Airline: The Story of Pan Am

Started by Eclipse, April 19, 2013, 01:47:27 AM

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Eclipse

A time when flying was still exciting...
Airline: The Story of Pan Am

On October 24, 1978, President Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act, prompting the same
sort of disruptive industry change as would soon come to the telephone system with the divestiture of the Bell System in 1982.

"In 2011, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer (who worked with Senator Kennedy on airline deregulation in the 1970s) wrote:
What does the industry's history tell us? Was this effort worthwhile? Certainly it shows that every major reform brings about new, sometimes unforeseen, problems. No one foresaw the industry's spectacular growth, with the number of air passengers increasing from 207.5 million in 1974 to 721.1 million last year. As a result, no one foresaw the extent to which new bottlenecks would develop: a flight-choked Northeast corridor, overcrowded airports, delays, and terrorist risks consequently making air travel increasingly difficult. Nor did anyone foresee the extent to which change might unfairly harm workers in the industry. Still, fares have come down. Airline revenue per passenger mile has declined from an inflation-adjusted 33.3 cents in 1974, to 13 cents in the first half of 2010. In 1974 the cheapest round-trip New York-Los Angeles flight (in inflation-adjusted dollars) that regulators would allow: $1,442. Today one can fly that same route for $268. That is why the number of travelers has gone way up. So we sit in crowded planes, munch potato chips, flare up when the loudspeaker announces yet another flight delay. But how many now will vote to go back to the "good old days" of paying high, regulated prices for better service? Even among business travelers, who wants to pay "full fare for the briefcase?"


But that doesn't mean we can't miss the "good old days", just a little.

"That Others May Zoom"

Thrashed

Yea, the people of America got what they wanted and asked for: "greyhound of the skies" flight experience. Thanks.

-An airline captain

Save the triangle thingy

MSG Mac

Some things we had prior to deregulation

1. Interchangeable tickets; If there was a cancellation or long delay with your flight, you could go to a competitor and exchange the ticket to fly on theirs
2. Eastern Shuttle: Hourly $10 flights between Boston, New York, and Washington, DC. When the flight was full, they'd pull up another aircraft and keep boarding.
3. Friendly Sky's
4. Leg room between seats.
Michael P. McEleney
Lt Col CAP
MSG USA (Retired)
50 Year Member

flyboy53

#3
Quote from: MSG Mac on April 19, 2013, 11:12:30 PM
Some things we had prior to deregulation

1. Interchangeable tickets; If there was a cancellation or long delay with your flight, you could go to a competitor and exchange the ticket to fly on theirs
2. Eastern Shuttle: Hourly $10 flights between Boston, New York, and Washington, DC. When the flight was full, they'd pull up another aircraft and keep boarding.
3. Friendly Sky's
4. Leg room between seats.

Don't forget junior pilot wings, decks of cards, gromming kits for layovers and all the cool stuff with airline logos -- sorry, I've collected junior pilot wings since college and use them now as an AE lesson.

I remember when flying on an airliner was something that you dressed up for and were treated royally. My two favorite airlines were United and Northwest Orient, the latter being the one who took me to and back from overseas in the Air Force.

Imagine my surprise in 2009 when I went to NSC at Maxwell, got herded on to a Delta aircraft that had seen better days, you paid for everything, and the flight attentents were wearing jeans......?

I got better sevice aboard a C-130 with red jump seats!

MSG Mac

Sometimes it feels like Greyhound with wings
Michael P. McEleney
Lt Col CAP
MSG USA (Retired)
50 Year Member

SarDragon

The last Greyhound I rode in had more legroom than the last plane I had a ride in.  :(
Dave Bowles
Maj, CAP
AT1, USN Retired
50 Year Member
Mitchell Award (unnumbered)
C/WO, CAP, Ret

PHall

But you know, when I fly on Southwest I get exactly what I pay for, minus a bunch of added on fees. On-time transportation from point A to point B.

Thrashed

Quote from: PHall on April 21, 2013, 02:34:49 PM
But you know, when I fly on Southwest I get exactly what I pay for, minus a bunch of added on fees. On-time transportation from point A to point B.

No different than any other airline. The fees are just different places. If it cost X to fly the flight, the airline will charge that amount.

"One major reason Southwest prices can seem higher than competitors, he noted, is because Southwest doesn't charge fees to check baggage or penalties to change tickets. Check one bag for $25 each way and a Southwest ticket that is $50 higher than another airline may, in fact, cost the same."

Save the triangle thingy

Leading_Edge

I cant even imagine what it was like to fly on the old Pan Am, those were the days that being an airline pilot was like being a god.....

flyboy53

Quote from: Leading_Edge on April 29, 2013, 02:10:38 AM
I cant even imagine what it was like to fly on the old Pan Am, those were the days that being an airline pilot was like being a god.....

Get a copy of the recent series; it's on DVD now -- pretty accurate. I just can't believe that I remember when the 707s and DC-8s were new.

Camas

Quote from: flyboy1 on April 20, 2013, 11:53:04 PM
Don't forget junior pilot wings, decks of cards, grooming kits for layovers and all the cool stuff with airline logos -- sorry, I've collected junior pilot wings since college and use them now as an AE lesson.
I remember when flying on an airliner was something that you dressed up for and were treated royally.
True enough. My experience with Pan Am goes back to the 50's when I flew from Honolulu (my home at the time) to SF and back on board a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser. I was in grade school at the time so it was a real treat. We rode in 1st class as my rich aunt paid the freight for our family.

PHall

Quote from: flyboy1 on May 01, 2013, 03:43:27 PM
Quote from: Leading_Edge on April 29, 2013, 02:10:38 AM
I cant even imagine what it was like to fly on the old Pan Am, those were the days that being an airline pilot was like being a god.....

Get a copy of the recent series; it's on DVD now -- pretty accurate. I just can't believe that I remember when the 707s and DC-8s were new.

Uhh, not THAT accurate. They had the Navigator sitting at the Flight Engineer's (aka Second Officer) panel.
On the 707 the Flight Engineer is on the right side of the aircraft and the Navigator is on the left.

In the early 60's when the 707's were new there were four guys in the cockpit.
Pilot (Captain), Co-Pilot (First Officer), Flight Engineer (Second Officer) and the Navigator (Third Officer).

As soon as the first INS systems started coming on-line, the Navigators were an endangered species.

bosshawk

My one and only ride on Pan Am was in June 1959, from Frankfurt to Munich, Germany: on my way to my first duty station after the Basic Officers Course.  If I remember correctly, the aircraft was a DC-7C.

Phil: as an additional bit of trivia, as of my Space A trip to Korea in Sept, 1996, the C-5 didn't carry a navigator.
Paul M. Reed
Col, USA(ret)
Former CAP Lt Col
Wilson #2777

PHall

Quote from: bosshawk on May 02, 2013, 03:26:18 AM
Phil: as an additional bit of trivia, as of my Space A trip to Korea in Sept, 1996, the C-5 didn't carry a navigator.

Oh, you had a "Navigator". It was an Navigator-in-a-box, aka Carosel Mk IV INS!

bosshawk

Oh, yes, I realize that: in fact, triply redundant.  It also got us there in one piece.  I got to ride in the former Navigator's seat for the landings and takeoffs.  Wierd to realize that the cockpit was 75 feet above the runway when we flared.  We had INS in our later model Mohawks: never got to fly one.
Paul M. Reed
Col, USA(ret)
Former CAP Lt Col
Wilson #2777

Eclipse


"That Others May Zoom"

Eclipse


"That Others May Zoom"

Mitchell 1969

Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) used to have a $60 round trip from LAX to SFO. Meanwhile, Pan-Am had a few flights that came in from foreign countries, landed at LAX, continuing to SFO.

PAA often had empty seats. So they sold them as domestic from LAX to SFO at a bargain rate. I think they were $20. Or....first class for $30, same as PSA economy.

Pretty popular for those who knew about it - and we kept it quiet.
_________________
Bernard J. Wilson, Major, CAP

Mitchell 1969; Earhart 1971; Eaker 1973. Cadet Flying Encampment, License, 1970. IACE New Zealand 1971; IACE Korea 1973.

CAP has been bery, bery good to me.

Blackhawk

Quote from: Eclipse on September 14, 2013, 07:40:44 PM
Economy class seating in a 1970 Pan Am 747:

http://midcenturymodernfreak.tumblr.com/post/61211969616/c-1970-economy-class-seating-on-a-pan-am-747-via

How timely, I just flew to DC a couple of weeks ago in coach; I would have loved to of had this much room. I was then fortunate enough to sneak into the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum just before the shutdown and really enjoyed looking at their Pan AM & Airlines display.  If only air travel were that fun again.

Майор Хаткевич

Ah...back when people dressed up to fly.