Pacific Air Lines
| |||||||
Founded | 1941 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commenced operations | December 2, 1946 (renamed Pacific Air Lines, March 6, 1958) | ||||||
Ceased operations | 1968 (merged with Bonanza Air Lines and West Coast Airlines to form Air West) | ||||||
Hubs | San Francisco International Airport | ||||||
Fleet size | 40 | ||||||
Headquarters | San Francisco International Airport[1] | ||||||
Key people | John Howard Connelly Leland Hayward |
Pacific Air Lines was a
Founded largely with money from investors from the
Southwest Airways era (1941–1958)
Founding and wartime operations
In early 1941
Start of scheduled service
After the war, Connelly and Hayward raised $2,000,000 from investors including
Scheduled flights began on December 2, 1946, with war-surplus
In August 1953, Southwest scheduled flights to 23 airports, all in California except for Medford; in May 1968, Pacific flew to 29 airports.
No-frills spirit and quick turnarounds
Connelly serves no food ("let them bring their own"), provides no chewing gum ("we never fly high enough to need it and besides it sticks to the floor") or magazines ("takes too long to unwrap them")
Connelly, president, and Hayward, board chairman, were the majority owners of the airline, and as such could hold sway concerning how the company would operate. Running on slim operating margins, Southwest Airways was a
The airline speeded ground operations to the point where a DC-3 could load and discharge passengers and begin taxiing for takeoff 90 seconds after coming to a stop (adding six minutes if fuel is needed).[2] To save money, the airline had its own pilots do the refueling instead of paying airport personnel.[2] Ground time was reduced by keeping one engine running while a male purser quickly escorted passengers to and from the plane.[2] Pacific's DC-3s were modified with an 'airstair', a door that doubled as a staircase for passengers.[9] The airstair eliminated waiting for a ground crew to roll a wheeled staircase up to the plane.
In August 1953, a daily Southwest DC-3 was scheduled SFO to LAX in 3 hours and 45 minutes with eight stops.
Pioneering instrument landings
The airline's innovative spirit extended into
By 1948 Southwest had a fleet of 10 planes, all Douglas DC-3s, and was flying between 24 airports in California and Oregon, becoming the second-largest feeder airline in the United States.[2]
Crash of Flight 7
The airline had no fatal accidents until the evening of April 6, 1951, when Southwest Airways Flight 7 crashed, killing all 19 passengers and three crew members,[10] including 12 military personnel.[11] The DC-3 was flying a 20-minute route between Santa Maria and Santa Barbara. The aircraft struck a ridge in the Refugio Pass region of the Santa Ynez Mountains at an elevation of 2,740 ft (835 m), far below the minimum nighttime altitude of 4,000 ft (1,219 m) prescribed for the route over that stretch of mountains. The Civil Aeronautics Board was unable to determine the cause.[12]
Fleet expansion
By late 1952, the airline's fleet included eight secondhand
Pacific Air Lines era (1958–1968)
The airline became Pacific Air Lines on March 6, 1958;
Like other local-service airlines, Pacific was subsidized; in 1962, its operating "revenues" of $12.1 million included $4.1 million in federal subsidy.[16]
Prop and turboprop transition
In 1959 Pacific added the first of 14 secondhand
According to the airline's timetables, flights to Las Vegas started in 1957, to Reno and San Diego in 1962, and to Lake Tahoe in 1964.
Crash of Flight 308
A Pacific Air Lines DC-3 operating as Flight 308 carrying 3 crew and 17 passengers crashed on October 26, 1959, killing the co-pilot.[21] The plane was taking off from Santa Maria, California when the number five cylinder of the left engine failed, and severe buffeting began shaking the aircraft. The captain was forced to make an emergency landing about 1+1⁄2 miles north of the airport, during which the plane cartwheeled to the left on its nose, causing severe damage. The co-pilot was killed, the captain was severely injured, and the purser and passengers suffered injuries of varying severity.[21]
The investigation into the crash determined the probable cause was that "following the failure of the left engine, the left engine's ring cowl was deformed causing a buffeting and drag condition that made sustained flight impossible."[21] A contributing factor was "scheduling of the flight by the company when there should have been reasonable doubt concerning the airworthiness of an engine."[21] As a result of the crash, Pacific Air Lines stopped using contracted maintenance at Los Angeles (where the DC-3 was based) and sent its own personnel there to perform all future work on company aircraft.[21]
Hijacking attempt
The first U.S.
Crash of Flight 773
On May 7, 1964, Pacific
Boeing 727s
On September 13, 1965, Pacific Air Lines announced it would acquire six new
The airline promoted the Boeing 727 in a 1966 print ad: "Pacific Air Lines jets to more California cities any other airline."[32] The ad said Pacific 727s served Fresno, Bakersfield, Monterey, Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, and Santa Barbara. Pacific planned to order
Controversial ad campaign
In 1967 the airline embarked on a controversial advertising campaign, including a full-page ad in the New York Times on April 28, 1967, that highlighted the fear of flying, a subject rarely mentioned by airlines. Pacific had hired award-winning advertising executive and comedian Stan Freberg for the ad campaign,[33] knowing that unconventional ideas were his forté. Under his direction, print advertisements said:
Hey there! You with the sweat in your palms. It's about time an airline faced up to something: Most people are scared witless of flying. Deep down inside, every time that big plane lifts off that runway, they wonder if this is it, right? You want to know something, fella? So does the pilot, deep down inside.[33]
The copy from another ad said:
Hey there, you with the sweat in your palms. Do you wish the pilot would knock off all that jazz about 'That's Crater Lake on the left, ladies and gentlemen,' and tell you instead what the devil that funny noise was you just heard?[34]
To complement the ad campaign, flight attendants handed out "survival kits" featuring hot-pink lunch pails containing a small security blanket,[30] a "lucky" rabbit's foot, the best-selling book The Power of Positive Thinking, and a fortune cookie containing the slogan "It could be worse. The pilot could be whistling 'The High and the Mighty'."[35] The attendants were also encouraged to exclaim "We made it! How about that!" upon landing.[33] Freberg had unfulfilled plans to paint a Pacific Boeing 727 to resemble a locomotive, with wheels on the fuselage and a cowcatcher on the nose.[30] Inside the cabin, passengers would have heard a recording of a steam locomotive over the loudspeakers.[30]
Matthew E. McCarthy, Pacific's chief executive and biggest shareholder, explained the campaign: "It's basically honest. We spoof the passengers' concern, but at least we admit they have it."[30] Philip H. Dougherty, writing in the Business and Finance section of the May 1 edition of The New York Times, described the advertisements as "rather shocking".[36] Objections to the unorthodox campaign were raised at a May 1967 stockholders meeting, and two Pacific Air Lines executives resigned in the wake of the controversy.[37]
Merger
When the Boeing 727 jet order was announced by the airline in 1965, it was unforeseen that a change in the business climate was on the horizon and that economic realities would dictate that some of the jets would not fly for Pacific. Stiff competition from rivals such as
The two cofounders of Southwest Airways died within nine months of each other in 1971. John Connelly was 71,[39] and Leland Hayward was 68.
Destinations in 1968
The April 28, 1968, timetable lists Pacific Air Lines flights to the following just before its merger.
California:
- Bakersfield(BFL)
- Bob Hope Airport
- Chico (CIC)
- Crescent City (CEC)
- Arcata(ACV)
- Fresno(FAT)
- Inyokern(IYK)
- Lake Tahoe (TVL)
- Long Beach (LGB)
- LAX)
- Yuba City(MYV)
- Monterey(MRY)
- Oxnard/Ventura(OXR)
- San Luis Obispowas served via Paso Robles
- Redding (RDD) - Red Bluff was served via Redding
- Sacramento(SMF)
- San Diego (SAN)
- SFO) - headquarters for the airline
- San Jose (SJC)
- Santa Barbara (SBA)
- Santa Maria (SMX)
- Santa Rosa (STS)
- Stockton - (SCK)
- Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) - Passenger access was restricted: "The right of passengers to enplane or deplane at Vandenberg AFB is subject to Military Security Control."[40]
Nevada:
- Las Vegas (LAS)
- Reno(RNO)
Oregon:
- Portland (PDX)
Fleet
- Boeing 727-100- only jet operated by the airline
- C-47version of the DC-3)
- Fairchild F-27
- Martin 2-0-2 (operated by Southwest and by Pacific)
- Martin 4-0-4 (operated by Southwest and by Pacific)
See also
Notes
- ^ The Martin 2-0-2s had airstairs like the DC-3, but unlike the DC-3s, the Martin planes had tricycle landing gear, so the airstair was underneath the tail instead of on the side of the fuselage. (photo)
- ^ The airline overstated by several years the actual amount of time they had been in scheduled passenger service. This reminder to the public of the airline's longevity, accurate or not, continued on timetable covers until mid-1964.(see Collector's Guide to Airline Timetables)
References
- ^ "Pacific Air Lines". Flight International: 523. April 2, 1964. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-20. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
- ^ TIME, October 18, 1948. Retrieved May 18, 2021 - article about the earliest years of Southwest Airways (alt. link)
- ^ Preston Lerner, Air and Space magazine, Oldies and Oddities: Tinseltown’s Training Base, Retrieved January 22, 2010
- ^ Thunderbird Man.TIME, February 8, 1943. Retrieved May 18, 2021 - describes the early efforts of financing Southwest Airways (alt. link)
- ^ Stars and the Sky, Hollywood and the Makings of Thunderbird. Duncan Boothby, Das Tor, The Garvin School of International Management, May 15, 2005
- ^ a b c Jones, Geoff (2005), Northwest Airlines, The First 80 Years. Arcadia Publishing. p. 82. Retrieved August 4, 2009
- ^ Davies, 1998, p. 620
- ^ "Pacific Air Lines timetable July 1, 1959". timetableimages.com. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
- ^ Photograph of a passenger using a Southwest Airways DC-3 airstair. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
- ^ Southwest Airways Flight 7. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
- St. Petersburg Times. AP. April 9, 1951. p. 1.
- ^ "Accident Report, Southwest Airways incident of April 6, 1951, Docket No: SA-232 File No: 1-0019". Civil Aeronautics Board. November 5, 1951. Retrieved January 20, 2015. (alternate link)
- ^ a b c d Killion, 1997, p. 142
- ^ "Southwest Airways timetable March 11, 1954". timetableimages.com. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
- ^ "Pacific Air Lines timetable July 1, 1959". timetableimages.com. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
- ^ Moody's Transportation Manual 1964
- ^ Gradidge, 2006, p. 234
- ^ Killion, 1997, p.142
- ^ a b Southwest Airways / Pacific Air Lines fleet list.Aeromoe's U.S. Airlines Fleets. Retrieved February 5, 2007.
- ^ "Pacific Coast Prop-Jets Pt1: Tri-merger F-27s". YESTERDAY'S AIRLINES. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
- ^ a b c d e Aircraft Accident Report, Pacific Air Lines, Inc., Douglas DC-3, N 67589, Santa Maria, California, October 29, 1959. Civil Aeronautics Board. August 30, 1960.
- ^ Aylworth, Rodger (2011-07-31). "50 years ago today, Chico became site of first U.S. skyjacking attempt". Chico Enterprise-Record. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
- ^ a b "Accident Report, Pacific Air Lines incident of May 7, 1964, File No: 1-0017". Civil Aeronautics Board. October 28, 1964. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ "44 killed in air crash east of San Francisco". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. May 7, 1964. p. 1A.
- ^ "Airliner crashes, burns in California, 44 dead". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. May 7, 1964. p. 1.
- ^ "Two Lodi women die in airliner crash". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. May 8, 1964. p. 1.
- ^ "Pistol spurs crash probe". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. May 8, 1964. p. 1.
- ^ "The Crash of Pacific Air Lines Flight #773". check-six.com.
- ^ "Pacific Will Fly Short-range Jets; Coast Airline to Acquire 6 Planes From Boeing". The New York Times. September 14, 1965. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Airlines: Hey There, Sweaty Palms!. TIME, May 12, 1967. Retrieved August 18, 2009 - describes controversial 1967 ad campaign (alt. link)
- ^ Airlines: How to Make Ten from Three. TIME, September 1, 1967. Retrieved May 18, 2021 - describes proposed merger with Bonanza and West Coast (alt. link)
- ^ "Pacific Air Lines 1966 Print Ad". departedflights.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
- ^ a b c Flight Safety Foundation newsletter, May-June 1988 - fear of flying article
- ^ Elliot, Stuart (August 5, 1992). "Advertising; In Lieu of Satisfaction's Lure, A Threat of Consumer Peril". The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
- ^ Zullo, Allan & Nelson, Kathy (2002), The Smile-High Club. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p.189 Retrieved August 17, 2009
- ^ Dougherty, Philip H. (May 1, 1967). "Advertising: On How to Get Talked About". The New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
- ^ "Advertising: On How to Get Talked About". The New York Times. May 9, 1967. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
- ^ Air West fleet list.Aeromoe's U.S. Airlines Fleets. Retrieved February 5, 2007.
- ^ John H. Connelly, 71 dies. Phoenix Arizona Republic, December 30, 1971, Obituaries p. 53
- ^ a b c "Pacific Air Lines timetable April 28, 1968". timetableimages.com.
Further reading
- Davies, R.E.G (1998). Airlines of the United States since 1914. Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 1-888962-08-9.
- Gradidge, Jennifer (2006). The Douglas DC-1/2/3 The First Seventy Years. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-332-3.
- Killion, Gary (1997). The Martinliners. Airways International Inc. ISBN 0-9653993-2-X.
External links
- Period photographs from the Arizona Memory Project - includes a photo of the airline co-founders, Connelly and Hayward
- The Ed Coates collection - pictorial history of U.S. Airlines, including photos of Southwest Airways and Pacific Air Lines aircraft
- Photographs of Pacific Air Lines aircraft - airliners.net
- Gallery of timetable covers for Southwest Airways and Pacific Air Lines - timetableimages.com
- Southwest Airways and Pacific Air Lines timetable covers from the 1940s 1950s 1960s - airtimes.com
- Southwest Airways / Pacific Air Lines aircraft fleet - lists registration numbers, aircraft types, dates of service
- Southwest Airways / Pacific Air Lines historical records - inventory of artifacts stored at the Minnesota Historical Society
}