CBS News report

[ITRADE]

Wow...MGA707. Havent seent that ID in a while.

When the wifey worked for US, I used to fly some strange routes for the hell of it.

Try this one:

DCA-MCI-LIT-MSY-CLT-DCA.

 

[YVINTERN]

Wow...MGA707. Havent seent that ID in a while.

When the wifey worked for US, I used to fly some strange routes for the hell of it.

Try this one:

DCA-MCI-LIT-MSY-CLT-DCA.

I've done
something like that before only to actually get somewhere...just for the hell of it.

 

[BuffaloJoe]

AA flew the BAC-111, which was always the "400 Astrojet" in AA parlance (their BACs were series -400 aircraft, unlike Braniff and Mohawk/Allegheny which had series -200s), from 1966 until 1972. Only six years, as short a fleet lifespan as the Convair 990 (1962-68).
None were ever painted into the 1969 (and STILL current!) colors, all wore the "lightning bolt" scheme throughout their AA lives. None were lost or even written off in AA service.
They normally stayed in the northeast, especially on the LGA-BOS/DCA "Jet Express" hourly services. They did get as far west as ORD and STL. I never recall seeing any at DAL, but they might have been used briefly on the DCA-DAL 'milk run' via TYS/BNA/MEM/LIT.
Guess they would have had to cycle through TUL, via either DAL or STL, for maintenance.
Anyway, like AA's Electras, they never came out here to the 'wild west'.
The main reason for their short AA life is that by the early '70s AA was getting a bunch more 727-200s, which pushed the 727-100s down the chain to the former BAC routes.
...and that's probably more than you wanted to know about AA's "400 Astrojets"!

Thanks for the info. I learned something new today and it is interesting. Again, Thank You!

 

[doing it on my knees]

The media is the cause for most problems in my opinion. They say no one is going to fly because we charge for everything and so on. I'm here to say that is BS. After spending 12 hours in ATL yesterday, here is my 2 cents.
As a nonrev, I've spent a lot of time wasting away in airports. And I watch people. Passengers all become the same type of person after a while. They complain about the price of everything, only because everyone is doing it. But they still buy...
4 magazines at $3-5 a pop.
1 starbucks coffee $3-5
Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner $8-12 easy
Everyone has to have an IPOD $99-500.
Bose headphones $100-400
Blackberries $100-500
and so on........
People that are going to fly know that they will be throwing money away, just like those that go to amusement parks. So this nickel and diming, saying "$2 for a soda is ridiculous" is only because everybody is doing it. When 9/11 happened and you couldn't bring liquids through security, how many people did you see tossing their sodas, coffees, waters they just bought, and buy one on the other side? Lots.
The media is making people angry. But they'll get over it. Like they did when you couldn't bring a gun on board anymore, or smoke, or have sex, or whatever. It's an evolution.
As an employee it bothers me somewhat, but you look at the broader picture, US has to do it to keep us employed.

I'm off the soapbox now. Thank you and good day.

 

[SS255]

People that are going to fly know that they will be throwing money away, just like those that go to amusement parks. So this nickel and diming, saying "$2 for a soda is ridiculous" is only because everybody is doing it. When 9/11 happened and you couldn't bring liquids through security, how many people did you see tossing their sodas, coffees, waters they just bought, and buy one on the other side? Lots.
The media is making people angry. But they'll get over it. Like they did when you couldn't bring a gun on board anymore, or smoke, or have sex, or whatever. It's an evolution.
As an employee it bothers me somewhat, but you look at the broader picture, US has to do it to keep us employed.

Yes, the public will get used to the nickel-and-diming. But the difference here is that there is absolutely zero consistency between airlines, as there was after 9/11 (when all airlines but CO stopped serving free meals), and after the no-liquids-and-gels directive.

People do not like having to pay for what they used to get for free......and unless the airlines apply the fees consistently across the board, there will be far more passenger discontent than there ever was when free meals went away, and people started having to ditch their half-drunk bottles of water. And what other airline has taken steps to actively remove existing IFE?

I fine it very telling that no other airline has matched the beverage fees, or the IFE removal. This will certainly set US apart, and not in a positive way.

 

[LCC_#1]

I guess the proof will be in the next few months. Sorry, SS255, I have no faith in the other airlines either. Kissing up to the business traveler by throwing tons of money at them still hasn't shown huge profits, if any. This industry survives on making money. Nobody except SWA can make claims to steady profits. I have watched the big boys attempt to push US over the edge and it hasn't happened. I for one am happy UA, CA, and DAL are willing to match status and give our once proud FF's what they have always wanted. For that groups sake, I hope the perks will at some time pay off for those carriers. So far they haven't...and I don't mean a lil profit once every 5 years. Airlines must make money. If quarter after quarter proves more bleeding, those nice perks will gradually go away. If fuel goes down to $70 and all the airlines make profits and US only pulls modest profits, a al cart would had been only modestly successful, if not deemed somewhat of a failure. If fuel remains around $100, we make money and others still bleed, a la cart would be considered successful. So only time will tell. For now, we are at $120 and whether or not this is an excuse to MAKE these cuts makes no difference to me as I know everytime I say $2 please, it is a cut I will not be taking from my pay.

Just because the other airlines choose not to follow something doesn't make it right. God knows the airlines haven't been smart in following fare increases in the past when they should had.

 

[DFWFSC]

Back in the 'good ol' days' (70s) when I was a teenager and had non-rev priveleges, I would love nothing more than spending several days of my summer vacation flying around on passes, sleeping on planes and trying to log as many airports as I could.
Several examples: (Home city)--SFO--DTW(redeye)--IND--DFW(spending the entire day at that then-brand-new wonderland!)--(home).
And several years earlier: (Home)--LAX--JFK(redeye)--taxicab across Queens to LGA--DCA(on a BAC-111!)--ORD--(home).
OK, fellow airline geeks: From the above itineraries and timeframe (1970-75), name the airline!

Airplanes are a GREAT place to spend one's childhood--although I am glad it was 35 or so years ago and not present day.

Mod note...lets not make it personal.

Must be AA, since you had a close relative working for AA at the time, at one of the two current AA stations located in Arizona. You should look through some of the old photo albums behind the ticketcounter sometime, hundreds of photos from the 40's-80's, im sure you will reconize a few folks.

 

[mga707]

I've done
something like that before only to actually get somewhere...just for the hell of it.

Much more recently than my teenage pass-riding days, I've routed a couple of WN Rapid Rewards freebie trips on more circuitous routings than I had to just to land at a couple of new places. Like taking a 3-stop direct to GEG instead of a 1-stop connection to log BOI, or taking a 2-stop direct instead of a 1-stop connection to FLL to hit BHM and JAX.

 

[mga707]

Wow...MGA707. Havent seent that ID in a while.

You're a 'blast from the past' as well! From the old '90s Usenet rec.travel.air days...

 

[HPearlyretiree]

You're a 'blast from the past' as well! From the old '90s Usenet rec.travel.air days...

I remember you from the usenet days too!

Still in Tucson?

Good to see ya again.

 

[mga707]

Still in Tucson?

Yep. The "anti-Phoenix"!

 

[tadjr]

You're a 'blast from the past' as well! From the old '90s Usenet rec.travel.air days...

I remember that board. Some of the fights here are nothing compared to some there. There were a couple of "ladies" that used to really get down and dirty.

 

[mga707]

I remember that board. Some of the fights here are nothing compared to some there. There were a couple of "ladies" that used to really get down and dirty.

Oh yeah! That's what always happens sans moderators...

 

[Phoenix]

Wow...MGA707. Havent seent that ID in a while.

When the wifey worked for US, I used to fly some strange routes for the hell of it.

Try this one:

DCA-MCI-LIT-MSY-CLT-DCA.

You grown-ups are acting like a bunch of kids.