Ol' Eastern's, It's Still a Mystery to Me, Flight #738:
I was an Eastern Air Lines ramp serviceman at the Raleigh-Durham airport in the late 1960's of yore. We had a twin radial-engine Convair "turn around" (it sat there several hours around noon-time, then returned from whence it came) flight that went from Raleigh-Durham to Greensboro (no revenue passengers could deplane at GSO, but must continue on board beyond) and on to (in approximate order, memory wains) Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Cleveland. For reasons unknown in Eastern's otherwise jet-age, it was all First Class only. I suspect this was to discourage revenue passengers, as there rarely were any. More accurately, rarely was even just one.
Sometimes when we had too many big boxed, but light flowers for the RDU-PIT DC-9; with no passengers in the cabin of the Convair, we'd place the extra light weight, but bulky flower boxes in the cabin passage-way, tied down.
Why did Eastern operate this equipment on this route?, I queried every body who might know, and received a variety of answers besides the frequent "G-d only knows?" I think it did not operate on Sunday.
To me, the most likely correct answer--remember this was in CAB days; was that "RDU is the farthest North that EA could operate flights to those destinations. That these were all awarded as "use it or loose it" routes, and if EA failed to operate the flights for 30 days or some such; a competitor airline willing to operate the routes, could claim them. Eastern did not operate the routes because Eastern really wanted them, but to keep competitors from getting them. This seemed the best explanation to me; but is it correct? It's like Campbell Soups allegedly stocks all those odd soups no one buys to denie it's competitors competing store shelf space? Flight #738 would be Eastern's Convair-can of odd-soup; to keep would-be competitors off it's airspace shelf?
I think this correct: EA could not carry a revenue passenger from RDU to deplane in GSO, because Piedmont Airlines held that route authority. Note: I would go on to work for PI at INT as an FAA/FCC licensed A&P/GROL mechanic, then USAir/INT, and US Airways/CLT, and retired to Southport, N.C. I now live on Dutchman's Creek bluff, under the pattern of our newly renamed, Cape Fear Regional Airport (not same as ILM/Wilmington).
Piedmont then had an inbound RDU flight to DCA with one stop in RIC. I overheard a PI passenger say PI stopped in RIC because it was greedy. Heck no, PI had to; EA had the almost always full RDU non-stop rights to DCA. When PI also got the non-stop rights, I believe PI heralded it's growing sophistication with a proud-crowing, local, full page newspaper ad?
One day we had three EA Electra, four engine turbo-pro flights boarding in front of the terminal. In those days the outdoor gate agent read your tickets, the passenger walked out on the ramp, and climbed-up the outside boarding stairs, into the aircraft. The Convair (then not ready for boarding) was parked well away from the convenient boarding area; rarely did a revenue passenger board anyway. I was running the Hobart at the Convair, and espied a very intelligent--perhaps too intelligent; would-be passenger, ticket-in-hand, pass the Electra's gate agent, and midway on the ramp to board, suddenly stop, turn around; apparently argue something with the gate agent, then briskly walk a long way to my Convair. I do not remember that Convair's aircraft number (not flight number, that was in a window on the external A/C boarding stairs); but the aircraft numbers were three digits about four inches high, just forward of, and perhaps three feet below, the cockpit windows.
Never a boarding agent, always but a ramp serviceman, I asked our new, rare, Convair would-be passenger, could I help him? Yes, he was on Flight #??? and THAT dumb ticket agent was attempting to have him board an Electra with the wrong flight number painted on it's side, while he knew my Convair had the right, HIS right, flight number painted on it's side. I asked to see his ticket? No, I said; that agent was right; that was his flight, the Electra--yonder.
"Now son, use your common sense; do you think the painter was going to paint the wrong flight number on the aircraft; and maintenance would let it out of the hanger into service that way?
"Gee, I'd never thought of it that way, Sir!" This then, the long ago saga of Eastern's Convair Flight #738. At least, you'd think, Eastern could have, would have; painted the right flight number on her.
Now long gone, but not forgotten; likely now, ever-aloft, in Convair-Heaven?
I was an Eastern Air Lines ramp serviceman at the Raleigh-Durham airport in the late 1960's of yore. We had a twin radial-engine Convair "turn around" (it sat there several hours around noon-time, then returned from whence it came) flight that went from Raleigh-Durham to Greensboro (no revenue passengers could deplane at GSO, but must continue on board beyond) and on to (in approximate order, memory wains) Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Cleveland. For reasons unknown in Eastern's otherwise jet-age, it was all First Class only. I suspect this was to discourage revenue passengers, as there rarely were any. More accurately, rarely was even just one.
Sometimes when we had too many big boxed, but light flowers for the RDU-PIT DC-9; with no passengers in the cabin of the Convair, we'd place the extra light weight, but bulky flower boxes in the cabin passage-way, tied down.
Why did Eastern operate this equipment on this route?, I queried every body who might know, and received a variety of answers besides the frequent "G-d only knows?" I think it did not operate on Sunday.
To me, the most likely correct answer--remember this was in CAB days; was that "RDU is the farthest North that EA could operate flights to those destinations. That these were all awarded as "use it or loose it" routes, and if EA failed to operate the flights for 30 days or some such; a competitor airline willing to operate the routes, could claim them. Eastern did not operate the routes because Eastern really wanted them, but to keep competitors from getting them. This seemed the best explanation to me; but is it correct? It's like Campbell Soups allegedly stocks all those odd soups no one buys to denie it's competitors competing store shelf space? Flight #738 would be Eastern's Convair-can of odd-soup; to keep would-be competitors off it's airspace shelf?
I think this correct: EA could not carry a revenue passenger from RDU to deplane in GSO, because Piedmont Airlines held that route authority. Note: I would go on to work for PI at INT as an FAA/FCC licensed A&P/GROL mechanic, then USAir/INT, and US Airways/CLT, and retired to Southport, N.C. I now live on Dutchman's Creek bluff, under the pattern of our newly renamed, Cape Fear Regional Airport (not same as ILM/Wilmington).
Piedmont then had an inbound RDU flight to DCA with one stop in RIC. I overheard a PI passenger say PI stopped in RIC because it was greedy. Heck no, PI had to; EA had the almost always full RDU non-stop rights to DCA. When PI also got the non-stop rights, I believe PI heralded it's growing sophistication with a proud-crowing, local, full page newspaper ad?
One day we had three EA Electra, four engine turbo-pro flights boarding in front of the terminal. In those days the outdoor gate agent read your tickets, the passenger walked out on the ramp, and climbed-up the outside boarding stairs, into the aircraft. The Convair (then not ready for boarding) was parked well away from the convenient boarding area; rarely did a revenue passenger board anyway. I was running the Hobart at the Convair, and espied a very intelligent--perhaps too intelligent; would-be passenger, ticket-in-hand, pass the Electra's gate agent, and midway on the ramp to board, suddenly stop, turn around; apparently argue something with the gate agent, then briskly walk a long way to my Convair. I do not remember that Convair's aircraft number (not flight number, that was in a window on the external A/C boarding stairs); but the aircraft numbers were three digits about four inches high, just forward of, and perhaps three feet below, the cockpit windows.
Never a boarding agent, always but a ramp serviceman, I asked our new, rare, Convair would-be passenger, could I help him? Yes, he was on Flight #??? and THAT dumb ticket agent was attempting to have him board an Electra with the wrong flight number painted on it's side, while he knew my Convair had the right, HIS right, flight number painted on it's side. I asked to see his ticket? No, I said; that agent was right; that was his flight, the Electra--yonder.
"Now son, use your common sense; do you think the painter was going to paint the wrong flight number on the aircraft; and maintenance would let it out of the hanger into service that way?
"Gee, I'd never thought of it that way, Sir!" This then, the long ago saga of Eastern's Convair Flight #738. At least, you'd think, Eastern could have, would have; painted the right flight number on her.
Now long gone, but not forgotten; likely now, ever-aloft, in Convair-Heaven?
