#DefunctThursday 🧵
Founded in 1931, Swissair was founded through the merger of Ad Astra Aero and Balair and was the flag carrier of Switzerland. Swissair served destinations throughout Europe during the 1930s. #AvGeek
This tweet was posted on November 17, 2022.
A fleet of stretched & updated DC-8 types, the Super 60 Series, was operated by #Braniff in the 1970s. Artist Alexander Calder conceived the colorful livery scheme for one of these aircraft, which was colorful christened “Flying Colors of South America.” #DefunctThursday #AvGeek
This tweet was posted on February 10, 2022.
Adverse publicity from an ill-planned ad campaign, along with stiff competition on the California corridor from other airlines ultimately led Pacific to seek out a merger with Bonanza Air Lines and West Coast Airlines to form Air West in 1968.
#DefunctThursday #PacificAirlines
This tweet was posted on July 14, 2022.
After China’s civil war (1945-1949), CAT relocated to the island of Taiwan in 1950, and evolved from a relief cargo airline to a government contractor and commercial carrier. In 1953, the airline formally became the flag carrier of the Republic of China. #CAT #DefunctThursday
This tweet was posted on April 28, 2022.
After the Allied victory in August 1945, the airline secured a system of eight primary routes throughout China all the while struggling against a backdrop of increasing civil war. #DefunctThursday #CNAC
This tweet was posted on April 07, 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.
An overaggressive acquisition strategy of smaller airlines led Swissair to declare bankruptcy in 2002. Crossair subsequently took over the name Swiss International Air Lines and became Switzerland's flag carrier. #DefunctThursday #AvGeek
This tweet was posted on November 17, 2022.
Around the same time, in 1962, TWA opened their iconic terminal, the Trans World Flight Center, designed by Eero Saarinen, at New York International Airport, later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport. #DefunctThursday #AvGeek #TWA
This tweet was posted on December 15, 2022.
As Japan waged war on China in 1937, CNAC evacuated Shanghai, its original headquarters and home base in August and relocated to Chongqing. In trying to avoid Japanese detection, the airline pioneered the routes over the Himalayas. #DefunctThursday #CNAC
This tweet was posted on April 07, 2022.
As Pan American was not licensed to operate domestic routes within in the United States, the company purchased National Airlines in 1980. This did not prove be a good financial takeover as the company would have liked. #PanAm #DefunctThursday #AvGeek
This tweet was posted on August 25, 2022.
BEA inaugurated Comet 4B jetliner service to numerous destinations in Europe in April 1960. In 1974, BEA merged back with British Overseas Airways Corporation to form British Airways, the current flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. #DefunctThursday #BEA #BOAC #AvGeek
This tweet was posted on February 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.
By 1962, Piedmont's service extended to Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. Their entry into the jet age was powered by a Boeing 727 in 1967. Piedmont started to operate Boeing 737s the next year. #DefunctThursday #Piedmont #AvGeek
This tweet was posted on September 29, 2022.
By 1978, the airline had expanded its service to San Francisco, recorded a decade of annual profits and attained a reputation for quality and reliable service. In 1981, the airline introduced the wide-body Douglas DC-10-15 on its high-density routes. #DefunctThursday #Mexicana
This tweet was posted on May 19, 2022.
By the end of 1949, with the proclamation of the new People’s Republic of China by Communist Party leader Mao Zedong, many of CNAC’s assets were absorbed by the new government.
#DefunctThursday #CNAC
This tweet was posted on April 07, 2022.
By the end of 1969, the carrier had gained a large customer base and charted over 800,000 bookings for the year. In the 1980s, the carrier was rebranded as #AirCal with a fresh look and color palette for its airliner liveries and flight crews. #DefunctThursday
This tweet was posted on January 20, 2022.
By the end of the 1950s, the airline had rapidly expanded into 35 cities. In 1966, Ozark entered the jet age and purchased several Douglas DC-9 aircraft, and added destinations all over the country. #DefunctThursday #Ozark #AvGeek
This tweet was posted on July 07, 2022.
By the mid-1960s, PSA had grown substantially and was flying record numbers of passengers. It added the turbojet Boeing 727 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9 to its fleet and expanded its routes to include Sacramento, San Jose, and Ontario.
#DefunctThursday #PacificSouthwestAirlines
This tweet was posted on October 07, 2022.
China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) was Asia’s first sustained commercial airline. Scheduled service began on October 21, 1929, along a 525-mile route from Shanghai to Hankou with two passengers and one pound of mail. #DefunctThursday #CNAC
This tweet was posted on April 07, 2022.
China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) was Asia’s first sustained commercial airline. Scheduled service began on October 21, 1929, along a 525-mile route from Shanghai to Hankou with two passengers and one pound of mail. #DefunctThursday #CNAC
This tweet was posted on March 31, 2022.
Designed in complete secrecy under Lockheed’s chief research engineer, the 049 Constellation developed into an extremely fast, highly advanced, &
revolutionary large-capacity airliner with a unique dolphin-shaped fuselage and distinctive tripletail. #DefunctThursday #avgeek #TWA
This tweet was posted on December 01, 2022.
During the 1990s, #Mexicana took over some of AeroMexico's routes to Canada and South America and introduced the Airbus A320. In 2010, after nearly 85 years of operation, the company filed for bankruptcy in the United States and Mexico and ceased operations.
#DefunctThursday
This tweet was posted on May 19, 2022.
During the early 1960s, Swissair introduced Douglas DC-8 and Convair 990 jetliners, which provided nonstop transatlantic service to Europe in as little as six-and-one-half hours. #DefunctThursday #AvGeek
This tweet was posted on November 17, 2022.
During the late 1930s, TWA, under the leadership of its visionary controlling shareholder Howard Hughes, requested that the Lockheed Aircraft Company of Burbank, CA, produce a fast, large-capacity, pressurized airliner. #DefunctThursday #avgeek #TWA
This tweet was posted on December 01, 2022.