-500 in the SA was 737 pio
neering operator, nited Airlines. The fir t
of an even tua l fleet of fifty-seven o f t he
smallerCFM56-powered737 enteredUnit
ed se rv ic e in la te 1990. n it edhada l r eady
taken delivery of the eries 300, of which
over 10 were eventually to be delivered.
The new 737 s ope ra ted a long side a f le et
of Airbus A32 s, later joined by slightly
smaller A321s, and a dwindling number of
fuel-th irsty Boeing 727-200s, operating
THELAST OF THEOLD GEl ERATION
times o f t he PeoplExpress takeover and
regular lapses into bankruptcy protection
haddone l i t tle to enhance the reputation
of theairlinewith the travelling public, let
alone the rest of the industry.
I twas to tak ea changeof ownership and
management to begin the turnround, but
new initiatives and policy changes finally
started to see Continental mak in g a r e
markable comeback from the mid-1990s.
The much criticized entrepreneur Frank
Loren:o, who had masterminded the origi
nal Continental(Texas Internationalmerg
er, sold mostofhis direct and indirect hare
holdings in Continental in 1990. The new
management team, led by new CEO Gor
don Bethune, concentrated on restoring
the eastern halfof the country, again aimed
at regaining lost traffic. eitherof the'new'
carrierswasa succe s and both were eventu
ally reabsorbed into the mainstream airline.
The 737-500 order was part of a massive
re-equipment plan, designed to see the dis
posal of the older, les reliable and uneco
nomic types. Continental Airlines' short
h au l n etwo rk was hampered by b ei ng
operated by a mixed bag of variants of sev
eral d ifferent airliner types, and badly in
need of standardization. The ex-Lufthansa/
PeoplExpress 73 7-I 0 were among the tar
geted fleet members, with the eries 500s
meant to replace them and older DC-9s as
soon as possible. Larger737 models, as well
as Boeing 757s, were also on o rd er with a
THE LAST 01' THEOLD GE:-<ERATIO
Southwestexpanded itsinfluenceacrossthe USA, especial lyin California, with three of itsbusyfleet
capturedhere at San Diego. Malcolm L. Hi
The 737 still featuredheavilyin AmericaWest'sprogramme, despite increaseduse ofAirbustypes inthe
Phoenix-basedairline's fleet. Aviaton HobbyShop
short and medium-haul inter-city services
throughout United's domes tic U netwo rk .
As well as providing invaluable local com
munications, the short-haul fleet fed pas
sengers into United's growing international
route system. Once replaced by the later
737 and Airbuses, the last o f t h e original
,cries 200 were finally disposed of after
over thirty years of faithful service.
Continental A irl ineswas the only other
major US customer for the Series 500. For
many years after its emergence from the
'merger-mania' of the 19 Os Continental
had t rugg led to survive. Long-running
labour-relation problems, the unsettled
Continental's long-suffering reputation as a
reliablecarriersupplyinga quality service to
i ts passengers. More emphasis was placed
on higher revenue business-class traffic,
w ith a IPW 'Business First' service initially
introduced on transoceanic flights.
Innovative promotions included the
a t temp t t o form new divisions, separate
from the mainstreamContinental Airlines
operation. 'Continental West' was orga
nized to take over the western network
and regain traffic lost t o a n increasingly
omnipresent Southwe t Airlines, and other
new lost-cost carrier. Later, 'Continental
Lite' tookovermore leisure-related routesin
142
viewto eventually replacing the remaining
Boeing 727s and McDonnell Douglas DC
9s and MD-80s over the following years.
Southwest and America
West Go Nationwide
Much more popular in the U A was the
Series 300, with Southwest Airlines, in par
ticular, using the type to service itsmassive
expansion through the late 19 Os and
1990s. In 1994, outhwet had acquired
Morris Air, which operated a fleet of 737
300s. Morris Air, which began services in
1992, was based a t Sa lt Lake Cityand flew
low-cost services throughout the western
U A. The purchase of their fleet and route
network gave Southwest a greatly increased
presence in the region. The airline's influ
ence in California was boosted even more
by the openingof a hubat Los Angeles/Bur
bank and Southwest Airline's success was
said to account for the progressivereduction
of service in the-area by Air and Delta.
The two national carriers had spent a
lot of money increasing their own ali
fornian profile by buying o ut PSA an d
Western respectively and their reduction
of Californian services was a major com
mercial v ictory for outhwes t. ou thwes t
irlines also expanded to the north and
east, developing new operational hubs at
hicago/Midway and Baltimore, far from
its Texan roots. ew high-frequency ser
vices linking Florida point replaced asim
ilar network previously flown by Piedmont
but later neglected by S Ai r.
Southwest's 737-500s eventually re
placed the oldest of the airline's 737-200s,
a l though ove r thi r ty 'Advanced' JT D-
powered Series 200s still remained in the
fleet. However, it was with the 737-30 that
Southwest based theirprosperity,with near
ly 200 of the variant in the all-73 7 fleet of
over 300 operational aircraft by the year
2 00.
Fellow low-cost operator, America West
Airlines, a lso expanded well outside its
geographical origins. De pite operating a
fleetrelying less on th e 737, with 757s and
Airbus types taking o n a n increasing per
centage of the workload, America We t
was still f lying over sixty 737-200s and
-300s in 2000. Although stillfirmly rooted
in the west, with major hubs at Phoenix
and Las Vegas, America West also opened
a base at Columbus, Ohio. The new hub
was opened to serve routes further east, as
we ll a southwards to Florida, and also
l in ke d up w it h the more western-based
services. A code-share agreement with
Continental Airlines also gave America
West acces' to more Texan markets, v ia
ontinental's Houston hub.
Western Pacific and
the'LogoJets'
ndoubtedly o ne o f t he mos t colourful
Southwest imitators firstmade itspresence
well and truly known when i t burst o n t o
t he US airline scene in 1995. Western
Pacific Airlines was originally formed to
exploit the under-used Colorado prings
Airport. Denv r s n ew airport is sitednear
ly forty miles from the city centre, to the
north. Residents south of Denver found it
much more convenien t to usc Colorado
Spring's closer facility. As Denver fares
were traditionally high, no t helped by a
local surcharge imposed on every ticket to
143
help pay for the new airp
Springswasa low-cost airlin
to happen.
We tern Pacific 's founde
Beauvais, had a long history
with regional carriers in the
t he USA. Originally an
Bonanza Airlines, one o f t h
West components, Beauvai
to run his own consultancy
became involved ina propo
tal-Western merger. Beauv
ing membe r o f t he group
America West Ai rl ine s a s
based airline's chairman unt
One innovation that cau
ling public's attention from
Western Pac if ic 's 'LogoJet
Although the idea of using
advertising purposes was no
there had been several spo
and regional promotional
preceding years- actually s
liner as a f ly ing b il lbo ard w
on the theme. First custome
the revenue-boosting mea
Broadmoor, a five-star Col
resort hotelowned by Edwa
a major investor in Wester
lines. The Broadmoor was
by Colorado Tech, a tech
Even the city of Colorado
promoted itself using o ne o
aircraft. Most dramatic was
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TilE LAST OFTHE OLD GENERATIO,TilE LAST OF TilE OLD GENERATION
••••••••••N303FL
design featuring the natur
scenery of America'sWest.
Despite growing pains, Fr
survived, carrying2.56 millio
only itsthird year. The rout
encompassedboth coasts,fro
Bos ton, a ll point s s erved v
hub . I t was Front ier that h
merging with troubledWest
wisely backed out of the deal.
another low-costscheduled
tor, Vanguard Airlines, took
shareholding in Frontier.Va
a similar network, albeil on
Founded to take advantage ofContinental
Airline's drastic downsizing of its once
substantial Denver pr sellCe, Frontier
operated an initial f1eet of Boeing 737
200s, la ter joined by - 30 0s . A " we ll as
reviving t henameof t he region ' still well
respected pioneer local carrier, Frontier
made a name for itselfin its own right with
its eye-catching livery. Although the fuse
lage remained plain white, with only the
airline's t i tle and it' motto, 'The pirit of
the West' , i t was raised from the mundane
by the ta il design. Each aircraft 's ta il sur
face was painted with a different graphic
In Ju ly 1994, a n ew Frontier Airlines had
started scheduled operations from Denver.
A New Frontier
Theattractive tail designs of Frontier's 737s areunique to eachindividual aircraft,depicting flora,fauna
andthe geographyof the American West. Steve Buntng
desperate move, Peiser moved the opera
t io n t o Denver's new International Air
port, which put i t i n d ir ec t competition
with several industrygiants.Western Pacif
ic did not stand a chance. After an abortive
merger attempt with another carrier,We"t
ern Pacific Airlines was closed down on 4
February 1998.
I I . :
(Above) WesternPacificadopteda moresoberl iveryoncethe logojet
programmewas cancelled. Aviaton Hobby Shop
(Top) Fox Television rented space on Western Pacific's 737-300s. Aviaton Hobby
Shop
--------
Television of t he space on ex-USAir 737
300, N949Wr. Fox had Western Pacific
pain t t he aircraft wilh its popular televi
sion cartoon characters 'The Simpsons'.
F rom 2 A pr il 1995 , Western Pacific'sf1eet of 737-300s linked Colorado Springs
with Kansas City, LasVegas, LosAngeles,
Oklahoma Cityand Phoenix. San Francis
co joined the network in May, and Chica
go/Midway, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston,
Indianapolis, ewYork/Newark,San Diego,
eartle , Tulsa, Washington-Dulles and
Wichita were a ll added by t heend of the
yea r a s more a ir c ra ft became available.
The Logo]et programme was expanded
w it h t he swi ft ly g rowing, a ll 737-300
equipped f1eet. everal Colorado ski resorts,
Las Vegas casinos, car-hire companies and
insurance firms all willingly laid out large
fees for the privilege of having their name
o n t he side of a Western PaCific airliner.
There werea handful of aircraftoperated in
a 'standard'Western Pacificlivery, as well as
on mos tly narural metal 737 thar pro
claimed the a ir line 's a im to help i ts cus
tomers 'Beat the System'.
At i ts peak Western Pacific was operar
ing no less rhan eighteen Boeing 737-300s.
As wel l as providing a much-needed
increase in passenger figures for Colorado
Springs in its own right, Western Pacific's
succe'sat t racted other airlinesback to the
airport, anxious to claim their share of the
available traffic.
End of theDream
However, although i ts h igh-profile and
unique style of service was attracting pas
sengers, Western Pacific Airlines was far
f rom p ro fi t ab le . Eventua l ly the main
investors grew impatient forprofits and, at
t heend of 1996, installed a new manage
ment team. Beam'ais remained chairman,
but withlittle orno authori ty and no inf1u
ence over the new managers. The new
team was headed by Robert Peiser, who
promptly scrapped the Logo]et programme,
in an at tempt to attract a more business
oriented, higher-revenue, customer to the
airline. Employee morale and service tan
dards plummeted asdebtsbuiltup . Ina lastAlaskaAirlines had spreadits influence over routesfar removed from itsnorthernorigins.A largefleet of
737-400s was acquired, with MD-80s,to servicethe expandednetworks. Steve Buntng
744 745
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THE LAST OFTHE OLD GENERATION
The 737 and the Southwest'Wannabes'
as wel and its route network soon stretched as farnorth as New Yor
ing a loya folowing, the airlne ceased operatons in 1997, folow
Pro-Airwas establshedwith ahead office in Seatte in 1995. How
much further east that the newairlinemade aname for itself.when
atons finally began in July 1997.Pro-Airset up its manhubatDetro
airport, putting two new 737-400s into service on a low-fare netwo
included Atlanta, Baltmore, Chcago, Indianapols, New York, Ora
and Seatte. An extra 737-400 and twosmaler 737-300s aso joine
craft pair as service was expanded. However, in 2000, Pro Air h
removed by thefederal authorities, citng operatonal and maintenan
and al operatons were brought to ahalt
Even shorter-lved was Los Angeles/Long Beach-basedWinairAir
Rchard I Winwood, Winair was originaly based at Salt Lake City as
When 'scheduled' services began from Long Beach in 1998, theyw
designated as 'direct-sales charters'. The f leet of 737-200s, later
Seres 300s and 400s, operated from Long Beach to Las Vegas, Oak
and Salt Lake Cty. However, after only eight months of 'scheduled'o
lne ceased operatons in July 1999, citing lack of investment as thec
cial difficulties.
Air Souths short-lived operationutilized 737-200s on a busy schedule
coast. Malcolm L. H
The spread of the low-cost carrer, worldwide as well as inthe USA. hasformed amajor
part ofthe storyof the 737 in the last years of the twentieth century and beginning of
thenext. The contnued success ofSouthwest Airlnes, AmercaWest, andothers,did
not go unnotced. Therewere many willing tosink their reputatons andmoney into the
newstyleofair travel. However, as always in thetough commercialworld, there were
as many, if not more, faiures as successes.
Of the enthusiastc exploiters of deregulaton, the previouslymentoned Air Florda,
MidwayAirl nes, Presidental Airways, Sunword InternatonalAirways andWestern
Pacifc were onlysome of the unlucky hopefuls thatfel by the wayside. The lkes of
AirCal, Morris Ar ,New York Air and PeopExpress were at least taken over as going
concerns, with most of theiremployeeshavng somesort of future tolook forward to.
Other enthusiastc workforces were less fortunate.
Eastwind Airlnes, based at Greensboro, North Carolna and Trenton, New Jersey
began operatons in 1995. The second-hand Boeng 737-200s were later joined by
brand new later versions on a network that covered routesfromFlordato New Eng
land. Owned by UM Holdings, Eastwind initially enjoyed local success, especialy at
Trenton,with many of its passengers switching fromnearby, butovercrowded, Newark
and Phiadelphia Airports. Unfortunately, the eary traffic growth coud not be main
tainedand, after UM Holdings supported the airline while an unsuccessfulb d wasmadeto fnd a buyer, the airlne operaton was closed down in 1999.
Another 1995start-up was Air South, that began operatonswith leased Boeng737
200s, operatng a low-costnetwork fromCoumba, South Carona. Initially fying south
wards toF orda cites va points in Georga, Air South eventualy turned its eyes north
M N U ~II I I I II I I •• • I I. I I"
THE LAST OF THEOLD GENERATION
MarkAirfai led in its attempt to rival the giantAlaskaAirl ines. Steve Buntng
from KansasCity, butany full merger plans
between the two were later abandoned .
Vanguard's own re-equipment plans took
the form of l ea sing in MD-80 s to rep la e
their much older Boeing 737-200 aircraft.
Although very atisfied withitsail-Boe
ing 737 fleet, withseven -200s and seven
teen -300sin service in2001, FrontierAi r-
lines chose not to orde r new versions to
replace them. Instead, in October 1999, it
announced an order for two Airbus type"
the l l4-passenger A31 and 132-passen
ger A319. Forty-six orders and opt ions
were taken o ut o n th e two types , w i th
planned delivery for la te 200 I.
More 49th State 7375
Alaska Airlines had operated a handful of
737-200salongside its Boeing 727s for sev
eral years. However, with the tri-jetbecom
ingmore of an economic liability, the 737
beganto feature more in the airline\, future
plans. The car ri er h ad s tar t ed to expand
wel l out side i ts t r ad it ion al Seattle and
Alaska-oriented markets since acquiring
California-based Jet America Airlines in
19 7. The takeover o f t he Los Angcles
based airline gave Alaskaaccessto a much
more southern-based marker. This formed
the basis of a route expansion programme
that now saw the airline operating as far
south as Mexico, as well as rou te s f rom a l
ifornia to the mid-west. Jet America had
been in ex i tence ince 19 1 and operated
eight MD- O. More o f t he McDonnell
Douglas twin-jets were acquired by Alaska
Airlines following the takeover. As well as
the MD- Os though, Alaska eventually
acquired no le s than forty ofthe largerBoe
ing 737-400s, to replace the last 727-200s.
Despite the bankruptcyofWien Air Alas
ka, another operator stepped in to replace
them in the busier domestic Alaskan mar
kets. MarkAir had originally been founded
as a specialist cargo operator, Interior Air
ways. Later renamed Alaska International
Air, the airline became famou for itsworld
wide ad hoc charter services wi th its fleet of
LockheedHerculesfreighters. Five convert
ible737-200sinitially opened scheduledpas
senger services from Anchorage to several
points in Alaska. The first 737s were later
joined by anotherSeries200C, two737-300
and three 737-400s. The route network was
extended sou th to inc lude Chicago , Las
Vegas, Los Angeles , e \\ ' York, Portland,
an Diego , an Francisco and cattle.
Unfortunately, the company wassoon losing
moneyonthe newservice andfinallyceased
operationsin 1992.
MoreWorldwide Presence
The CFM 56-powered 73 7 versions were as
popular worldwide as their JT8-D predeces
sors. In South America, the large 737-200
fleer- ofCruziero and VARIG wereamalga
mated when the two airlines were merged
under the VARIG name in 1993. Over thir
ty 737-300s eventually jo ined the fleet,
operating over the vast regional and domes
tic Brazilian network. VARIG subsidiary,
Rio ul took delivery of a fleet of 737-500s,
as well as a singleSeries300. Rival Braziliancarrier, VASP, also supplemented its Series
200 with 737-300s. ao Paulo-basedinde
pendent, Transbrasil began replacing their
Boeing 727-100s with 737-300s from 1986.
In Africa, Kenya Airways supplemented
its small fleet of 737-200s with four eries
300. eighbouring Air Malawi and A ir
Tanzania both ope ra ted a ing le 737 -300
a nd A ir Afrique and Came roon Airlines
both fly small fleets of Series 300 on their
scheduled services. Further north, Egyptair
replaced their eries 200swith cries 500s,
as well as introducing Airbus A320s and
A321s. orth African national carriersAir
Algerie, RoyalAir Maroc and Tunis Air all
supplemented or replaced their earlier 737
with CFM56-powered versions.
Pakistan International Airlines in tro
duceda fleet of Boeing 737-300s on domes
tic and regional flights , f ill ing a niche
between the wide-bodied international
fleet of Airbus and Boeing types, and the
turbo-prop Fokker E27s and Twin Otters
flown on localservices.The Indian Airlines
Corpora t ion had chosen to replace their
737-200s with Airbus A320s and passed
many of t he surplus Boeings on to a n ew
subsidiary, AllianceAir, which operates the
aircraft on low-costdomest ic services.
Malaysia Airlines had remained faithful
to the 737, introducinga largefleet ofSerie-
300s, along with several Se
trio of smaller Series 500s. N
independent airline, Transm
al so o pe ra te s ev er al o l
Although Singapore Air l
longer operated the Boe in
sidiary Tradewinds operated
from 1990. Tradewinds' nam
t o S il ka ir i n 1 99 2 and t he
746 747
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Behind the 'Bamboo Curtain' THE LAST OF THEOLD GENERATION
Brazi l's majordomestic operators, VASP and VARIG
were long-establ ished operators o f the 737 on their
regional services. Both picturescourtesy ofSteve
Buntng
Although remaining firmly underCommunist control. mainland Chna began amajor
programme ofregionalzaton of itsairline operatons in the mid-1980s. Unt then,the
Civ AviatonAdministrationof Chna (CMC) hadbeen solely responsiblefor theoper
aton of Chnasvast domestc and international network. CMC hadoperated a large
fleet comprsing amixture of both Western-designedand Russian-produced airlners.
Many ofits more importantdomestc schedules wereflown by a fleet of Hawker Sd
deleyTrdent jet airlners,bought fromthe United Kngdomin the eary 1970s.
CMC's first Boengshadcomprsed anorderforten Boeng 707s, for use on the inter
natonalnetwork, placed after the USAand thePeopes Republc of Chna signed trade
agreements for the first tme snce theCh neseCommunists hadcome to power. Boe
ing 737-200s had entered service in 1983, originally imported tobegn the replacement
of some of the remaining Russan typessuch as the IL-18 turbo-prop andTu-154 jet
CMC aso acquired anumber of McDonnel DougasMD-80s,including some actualy
buit underlcence inChna.McDonnel Dougas had originaly hoped to establsh apro
ducton lne for the MD-80seres in Chna and provdedparts for severa aircraft after an
agreementwas reachedwith loca manufacturers.However, in theevent,only ahandful
were completed before the project was abandoned.Boeng, though, sgned contracts
with Chnesecompanes for theconstructon of aircraft components.Factores in Cheng
du, Chongqng, Shangha, Shenyang and Xanare now majorsubcontractors for Boeng.
The dissolution of CMC into smalercarrers was preceded by the creaton of a
new independent carrer,Shanghai Airlnes, originally founded bythe local municipal
government. However, al the other 'new' Chnese domestc airlnes were created from
t he od regional divisions of CMC. A 'Big Three group of Chnese airlnes soon
emerged, with Air Chna, t heod CMC international division based atBei ng, Chna
Eastern based at Shanghai andCh na Southernbased at Guangzhou, easiy becoming
the biggest andmost important carrers. Nonetheless, the smaler divisionswere soon
rapidly expanding under their new freedoms, promotng theirown regional identities.
Under the newl beralzed system, even more independents were founded to take
advantage of the increasing traffic.
The first new independent toappearwas Xiamen airlnes, soon folowed by the lkes
of Shenzen Airlnes, HainanAirlnes,Wuhan Airlnes, ChnaGreatWal Corporaton and
manyothers. As well as the reassigned CMC fleet. more aircraft were imported to
equip the newcarrers,including 737sof varyingmodels,many on leasing contracts as
well as outright purchase.Amercan typesdd notenjoy amonopoly though, as sever
a Chnese airlnes opted forAirbus aircraft, and even a handful of themoremodern
Russan types, suchas the IL-86 andYak-42, made an appearance.
As in any rapidly expanding, competitive, commercial situation, both winners and
losers would soon appear. By the turn of the century thediffering fortunes ofthe new
airlnes were becoming apparent. Both 'associateagreements andmergers, of varying
degree, soon started appearng between the airlnes in an effort to minimize duplca
ton and maxmize effciency. Outright takeovers and even moremergers were soon
bengmooted tobrng the numberof airlnes downto amoremanageable state.
.-akistan
••••••••••
(Below) Pakistan International introduced a f l eet o f 737-300son to both i ts domestic and internationalroutesfrom Karachi . PIA,via author
(Above) China Southern was one of thenumerousairlines that appearedthroughout China following the dissolutionof
CAAC. Steve Buntng
(Topl CAAC's737-200s initially passed to thenew Air
China. MAP
148 149
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THE LAST OFTHE OLDGENERATION THE LAST OFTHE OLD GENERATION
The 737 also formed the initial fleetof UkraineInternational Air l ines whenthe new independent was
formedto rivalthe localex-Aeroflot Directorate. Air Ukraine. Steve Buntng
Russian Revivals
Transaero, a new Moscow-
dent,not associated with th
was founded in 1993. Ini
ex-BritishAirwaysBoeing
Aviv,Transaero swiftlyexpa
Russia itself, the Ukraine,
S ta te o fEstonia, Latvia and
Ukraine International
operation with 737-200
Guinness Peat, that had a
the new a i rl ine , in 1992. I
tition with the ex-Aerof
now orerating as Air Uk
goneon toopera te 737-300
or ig in al - 200s. A ls o in
AeroSvit flies regional an
services with a fleet of 737
All the Baltic ta tesspaw
tors. Estonia Air began ope
flag carrier in 1992, eventu
737-500s, alongside a flee
turbo-props. RigaA irlines o
founded in 1992, to operate
on international and regio
airline's name was changed
but the carrier ceased orer
Lithuania's newcarrier, Lith
wasorganizedout of the old
aldirectorate, takingon itsn
days before Lithuania reg
dence . Eventua lly, Ser ie s 2
500s alljoined the Lithuanin the former R, the airline scene was
changed out of al l r ec og ni ti on . ew ly
formedrepublics wereswift to establishtheir
own national carriers and new independent
airlines also sprangup to provide comreti
tion. For the most rart,the established local
directorate of the once giant Aeroflot sim
ply broke away from the old regime and was
renamed, usually with the oldRus ian-built
f leet. Most outstanding excertions were
alairlines of Bulg::lria, theCzech Republic,
Poland, Romania and the Slovak Repub
lic. The cries 500, esrecially, seemed to
f il l a niche on their thinner routes, with
the larger models also makingan aprear
a nc e o n bus ier s ec to rs . In the C:ech
Republic the economy thrived enough to
see the es tab lishment o f new char ter air
lines. Two of the new Czech airlines, Fis
cher and Travel Service Airlines, selected
Boeing product, with the larger CFM56
737s their model of choice.
After breaking up into new republics
and federations, the former Yugoslav
nations also set about forming their own
carriers. J T began rebuilding itself as the
flag carrier ,for Serbia , bringing i ts 737
300s back into service once international
anctions were lifted. Croatia and Mace
donia a ls o p la ce d 7 37 s into service,
although Croatia Airlines later replaced
their leased 737-200s with Airbus tyres.
Break-Up of Aerof lot
rerlaced by Airbus and Fokker narrow-bod
ied tyres from 1998.
With the fall o f t h e East European Com
munist regimes in the early 1990s, a huge
market opened upfor the Western aircraft
manufacturers. Ever since t he e nd o f t h e
Second World War, most of the airlines of
the 'Iron Curtain' countries had relied on
Ru ia to provide their aircraft needs. The
factories of Antonov , Ilyushin, Tupolev
a nd o th er s, h ad p ro du ce d everal cred
itableaircraft overthe years, at reasonable
cos t to the Warsaw Pact nations.
Western aircraft hadmade some inroads
in to the Warsaw Pact countrie , although
the'e were fel\' and rarely sustained. More
liberal Yugoslavia hadoperated a Western
built fleet, starting with Convair pror-1in
ers in the 1950s. Poland's national airline,
LOT had bought Vickers Viscount turbo
rrors ::lnd Romania's TAROM ore r ated a
largefleet ofBAC One-Eleven jets,as well
as Boeing 707 on long-range flights. Hun
gary's MALEV was one of the first to
imro r t t h e 737, when e ries 200 s were
leased in as early as 19 8, to begin the
rerlacement ofTupolev Tu-134s andother
Russian tyres. Series 300, -400 and -500
737s followed the in itia l leased fleet into
MALEV service.
The later, CFM56-powered, 737 al so
found favour with the reorgani:ed nation-
East European Revolution
~ l . E V \ -\ungar\an P\\\"\""\cs
•• •••• • ••• ••• •••
Hungarvs MALEV pioneeredthe introduction ofthe 737 inservice with air l ines ofthe former communist
nations of Eastern Europe. MAP
Croatia Air l ines began operationswith Boeing 737-200s from theformerYugoslavrepublic. Malcolm L. Hi
150 151
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THE LAST O F T H E OLD GENERATION
The 737-400 brought new standardsof comfortto Aeroflot'spassengers and crews
used to themore 'basic' amenitiesof Russian-buil ttypes. Aerofot
Looking to Boeing's
Other Boeingairliner prog
ed the 737 team w it h a ho
ments that could be incorp
basic aircraft to c rea te ye
oped73 7s. 0 less than five
redesigns for a newaircraft w
by Boeing. Eventually, how
sion was made to proceed wproposal that comprised a 7
more effic ient wing. The
commonality with the curr
also meant that Boeing wa
the expensive recertificatio
that was entirely new. The n
initially designated the '737
An adv isory a ir l in e g ro
with contributions from cu
One of the more surprisin
the rejection by the group
of 'Fly-By-Wire' technolog
America West, Uni te d a nd US Airways
ope ra te d t he ir A ir bu s fleets alongside
established Boeing737s. All three airlines
had a ls o p la ce d o rd er s f or the s l ighdy
smaller A318.
The Airbus threatto Boeinghad grown
f rom a mild annoyance, in the earlydays,
to a major worry. Over the years, Boeing
had suffered its share of industrial prob
lems, development and production delaysthat had also contributed to some loss of
customer confidence. Another serious
rival was the last thing Boeing needed.
Although the CFM56-powered 737
models had certa in ly gone some way to
offer some competition to Airbus , i t was
recognized that there wasstill roomfor fur
ther improvement to give Boeing back its
lead. [n particular, the 737 needed to fly
higher, faster and evenmore economically
i f i tw as t o continue to offer anycompeti
tion to Airbus.
CHAPTER TEN
The Next Generation
US Airways, as the rebranded USAir had become. wassti l l a major userofthe Boeing 737 in America.However.
the airline had alsointroduced Airbus A318s. and A320s to replace the Boeings. Malcolm L. Hi
Higher, Faster - and Cheaper!
By the I990s, the increasing threat to
Boeing's market-base by the European
Airbus consortium was causing a great
deal of concern in Seattle. The A320
model in particular, Airbus's nearest rival
mod el t o t he 7 37 , w as s el li ng i n great
numbers to airlines that had traditionally
considered Boeing first. Not surprisingly,the European carriers began to favour the
Airbuses. Air France , Br it i sh Airway s,
Luf thansa and Sabena were among the
once loyal 737 customers that c ho se t o
replace thei r o lder models with A irbus
products.
Export sales, valuable as they were, were
one thing, buteven in the USA itself large
fleets of AirbusA320s werebeing flown on
domestic routes. America West Airlines,
Northwest Airlines, United A irl ines and
US Airways operated the largest numbers.
The decision to offer the CFM56-powered
versions of the 737had proveda greatsuc
cess,as well as giving the wholeprogramme
a much-needed new lease of l ife. Howev
er, the competition, especiallyfrom Airbus
[ndustrie, wasstill increasingly eating into
Boeing's sales figures. Yet more improve
ments were needed to get Boeingback on
t op . I t wa s t im e t o move on again t o t h e
next step, to the nextgeneration.
further modified to Aeroflot-Russian Air
lines in June 2000, to emphasize the air
line's commitment to deve lop ing its
domestic and CIS services, as well as its
continued international presence.
Aeroflot became a 73 7 operator in
1998, leasing in the first of an initial fleet
o f t en Bermudan-registered Boeing 737
400s. The 737s were introduced onto the
European network, as well as the more
important domestic and regional services
th roughou t the CIS. Over 130 destina
tions in seventy countries a re served. [n
2001, as well as the ten 737-400s, Aeroflot
operates a modern fleet that includes two
Boeing777s,four Boeing767s, eleven Air
bus A310s and a single DC-lO, as well as
over seventy Russian airliners.
To the Future
(Above) Aeroflot Russian Air l inesheralded ina
new era with theBoeing 737-400. Aerofot
were reorganized as Aeroflot-Russian [nter
national Airl ine s , a n ew joint-stock com
p an y i n 1 99 2. The Russian government
s ti ll h e ld 51.17 per c e nt o f t h e stock, the
rest of the shareho lding b ei ng h el d by
Aeroflot's employees. The old Moscow
based Aeroflot international scheduled
operations were taken under the new carri
er's remit, as were routes throughout Russ
ian territory and to other former members
of the USSR, now theCommonweal th of
IndependentStates (ClS). The name was
Boe in g 7 57 s i n i ts f le et . Unfortunately,
Transaero came close to becoming a v ic
tim of its own success, as route expansion
and other costs soon started outstripping
i ts revenue. Painful downsizing and reor
ganization fol lowed a ncar-bankruptcy;
however, by 2000, the revitalized carrier
had recovered enough to be serving more
than th ir ty domes tic and international
points with a fleet of 737-200s.
The airline operat ions tha t remained
under the Aeroflot-Soviet Airlines name
152 153
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To EFIS Or Not EFIS
Another innovation Boei
include in the 'NextGener
new avionics and night-dec
developed for other aircraf
airliner range. ot all the
tomers wanted the new-st
though. Southwest, especia
remain with EFIS (electron
ment sys tem) , a s f i t te d to a
since all but the very fir t
~ \ r c
scheduled and charterflghts, with boththe -100 and -200versionsbe
theyears. DC-8s payed abrief part in the airlne's operatons follow
Icelandair and Lofteider, a leading independent low-fare Icelandic a
however,more modern 757s and 737stookoverfrom theolder tri-jet737 al-cargo operatons.
Another leasing specialst was establshed in Iceland in 1986. Air A
large fleet eventualy included severa 737s that were operated on
tracts and IT charters in their own right In 1991, Islandsfug, operato
and a handlng and maintenance faci ty, opened scheduled service
natons around Iceland usingaDornier turbo-prop. In 1998, asingle
open IT flights from Kefavik to Endhoven, Manchesterand Rimini.
had been joined by two -300sand leasing servceswere also operate
ofIcebird Airlnes.
Furthersouth, theAzoresarchipelago hadbeen served by thesch
of SATA Air Acores, its own airlne snce 1947. SATA concentrated
lnks between thePortugueseisland groupwith a fleeteventualy co
Dornier turbo-props. A new wholly owned subsidiary, SATA Internat
whenthe assets of a faied localcarrer,OceanAr,were taken over. In
natonal was awardedscheduled routes to mainland Portugal.Usng
737-300sand Airbus A31 Os, SATA Internatonal alsoundertook cha
boththe Azores and Portugueseresort areas to the UK and Europe.
LAc;HAM.
{SLANDSF UG
••••••••
BAY 1
Mid-Atlantic 737s
MD-80/90 neet with ' ext Generation'
Boeing 73 7s. Boeingdid not have itall their
own way with AS though, as orders were
alsoplacedfor AirbusA321s, the European
rival to the 757, and wide-body 330 s and
A340s were also ordered to replace Boeing
767s on A 's long-haul nights.
The first -700 new on 9 February 1997.
By the time the first aircraft were entering
Southwest Airlines service in early 1998,
the order book for the 'Next Generation'
737s had reached a staggering 900 aircraft.
Two island natons whoseonce strategically advantageous positon in themid-Atlantic
had ledto their becoming wel-equipped for supportng air services were to become
home to residentfleetsof 737s. BothIcelandand theAzoresarchipelago had original
lybeen developed as importantrefuel ng stops for trans-Atlantic traffic lnking t heo dworld with thenew, but were lateroverfown as technology improved. Meanwhie,
their local populatons had come torecognze theadvantage of air travel. both localy
and as ameans to remain connected with theoutside world.
In the north, Icelandair had been providing scheduled services to the island's scat
tered communites, and lnking it to bothEuropeand theNorth Amercan continent for
severa decades.However,the mainscheduled carrier was not to be the first Icelandic
operatorof the737. Staffof a faied charter carrer, Air Vikng, formed a new charter
airlne, Eage Air (Arnafug). in 1976. Initially operatng Air Vikings pair of second-hand
Boeng 720Bs, Eage Airf lew IT and adhoc charters fromIceland, mainly toSpansh
resortsand toGermany.Eage Air alsobecameinvolved in leasing work with its 720Bs,
sending them off on short-term contracts to other carrers in their own slow season.
Icelandairbought amajority shareholding in Eage Air in 1979.Underthe natonal air
lne's control, scheduledservices were opened from Kefavik toAmsterdam, Dusseldorf
and Zurch, usng a737-200 that replaced the720Bs in 1981. The737 wasalso used
for the establshed charternetwork and leasing servces.Unfortunatelyf nancial prob
lems started to besetthe smal airlne and it wasc osed down by Icelandair in 1990.
Icelandair itself, known localy as Flugfelag, preferred to utilize theBoeng 727on its
Islandsfug operates its own IT programmefrom Iceland, as well as offerng leasingserviceswith its 737s. Avaton Hobby Shop
hort-body Series500,rolled out in Decem
ber 1997. Launch customer for the -600was
candinavian Airlines ystem, which
seemed t o have gotove r its apparent reluc
tance to operate 73 7s afteracquiri ng the ex
Linjenyg -500 aircraft, most of which had
beenpromptly l ea e d o ut . A o rd er ed no
Ie s than thirty-eight Series 600s, in addi
tion to placingorders for fifteenSerie OOs
and a pai I' of -700s. Optionswereheld on no
less than sixty-eight other 737s. The airline
planned to eventually r ep la ce its D - 9/
the launch order in la te1993. Inveryba-ic
term the eries 700 was the Boeing 737
300, which it replaced on the production
line, with the new features. The first -700
wasrolled out in December 1996.
Six months later, the firs t Series 800,
which replaced the -4 ,followed in June
1997. The - 00 was first ordered by Ger
man charter air line Hapag Lloyd. Unlike
the -700, the Series 800 does incorporate <I
further s t re tch over the Series 400. This
allows an ITchar ter configuration of 189
passengers. To permit the higher capacity,
the over-wing emergencyexits were total
ly redesigned to be upward hinging units
on all the new 737versions, in placeof the
original inward-opening type.
ext t o be launched, albeit somewhat
out o f numerical sequence, was the Series
6 00 , a 'Next Generation' version of the
(Below) HapagLloyd ordered -800s for itsextensive
programme ofIT charters from Germany. Steve Buntng
Launch Orders
miles in the first' ext Generation' mod
els. To compensate for the larger wing, the
dorsa l f in and vertical stabilizer were
lengthened and the span of the horizontal
srabiIizer was extended. These measures
werealso required to allow the use of high
er-powered CFMB56-7B engines. The
new version o f t he CFM56 eng in e was
designed with 15 per cent lower mainte
nance costs and 8 per cent lower fuel burn.
CFM International went to great lengths,
offering t o be come a ri ok-sharing partner
in the project, in return for the exclu ive
r igh t to provide engines for the new type.
The first of t he ' ext Generation' 737s
was to be the 737-700. Southwest pia ed
73 7. This had beena major new-technolo
gy f ea tu re u ed by Airbu s in sel l in g the
A32 . FBWhadbeen uccessfullyde igned
into Boeing's new long-range, wide-body
type, the 777, and Boeing had seriously
considered installing it on the 737-X.
Instead, the advisory group members, in
particular outhwestAirlines, weremore in
favour of retaining the 737's basicsimplici
ty as wel l as commonality with previous
models.
The major new feature, a larger, 'high
speed', wing had a 25 p er cent increase in
area, with a span increased to 112ft 7in
04.3m).The tip cord of the old wing was
extended and a whole new wingbox was
designed. More room for fuel was provided
by moving the rear spar aft. 0 Ie s than
3 per cent more fuel could now be car
ried, allowing a range of 3,2 nautical
(Abovel The Boeing 737-700 was difficult to distinguish purely by sight from the 737-300. Southwest
painted the -700's f lap hinge fairingsbright orange to help ground crewstell the two apart. MAP
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THE NEXT GENERATION THENEXT GENERATION
The continued usc o f th e EFIS format
would provi de commonali ty , and a ll ow
Southwest greater flexibility in crew assign
ments and simplify conversion training.
Nonetheless, the newer system, PFD/ND
(primary flight display/navigation display),
originally developed for the Boeing 777,
was wanted by other operators. Many of
these customers already operated similar
equipment on other aircraft in their fleets.
Inresponse to the differingrequirements,
Boeing solved the dilemma by developing
anew CDS (common displaysystem). The
use of six Honeywell multifunction liquid
crystal displays allowed the primary flight
display and navigat ion data to be tailored
to the airline's needs, in either format, as
required.
The Douglas Factor
In 1997, the unthinkablehappened in that
Boeing's greatest competi tor, ever since
the days of the 247/DC-2 rivalry in the
1930s, vanished overnight. Even more
unthinkable was that the company, the
McDonnell Douglas Corporation, was
actually boughtout by Boeing.
Douglas had soundly beaten Boeing in
the pre-war competition for the world's air
l iner marke t. I ts main r ival t hrough the
1940s and 50s had been Cali fornia neigh
bour, Lockheed. They had mat ched each
other model for model through the Douglas
DC-4/6/7and elegant Lockheed Constella
tionseries.As thejet ageapproached,Lock
heed had placed all i ts ai rl iner eggs in the
turbo-prop basket, and been disappointed
with the sales figures for its L-188 Electra.
As a result , Lockheed had actually bowed
out o f the airl iner market al together, con
centrating mostly on military projects until
it produced the L-lOll TristaI' wide-body.
Although the aircraft was an operational
success , w it h many examples bui lt and
enjoyinglong careers with a number of car
riers, the L-lOll was alsoa financial failure,
unabl e t o fol low up on its early promise.
Instead of Lockheed, Douglashad found
i tself upagainsta rejuvenated Boeing and
an enterprising Convair in the competi
tion for the US jetliner market. Convair
was eventually to admit defeat up against
the two giants and the Douglas DC-8 had
come a v er y poo r s ec ond to t he Boeing
707. The expense of its jet ai rliner pro
grammes was a major fac to r i n Dougl as 's
merger w it h McD on ne ll , t o produce
MDe.The Long Beach, California-based
manufacturer had been increasingly strug
gling to survive as Boeing and, eventually,
Airbus sales had encroached on its traditional markets and customers.
The wide-body DC-I0 a ir li ner had
enjoyed an early success, but sales suffered
aft er a number of accidents blighted the
type's reputat ion. The long-esrabl ished
DC-9 short -haul jet hadsold very wel l, but
later, stretched, MD-80 versions suffered by
comparison with the 737-300/400/500
seriesand newAirbus narrow-bodied types.
Re-engined and updat ed MD-80s were
being produced, as the MD-90 series, but
werestruggling to reachviablesales targets.
As wit h Boeing, MDC was not o nl y
involved in commercial airliner produc
tion, although, a ls o l ik e Boe in g, it was
probably its most public activity. Involve
ment in aerospace projects in the fields of
missile technology, satellite, military and
space-flight programmes, amongst others,
also occupied the company, but none of
them were making it much money either.
As MDe's financial problemspiled up, the
situation worsened dramatically and there
was a genuine possibility that the much
revered company would collapse com
pletely. Eventually, Boeingstepped inwith
the proverbial offer that could not be
refused, and absorbed MDe.
MD-95 to Boeing 717At t he t im e o f t he takeover, MDC was
producing the MD-ll, an enlarged and
longer-ranged version o f t h e DC-I0, and
the stretched MD-90 series of twin-jets.
Although acknowledged as one of the
world's quietest jets in service, andin t o its
third year ofproduction, the MD-90 was a
direct competitor to the 'Next Genera
tion' 737s. So it came as no great surprise
when the even tua l closure of t he MD-90
production linewas announced by Boeing.
However, curiously, in 1998, Boeing did
decide to continue development ofone of
the newer MD-90 derivatives, the MD-95.
Much smaller t han t he MD-90s in ser
vice, the MD-95 was closer t o t he size of
the older DC-9 series and in
the advantages ofthe new t
less dense routes. Boeing re
design as the Boeing 717-2
ued with i ts development w
operator, low-cost schedule
j et , had p laced a definite o
order was i n the balance,
busy reinventing i tsel f
grounding by federal autho
fat al c rash in F lori da by on
30s. Atlanta-based Valuje
merged with anorher low-fa
Tran, that flew several Bo
from Orlando.
The resulting 'new' AirT
the order for fifty o f t he
intending to standardize on
i ng was eventually reward
orders and opt ions from TW
carriers worldwide.
717 and the 737-600
The decision to proceed
95/717 was even more of a
100-120-passenger ai rcrafthe capacity and performan
version o f t he 'Nex t G en
The 717 was seenby Boein
rival to the new 'regional
been making their appear
routes. Passenger capacitie
bardier/Canadair from Can
Brazilian-built local jets, d
o
Douglasand lockheed worked tirelessly to outdo each otheranddesignthe ultimate piston-enginedair l iner. The results
were therobust DC-7 (top) andaestheticSuperConstellation series (above). American Airlnes CR Smith Museum/Aer LingusTheBoeing 717 sti l l bore a str iking resemblance to the DC-9 l inefrom which it was directly descended.
Dnlythemuch largerengines make identification easier. Aviaton HobbyShop
156 157
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TilE NEXT GENERATION THE NEXT GENERATION
The 'Next Generatioth e Major US Carrie
A major coup for Boeingwas
less than 100 Series 800s f
Airlines. ince disposing of
-200s and -300s in the late 19
had relied on its large num
and Fokker100s to supplem
200s in its narrow-bodied
800s entered servicefrom Am
and Chicago hubsduring 1ments for the ageing 727s.
The American Airlines
twenty first-clas passenger
economy class. Both cabin
seating units, designed to o
bar support and legroom,
headrests , as well as teleph
ports at every seat and
video monitors th roughou
The delivery of the fiftie
00, N951AN, to Americ
by the aircraft beingpainted
1960s 'Astrojet' l ivery. A B
started charter operations fr
in 1997. Owned by wedish
Apollo Resor, ovair initial
Lockheed Tristar andone A
both long and medium IT
Four new ' ex t Genera
eventually took over theA
Novair' operations expand
• : rznl/Rir•••••• 'i .' .
737s into service. Denmark's terlingEuro
pean Airways had been bornfrom the a h es
of a long-established carrier, te r ling Air
ways, t hm had ceased operation in ep
tember 1993. Originally founded in 1962
by Tjaerborg Reiser, a large Danish travel
company, Sterling had gained an enviable
reputation asa quality charter carrier and
was operating charter services from most
candinavian countries, aswell as serving
its home marker. Its original DC-6Bs had
eventually been replaced by a largefleet of
Caravelles and in turn these werereplaced
by Boeing 727-200s and 757s. Sterling's
fortunes began ro wane in the early 1990s
and a takeover bid by France's Europe
Aero Service f ai led in 1993, eventually
leading ro te r ling Airway' bankruptcy.
The 'new' te r ling European Airways
began commercialoperations inMay 1994,
wit h a fleet of s ix Boe ing 727 -200 s.
Ithough on a much smallerscale, the opermions were similar to the original airline's,
flying IT charters from Copenhagen to
Mediterranean re ·orts . A Norwegian com
pany, FredOlsen, took a95 percent sharein
ter ling European in 1995, immed ia te ly
implementinga modernization programme.
Two 737-300s were acquired, followed in
1998 by the first of an order for five -800s.
The 727s were converted to freighter con
figuration and operated on contractcharter
for the T T o rgan i:a tio n.
or connected inanyway to the defunct
UK 737 operator ofthe same name, ovair
I'
- '....-- .. _- . --
A. wella the multinational SA and or
way;, Braathens, o ther cand inav ian air
lines soon placed the 'Next Generat ion'
Denmark's IT Saga
Deutsche BA and fellow charter carrier
LT ,as well a' it own ·ervices. Dutch car
r ie rs KLM Roya l Dutch Airlines and
Trans<wia, the la tternow asubsidiary of the
former, took delivery of 73 7-800sfor use on
their European networks, supplementing
earlier versions. The 737 -800made itsfirst
appearance in the Caribbean with the
delivery of the first of a sextetof aircraft to
BWIA West Ind ie s to supplement and
eventually replace their fleet ofDC-9and
MD80 types.
pan ishleaders in the IT chartermarket,
Air Europa, as well as operating a regional
and long-haulschedulednetwork in itsown
right, took delivery of - OOs to upplement
the smaller -300s and -400s in the fleet. A
new sub'idiary, Air Europa Canarias, wa
established in 1999 to operate two o f t h e
parent company 's 737-300s from Gran
Canaria. Mov es w er e a ct ua ll y m ad e t o
merge Air Europa into Iberia, itselfflyingthree -400s in itshuge, varied, fleet, butthe
mergerwas finally calledoff in early 200l.
Futura International also took delivery of
the -800 for panish-based IT work. Five
w er e i n use f or the 2001 summer season,
operating with the earlier -400 series.
The highcapacity -800 found itselfpopularwith many chartercarr iers. Novairoperatethemfrom Sweden
to sunniercl imes in southernEurope. Aviation HobbyShop
Airline in 2001,foI'entry inroservice that
summer on th e Seattle-based airI ines' US
regional and Alaskan network.
The large orderbook for the'Next Gen
eration' versions of the 73 7 meant tha t the
new typ e were soon spreading their wings
on a ir r ou te s a ll over the world. Both
scheduled and charter, established and new
Boeing 737 operators were soon taking
delivery of the -700s and -800s. Pioneer
737 airline, Braathens was an early -700
operator, placing the first ofan order for fif-
teen inservice on i ts o rweg ian and Euro
pean ne twork in e ar ly 1998. German ia
replaced its-300s with -700' extGenera
tion' versions, opera ting on behalf of
••••••••• E C- HBZ
• (Belowl Futuraintroduced a new livery with thearr ival oftheir 'Next
Generation'737-800s. MAP/Aviation Hobby Shop
The 'Next Generation' Goes
into Service
outhwest Airline's, a nd t he wor ld ' , f ir t
Boeing 737-700 ' ext Generation' com
mercial flight took place on I January
199. N700GS operated Flight II from
Dallas/Love Field ro Houston/Hobby and
on to Har l ingen , all within Southwest's
homestate of Texas. The first Hapag Lloyd
737- entered service from Germany in
time for the 199 summer season o f I T
charters. placed the -600 into sched
uled ervice in t he a ut umn o f 199 , on
routesfrom Scandinavia ro Paris. The first
production -900 was delivered to Alaska
-_..,--- , : z , ~ # : , A - - ~ - - - - - - - - . . . . . . . . c ; : : : : : : = Z ! ! ~ ~ i I . ~ r : . ~- - ~ ~ .
the turbo-prop Brasilia, Dornier's jets,also
developed f rom a turbo-prop design, were
all increasing. Pas enger loads of 70- 0
were now possible on th e larger versions of
what had originally been perceived justas
stretched businessjets, and i t was this mar
ket d,at the 717 was aimed ar.
The 717 -200 first flew on 2 September
1998. Fouraircraftwere eventually used in
the test and development programme and
certifi ation was granted just under a year
later on I eptember 1999. A propo ed
717-I ver sion , r educed in s iz e ro car ry
eight-five pas senger in a mixed -c la s lay
out, was being considered to offer further
competition ro the 'regional jet' types.
(Above) BWIA ofthe Caribbeanbecame a new 737 operator with the -800.
Aviation HobbyShop.
158 159
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ernizationplan, Finallyman
offits post-merger reputati
anJ disorganizeJ operation
was soon winningawarJaft
renewed style of service, Th
ing ex-LufthansajPeoplExp
anJ all the -200s, as well as m
(Be/ow) N951AN turned headswherever it appeared on Ame
in itssmart 1960s 'Astrojet' livery, American airlines C,R, Smth M
767
President-elect George W, Bush anJ his
entourage from Austin, Texas, to Washing
ton DC, following the delayeJ announce
mentof hiselection victory,
Continental Airlines placeJ largeorJers
for the 'Next Generat ion' 737 moJe ls as
part of a massive re-equipment and moJ-
. Con t i nen ta l
• • • • • • • • • • • • ••
TilE NEXT GENERATION
Continentalplaced its 737·800s on transcontinental service from itsHouston andNewark hubs, as well as
shorter, high-densityroutes, Aviation Hobby Shop
been painteJ inlate 1950sstyle in 1999, to
celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Amer
ican'sjet service, anJhaJ proveJ very pop
ular. The 737 'A trojet' attracteJ similar
attention anJ, on 17 December 2000, only
two Jays aft er entering revenue service,
N951AN was chartereJ to carry the new
(Opposite) American air l ines introduced many upgradedpassengerfeatures
with their 737·800s, American Airlines C,R. SmilhMuseum
A.
l1'e\(' I/el/' - ;- , are /11'/ " " ( ' II/II/'( /1'111' 1/( ' n
' a ~ ' I I I , ~ ,111/"/7«111 IlIhll(" ,,, /h"I":\ '/ /('I('//;,r
/h" 1/('\'/11111/"/11I1/11I1
lI/1h Ii/,,/alll' nrl"'I,t;II"c!III/e/'l"rIIIII/II/"re
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The Delta Shuttle replaced its long-serving 727-200s with 737-800s on thehigh
frequency, no-reservations service between New York, Boston and Washington.
Aviation Hobby Shop
DC-9s and all the 72 7s in the fleet, were
eventually replaced by t he 'Next Genera
tion' 737s. In addition, over sixty737-300s
remained, alongside the nearly seventy
737-500s, over thirty 737-700s and over
fif ty 737-800s in service, with nearly forty
other 737s of various versions on order.
The improved performance of the 737
700 prompted Continental to study plac
ing the version on trans-Atlant ic service,
on theNew York/Newark-Shannon route.
However, increased traffic demands saw
larger 757s being utilized by Continental
instead. onetheless, loha Airlines
placed its 737-700s on new Hawaii-main-
land routes t oOakl and and Las Vegas, an
unprecedented distance for the aircraft
originally envisaged as a short-range, pure
ly inter-cityairliner.
De lta p la ced t he 737-800 in s ervic e
alongside its fleet of eighty 737-200s and
-300s. The larger -800s were ordered to
replace the airline 's last 727-200s. As well
as mainline services, the 737-800s also
replaced the older Boeing tri-jets o n t he
no-reservations 'Delta Shut tle' between
New York, Bostonand Washington, which
Delta had originally purchased f rom Pan
American.
Midway Revival
Yet another 'revived' regional airline in
t he U SA was Midway, which restarted
THE NEXT GENERATION
operations from Chicago in 1993 with a
fleet of Fokker 100s. The Chicago net
work failed t o make money, not least of
all because Southwest h ad t ak en the
opportuni ty of the original Midway Air
lines' absence t o deve l op a highly effec
t ivenew hubat Midway Airport. Instead,
the new Midway Airlines upped sticks in
1995 and moved its headquarters to
Raleigh/Durham Internat ional Airport ,
in North Carolina. Raleigh/Durham had
been developed a s a n ew Eas t Coast hub
by American Air l ines, bu t t he large air
line found i ts e ffor ts f rom there to be
unsuccessful and withdrewmost of itsser-
vices. Identifying an under-utilized niche
catchment area, Midway set aboutestab
lishing a new network f ar f rom i ts M id
west roots.
In itial results were promising and the
Fokkers were joined by Airbus A320s on
busier routes. Unfortunately, once again
Midway was threatened with serious finan
cial problems, after overstre tching itself.
The Airbuseswere returned and a newstart
made with the Fokkers. In 2000, newBoe
ing 73 7-700s arrived along with new Bom
bardier/Canadair Regional Jets, destined to
replace the long-servingFokkers. Nine 737s
andno less than twenty-fourCanadai rs were
in use in 2 00 I , a lo ng w it h s ix r em ai ni ng
Fokkers. As well as locallyoriginating traf
fic, Raleigh/Durham acted as a hub for anet
work stretchingthroughou t the eastern half
of t heUSA.
162
Theundoubtedsuccessof SouthwestAirlines' low-fare
services dd not go unnotced in the halowed board
rooms of Amerca's majorairlnes. Theywerelosingtraf
fic to Southwestand its copiers on most fronts and badly
needed to regain the lost passenger revenue. One solu
ton that was adopted by somewas an 'If you can't beat
'em, join'em' attitude.
In 1994, United transferreda number of its 737-300s
to a new low-fare subsidiary, Shutte By United, which
took over a number ofWest Coast routes. Operatng a
low-cost phiosophy, with onlybasc on-board facilities,
Shuttle By Unitedwas later renamed United Shutte and
expanded with more737sbeing moved into the fleet as
a largeorderfor Airbus A318s and A320s was delvered
to the parentairline.
Delta set up Delta Express, again a wholly owned
subsidiary, in 1996, specifically to combat Southwests
entry into theFlorda vacaton markets. Ths tme 737
200s were usedto equip the new division.
USAirhad become US Airways i n 1998, in a major
rebranding exercise. The same year, it set up its own r
low-cost operaton, MetroJet, based at Baltmore. Also
establshed to directly combat Southwest Airlne's
expansion into its traditional markets, MetroJet wasequipped with 737-200s, againtransferred fromthe par
ent company.
Durng 2000, United made an offer to buyout US Air
ways that had contnued to make losses despite improv
ing its servce reputaton after t he name change.
Although at an advanced stage in negotiations, United
caled off themergerin mid-200l.
In the UK, Brit ish Airways was f ac ing t he loss o f
domestc and European traffic to new low-cost opera
tors, Ryanair and easyJet. In response, a new Lon
don/Stansted-based subsidiary was establshed with
leased 737-300s.Named Go Fly, the newcarrier began
scheduled flights fromStansted to European and domes
tic points in 1998.Sixteen destinations were served by
2001, and Go opened anew baseat Bristol, inthe west
of Engand, laterthatyear. However,also in 2001, Britsh
Airways decided that Gos operaton was notcompatble
with its own imageas aquality service provider andput
the airlne up for sae. After considerng several offers,
British Airways sod Go t o t he low cost carriers own
management.
KLM UK, previously Air UK and renamed after the
Dutch airlne had bought a majority shareholding, was
suffering from the competton with its Stansted-based
scheduled services after Ryanairand Go Fy moved in. In
retaliation, in January 2000, KLM UK transferred eight
BAe146s to a new low-fare subsidiary, named Buzz. A
totalof fourteen routes fromStansted were in operaton
by 2001 and the BAe 146s were joined by apair of Boe
ing737-300s on the busier services.On the other sdeof t he world, Freedom Air Interna
tonal began operatons from Auckland in 1995.Wholy
owned byAirNew Zealand, low-fare schedules operate
alongside charters, notonly within New Zealand, but
also across theTasman Sea to Australa. Despite serv
ing a relatively sparselypopulated region, FreedomAirs
pair of 737-300s found themselves in demand, notleast
whenDaitasNew Zealand suddenlyceased operatons
in 2001. Freedom Airs a ircra ft , a longside Air New
Zealands own737s,operatedextraservcesto subst
tute for the defunct carrer.
The Big Boys Fight Back
(Topl us Airways transferred several 737-200s t o i t s new low-costMetrojetoperation. MAP
(Middle) Although Go Fys operationfromStanstedwas asuccess, Br itishAirways decidedto selloffthe low-cost subsidiary. Aviation HobbyShop
(Bottom) The bright yellow 737-300sof Buzz supplemented alargerfleetof BAe146s. Aviation Hobby Shop
163
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THE NEXT GENERATIONTHENEXT GE 'ERATION
Boeing 737-700s were acquired by Midway Airlines to increase capacity on their Raleigh/Durham-based
services. MAP
-70 s, withtwelve on order
nenral/Copaalliancewasfo
Chilean airline, Avanr Ai
operating as AeroChile,
the company was later
Aereas Chi1canas, and re
1997. Domestic schedul
operatedthe length of Ch
737-200s until operations
in Chile i n p ar tn er sh ip w it h a Chilean
investment group. Aero Conrinenre Chile
operate eight 737-200 on i t domestic and
regionalservice from Sanriago.
A 4 9 p er cent shareholding in Copa Air
lines, of Panama, also a long-standing 737
operator,was bought by Conrinenral inMay
1999. Copa began the replacemenr of their
fleet of 737-200s with 'Next Generat ion'
services that eventually included an inter
national network that s tr et ch ed a far as
Miami , i n a dd it io n t o dome t ic ervices.
Aero onrinente soonbecame Peru'smajor
airline operator and in 2001 wa flying five
737-200s, a single -100, three 727-100 and
evena wide-body 767, as well a twO Fokker
F.28s and a sma ll f le et of turbo-props. In
1999,a newassociateairlinewasestablished
Aviateca joined forces with three other Central American airlines underthe GrupoTACA banner, while AeroContinente of Peru also established a local subsidiary in Chile. Both pctures courtesy of Aviaton Hobby Shop
I=_..~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : ; ~ = = ' ······•···•·••·•·•····••··•. •: ::::-:--_II,._N\27GU - - AVIATECA
Aerolineas Argentinas came up aga in st a
new low-cost rival when a previously small
commuter a ir line , LAPA (Lineas Aerea s
Privada Argenr ina s) , sold o ff i ts f le et of
turbo-props and placed it first second-hand
Boeing737-200 into servicein 1993. LAPA
experienced rapid growth, offeringlow-fare
services throughout Argenrina in d ir e ct
competition with Aerol in ea s. More 737
200s were gathered from various sources,
laterjoined by new Boeing 73 7-700s.
In both Cent ral and South America, a
number of carriers formed new alliances to
combat the growinginfluence of mainline
U c ar ri er s i n the region. TACA lnrerna
tional Airlines, the nat ional carrier for EI
Sal vado r a nd Hondu ra s, h ad ope ra te d
737sfor many years. In the lare 1990s, the
neighbouring operat ions of Aviateca(Guatemala), LAC A (Co t a R ica ) and
ICA (Nicaragua) were brought under
the TACA influence, to co-ordinate their
operations in the region and on routes to
the U A. The combined fleets comprised
a mixture ofboth Boeing and Airbus types.
A new associate airline, TACA Peru, was
set up tooperate two 737-200s from Lima.
A ls o in Per u, Aero Continente began
operations in 1992, initiallyfocusedon char
terworkin suwort of oilexploration in the
northeast of t he country . In July 1993, two
727-200s and a 727-100 openedscheduled
threat , CanJet, Royal Airlines and West
Jet Airline were 737 opera tor amongthe
independent airlines all claiming their
'rightful hare' of new route authorities.
WestJet hadbeen established inCalgary in
1995, and wasflying twenry-two 737-200s
on low-fare scheduled s ervice s in the
r eg io n by 2 00 I . F iv e 'Next Generation'
Series 600s were on order, as were no less
than thirty-one 737-700s.
Royal Airlines orig inally began opera
tions with twoBoeing 727-200s, as a char
terairline in Montreal in 1992. Scheduled
services were opened, with s ix 737 -200 s
operating alongside the airline 's Airbus
A310 wide-bodies and Boe ing 757 s. In
2 01 Royal was acqui red by r iv al charter
and scheduled carrier Canada 3000, that
nursed ambitions to become the new 'second force' once CAL disappears. CanJet
opened i t schedulednetwork, from Toron
to to Halifax, Ottawa and Wind or in ep
tember 2000,with apairof 737-200s. Seven
-200swerein use withCanJet by mid-200l.
Liberalizationsaw the growth of newopera
tor s in both Central and outh America,
as well as the consolidation of old ones.
Meanwhile, South of the
Border
All Change in Canada
In Canada, t he long-established, major,
737 operator Canadian Airl ine s Inrerna
t ional, was to loseits identity in a takeover
battlethat i t lostwith arch rival AirCana
da. Through 2000 the CAl fleet of 737
200s was repainred in basic AirCanada liv
ery, although still with Canadian titles and
logo o n t he fuselage. In 200I, the merger
took even more effect as the first totally
repainted 737sstartedappearing, with the
CAL identity finallydisappearing.Borh Air
Canada and CAl had begun the process of
replacing their older short/medium-haul
fleets withAirbustypes, a process likely to
continue in the yearsfollowing the merger
with t henew enlarged carrier.
An exception t o t he merger process wasCAL's subsidiary, Canadian orth. Provid
ingvital socialservices in the arcticregions
ofCanada with twoconvertible737-20 C ,
Canadian North was old offin eptember
199 , before the merge r, to o rten -a Inc , a
h ol di ng c om pa ny 1 p er cenr owned by
native anadian communities.
The Air Canada/Canadian irlines
International merger was pounced on by
Canada's own growing b and o f low-fare
operators as a chanc e t o exp and t he ir
influence. iting the size of the newly
en larged Ai r Canada as a monopol istic
764 765
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THE NEXT GENERATION
ao. . ...,fJ l l 'OO
_---....
(Bottom) Airbus A320s displaced 737-300sand -400swith the rebran
midland bmi. Avaton Hobby Shop
(Below) British Airways Boeing 737s are eventualy to be replaced b
types. Via author
The growth of the Airbus threat was pressed home to Boeing with th e d ec is io n o f H ow eve r, one prodigal return tothe 737 fold was Britannia Airw
Britsh Airways not to orderthe 'Next Generaton'737sfor its Europeanroutes. Instead. replaced their last 737·200 in1994, with the much larger Boeng 757
amixed orderwas paced for Airbus A318s. 319sand 32os. to eventualy replace the airlne's narrow·body aircraft. Although the757s offered the flexibi
earler 737 models. British Airways' franchise associate, GB Airways, alsoplaced its b e o f operatng both long and short-haul charters, lke the wide-bo
first Airbus A320sandA321 sin service in 2001, planning to replace its seven737s with
an identical numberof Airbus aircraft.
Still expanding its European and UK domestc scheduled network, Britsh Midland
Airways declned Boeings offer of 'Next Generaton'737s,choosinginsteadthe Airbus
A320 and A321. The Britsh Midland Boeing 737·30os and ·4oos were tobe disposed
of, although the 737·500s would remainin the fleetfor the tme being. The airlne's
namewas modifed, and a new lvery and imageunveied, as 'british midland bmi, in
preparaton for trans·Atlantic Airbus services in 2001.
British 737 Disappointmentsand Revivalcheduled operat ions from B om ba y in
1992, withscheduled flights to Mangalore
and Cochin, later adding Goa, Jaipur and
Trivandrum. Lufthansa provided backing
for anotherof the first newIndian carriers,
Modiluft, which began scheduled domes
tic operations with ex-Lufthansa 737-200s
in 1994. Unfortunately, East Wes t a nd
Modiluft suffered numerous operational
difficulties and ceasedfly ing in 1997.
Much more successful were the 737
operations of Jet Airways and Sahara Air
lines. Both new carriers began scheduled
services in 1993, competing with Indian
Airl ines on domest ic services throughout
ModiLuf t ... .. -:.
deregulation in t he American style was
resisted, there was usually enough liberal
ization to allow the limited en try of new
blood i n to t he local airline industry. The
well-proven, widely and cheaply available
Boeing737 was often t hecho iceof equip
ment for the new operators.
[n the FarEast, in itial growth inan eco
nomic boom had been swiftly followed by
recession. [n the Philippines, a number of
new independent carriers had been estab
lished and grew quickly. Of the numerous
new independents, Air Philippines and
Grand International Airways both built up
large fleets of 737sonly to have their new
The Series 800 f ou nd a n ew home with
Mandarin Airlines of Taiwan. Mandarin
had orig inallybeen formed asa subsidiary
of China Airlines to takeover schedules to
Australia and Canada. However, a change
in p ol ic y saw Mandarin switching its
at tent ion to domest ic and regional fl ights
after t he opera ti ons of Formosa Airlines
were taken over in 199 9. A 73 7-400 was
joined by five -800s on the busier flights,
with Fokker E100 jets and Fokker F.50 and
Dornier 228 turbo-props operating lower
capacity services. Ch ina Airlines itselfalso
Further East
- ~ "Despite strong backing from lufthansa, which provided i twith 737s, Modiluftfailed to survive. Avaton
Hobby Shop
took delivery of Series 800s, wi th thirteen
ordered for i ts shon and medium-range
services.
Korean Air i nt roduced f if te en 737 800s, to begin t he repl acement of older
Fokker and McDonnell Douglas types.
Otherwise, Korean Ai r operat ed an all
wide-bodied fleetofAirbus A300s, Boeing
747 and 777s.
Low Cost Goes Global
When the rest of the world followed the
USA's deregulation lead, many new a ir
lines sprang up t o t ake advan tage of t he
new o rd er . Even where wide-reaching
markets vanish overnight, Even the giant
Phi li pp in e ir L in es i ts el f was f or ce d to
cease operations temporarily. Eventually,
t he economic c limate imp roved in theregion, but often roolate for theonce hope
ful new carriers , many of which had been
forced toseverelycut back their operations,
Mixed fortunes also met new indepen
dent airlines on t he Indian subcontinent.
Competition for the Indian Airlines Cor
poration was actively encouraged by the
government in the early1990s and a num
ber of new operators rose to the challenge.
[AC had already transferred most of its
737-200s to a newsubsidiary, Alliance Air,
based at ew Delhi . Eas t West Airl ines
began Boeing 737-200 and Fokker E27
India. By 2001 both were operating large
fleets of 737s, Jet Airways flying ten 737
400s, seven 737-700s and nine 737-800s,
with n ine more -800s on order. Saharaoperated an all-737 fleet of t h ree -400s,
two -800s and single examples of t he -200
and -700 versions,
New 737s in the EasternMediterranean
Liberalization alsoallowed growth in char
ter markets, as well as the scheduledservice
sector. A boom in holidayresort develop
ment sawTurkey, especially, spawna num
ber of new ITcharter carriers, dedicated to
166167
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THE NEXT GENERATION THE NEXT GENERATION
British 737 Disappointmentsand Revival continued
Sahara Airlines enjoyed greater success thansome new Indiancarriers, eventually operating several versions ofthe 737. MAP
........................ TURKISH·•••••••••••••••••••
Both national carrier THY-Turkish airlines and leading independentIstanbul Airlines took delivery of 'Next
Generation 737-800s. Both pictures courtesy of Steve Buntng
-- ....... -- .....
joined by two 727-200s. The airline hadbeen establshed totakeover IT charters pre
viously contracted to Newcaste-basedAmbassador Airways, which had ceased flying
that November. Ambassador had flown Boeing 757s, 737sand A320s, butthe bankruptcy of its travel company owners hadled to its downfall. Sabre tookover the 737s
and theGatwick and Manchester-based contracts that Ambassador had flown forother
touroperators.
The 737-200s were leasedout in 1997 to Peach Air, a subsidiaryof Caledonian Air
ways. Peach Air initially flew the Sabre 737-200s and a Lockheed L-l0l1 Tristar
leased fromAirAtlanta Icelandic. ThePeach Air operations came to anendin Novem
ber1998 and Sabre disposed of the -200sat the end of the lease contract. However,
Sabre had contnued to expand its own charter operations and the 727-200s were
being replaced by new 737-800s, the first of which had entered service earlier in
1998. Two ofthe Boeing737-800s wereleased outto Miami Air, of Florda, during
the winter of 2000/2001. In 2001, following its acquisition by LibraHol days, Sabre
was renamed Exce Airways, beginning operations under the new title in May,oper
ating a fleet of six 737-800s.
(Belowl Sabre Airwayswas renamed ExcelAirways in 2001, Aviaton HobbyShop
G OK ON•• , , 1 1 1 , • , • • ' ' ' ' " ' ' l ! ~ ~ : ' j o . ; , ' ' : -
also in the Britannia Airways fleet, the airline soon found it required a lower-capacity
aircraft for less well-travelled routes and tohelpdevelopnew markets notable to sup
portthe largeraircraft.Three 1BO-passenger Airbus A320s were leased from Irsh charter carrer TransAer to
serve on thinner IT routes, in the late 1990s. However,any hopes that Airbus mighthave
chershed that thiswould lead to a directorderfrom Brtanniawere soonto be dashed.
In 199B, Brtannia's owner, Thomson Internatonal, took control of Swedish touroperator
Frtdsresor and its own charter airlne Bue Scandnava. The Swedish IT charter carrer
was rebranded as Brtannia Airways AB and took on the Br t sh a ir ne 's ful identty.
In 199B, a single737-800was leased by the Swedish operaton, fromDansh IT car
rer Sterlng European, and operated alongside itsthree Boeing 757s. Thesame year,
Britannia in Luton announced a $270 million order for fve more 737-800s, to be oper
ated by both 'Britannias'. In 2001 threewere inuse with Britannia ABand theother two
entered service with theUK-basedoperaton.
The 737-800 alsofound favour with another UK IT carrer,Sabre Airways. Originaly
formed in December 1994, Sabre had opened operatonswith apair of 737-200s,later
(Above) The 737·800made its first appearance in BrtanniaAirways'colours with the
Scandinavan subsidiary, Britannia AB, Aviaton HobbyShop
768 769
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erving the new re ort areas. In addition,
new leg i lation allowed the growth of
independent scheduled airlines t o c om
pete against Turki sh Ai rl ine s. Bo th the
long-established state carrier ami the new
arrivals made good use of available 737s,
both new and from the second-hand and
leasing markets.
THENEXT GENERATION
lines, originally established by Aer Lingus,
and unExpress that is backed by Lufthansa
and Turkish Airlines. In addition , KTHY,
the Turkish Cypriot airline, began 73 7oper
ations in its own right in 200I,after leasing
inTurki h Airlines 'a ircraft of various types
for many years. Aswell a flights fromTurk
ish-held northern ypru, a number of IT
199 . Those tha t chose the 737 as their
main equipment include Axon Airl ine
(two 737-700s), Cronos A irl ines (four
737-300s and two 737-400s, Galaxy Air
way (one 737-400and one 737-500)ami
Macedonian Airlines (Greece) (one 737
400). Olympic Airways continued to be a
loyal 737 ope rato r, f ly ing the original
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The BBJ and Beyond
New Cypriotindependent, Helios, began flying IT charters with asingle 737-400. Aviaton HobbyShop
Ex-airline 737s sometimesfound new lives as executive aircraft. N147AW was originallyAloha Air l ines
N729A 'King Kahekill'. Unusually, it later returned to airline workwith America West. Jenny Gradidge
A leading l igh t among the new inde
pendents was I stanbu l A i rl ine s , which
commenced operations withCaravelles in
196.lnitiallyconcentratingonchartersto
Europe, Istanbul la ter established a sched
uled domestic network, introducing the first
of a number of 737s in 19 8. By 200 thefleet consisted of nine 7 37 , o f t h e -300,
-400 and -800 e rie and a single 727-200.
Unfortunately, the Turkishauthoritieswith
drew Istanbul's operating certificate on 2
Augu t 2000,followingmounting financial
problems, and the airline ceased flying.
Other private Turkish airline followed
Istanbul 's p ioneering lead, many of them
utilizing 737s. Bosphorus Air, Holiday Air
l in es , u l tan Air andVIP Air all in trodu cd
737s before succumbing to financial d iffi
culties. Moresuccessful have been the Boe
ing737operationsof ir Rose, PegasusA ir-
cha rte rs ope ra te f rom mainland Turki sh
resortsto Western European points.
Independentsouthern Cyprusalsoeven
tually allowed a n e xp an si on o f private
competition with the establi hed national
carrier, Cyprus Airways. As was becoming
usual, tour companies were the majorityshareholders in the new enterprises, using
the capacityto feed the expanding holiday
re orts o n t he i lanel. The dormant TEA
(Cyprus) was revived in 199 and renamed
Hel ios Airways . A ing le 737 -40 opened
charter flight to Europe from Larnaca,
with 737-800 set to be delivered shortly
afterwards. A yearlater, the LouisTourism
Organi ation established Capital L A ir
lines, flying leased 737-700sfrom both Lar
nacaand Paphos.
Greece experienced a pos i tiv e exp lo
s io n i n independent airlines in the late
170
cleven 737-200s as well as one 737-300
and twelve 737-400s. The national air
line 's subsidiary , Olympic Aviation,
became an early customer for the Boeing
717-200.
OneMore Step
The widespread acceptance andcommer
cial succes of the' ext Generation' 737s
hadgone a long way to re-e tabl i h Boe
ing andhe lp i t f ight off the growing Euro
peancompetition. Longpassing the mile
s tone of the most p roduced je ta i r l ine r o f
all time, Boeing was still looking at ways
of imp ro vi ng t he p opul ar a ir cr af t a nd
keeping i t i n i ts well-earned numberone
position. Even more surpr is es were in
store.
The BBJ
The use of Boeing737s as corporate trans
ports, either as 'Flying Boardrooms' or for
more utilitarian private u se , h as been a
long-standing practice. The 737 wa far
from the only large transport aircraft to beusedthis way.A numberof ex-airl ine BAC
One-Elevens were converted in the early
197 s, as w er e Boe in g 72 7 a nd e ve n
longer-range 7 7 /7 20 and DC- - a t t he
end of their airline careers. The majority of
the 'private' 737s had also once been air
liners, although a handful were delivered
to private or corporatecustomers straight
off the production line.
In july 1996, Boeing took the decision
to marke t a designated executive version
of the' ext Generation' 737, the Boeing
Business jet, or BBj. Developed from the
700 series, the BBj was to combine the
737-700 forward and rear fuselage wi th the
centre section, wing and landing gear of
the l ar ge r - 80 0. p to nineextra fuel tanks
can be fitted into the cargo hold space,
rarely n ee ded on exe cu ti ve missions,
bringing fuel capacity up to a maximum, 905 gal lon s. In te r io r a r rangements
offered range from first-c ia s sleeper seat
arrangements,to ultra-luxurious combina
t ion o f lounges, conference area, bed
rooms, shower rooms, and so on , to suit the
cu tomer's requirement.The BBj is devel
opedand marketed by a separate division
within Boeing, in recognition of the very
different market as opposed to the estab
lished airline customer.
As well as private and corporate-based
work, BBjs operated bySwisscarrier, Pri
v atai r, a re a lso u sed on VIP quality tour
171
ami charter work in all-firs
ration. Occasional worldw
ate over several weeks, wi
tion being providedin toph
ervice standards on boa
This is in add i tion to P
lished business as an execproviding ad hoc and contr
transport with a Boe ing
BBjs and a single 757.
The first BBj, N737BZ, w
Rentoninjulyl99 andfir
tember. The fir torderswere
eral Electric , for two aircr
2000, over seventy BBjs h
by private individuals, co
ernment agencies and mil
around the world. The BB
Boeing 737-800airframe, f
offering even morerange an
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THE BBJ AND I 3EYO D THE BBJ AND BEYOND
• • •RYANAJR
• • • ••••••••••• J
The BBJsoonfounda readymarket. N737MC isoperatedfor General Electr ic by Atlas Air Inc. JennyGradidge
'Next Generation' in theMilitary
A s in gl e 73 7-700C, the first convertible
version ofthe 'NextGenerat ion'series,was
delivered to the U av)' in 2 00 0. Desig
nated t heC-40A in av) ' s e rv ic e, the air
craft is expected to b e just the first of many
to eventually replace the large fleet of
9Bs with the SN. The C-9Bs, a convert
iblemilitary transport version of the DC-9,
havebeen in service since the 1970s. Con
tinuing th ' 737's long-established roleas a
preferred VIP aircraft, one -800 is operated
in th isrole by the Taiwan Air Force.
Australia committed itself to a n o rd er
for seven 737 Airborne Early Warning and
Cont ro l (AEW& C) aircraft. Fitted with
a mod rn mul t i ro le radar array giving 36
degreecoverage, the new militaryaircraft
would bebased around the BBJ airframe. A
dispute between the S authorities andBoeing over release of confidential and
ensitive technology h as t ai le d the pro-
gramme, but interest has also been shown
in the new aircraft by the governments of
Turkey a nd o ut h Korea.
The Low-Fare Vision inWestern Europe
Aer Lingus found itself challenged in Irish
markets by one particular new 'upstart',
Ryanair. Beginningscheduled operations in
19 5, witha single, 1 -passenger, Embraer
Bandierante, over a route from Waterford
in western Eire to London/Luton,R)'anair
skilfully explOited the emerging low-fare
market and grew rapidly. Originally con
centrat ing on services from regional Irish
pointsto Luton,Ryanair introduced larger
BAe 748 t urbo-props and, later, One
E le ve n j et s. A Dublin-Luton route was
opened in 1986 and Ryanair increasingly
turned its attention t o n ew low-fare ser
vices from Dublin to regional UK and
European point s, of te n in competition
with Aer Lingus. Operating fourteen air
craft of four different types, Ryanair man
aged to lose £20 million in two years.
A new management team complete ly
ove rh au le d t he airline in 1990-91,
relaunchingthe airline as the first of a new
breed of European 'no frills' airlines, along
the Southwe t Airlines model. Just five of
t he n i ne t een routes then in operationwere retained and all turbo-prop aircraft
weredisposed of. With an all-je t fleet of six
One-Elevens, Ryanai r managed to make
i t fir t-ever profit.
The fir t 73 7s, second-hand eries 2 0 ,
were leased in by Ryanair from 1994 and
the fleet increased steadily, replacing the
last One-Elevens. Eventually,a econd base
wasset up at London/Stansted and low-fare
routes were opened from there to both
domestic and European points. These most
ly served under-used airports such as Prest
wick for Glasgow, Charleroi for Brussels,
and Beauvais for Paris. By 200 I, thirty-six
737s, including fifteen 'New Generat ion'
737- OOs, wer e i n u e by Ryanair. In 2001,
Charleroi was designated as Ryanair's next
regionalba e,withplanstobasetwoaircraft
a t t h e airport, south of Brussels.
Ryanair can also be credited with bring
ing theconceptofthe LogoJet to Europe.A
Western Pacific Airlines, in t he USA, had
done before it,Ryanairofferedits aircraft on
the open market as 'Flying Billboards' .
British car manufacturer,Jaguar, was oneof
the first customers, producing a very pleas
ing result. Other ear ly cus tome rs to tak e
advantage of the publicity opportunities
included T he S un and News of the World
newspapers, Kilkenny Beerand Hertz.
easyJet at Luton
The Luton-based easyJetairline was foundedby businessman telio Haji-Ioannou, in
1995. Two Boeing 737-200s were used to
open low-fare Lu ton -G la sgow a nd
Luton-Edinburgh schedules in November
that year . More rou te were opened, with
international servicesbeing introduced and
expanded as the initial -200 aircraft were
replaced bylargerSeries300s. In 199 a 40
per cent shareholding was bought in TEA
Switzerland, the ex-Trans European sub
sid iary . ince the demise ofthe Belgian par
ent company, TEA Switzerland had c on
tinued to operate as an independent IT
Ryanair's 737-200sreplaced the BAC One-Eleven,the Boeing fleetquickly expanding as new routes were
opened. Steve Buntng
HertzRent-a-Car was oneof many companieswill ing to payto useone of Ryanair 's 737s asa f l ying
billboard. Aviaton HobbyShop
172 173
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Virgin Expresss variousdivisionsmet with mixed fortunes,with theFrench andIr ishoperations being
forced to retrenchor close downaltogether. Va author
THE BBJ AND BEYO, D
Initially, like the British-basedaircraft,easyJet Switzerland's 737s worethe company's UK reservations
telephone number. As technologyprogressedand theinternetbecamea majorsource ofdirect bookings,
theair l ine'sweb addresswas substituted,fleetwide. The first ofeasyJet's'Next Generation' 737-700s were
deliveredin early2001. MAP/Aviaton HobbyShop
774
charter carri er f rom Basle w it h a f leet of
73 7-300s. When easyJettookcontrol ofthe
company, the name was changed to easyJet
witzerland and operat ions moved to
Geneva. Scheduled low-fare flights opened
from Geneva to the K.
A new UK easyJet ba e was deve lopedat Liverpool, in the northwest of England,
opening up a cont inental network that
h ad not b een available from the c it y i n
many years. Between them, easyJet and
easyJet w it zerl and were operat ing over
twenty 737s i n 2001, operating twenty-
eight route between eighteen destina
tions. The first of a substantial order forover t hi r ty , ew Generation' 737-700s
had recent ly been delivered to begin the
gradual replacement of the -300s. In 2001,another European easyJet operational base
was established at Amsterdam.
Enter Virgin
Trans European's replacement in the Bel
gian charter market, EuroBelgian Airlines,eventually entered the scheduled market,
serving leisure-orientated destinations. In
Apri l 1986, the Virgin Group acquired a
controlling interest a nd t he c om pa ny
name was changed t o V irgi n Express .
THE BBJ AND BEYOND
Operating a European network comple
mentary t o V irgi n Atlant ic's London
based long-haul service, Virgin Express
operates to eight scheduled destinations
from Brussels.VirginExpress was alsocon
tracted to take over t he opera ti on of anumbe r o f Brussels-UK schedules for
Sabena. Operating a f leet of seven 737
300s and four 737-400s, charter services
also continue with ad hoc flights through
out Europe andto Africa.
A French operator, Air ProvenceChar
ter, wa taken over i n 199 ami rebranded
as Virgi n Express France. A handful of
s heduled European ervices were opened
but the French carriersoon reverted t o a n
all-ITcharter operation. Evenmore unfor
tunate wasVirgin Express (Ireland), whichstarted scheduled Shannon-London ser
vices, using Stansted, in December 199 .
The tansted route was later extended to
Berlin and Shannon-Brusse ls and han
non-London/Gatwick flights alsoopened.
Virgin Express (Ireland) actually beat off
early competi ti on on the London routes
from AB Ai rl in es , a K operator eventu
allyflying One-Elevensand 737-300s on a
low-fare network from Gatwick. However,
the Irish operation remained unprofitable
and was put up forsale. Five 737-300s and
two 737-400s were i n servi ce when t he
775
airline was closed down in 2
ing to find a buyer.
AB irlines had started
the early I990s, asA irBristo
pora te hu tt le on beha lf of
space from its Filton facility
to Toulouse in connection
contracts. Air Bri st ol set u
based subsidiary, AB Shann
One-Eleven and , a f te r l os
contract , concentrated on
scheduled network from Lon
Stanstedand hannon unde
AB Airlines. The limited s
work wa to take in fl ights
bon and ice, as well as
fl ights to London and Birm
was not st rongenough to suser. Despi te switching to m
Boeing 737-300s, to supple
ing One-Elevens, AB airline
ations in eptember 1999.
Shortly before closing d
l ines signed an agreement
based Debonair, for code-sh
tain key routes. Debonair f
on its network from Luton,
AB Airl ines 737-300s took
t i tles for t he j o in t operatio
also ceased operations a t a b
time as AB Airlines.
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CityBird's 737-400s arrived as the airline shifted itsoperational focus away fromlong-haul schedulesto
European ITcharters. MAP
TilE BBJ AND BEYOND
AS A IRL INESI
The small route networkof AB Airl ines was unable to supportthe 737-300s. G-OABL previously servedwith
VASP. in Brazi l ,and Jet Airways, in India. Aviaton HobbyShop
Followingthe currentfashion, Virgin Blue'saircraftdisplaythe reservationswebsite address. MAP
776
Virgin Down-Under
Much further afield, Virgin turned itssights
on Australia, it elf indulging in an airline
deregulation and liberalization programme.
Earlier attempts at introducing low-fare
ope ra tor s in Aus tr al i a in the early 1990s
had swiftly failed. Compass A i rl ine com
menced scheduled low-fare serviceslinking
the major cities on both the east and west
coast of Australia from t h e e nd of 1990.
Airbus A300s were leased from Monarch
Airline of the K, but heavy losses forced
the airline to cease operations a year la ter.
Compass was revived in September 1992,
w ith a mal l fleetofMD-80s, but lasted only
until the following March, whenthe airline
wasfinally closed down forgood.
o other candidates came forward to
exploitthe Australian low-fare market for
several years, with Ansett and Qantas
remaining the main domestic scheduled
service providers. However, in June 2000,
a new operator, Virgin Blue Airlines, of
Brisbane, took delivery of t he first of five
Boeing 737-400s. ine ' extGenerat ion'
737-700s arc on order to replace the initial
aircraft. Established by the K-based Vir
gin Group, owners of Virgin Atlantic Air
ways andthe European Virgin Express air
l in es , V ir gi n B lu e was unab le t o start
THE BBJ AND BEYOND
commercia l operations until August, fol
lowingdelays in receiving its Air Opera
tor's Certificate. Brisbane-Sydney services
opened first, on 31 August, followed by
Brisbane-Melbourne on 7 eptember.
Bri bane-Adelaide flights were opened on
7 December, some six weeks earlier than
originally planned.
CityBird
After the ale of EuroBelgian t o t he Virgin
G ro up , t he Belgian a ir l in e' s o rigina l
owner, Victor (-lassen of Ci ty Hote l s, s et
up a new carrier, CityBird. At first City
Bird opened scheduled low-cost, long
rangeservices to the SA, Caribbean and
Africawith a fleet of wide-bodiedMD-l!
and 767s. Many routeswere later flown in
association w it h a be na , o f te n in the larg
er airline's full colours.
However , a change in direction saw
most of the scheduled services being
dropped on economic grounds, although
long-range charters were s ti ll operated.
Instead, a fleetof 737 -3 Os and -400swere
acquired and moreemphasis wasplaced on
European IT charter to Mediterranean
and orth African resorts. Three - OOs
were on orde r for 2001 delivery.
777
The 900
ot content with the extra
- 00 over the -400, Boeinge
an even l arge r 737 , in the
Serie 900. The large t 737ve
the Series 900 received its F
tion on 17 April 2001. Th
(42m) long -900 is an imp
40ft(12.2m) longer t han t he
more than a thousand mile
longer range. The formal cer
been delayed by six weeks b
to i t f l ig ht cont rol s and an i
seal system. Unexpected v
been discovered in the eleva
a red es ign o f th e e le va to
strengtheningof the tab.Two
part in the certif ication
between them logging 649 f
296 flights and 156 hours of
An even further stretched
-900X, was beingstudied and
to the -900's current custo
Airlines, Continental Airlin
Korean A ir. Curiously, the -9
longer, was not certi fied to ca
the pa senger capacity o f t h
would be restricted until im
gency evacuation systems an
couldensure the off-loading
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737-900customers, KlM and Alaska Airl ines al ready operated l arge fleets of 'Next Generation' 737s,
KlM -800s, and Alaska -700s and -800s. Aviaton HobbyShop
capaci ty ava il ahle in the s am e t im e as
smallerpassenger loads.
The Losses
Considering the proliferation o f t h e 73 7
throughout the world, its sen'ice has heen
remarkahly trouble-free. Pure statistical
prohahility dictates that there wou ld he
THE BBJ AND BEYOND
incidents, hut most were minor. Among
the best-known except ions are t he A ir
Florida and British Midland accident
outlined earlier, o ne d ue to adverse
weather and a p re ssured c rew a nd t he
other possibly down to unfamiliaritywith
new technology. Both were also possih ly
attrihutable, at least in part, to shortcom
ing s in c rew training procedures then in
use, s i nce much improved a s a resul t of
178
the tragedies. Of course, accidents did
happen. As with most aviation tragedies,
human factors and errors of judgement
played their part i n a h ig h proportion of
t he i nc ident s . H ij acki ngs and sahot age
a lso fea tured in 737 hul l los se s and acci
dents. Actual st ructural or control prob
lems more d irect ly concerned wit h the
aircraft i t se l f a re rarer , h ut t he re h av e
heen incidents.
I n 1 9 1, a Far EastAir Transport 737 was
los t due to s truc tu ra l f ai lu re in f ligh t, i ts
break-up blamed on corrosion in the lower
fuselage. All 110 occupants perished on a
dome tic scheduled flight from Taipei to
Kaohsiung. The aircrafthad disintegrated at
22,OOOft (6,700m) and the wreckage was
sca tt er ed ove r an a re a of 5mi (8km). In
19 , an Aloha Airlines 737 lost most of its
forward cabin roof in-flight, at 24,000ft
(7,315m). The high-time aircraft had spent
most of itscareerislandhopping from Hon
olulu with Aloha; the frequent and higher
than average number of cyclesand the Paci
fic atmosphere eventually weakened the
fuselagestructure. Most of the forward cabin
wallsand roof, from the floor level upwards,
peeled away following the failure of the
cracked structure. One cabin crew memberwas lost, but everyone else on board sur
vived, mostly thanks to prompt action and
superb airmanship by the pilots. The fact
t hat t he rest of t he aircraft held together,
underpowerandat altitudewith mostofthe
forward cabin walls missing, still sayssome
thing for the basicsoundness of itsstructure.
Following the incident, Aloha withdrew its
other highest-time 73 7s from service.
One Morning at Manchester
The 737's JT D engines gave l i t t le cause
for concern overthe years, with few cata
strophic failures. The Pratt & Whitney
engine was also used on several other air
craft types, very successfully. On one occa
sion though, the failure of a combustion
chamber outer casing blotted the engine's
otherwise enviable record. O nl y t hr ee
other cases of combustion chamber rup
ture had previously been recorded in over
300 million hours of operation.
On the f ateful d ay , 22 August 1985,
British Airtours 737-200, C-BCJl, 'River
Orrin' was assigned to an IT holiday char
ter from Manchester toCo r fu . A ful l loadof 130 pas senger s, p lu s two infan t s, two
pilots and four cabin crewwere on boardas
'J l began its take-offrun shortlyafter7am.
As the aircraft reached 140mph, theouter
casing of the compression chamber on the
number one engine split and 'petal led'
apart. The outer casing had ruptured along
a c ra ckcaused by thermal fatigue. A fuel
tank access panel on the l ef t w ing was
punctured bydebris and escaping fuel was
ignited by the now burning engine.
On hearing the thump oftheengine fail
ure, the crewconsideredthey were dealing
TilE BBJ AND BEYOND
with a tyrefailure and abandoned the take
off, turningonto a taxi-way. Unfortunate
ly, as well as delaying the evacuation, the
turnoff the runway alsoplaced the a ir r af t
fu elage downwind of the rapidly increas
ing fire o n t he wing. Smoke was immedi
ately blown i nt o t he packed cabin, con
tributingto the passengers' panic. The fire
entered the rear cabin in twenty seconds,
the tail section burning off and fa lling to
the ground within a minute .
Despite one of the forward doors jam
ming momentarily, the cabin c rew in the
forward cabin did a magnificent job of
evacuating the frantic survivors, assisted
by the flight-deckcrew. In the r a r s e ct ion ,
thecabin staffmanaged to open the doors,
but , cou rageou sly igno ring t he ir o wn
chance to escape, remainedon board to tryand begin an evacuation. Unfortunately
both were overcome by the smoke and
flames and perished along with fifty-three
oftheir passengers.
The tragic consequences of t he Man
ches t er acci den t brought a n um be r o f
problems to Iight. Earlier cracks o n t he
same u ni t h ad been repaired and other
JT Ds on other British-registered aircraft
werefound to have similarcracks, leading
to some aircraft being grounded until full
inspections and repairs could be initia ted .
The composit ion of passenger cabin fur
nishings was examined and regulations
tightened, poisonous fumes from burning
upholstery having contributed to many of
the deaths. eating was also rearranged to
give better access to emergencyexi ts, and
floor-level lighting, to guide anyone
caught in a smoke -f i ll ed cabin, became
compulsory. A debate concerning supply
ing smoke-hoods to passengers continue
to rage, although they a re now f it t ed for
cabin-crew use to assist in evacuation.
RudderInvestigations
Two other accidents focused attention on
the 737's ruddercontrol system. In 1991, a
nited 737-200 plunged i nt o t he ground
on a f ligh t to Colorado Springs, k illing
everyone on board. In 1994, a USAir 737
300 on approach to Pittsburgh, rolled over
without warning and dove straight to the
ground, againinstantly killing all the occu
pants. In both incidents, the aircraft hi t the
ground so hard t ha t t he wreckage was
buried everal feet intothe earth. Bothacci
dents had investigators stumpedfor several
years. There wer as many differences as
179
similarities between the two
ories abounded, especially w
firmed rumour spread that
an important tr ia l witness
the Air flight.
Although the accidents
officially blamed o n t he a
issued several precautionary
ommending various modif
ruddercontrol system, to pr
ble reoccurrence. In newair
wasredesigned. Interestingly
as yet, unexplained loss ofa
over the North Atlantic in
stances, the Egyptianauthor
the 767 's pitch control yste
with the same 'level of ex
analysis' that had been app
rudder control system.
Into the Future on W
ever l et i t b e s ai d that, a
tion, there is anysuch thin
, High-fly ing birds know f
they can turn up their wi
they soa r b et t er . Manki
insists on inventors, paten
so i t was not untiI the clos
twentieth century that the
ly applied to mechanical fl
The constantly rising p
the main prodforaeroe!yna
ly take advantage of the bir
'secret'. In the U A, in the
wasstarted under thedirec
Dr Richard Whitcomb, foc
ing the principl to reduce
t ion . In September Boeing
ion at Wichita was award
to design, produceand test
based on Dr Whitcomb's re
A KC-l 5 was f it t ed wi
in May 1 97 9 and first flew
July. Over fifty flights wer
t he e nd o f t h e programmethe theory of a performanc
aerodynamic extension. A
saving on fuel wa s ho
winglets, but t he military
failed to embracethe resea
theract ion was taken.
However, the fuel avin
ignored and winglets fin
appearon smalleraircraft,
utive jet designs. The Boei
the first large aircraft design
significant winglets. The
extensions added aerodyna
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\
THE BBJ AND BEYONDTHE BBJ AND BEYOND
OK-FGS was t h e l a s t -400 Series andlast 'Classic' 737 built, del iveredin early 2000. MAP
Also in 2001, Boeing an
wouldbe moving its corpo
outof Seattle. Althought
Seattle areawould continu
o f t he company's aviat io
with t he ex-MDC facilit
Seattle would no longer b
This was decided in order
pany's projects in other a
ble to th senior managem
tua ll y, a ft er much deba
chosen overother candida
Louisand even Wichita.
End of an Era - 3
averse t o appear i ng in S
t i sements in an Elvis P
Even when the airline ha
orange hot pantsera behi
a more businesslike imag
aged to i n troducea certa
own outgoing personality
Ever since, in fact , he h
Southwest Airl ines' fou
King, 'Rol li n, you 're cra
design, the most dramatic change was the
main fuselage colour. 'Canyon Blue'
replaced the 'DesertGold', over a slightly
modified red and gold lower fuselage. The
overall effect is meant t o ref lect a desert
sunrise orsunset.The aircraft interiors also
recei ved a make-over , w it h orange and
blue leather seating installed. Repainting
and refit t ing of t he en ti re 340 aircraft in
the fleet is expected to take ten years, but
three aircraft wil l remain in the tradition
allivery to reflect the original three Texan
ci ties served, Dal las, Houston and San
Antonio. The first aircraft to wear the newcolours were two' ext Generation' 737
700s, N793SA, 'Spirit One' and 794SA,
'SpiritTwo'.Possibly even more dramatic was the
announcement of the impending retire
ment of Southwest Airline's long-serving
Chairman and mentor, Herbert D. Kelle
her . Kel leher had been the guiding hand
behind Southwest - a nd its not insignifi
cant input into the development of most
versions ofthe Boeing737 since the 737
200 'Advanced' series. One o f t he last
great airline 'Showmen', Kelleher was not
In 200I , Sou thwes t , as part of its 30th
anniversary celebration, unvei led i ts first
major livery change since operat ions had
begun. Other than a relat ively minor
change in the positioning o f t h e airline's
titles, undertaken qui te early in the air
line'shistory, the Southwest 737shad con
t in ued t o c ar ry their orange , red and
'Desert Gold' colours t h roughout t he
years. The obvious except ions to the rule
we re a l ong l in e of special 'promotional'
schemes. Beginning with aircraft paintedt o r ep re se nt S eawo rl d' s f amou s k il le r
whale 'Shamu', various other designs were
taken up by individual aircraft, usually
promoting the different US states served
by Southwest as its network grew. Ameri
ca West alsoadopted similarschemes with
their aircraft promotingthe airline'sroutes
andeven local sports teams that chartered
the aircraft for tours.
However, Southwest'sadvertisingagency,
GSD&M, ofAustin, came upw i th a n ew
design for the wholefleet, in honour of the
anniversary. St il l based on t he original
End of an Era - 2
'Spirit One displaysSouthwest'snew livery, a radical departurefromthe established scheme.
Aviaton Hobby Shop
End of an Era - 1
The very last o f t he 'Classic' 737s was
handed over to CSA Czech Air l ines in
January 2000. OK-FGS was the lastSeries
400, of 486 of the variant. The last of 389
- 50 0s bui lt h ad b een d el iv er ed t o A K-
Air ipponinJulyl999andtheiastofthe
most popular of the second-generation
737s, the 1, 112th-300 was handed over to
Air ew Zealand in December that year.
From t hen on , all 737s producedwould be
o f t he 'Next Generation' versions, the
-600/700/800/900 or 'BB]'designs.
.'" ...
on 29 May 1998. The fuel savings were
justas greaton the 737 and many BBJ had
them fitted, some on the production line,
some retroactively. Wit h t he success of
the winglet-equipped BBJs, Boeing pro
ceeded to offer the option on airline 737
800s. The fi rst customer to take this up is
South African Airways, with their first
'Wingleted' aircraftdue to fly a t the time
of writing. American Transair, Hapag
Lloyd and A ir Berlin have also ordered
the modified 737-800s and a 'retrofit '
programme is being offered t o prev ious
customers.
'Winglets' began appearing on BBJs, laterbecoming an option on air l ineaircraft. Jenny Gradidge
effectively increasing the wing a re a
al though only adding a minimum extra to
the actual wingspan. Airbus had adopted
small win gle ts for the A310 and
A320/321/318/319, but also fi tted larger
versi ons t o it s l at er w ide-body des igns .
McDonnell Douglas fi tted winglets to i ts
MD-Il and Globemaster t ransports and
even in Russi a, the IL96-300 wide-body
tookup the idea.
The BBJ version of the 'Next Genera
tion' 737 was offered with the option of
new design 'blended' winglets and a 737
800 made the first flight with them fitted
780 787
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k t" automat i t icketmachin dispens thousands of t ick ts veryday
The worldwide prolifer
ing 737 means that t he re
ports of any size that do n
larvisi tby the typemost d
Even the oldermodels, ma
s ti ll i n frequent use, belie
t he ir m ode rn lines a n
accommodation. Thirty
introduced the type to the
Iic, the Iike of Braathens
nited still feature the a
fleet, albeit the later vers
early 400 different ope
lines, privateand corporate
and government authorit
737s. Evena briefoutline o
past and presentoperators
sible without producing s
Those covered in t h is boo
a flavour o f t hc 737's ve
effect on day-to-day air tr
throughout the world. W
t ig e i n te rn at io n al s ch edu
bulk travel holiday charte
intcr-city shuttles, f rom si
ups to fleet numberswell i
thc 737 fulfi l all their very
Any deci "ion as to wh
Gencration' will be the 'L
l ies in the future. Whatev
cations or developments a
in any new versions to co
certa inly be here f or a f ew
I twi ll hc doing what i t
do - working hardday afte
reliably earning its keep.
Thirty Years and Climbing
THE BBJ AND BEYOND
The 35 th anniversary of the Boeing 737's
f ir t f li ght is not far off. Boeing originally
envisaged a probable market fora few hun
dred unit s. To da te , over 5 ,000 have been
orderedand the 737 canconfidentlycla im
its place as one of the world's most suc
cessful commercial a i rc r af t . I t urvived
being a late-comcr on t o the s c ene , i t sur
vived moves to sel l i t off to J apan when
sales figures dipped, it survived fuel crises
and industrial unrest, a s wel l a s commer
cial and politica l manoeuvrings.
(Below) For overthirtyyears, countless airline
passengers aroundthe world haveenjoyed safe,
comfortable airtransport on the Boeing 737. Lufthansa
(Opposite) HerbKelleher was never averseto
helping out Southwest'sadvertising department.
Here, in oneof hismoresubdued appearances, he
promotesSouthwest's then revolutionary 'Quicket'
machines. Southwest va Tm Kincaid
(Bottom) In a dawnscene repeated at different
airports,with differentair l ines worldwide, United
Shuttle andSouthwest737s areprepared for
another days work , inthiscase at San Diego,
California. Malcolm L. Hi
<CI
c:-e
(;;CI
:t
::l0U)
'0>-I/)
Q)
1::30(,)
"0Q)
• c:
8-Q)
a:
783
t Ex cutiv or PI asure class,
F l . ~ S O ! ! ~ ' ! } ! ! ~ ~ !and spirits high!
OURQ IC "MAC I ES
EMORE RELIABLE THAN OUR
CHAIRMAN.
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EARLY 737s - COMPARISONS WITHTHEIR CO TEMPORARIES
APPENDIX I
BAC
ONE-ELEVEN 500
Early 737s - CODlparisons
with their ConteDlporaries
BOEING 737-100
Length
Wingspan
Engines
Typical range
Seating
107ft (32.6m)
93ft 6in (285m)
2 x RR Spey512
1,420mi (2,285km)
99-119
Via author
AEROSPATIALE SE-210
CARAVELLE 12
185
Via author
114ft 3 ~ i n (348m)
100ft 3in (306m)
2 x P&WJT8D-15
575mi (925km)
120-155
MAP
Via author
133ft 2in (406m)
108ft7in (331 m)
2 x P&W JT8D-1
1,380mi (2,220km)
90-130
Length
Wingspan
Engines
Typical range
Seating
DASSAULT MERCURE
BOEING 727-100
Length
Wingspan
Engines
Typicalr ange
Seating
100ft2in (305m)
93ft (283m) 1
2 x P&WJT8D-9A
2, 136mi (3,437km)
115-130
93ft 9in (286m)
87ft(265m)
2 x P&WJT8D-7
1,150mi (1 ,850km)
99-107
Length 118ft6in (361m)
Wingspan 112ft 6in (343m)
Engines 2 x P&W JT8D-9
Typical range 1,580mi (2,542km)
Seating 104-139
Length
Wingspan
Engines
Typicalr ange
Seating
Via author
BOEING 737-200
Length
Wingspan
Engines
Typical range
Seating
Jenny Gradidge
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Ir ...
EARLY 737,- COMPARISONS WITH THEIR CO T E ~ I P O R A R I E S
FOKKER F.28-4000
Length 97ft 1Y.n (29.6m)
Wingspan 82ft 3in (25.1m)
Engines 2 x RR Spey555
Typical range 1,162ml (1,870km)
Seating 75-85
Via author
HS 121 TRIDENT 2
TUPOLEV Tu-l04B
Length
Wingspan
Engines
Typical range
Seating
EARLY737; - COMPARISONS WITHTHEIR CONTEMPORARIES
131ft 5in(40m)
113ft 41n (345m)
2 x AM-3M-500
1,305mi (2,1 OOkm)
70-104
Aviaton Hobby Shop
Length
Wingspan
Engines
Typical range
Seating
Hawker Siddeley, via author
MDC DC-9-30
Length
Wingspan
Engines
Typical range
Seating
Via author
114ft 9in (35m)
98ft (29.9m)
2 x RR Spey512
3, 155ml (5,075km)
70-100
119ft 3r.:ln (364m)
93ft 5in (285m)
2 x P&W JT8D-7
1,725ml(2,775km)
99-115
TUPOLEVTu-124V
Length
Wingspan
Engines
Typicalrange
Seating
TUPOLEVTu-134A
Length
Wingspan
Engines
Typicalrange
Seating
110ft 41n (336m)
83ft 9 ~ i n (255m)
2 x D-20P
760ml (1 ,225km)
56
Aviaton Hobby Shop
122f t (372m)
95ft 21n (29m)
2 x D-30-2
1,243mi (2.000km)
70-80
Via author
INFIERlFauo
186 187
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THE 737.100-900
Steve Buntng
Aviaton Hobby Shop
737-600
Length 102ft 6in (31.2m)
Height 411t 31n (126m)
Wingspan 112ft 7in (34.3m)
Gross Weight 143,OOOIb (64,865kg)
Range 3,509mi (5,646km)
Seating 110-132
Macom L. Hi
737-500
Length 101lt 9in (31m)
Height 36ft 6in (11.1m)
Wingspan 94ft 9in (28.9m)
Gross Weight 125,200lb (56,790kg)
Range 1,800ml(2,896km)
Seating 110-132
737-400
Length 119ft 7in (364m)
Height 36ft 6in 111.1m)
Iingspan 94ft 91n 128.9m)
AGross Weight 150,500lb (68,270kg)
Range 2,487mi (4,002km)
Seating 146-170
2,136ml (3,437km)
100ft 2in (30.5m)
37f t 1 in (113m)
115-130
93ft (283m)
128,0001b (58,060kg)
36ft 61n (111m)
139,0001b (63,050kg)
1091t 71n (334m)
1,860mi(2,993km)
128-149
94ft 91n (28.9m)
Wingspan
Length
Range
Height
Gross Weight
737-200
Lufthansa
Height
Length
Seating
Jenny Gradidge
Range
Seating
Wmgspan
Gross Weight
737-300
Steve Buntng
APPENDIX II
The 737, 100-900
737-100
/ Length 93ft 91n (28.6m)
Height 37ft 11n (113m)
Wmgspan 87ft (265m)
Gross Weight 111,OOOIb (50,350kg)
Range 1, 150ml (1 ,850km)
Seatmg 99-107
788 789
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"
C-9R 172
I"1C-I 10-1
DC-2 11,
[ lC- I I I ,
41 ,49,5
IX:-4 156IX:-6 16,
»,57,6
IX:-7 16LX:-, 16-
155,157
IX:-9 7,1
50,51,5
91,96,1
124,130
159, 16I"1C-IO 88
I)ragoll,ur I"D\,lll\lnd,Lcw
"'",chdd 1-FH-227 '
Ftl1Ulll AIr
Far Ea . t l ' rnA
178 -9
F l d t r . 1 An,l
(FA.-\)
10', 17Fedl'r,lll:.xp
Fmn,ttr 1S,
hr . l Chtlll:e
FI . chn 111
Fltchl Engl l lt
A . t . ~ t ; l FltlrllLI EXpR
Fluctcbc ISFIolllg Ticer
F,x:h··\X·lIlt
Fokker Il\
E2i 16, 1
107, 11
1'2'61,616';,1'
1'5,' 126
I ' l l ' 122
166hlrd Trtlllll{
F\lrInlh.1Atr
Frce. t,un At
Frll'dklll,Kl
FrlIdrl' . t r 1
Fr1l111lr Alr
tJ
FnllltlCr'\lr
ht.lllll\.·r Iln
Futuri l 122
Eagle Aor 10E,lgk AIrway
E,N\.·rn Air
2S, 85. H
E< Il'rtl Atr T
Ea r e r n Pron
E."' \X'e ...t A
E.I. twlnd Al
e,I'I)el 162
E.G & G. \
Eglrl"or 97
EI.-\I 114Eldorado OtEml'r,lkl Alr
Emplrc Alrll
E cx ImCrtl,
E lt.llll.l A t r
Eur.ILur 136
Euran<l (Lll
EuroRt:lct,1Il
EuroRt: r l ln F
Eurot l,l t \ \" l (
E l i n l l X ' A l r ~ ElIrln\tlrkl 1
EXl:al thurAt
Excel AIr\\-a
n . I I l ~ A l r S\.·r\'l(l· . 44, 1( '5. Il'7. 112.
1 2 , 9
J)1 . ,1ll1t Ml·n.:url· S6- i, I ( , ~ . 124,
I' ' ;Dm-" l \ ~ k l r t h l ' 91
Dc I 1.1\ IILl l ld ( mIII1 {)11(:6TWin
Oller 6'. 147I'\: I -LI 1I111d 1)111, - '6C pml'l
12 11, I S l S, 44 ';, ;9,97. Il'7
P1111411cr,,,, 4S
1\:r...'Il'\lr 171
{)elt'l A i r 1 , 2
J)lIt1 Air L lC ' " S ' , S i , 9 7 , IIi IS.
141, 162
PETA 'l'
Dl'llhdll' :\cr \l. p' I\ . l' 124
1""I"he I lA 112, IS,
nl'll",dll' Lill i I LIl . l 21
I)l·llt . (hl'r t \ \ .' r t l1I ly1 21
I\lllll'I\·tr,lll'll111 IlL'
l\\lI,t.:Lh Alrd,llr ( \ l l l l P , I 1 l ~ 7,1(\
17 ", I S6 7
Clll1lWOIlt\trlllll'' ' ' so, 112Cal l' ld.1 k 1 164
C'Ill'ld.lIr Four 42
Canadt,ln Alrllnl''' 'Int"rn,ttltHlal
94-S, 112, 164C.Ill,ldl.lll I onh 164
Can,IJI.1llP"Ul1l Air LIIll « '""
Aor) 50, S6 7.94
Can)el 164
Carll,ll LAlri l I ll ' ' ' 170
Caner, Ron 59
CASA 124
Ccntral A IrilIlC'" 67
Cl'ntra] B r l o .h Columht,l t\lrwily'"
49C F ~ 1 1111lrnIIItIIlll 101,154
CFMS6 101 2, 116 142, 146 7,
151 4
Ch;lllcngl'r Atrlllll·. 6) 6
Ch,lIlu' \'tlughl (:t)rp\)rallllll
Ch,lIlncl Alrw,I\ ," 44Chlll,l Atrllll,·. ~ L \ 166
Chlll,l E" ...r l· r n 14S
Chill;! Cirt."H \VIII Corf '\ ) r ,Hhl l l 14S
Chmil Snllthnn I4S
Clldlord 177
ClI ' lI'lll·l . 177Cm-FIYcrExprl· . 12S
CI\"t! A\.'rtlll,HItl('" 1\1.lrd H. \9,
66--7,72, S7
(1\"11 A\"I,t1ltlil Allnllllt. lr.lIltltlllf
Chma 14'CI\"II A\"I.ltlPll r\lllh\lrlt\ I('S
Cl.lrk . \m HuhIIY" \oi" 1('6
COl11p. . Alrw.I,,'" 177
Cnndllr F111gdln . r 71, Sol 1,1
Ctlnllt.'u.ur 122
CUI1II1llnl11 Atrhnl· . 17. i2, 7S, .st.92 1,96,112,1421, 14S,
1 61 2 , 16S, Iii
C\lll\'.llr (' \ ' ·H0 16,21. 66
(' \-440 2 0 , "
C\'-';,Sl' 25 7,66-7,92 1C\'-6l 67
C\'-640 49C \ ' - " 0 1 7 , , 1 , 9 4
CV-990 15, 17,94, 122
COPA A"lmc" 165
Cor . m 141
Cll l l \o . lltlltd,lY" IL'H, 112
CO l ' \' ,Errol 105--6,122
CtllJrt Lllll'A\"liliIOn IHCr,llld,llI,Rt lhlrt J IIH
Crtl<llll Atrlllll'' ' ' 150 I
Crtlllt,hAtrlllll'' ' ' 17('
( : rU:I l 'r t l 146
CS.A C:l'(h Alrlllll·. ISLI IS?
(:ull,lrd E,I"!c Am\, I \, ' " 41 6
( ~ u n l ' " ( '·46 49
( \ 'rnl'" AlrwIY" 17( '
Ca lAi r Intl'r1l.llhlll,d 127
(:.lkdt,ltll'UlAIrway. 46,127,
129 10,16'
C : 1 l 1 \ r Il 1 (\'lltr,11Alrlllll· . )l) 40
C,lht"rllla PlIhl t (UI dl t l l· .
(:tlIl11n" . l I l i l N,15
797
Index
49 5L 7I, ,5, 94. 107·H, 112,
114, 155, 171727 16,2(\-1,2l. 2;, n 28, 1I ,
1 4 S , 19,41,5>, )9, 61, 65--<"
79, H2 M, H6 ", 91, 91-7, 99,101. 1045, 107, 112 114,117-2L\ 129 111-1,142 146,
1)9,162,164-,16' ,I7I,IH5
747 12. >5,8 ,,2 ,91 2,91,
97-" I 2 , 1 40 , 1 66 , I i9757 88,101 1,109,112,122,
12S, 127, 110, 11H, 142, 152,
161,164,167 -8,1717671012,1157,152,155,165,
16i, 179777 152,154,166
7j7 102 47N7 101
H-I H,ll
10-17 II
! l-29 22, 12!lA7 nH-52 14
H&W ~ I o d e l lC-40A 172C-97/KC-97 1 2. 1 2
KC-115 ~ , I l 14.12.101, 104,
179
~ h , , - I e l 2~ t l l d d ,
~ h l c l 4 ,
T-4>-" 110l\x'lIlg Bu. tn\ . Jet Iii -2 IS0
1 1 J \Vtllt.llll E" s. IIBomh.lrdll'r R l J I I 1 1 1 jl'l 16.?
l \ l I l ,m: , }Atrlmc . 2: !S
I\l"'phnru :\I r 170
Bri l,l thl ·n .?\ , 41 -2.62- l, 6h- i I.' l ' . 116, IS, 9, "1
Fklllllt Alrw.1Y . 1 7 2 S, =0 6S,
72 1,75, ,7 ' ,91, 11921
Rrall. l l l l, Rt lh'. l rd 129
Rn . 11l1 17S Brll,lIlnl;l 12,42 "
4S 6, 4H S7 ~ , 6 " 10,
Brtl,lIllll,lAlrw,ly'" 2 ~ . 41 7 , 57 -H.
6'-9, Hl-S, ILI ,107-S,
112 11,116,125,110,167-8
Brttt. h Al' rmp,ll l ' BAc 146 9H, 104,
119,124,126,128-9,112,
162 1jl'blrC,llll 9H
Brl ll h AIr f- l rrl l" 127
Brt tl h Alrtllur . I l " ' ~ , 116. 127.
129 ll\ 179
Rn,,-h AI"' ' ' )' 101 In 10, 1121 1 7 ~ ~ , lSI, 151, 162-1, "5, 1 ~ 9
RrUl h C,tk·dtllll.1Il A t r w . l ~ ' " 127, 1,0
Bntl h t : ,II l '. hllll,1Il (:hartl'r 127
Brt ll h E , ! l Illll·rtlilllllll'll Alrlml· .
44 SBrlll . h Ellru!""l lllAlrwlY" I)t 44 ),
Il'l, I>l\ 112, 1 ~ 6Brtll . h ~ 1 t d l . l I l d Alm.I\". 106. 112.
11'-9, 167,I i ~Brtll . h On: r" l I " A t r w , I ~ ' "
Cllq<Ir1I101l II 12.15 17. ~ 6 ,42, 44S, S7 , 101
Rrt ll h UllIlcd . \m\ .I\ , ' " 44
Brt lt h \ ,(Inrld Alrll l l l ·. 127
Hro\\ 11, \Xl1l l r II
Rnlll\lll Am\.IY'" I ' ~Hrym\ln Eur')I'I.".1ll ·\trw.I'-'" IlS
Burh·. E" P.IUI 67
Hurr,1\)11 S 9 , 9 2 - ~HlI: : 162 IB\X'IA\ (fl . t 11l lle
.15S--lJ
111\( One-ElcH'n 7, I ~ - 19. 245,
ll, 19,44. 46,50,61 2,65,71,
79 'l \ ~ l , '6,101 5,107·-H,112,119,121-9, III 2,11',
151, 1712, 17S, "5
HiI",HII FluJ:J:l e1I"lhllt 1 0 ~ - 9HEA :\tr tour. 10,
IX·IU\-II. b"lw,mJ R 14'
I ~ r l l l l EUr\ll"llIl LI\: 1,2
lx-thull\.·,<"\lr\lnn 14.?
Htrllllllj.!h,ltll Euwpc,1llAlrw.l\"" I , ~HI AIr T r . l I l " ' l ~ l r l 17
Bhll· ' -Ll l ldll l I \"I1 167
1\t)(·11lL:.-\lrTr,m",plm s-9,11
1\X lllg '\lrpl.lIl\.·C\ltllp.lll\ 7. S . 9 .II
40A ,
sL"\ l)
2479 II. I S I S6
lLi II
1I4 II 12
17i 12 . 1 67-7 1027L'i ' . 1 2 Il, lS Ii, 1920,29,
12,45 6. 49Sl \ 71,79, ,2,
'4 5, , 7 , , 97 , ILl, 101 4,114,11', 14S, 151, 1)7, Iii
717 157, 1 7 l ~7 2 0 / 7 2 l ~ ! l 1( IH2L I, 2" II 4,
AuCd 109,116-21,147,159
Atr<.:,lllm"l'. llnl'nt . 116
Atrllll\.· nercglll.mon All S7 - "
Alrlllll' Plio",' A . I"lltItHm (ALPA)
214Alrtuur 12S
t\lrw'ly Illl\.·rnathltl.11 ( ~ , m n t112 14,116,124
ALt,l.rAorlme, 14,94 5, 146, 158,
1 7 7 ,
1\\;t ... J Iml'rIlilllPlul AIr 146
Alu,Iir,I 15,47
All N'rron AIf\\"a\' 50,64 ·5, 114Allcgh<"l1\ Aorlme, 27, 104 5
AII"mceAif 147,166AIII . tHl 501l 'ngl l l l ' 27,66
AII . I'lIl· ]n . ur,lIKl · 71
AlohaAlflme, 6S 79,162,171,179
Amh . <idor 1\ IrWiY . 16H
Amh\.·r 'l l r 125
Aml'rl l,l We . 1 Alrl l llC'" lJS 112.
142 1,147, ISl, 171,181
Amcrll.ltl Atrlllle. 6, II. 17 19.2, .
72. ~ 7 , 117 21 , 124 IS6IS9 ( )1
Am\·rI(,1Il AlrW,I\ . 10- II/\!ll\.·rI(,1ll hn. lllu· ( jruup 109
Aml'rI(.1ll <. )n'r"'l'' '' ' ' AlrllIll'' ' ' 1 ~ 2Aml'rI(.1llTr,m . Air ISO
ANI' '\or "!Irr"n I14, IS0An"'l'lI :\lrllIle . 1,2 ,. 1ii
An-eIlAN.-\ 61
An"'l'tt N \ . · \ \ Z l 1 11 J 1,2
AIl . lU \'('orldwt. k 109
Anhlllt\\" -\l\:·24 t)7
A O ~ 1 hl· lllh AlrlIIlC" loll
:\pnllll Ih· . nr lit.)
An:\ll1,1 Atrlllll·. 6)-6
:\rk\.1 1 14 ISArn,lllllJ.: IS:
A , I I 1 ;\.trlmc 1\2
A p ro I l o !, d "y 1 2 )
AtII" AIr 172
ATR 42 126All"lrI1I1ll Alrhnl· . Il2
A\'.IllIAlrl1m Ih=;
t \ \ "I ,K\ l 47AnilClUHl (d
An,IIlGt 2), )4. 7H
An,l I l' L ,t 164 5
A\' i ; l tHm Trddl·r. ' (:arvillr 49 , 127
Aviogellex III 12
Axoll Alrlllll·. 170
AR A.r1lnl·. 175 6AB Sh,mlllll1 1i5Ahcl.lj!AIr\\.IY. 97
A<rLing, , ' 21, 44,49 S0, 62-1,6"
70 I. 97, 1 0 ~ , 122,11" 140,170, 172
Al'n . 141
Acrltntl' Elrl',mn 49, 1:;6
AlfO '- ~ h d l · . l r l < l " 165
Aero ( \ l I l II l lCl1 l l ' 164-5Acm COIl1l11l..'11Il' Chdc 165
A<ronol 7,151-2,187
Al'mltnca . ArgC11t1l1,I" 79, 164Al'nlt l lOlr lt l l l1 L' 140- IAcnl"p,Kc Indu . trtc . A"'''l)(I,ltitm 24Acm",prlll<1k 124
Al .'roS\'I1 151
ACflllOllr 109Aor 2000 126,118-9AorAlg:T1e 70,80-1,114-15,146
AirAnglta IH6Air AtIII1Il klLlIldl1.: 155, 16"
AlrAtltlllll ... 114
Air !X·lgllllll 97. 122AirRerlll) 1L!. ISO
AirBn"lol 17--\If C hfof11,1 55 6,72, 109. 116':ur C1nIJ,I 164
:\ If Ch.\rrcr I 'l lA . r Chm.) 14:-
o\lf bop.II'lI" 122Air EUf\lr.1 1 21 2 , 125. 159\ IT Eurorl' 101--6. 101'\-9, 116.
120- S. 1 2 ~ , I"
Air Europe Exl'n . 1.?2" 5
-\Ir EUnlJ1." ( ~ G l l l d l n . 1 \ - I . \ ) .?2
. \Ir FI\md1 10,,7 lk,96, 10t\--9, Hi,
Ii,
Air Fr,lllll' I" 15,49, S6, 9i, 100,
124,112,140-1, 1;1
: \ . l rU.l I '<ln S0
!\or1I"ll.md III
Air 111lr S6-7. 141, I S 5
AIr ~ b d , l l . : , I " ' G l r , ~ OA,r ~ L u l Au II
A,r M.d , \"1 146
Air 1>LtIt" 114 IS
Aor N,uln, 80-I, 114AorNe \\" Zc,dand 61,112,162,180
A Ir N o r w , I ~ ' 122
AIrOutrl ' ~ k r 141
AIr Paulll: IHAir PhlilpJ'llle. 166
Air PrO\"l·nll· Ch,lrter 175
AIr R\hl' 170
AIr Slll,ll 97.99
AIrSnll lhwe. t 71
Air Sp<llll 4 ~A tr SlIn . 11111\ Hs
Air T,lll:,llll,1 SO. 146
Air Tpulllll"'eImlrIl,ItHm,11 141
AlrTr,l l l lSi
Air Tr.Ul"pnrt A . \x:I,uhm 01
Amerll,t 24
Air Trlll"I<lrt \'('orlJ liS
AifUK 12S,162Air l 'I\: Llt . ure 1 25 6
Air Lkr.llnl· 151
Alr\'.Ulu.llu IHAir \ ' tkl l lC 15)
AIf \\,._, 2" 41
Alr7,llre S0
-\Irhll'"Indll . t rt c 1 24
.-\1(\' ~ S , 91,124-5,166,177
A1I0 124 Ill, 152 IS5,164 1"-'
A l l ' 146,1)1,162.167. IH0
-\119 140,146, 167, 1 ~ 0,\ 120 119, 1 24 7 , 110, 112, I 1"
140-2,146-7,151-4,159,162,
167 ' , 1 , 0
AI21 126 14l \1 4 2 146, 167 "0
All0 ISS
1\140 ISS
112ft 71n (34.3m)
41ft 2in(12.5m)
162-189
174,200lb (79,020kg)
129ft 7in (395m)
3,383ml (5,443kml
Length
Range
737-700
Length 110ft 4in (33.6m)
Height 41ft 2in (125m)
Wmgspan 112ft 71n (34.3ml
Gross Weight 154,5001b (70,080kg)
Range 3.751mi (6,035km)
Seating 126-149
Aviaton Hobby Shop
Height
Gross Weight
737-800
Aviaton Hobby Shop
Seatmg
Wingspan
THE 737.100-900
790
- --
Aviaton Hobby Shop
737-900
Length 138ft2in (42.1m)
Height 41ft 2in (12.5ml
Wingspan 112ft 7m (34.3ml
Gross Weight 174,2001b (79,020kgl
Range 3, 158ml (5,081 km)
..Seating 177-189
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Galaxy Airway> 170, 190Gare>. Mark T. Jnr 54GATX/Booth Aircraft C()rronnion
55-6. 109GB Airways 130. 167GB Lel>ure 130GeneralDynamics 17
General Ekctnc 101. 171-ZGerman,a I31-Z, 158, 190Gdlf,llraf Airway . 130
Cllner, Gerald 91
GoFly 16Z-3G,xxlman, lIarry 105, IZZGrandImernarional Atfway:- 166
Gr < " J oe 59Gucrn:lcy Airlines 122
G l l i n n c ~ s Peat Aviation 109,122,
133. 151
GulfAir 80,97
Gurdll1<lll, G.r. 85
Ham,111 AlrltnC:l 148
H"JI-!o,mnoll, Stc!o:- 172I L1l1111lO!1 Aero Manufacturing 8
Handley·Page IIPR·71 bald 45,
IZ 7 1 38lIapag Lloyd 131, 154, 158. 180Ilarnson, ChriS 106, 116
1lassen, Victor 177Ilavc1ct L ca :- 1 g 1 12
II lWillI.nl Alrhru;s 65
IlawkerS,ddcley IZ4liS (BAc) 7 48 7 9, IZ9 133.172Tndent 44-5, 103, 148, 186
Hdl\)s Airways 170I kn . on Alrl1l1L'S 118
Hhpanlil 122
Ilphd'l)' Alrlll1CS 170Ilolt)e, Gerh",d ZZ 51
Ilon:on Travel 83,106,109. IZ5Huhhard, Edwlrd 32
Ilughc .... Iltm',lrJ 11
Ilukk. J Kenneth 55
Ihma 15.47,63.122,159
kl'hmJ Alr1tL . 155Icdand,llf 155
Ilymhm 11·189711·86 14811·96·300 180
Indl<l1 A.rllIle.., Cmpor,ltlnn 79, ~ 2 ,147. 166
Indo!1C an Air Fllrcc 110
Indn!1CS ) GovernnH':l1l 110
I n l < l ~ U n L CI f C C l rn u p 101) 109
Irllq.:rlrld Alrcr"fl CorpOr< ltDn 109
Inter C aq : J Servlcl 141
InlerCid ServlCc 141
In l r Europe,m Alrwayl 125 6
Il1Iertlug ZI. 187Intenor Alrwayl 146
Intern,1I10n,11 Air Tr 1'1por!
A»oua"oo (lATA) 47,49
Intcrn,Hl\lnal L ea " F 1 1 t )C C
Corl '"ra"on(ILFC) 109.114.116,138
Intern.lIlim,11 LCNlreGrnup 109,
I ZZIr,m All 80.97
Ir Am\,ly'" 80,97
I>land>tlug 1551.. lanhul Alrlll1l 1 69 7 0
j-pan Air Line'! 134
j p,1l1 Tr,m ...O c " 1 1 AIr 134
JetAmvay' 166.176jet America Alrlmc_, 146
J ug o' m ' n ... ki Aero Tr<1 1pnr! (JAT)
111-1 Z 151
Junker,JU·5Z ZI
JU·88 ZIJunker ... Lufl\l..rkehr 21
Kelleher.llerhert D. 71-Z. 75.104.181-Z
K l n y A l r w a y ~ 146
K l w b on , Alan II. 54
Kmg, R"lltn 71-Z, 181KLM Royal DUlch AlrllI1t" 130,
159,177,186,190
KLM UK 161
K or - m Air 166,17?-8
Korc<ln AIr L I l 1 l . . ' ~ 133
KTI-IY 170Kuhl, E11d 51
Kuwair Alr\<lYs 80
LACSA 164L ' A e r o p o ~ r < . - l l e 141
Lake CentralAillme, Z3 Z5-7, 37
LakerA,m'ay, 44, 57. IZ7LApA 164LCIurc Imcrnatlonal Allways 126
Llhra Holiday, 168
Ll"ca' Acn_'-Hi Ch c<Jn<Js 165
LmJetlyg 136-8, 155Lilhllanl<ln Airlme" 151
Lockhccd AlrcwflCo, 156-7
Constellat,on 18,2O-Z. 33-4. 39,41-3,47.49, 5Z 156
CI30 I bcule> 49. 146L·188 Elecl,a I Z , 1 7 , Z3-4, 33,40-1,53,55,61,88,116,157
L·IOII Tmwr 83, 103-4, 130.133, 136, 159. 168
L"ftlelder 155Lorenzo, Frank 91-3, 142
LOTPolbh Alrlme> 136, 151LOl ... T O l l r t ~ m Organll,Hlon 170
LTU 63. 159
Luflag ZILuflhatba Z0-3, 30, 36, 51-Z, 58,
60,68.71,83,90-1,104, liZ,131-Z, 135-6,141-Z.153.161,166,170, 183. 188
Luxall 97, 100
M,lCedonwl1 Alrlll1lS (Grecce) 170
M,ler,kAir 107. 109, II Z IZ5IZ7. 136
M,ler,kAir (UK) 137-8M , a y < l 1 A l rw ; - Y' 3 6
M , I L 1 Y ~ I < I - S l l 1 g a p o r l ' Alrlllx", 24. 36,
04,77, 184M , l b Y ~ I , i I " l Alrlme Sy ... ICI 78--9,
I Z6, 147
M,llay'I,iI"l A I r < lY' 36
i rb v IlunglrI.lI"l A lr m l 1 150-1i r d mo AVl,II10n 136
1\I,lIldann A r 1 " 166
M,lrllll1\l.. 110
tv!.lIkAIl 146tv!"111 ZOZ Z8 39
404 Z8, 38 , 5 9 , 68, 118
McDtmncl1 D t Ug l " Alrcr.lftCo,
156 7MD·II 122.157.177,180
MD·80 75.9Z· I, 104. 116. 119,IZ4, 14Z, 146, 148, 157
MD·90 157Mdlherg, Dave 51-3Mellherg, W,II1,lm E 5Z-3
M l r id lc ln ' 1 22
M n J 1 162->
MCXlC.ma 23-4
Me) Air Tran ... p or l 8 4
MI<1I111 Air 168
Midway Ar1l11e> (I) 96,147Midway AlIllI,"> (Z) 16Z-41\tmcrvc 141
MlW>try of AVIHlt" l 44
Moddufl I Z6 166
Mohawk Aillme, 39, 104-5Monarch Alrlme> (UK) 107-8, liZ
Monarch Alrl (US) 65 -6
Mom,All 14Z 3 147
Mu>e Al l 75-6Mu c Michael 75
Mu c M. LlIn,lr 72-5
1\1yer Wdh,lm 54
N,ltlOmdAerol1lunc ... & Space
Admll1l ... tr<lon (NASA) ,S,
86, 179N,lIIonal Air T r; 1 ... pnr! 8, II
Nanonal Alrhnl ... 23,87,96, 185
NcwY"rkAIr 93,96. liZ, 147N W Z e< l 1 d N,1I10nal Alrw;!yl
Corp"r,H,,,n(NZNAC) 50,61-Z, 13Z
Nl'\,'man. A ir 1 ,2
NICA 164
Nigerl,lAlr\\,ly" 80Nihon KmlHlrl Airway... (NKK) I H
INDEX
N,hnn (NAMC) YS·II 38,59,68,
118, 134
NOGA 110Nord Z6Z Z5-7Norda;r Z3 33,56-7,61,94Nortcrr<J 164
Northern Consolidated A i r l l n e ~Z3-4.34
Northwest Alrl" lcs 87,124, IS,NorlJer IZZNorway A l r h n e ~ 122
Novalr 159
O Vi r InternatIonal Airways
127-8
Oce<lnalr 155
Odyssey lnrematlonal 126
OlymllCAlrw"y, 97, 170Olympic AViation 170
O'Regan, Martrn 105-6,IZZOrgal"lzal ion of Oil Producmg and
ExpornngCountricl (OPEC)
83-4,101Ort"n Airway, 106,108-9.l iZ.
114, 116.IZZ, IZ5Overc<ls Aviallon 42
O:ark Alrlme:'! 53
Pacific Aero ProduCb Company 8PaCIfic All Lrne, Z3 Z7-8, 37.
40-1,55
Pacific Air Trampon 8-9, IIPacific Aviation Holding C()mp<my
109PacifC Norrhl rn Alrlmcs 33--4,61,
94Pacific Southwest Alrlll1el 23,28,
37.39-41.53-4.72.88.104.
117. 143PacIfic W I . . ' ~ t e r n Alrlme ... 23,33,
48-9.56,61,94,119
P k s t 1 " Inlern,Hlonal Airway... 112,
147. 1491\111 American \X/orld Alf\vayl 11-
IZ. 15,34.87.96-7, IZ4, 13ZP,ramOUI"( Am\'ay ... 125
Peach All 168P Cj a ... ll' I A Irl11"lC' 170
Peiser Roher! 144-5
PcopIExprc' " Alrlmcs 89-91,98,liZ. 14Z, 147, 161
PereIra, Wdhcun L jnr 54
Pcrrolmr I 10
Pettlr. Roger 89
PhlllpplI"lc Air L l " e ... 166
Piedmont A lr l " l c s 2 3, ,7-9, 53, 58-
9,68-9,104, liZ, 117-19.143PlcJmnnt Commuter 118
pLUNA 108Polanl Alrcmft Le,hmgCorpnrillhll"l
119Pran & Whllney 8
JT8D 19,31.59,64,86. 101-Z,135-6,143,179
Wa> 1 1 0Prcsidcnllal Airways 98, 147
P rl d l n t l E xp r s " 98Pnv,H,m 171
r r o ~ A l r 147
Putnam,Iloward D, 75
Qanla> 55, 13Z, 134, 177Qanta ... NewZl,lland 1,2, 162
Quehecall 94, 108
Rank Organl:allon 127-8Red Drilgon Tril\cl 112
Renick. L ud 5 4Rldlr 151
Riga Alrlll1el 151
RI"Sui 146R"I b Royce Spey 63RJ500 101
RotterdamAlrl1lll· ... 130--1
R"yalAirMaroc 80. 146Royal Airline ... 164
Royal Brunei Alrlnl 80Ryamltr 16Z, 171-3
SAAB 340 13ZSahena 15,49,97,99-100, 153,
175, 177
192
Sahrc A l f \ \ ' < I Y ~ 168
SaharaA Irltne> 166, 168SAIISA 80SAT 131
SATA AllAcores 155SATA Internauonal 155
Sauclta 80, 8Z. 97ScanJm<lvlan A i r 1 i n e ~ System
(SAS) 15,41,85,136,138,
155, 158-9, 189Shanghai A I r " C S 148
Shcnzcn A i r " l es 1 48
Short Bros & Harland 63
330 IZZ36 0 1 ZZ IZ6Sandringham 12
Sdkalr 147Srng"poreAllltne, 77,79,88, 147SkutnlCk, Lenny 89
Skyway, 4Z
SNECMA 101
SNOMAC 86SNpL86
S"helalr 97, 100SOCICta Aerc<lMedacrr' "l (SAM)
47
S o l o m n n ~ Alrlll"le' 134
South African A l r \ \ ' a y ~ 23,65,79,
180South Ea ...r European AIf\\ays 126
Sourh\\,c ..,1 Alrlml (Japan) 134
Southwcst Airl" lc ' (US) 7 ,71 -7 ,
88.104. l iZ,135-6, 14Z-3, 147,154-<i 158, 16Z. 172, 181-3
Spantax 47, IZZStar Elropl 141
SH:r111g Airways IS9, 184
Sterlmg European Am\ay" 159,168SWUI Alrlmcs 8S u d ~ E ' l { Avii-ltlnn 18
SE·ZIOCaravelk 7.13-6,18,41,
49,53,71,79,84-6,97,114.
131-Z, 141, 159, 170, 184Sud,1n Airway... 80,97
Sultan Air 170
SunExprc . ' 170
S U I" l { r d InlernilllOnal Airline .liZ, 114, 147
Sup<ur 109
S W I S ~ , u r 15,84-5
TAAG Angob Alrlll"le' 80
TACA Imernilllonal Alrbne: '! 164
TACA Peru 164
TAE 47Taman Air FnrCl..' 172
TANAlrltne> 80TAPAi r Ponugal 114
TAROM 151
Texa AernntlllllCS C Ol nlS ' "l 72
Texa AIr Cnrpnratllll"l 75,91-"
liZ
T xa... I nl r n, O n <l 1 A l r l l l " l l ' ~ 73-5,
77. 89,91. 93, 14ZThd'Airway, 80, 131Th,ll Alr\\ay... Internarum,ll 1,,--4
Thoma . Cook Travel 107
Thom!onGroup 83, 125
Thnm ...on I rCrn<1r( " lal 167
TIIYTurk"h Arrltne, 169 70
TIFA 85lime Air Swcden 1,6
lIt,lI"l AII\\ay... 126-7
Tjaerhorg RClser 159
Tr<ldcwl1d ... 147
TramAu ... lralia Atrlll1cI 61, 132
T nl " E u rn p a 47
Tmns Elrope;- " Am",ly" 84-6,97,
114. IZZ 130, 172-3
CYl 'n" I30, I 70Francc 130
Italy 130SWII:er1<tnd 130. 172U K I ZZ , 130
Trans Tex;:- A l I w < l Y ~ 72· 3Trans \Vorld Airlines (TWA) 23.
66,83,87. 157
TranlAer 168
T r a n ~ a e n l I51-2
Trmb..ur 61, 94
Tran.""·la 84-5,88. 103, 108, 114,1 30 I . 159
Tramhrcbll 146
T r a n ~ c o n t l l " l e n { a l & \X/esrcrn Air
10-11Tmnsmdc Air Senlcc 147
Transport Aenen Tmn: rcglOnal 141
Tr.mSl'H A l r h n e ~ 75-6
Tnmswedc A m v a y ~ I 36
Tran.:wcde L e l ~ u r e 136
Travel ServIce Airlines 151
Tunl>air 85. 114, 147TupokvTu·104 7 1 87Tu·IZ4 7.187Tu·l34 7 liZ, 151, 187
Tu·154 148TUR IZZ 130Tlrho1l1eca B a ~ r o n 27
UkramcInrcrnauonalAlrllncs 151
UM Iloldll1g, 147Unul"l Aeromanlllne de Tr(llbpOrr
Aenenne(UAT) 13
Unllll"l dc Tramporrs Acncm 141
UnliedAir Ltne, 9-11, 16-18. ZO,ZZ-4, Z9 33,39 , 41 , 5Z-3,64,68-9,84-5,87-88,93,96-7,
101.104. liZ. 14Z, 153. 16Z,179, 183, 188
UnlledAlrcmft& T r a n ~ p o r tCorporation (UATC) 8-11
United Expre's 98Unllcd S l < H e ~ Air F o rc e 1 4, 110
Unltl'd SI<les Navy 16,172Unl\er:!alr 122-3
Unl\crlal Sky T o u r ~ 42
US Arrway, 153, 16Z-3USAIr 104-5,109,l iZ, 117-18,
134,143.153, 16Z, 179, 189
Vacallnmur 126
Valulel 157Vangu,lrd A lr " 145-6,184
VARIG 146.149VarneyAlrllm.:s 8, IIVASp 79, 8Z, 146, 149, 176Vicker... Arnbtrong Vanguard 12,
45. 141VCIO 44, 5Z-53Vlklllg 42
V"coun, IZ-13. 16,18, ZO, 36,
45, 49-50,61-Z,65. 71,79.106. IZ7, I38. I51
Vikl"lg Internallonal 125
VlpAIr 170Virgin Group 129, 175
Atlantic Airway, IZ6 175. 177
Blue 176. 177
EXI"e» 175, 177E xp r s " (Frill1cd 175
EXlre» (Ireland) 175Viva IZZ
W,tIltck, S.L. 'Lew Jm Z8
\'VntCO,hlA Irlll"ll..' 28
We...r (JCrm<Hl Air F o rc c 7 9
We>lern Air Ltne> Z3-4, 31. 33-4,39,41,53-4,56.60,86-7,94,
104, liZ, 117-19, 143Wc... ll'rn PaCIfc Airline ... 143-5,
147, 172WC"lcndt,Cdr G, Conrad 8
WC'tgarl -Cahfomla CorpoT<lnon 116\X/c... tJel Alrlll1C ... 164
Whc,lIon, Capt Larry 89
Whltcomh,Dr Richard 179
WI enArrAh"ka 79,94, 114. 146Wlen Ala>ka Arrway> Z3-4, 34Wien C O lb n l d< l d A l r h n e ~ 21, n,
53,55,58,60,79
Wdlialll>, j.E.D. 44-7\Vin,ur Alrml 147
Wln\\,()od, RIChard 1. 147
Wolfe, Thoma... 55
Wnght 1810 10
\Xluhan Alrlmc'l 148
\Vygle. Bnen Z8-9
YakalovYAK·4Z 148Yemen Airway... 80
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