After its multi-million dollar computerized reservation system broke down over the Fourth of July weekend in 1968, causing a public relations fiasco, billionaire mogul Howard Hughes, in stepped to acquire the troubled airline. In 1970, the renamed Hughes Airwest began operations.
This tweet was posted on March 24, 2022.
Air West was branded with an ultramodern service mark in bright interchangeable color combinations of lime green, royal blue, orange, pink, and bronze. #DefunctThursday #AirWest
This tweet was posted on March 24, 2022.
Air West’s stewardesses were outfitted in futuristic, slim-cut, high-fashion ensembles created by Oleg Cassini and reminiscent of uniforms worn in the original Star Trek television series, which was popular at the time. #DefunctThursday #AirWest
This tweet was posted on March 24, 2022.
Based in San Francisco, the 3,800-employee carrier served numerous destinations up & down the California corridor, from San Diego to Crescent City, along with cities throughout the Southwest and Northwest, and even several tourist destinations in Mexico. #DefunctThursday #AirWest
This tweet was posted on March 17, 2022.
Check out that Hughes Airwest outfit in Cliff Muskiet's collection of stewardess uniforms! Yow! (via @CNN) http://t.co/Hb97DS7u #AVgeeks
This tweet was posted on March 30, 2012.
Did you know our collections website has a recently acquired objects button? From a Hello Kitty airsickness bag (really!) to a Hughes Airwest beach towel, keep up with what we’re collecting and browse through almost 2,000 recently acquired objects: https://t.co/kGhUpnPDvL
#AvGeek
This tweet was posted on June 15, 2022.
Do you have any favorite memories of PSA, AirCal, Hughes Airwest, or Pacific Air Lines? https://t.co/6m7FjFVDP6
This tweet was posted on December 05, 2015.
Featuring objects from PSA, AirCal, Pacific Air Lines, Air West & Hughes Airwest, "Catch Our Style" is a celebration of CA Regional Airlines
This tweet was posted on May 26, 2016.
In 1968, Air West was formed out of a merger of three regional carriers: Pacific Air Lines, Bonanza Air Lines, and West Coast Airlines. All three were struggling financially and a consolidation of routes and equipment seemed the best solution at the time
#DefunctThursday #AirWest
This tweet was posted on March 17, 2022.
Learn more about Howard Hughes’ airlines, Hughes Airwest in our Catch Our Style exhibition. http://t.co/aULAgnuuTQ
This tweet was posted on October 15, 2015.
Mario Zamparelli created a forceful identity for Hughes Airwest, dominated by his Yellow and Blue color scheme. #FashionInFlight
This tweet was posted on May 03, 2017.
Razors, hair creme, & a tube of deoderant were in generous kits given to men by Hughes AirWest in the 1970s http://t.co/uRGHhoXKCY #RON
This tweet was posted on April 08, 2014.
Republic Airlines was formed as a result of a merger between North Central Airlines and Southern Airways in 1979 and was based at Minneapolis–Saint Paul. The same year, Hughes Airwest was targeted it for a takeover by Republic. #DefunctThursday #RepublicAirlines #AvGeek
This tweet was posted on November 03, 2022.
SF based Hughes Airwest operated a large McDonnell Douglas DC-9 fleet, which were ideal for its West Coast routes. Painted in Sundance Yellow, the airline caricatured its DC-9 aircraft as flying bananas and advertised itself as the “Top banana in the West.” #WingWednesday
This tweet was posted on July 28, 2021.
This 1970s Hughes Airwest poster featured a literal flying banana. Did you ever fly on "the top banana in the west"?
This tweet was posted on May 21, 2016.
This exhibition featured objects from California Airlines such as PSA (Pacific Southwest Airlines), Air California (later AirCal), and Pacific Air Lines, Air West, and Hughes Airwest. Do you remember this exhibit? What’s your favorite California regional airline? #CatchOurStyle
This tweet was posted on September 09, 2021.
When Howard Hughes acquired Air West in 1970, he promptly renamed it Hughes Airwest. A new airline… http://t.co/Ez9DMt1qUT
This tweet was posted on May 06, 2014.
📸 3/3:
poster: Hughes Airwest; 1970s
Gift of Thomas G. Dragges
2001.135.074
slide: San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Hughes Airwest; 1976
Gift of Daniel Hahn
2015.038.021
This tweet was posted on July 28, 2021.
📸:
R.O.N. kit cover: Hughes Airwest, His; 1970s
Gift of Thomas G. Dragges
2002.035.681 a l
https://t.co/KHkn32DFYq
This tweet was posted on May 02, 2023.
📸:
airsickness bag: EVA Air; c. 2014
Gift of Vincent Ma
2021.020.0140
https://t.co/xqcIgCdKCY
beach towel: Hughes Airwest; 1970s
Gift of Riqui Sedoris
2021.105.004
https://t.co/5p0Nu3FBsk
This tweet was posted on June 15, 2022.
📸:
hostess boots: Hughes Airwest; 1970s
Gift of Thomas G. Dragges
2001.016.048 a b
https://t.co/7SlocvfO6x
This tweet was posted on August 23, 2022.