Deregulation Darlings
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Showing posts tagged boeing
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Shortly after the 1987 merger, American used an interim livery of painting over the AirCal titlings and replacing them with the American sans serifs.
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Republic Boeing 757-2S7 N601RC by 64N21W on Flickr.
Republic Airlines would operate the Boeing 757 on long-haul flights later in it’s life. It would also change it’s branding into this design reminiscent of another MSP icon, Mary Tyler Moore.
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N237WA Western Airlines by Bob Garrard on Flickr.
Western Airlines had a rich history, dating back to flying air mail routes in the 1920s. Deregulation saw great expansion for the airline, with it’s network spanning from Hawaii and Alaska, to the East Coast, down to Mexico and all the way to the United Kingdom.
Western was also a player in the down-and-dirty intra-California market, alongside AirCal, PSA, and Alaska. -
William Shatner & Leonard Nimoy for Western Airlines 1985 (by robatsea2009)
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Gene Kelly & Fred Astaire for Western Airlines 1985 (by robatsea2009)
A longtime gimmick Western Airlines had was offering a glass of champagne to all passengers of legal drinking age. Because of this, Western had the reputation of being “The Champagne Airline”.
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al5599 by George Hamlin on Flickr.
Western’s regional network, with hubs at Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and Denver-Stapleton, was convenient and vast. Alas, this also made it a target for takeover. Delta would buy Western in 1986, and would fully integrate the carrier by April Fool’s Day of 1987.
Western’s legacy continues as Delta’s fortress hub at SLC. Another Western Airlines was established in 2007 with a main hub at Bellingham, Washington (between Seattle and Vancouver), but was short-lived.
