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46-565: Following a merger with Southern Airways in 1979, North Central became Republic Airlines , which in turn was merged into Northwest Airlines in 1986. Northwest Airlines was then merged into Delta Air Lines in 2010. In 1939 the Four Wheel Drive Auto Company (FWD), a major manufacturer of four-wheel transmissions and heavy-duty trucks based in Clintonville, Wisconsin , opened a flight department and traded

92-628: A " milk run " multistop routing from Miami to Orlando, Tallahassee, Panama City, Eglin AFB, Mobile, Gulfport, New Orleans, Birmingham, Atlanta, Huntsville, Memphis, St Louis, and Chicago Midway. Time en route was 14 hours and 32 minutes. By the mid-1970s, Southern's system had expanded to St. Louis , Detroit , Ft. Lauderdale , and Grand Cayman in the Caribbean, Southern's only international destination. In 1978 Southern expanded westward from Memphis to Wichita and Denver . Southern Airways called itself

138-554: A "local service carrier," flying to cities in one region and feeding passengers to larger "trunk airlines" that flew nationwide. North Central eventually was allowed a few routes outside the Midwest: to Washington, D.C.- National , New York- LaGuardia , Boston , Denver , and Tucson . After deregulation of the airline industry, North Central expanded and began operating McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50s , its largest jet aircraft type. North Central purchased Atlanta-based Southern Airways and

184-483: A Martin was on 20 April 1978 from Atlanta to Gadsden, Alabama, and back. Some DC-9s were bought new and some used; the used jets included DC-9-14s from Delta Air Lines and Eastern Air Lines. Both airlines had purchased these aircraft new from Douglas. Unlike other local-service airlines, Southern did not operate turboprops (such as the Convair 580 and Fairchild F-27 used by other local-service airlines) during

230-545: A company truck for a Waco biplane for their company's use. In 1944 company executives decided to start an airline named Wisconsin Central Airlines , and service started among six Wisconsin cities in 1946. This led the company to buy two Cessna UC-78 Bobcats , and, soon after, three Lockheed Electra 10As. Certificated flights started with Electras to 19 airports on 25 February 1948; more revenue allowed three more Electra 10As, then six Douglas DC-3s . In 1952

276-509: A low-fare New York City–to–Los Angeles route in 1967; the CAB studied the request for over six years, only to dismiss it because the record was "stale". Continental Airlines began service between Denver and San Diego after eight years only because a United States Court of Appeals ordered the CAB to approve the application. This rigid system encountered tremendous pressure in the 1970s. The 1973 oil crisis and stagflation radically changed

322-569: A merger with North Central Airlines in 1979, Southern became Republic Airlines , which in turn was merged into Northwest Airlines in 1986. Northwest Airlines was then merged into Delta Air Lines in 2010. As a local-service airline, Southern Airways covered the south-central U.S. In 1955, their network spanned from Memphis south to New Orleans and east to Charlotte and Jacksonville. In August 1953, Southern flew to 29 airports and in August 1967 to 50. Like other local-service airlines, Southern

368-560: The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), but the regulatory powers of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over all aspects of aviation safety were not diminished. Since 1938, the federal CAB had regulated all domestic interstate air transport routes as a public utility , setting fares, routes, and schedules. Airlines that flew only intrastate routes, however, were not regulated by

414-583: The merger was finalized in early 2010, the Northwest Airlines brand fully retired with the Delta Air Lines name surviving as the successor to North Central Airlines. When North Central Airlines started operations, the company's ICAO code was "NOR"; this was later changed to "NCA". When ICAO went from three to two characters, North Central became "NC", the same as its IATA code. According to its June 8, 1979 system timetable, North Central

460-469: The "Route of the Aristocrats" and they used the slogan "Nobody's Second Class on Southern" in their television commercials. They were famous for their promotional shot glasses : for a time, differently designed shot glasses were issued each year. Original Southern shot glasses are valued by collectors of airline memorabilia. During the early 1970s, before strict airport security was implemented across

506-464: The "Route of the Aristocrats" came to an end. Republic acquired Hughes Airwest before being acquired in 1986 by Northwest Airlines , which continued to operate many flights from the former Southern hub in Memphis. Northwest merged into Delta Air Lines in 2008. These cities served are taken based on the airline's timetables. Cities served with DC-9s are in bold . Timetable dates used to compile

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552-888: The 1960s and 1970s, but by the time of the merger with North Central, Southern had replaced their Martin 4-0-4s with several 19-passenger Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner "Metro II"s. By 1971, Southern was flying to New York City and Chicago and south to Orlando and Miami . U.S. government regulation did not allow Southern to fly nonstop from New York or Washington, DC , to Atlanta, so Southern had nonstops to Columbus, Georgia , then on to Dothan, Alabama ; Mobile, Alabama ; Panama City, Florida , Eglin Air Force Base, Florida ; and/or Gulfport / Biloxi, Mississippi . Many flights made five or six intermediate stops en route. With more DC-9s, many routes once served with propeller aircraft were served with jets that linked small cities to Atlanta and Memphis: One DC-9-14 aircraft operated

598-506: The Act included the following: The Act intended for various restrictions on airline operations to be removed over four years, with complete elimination of restrictions on domestic routes and new services by December 31, 1981, and the end of all domestic fare regulation by January 1, 1983. In practice, changes came rather more rapidly than that. Among its many terms, the act did the following: Safety inspections and air traffic control remained in

644-570: The CAB but were regulated by the governments of the states in which they operated. One way that the CAB promoted air travel was generally attempting to hold fares down in the short-haul market, which would be subsidized by higher fares in the long-haul market. The CAB also had to ensure that the airlines had a reasonable rate of return . The CAB had earned a reputation for bureaucratic complacency; airlines were subject to lengthy delays when they applied for new routes or fare changes, and were often not approved. For example, World Airways applied to begin

690-610: The Cuban authorities arrested the hijackers, and after a brief delay, sent the plane, passengers, and crew back to the United States. The hijackers and $ 2 million stayed in Cuba. Southern Airways accounted for the $ 2 million by debiting it to an account entitled "Hijacking Payment". This account was reported as a type of receivable under "other assets" on Southern's balance sheet. The company maintained that they would be able to collect

736-853: The Dakotas in 1959, Denver in 1969, and nonstop flights from Milwaukee to New York LaGuardia in 1970. It added five Convair 340s from Continental Airlines to its fleet of DC-3s, the first ones entering service in 1959. In 1960 North Central hit the one million passenger mark; in May 1968, it flew to 64 airports, including two in Canada. Turbine flights with Convair 580 turboprops began in April 1967. The airline then initiated jet service 160 days later with new McDonnell Douglas DC-9 series 30 aircraft in September 1967. Like other local service airlines, North Central

782-616: The Duck. Republic kept North Central's hubs at Detroit and Minneapolis, and Southern's hub at Memphis. Within a few years, they closed the former Hughes Airwest hub at Phoenix and also largely dismantled the Hughes Airwest route network in the western U.S.; they also reduced North Central's sizeable station at Chicago-O'Hare . Southern's sizeable station was also reduced at Hartsfield at Atlanta . Republic also quickly downsized North Central's operations to and among smaller airports in

828-550: The Judiciary Committee initiative. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Alfred E. Kahn , a professor of economics at Cornell University , to be chair of the CAB. A concerted push for the legislation had developed from leading economists, leading think-tanks in Washington, a civil society coalition advocating the reform (patterned on a coalition earlier developed for the truck-and-rail-reform efforts),

874-499: The United States, several airlines experienced hijackings. Southern Airways Flight 49 , a DC-9 en route from Memphis to Miami was hijacked on November 10, 1972, during a stop in Birmingham. The three hijackers boarded the plane armed with handguns and hand grenades. At gunpoint, the hijackers took the airplane, the plane's crew of four, and 27 passengers, to nine American cities, Toronto , and eventually to Havana , Cuba. During

920-547: The above list: July 1, 1950; Sept. 26, 1954; Nov. 1, 1960; June 18, 1962; July 1, 1964; June 1, 1966; Sept. 3, 1968; Dec. 1, 1973; July 1, 1974, July 1, 1978, and April 29, 1979. Southern Airways used to operate the following aircraft: Airline Deregulation Act The Airline Deregulation Act is a 1978 United States federal law that deregulated the airline industry in the United States, removing federal control over such areas as fares, routes, and market entry of new airlines. The act gradually phased out and disbanded

966-606: The airline moved their headquarters from Wisconsin to Minneapolis, Minnesota ; that December their name became North Central Airlines. Soon the airline ran into financial trouble when President Francis Higgins left, making Hal Carr the president. Carr quickly got the company out of debt and made it more reliable. Over time the company expanded their fleet to 32 DC-3s. In October 1952 Wisconsin Central scheduled flights to 28 airports, all west of Lake Michigan, from Chicago to Fargo and Grand Forks. It added Detroit in 1953, Omaha, and

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1012-496: The airline's once excellent safety record. Improved highways including the interstate freeway system coupled with an increased willingness of passengers to drive to airports farther away for more convenient flights or lower air fares made many of Southern's routes obsolete. With dramatic increases in the price of jet fuel in the 1970s, many of Southern's routes were no longer cost effective. On July 1, 1979, Southern merged with North Central Airlines to form Republic Airlines and

1058-442: The average fare per passenger mile was about nine percent lower in 1994 than in 1979. Between 1976 and 1990 the paid fare had declined approximately thirty percent in inflation -adjusted terms. Passenger loads have risen, partly because airlines can now transfer larger aircraft to longer, busier routes and replace them with smaller ones on shorter, lower-traffic routes. However, these trends have not been distributed evenly throughout

1104-411: The cash from the Cuban government, so a receivable existed. Southern Airways was repaid $ 2 million by the Cuban government, which was attempting to improve relations with the United States. By the late 1970s, Southern Airways began to experience difficulties. Two fatal accidents ( Southern Airways Flight 932 , November 14, 1970, and Southern Airways Flight 242 , April 4, 1977) had put negative impact on

1150-542: The development of a wider range of aircraft types that are better adaptable to markets of varying sizes. In 2011, Supreme Court Justice member Stephen Breyer , who was a special counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in the 1970s and worked with Senator Kennedy on the bill, wrote: What does the industry's history tell us? Was this effort worthwhile? Certainly it shows that every major reform brings about new, sometimes unforeseen, problems. No one foresaw

1196-409: The dozens of new airlines founded in deregulation's aftermath. For the most part, smaller markets did not suffer the erosion of service that had been predicted by some opponents of deregulation. However, until the advent of low-cost carriers , point-to-point air transport declined in favor of a more pronounced hub-and-spoke system . A traveler starting from a non-hub airport (a spoke) would fly into

1242-416: The economic environment, as did technological advances such as the jumbo jet . Most major airlines, whose profits were virtually guaranteed, favored the rigid system, but passengers who were forced to pay escalating fares were against it and were joined by communities that subsidized air service at ever-higher rates. The United States Congress became concerned that air transport, in the long run, might follow

1288-422: The first few years. In 1961, they began adding 22 40-passenger, secondhand Martin 4-0-4s acquired from Eastern Air Lines , newer aircraft that were pressurised and had a rear ventral stairway. The last scheduled DC-3 flight was in 1967. Southern's first 65–75-passenger Douglas DC-9 series 10s arrived in 1967 followed by 85–95-passenger McDonnell Douglas DC-9 series 30s in 1969. The last scheduled flight by

1334-703: The hands of the FAA, and the act also required the Secretary of Transportation to report to Congress about air safety and any implications that deregulation would have in that matter. The ADA (along with the Montreal Convention with regard to international flights) also has the effect of preempting state law with regard to claims against airlines for delays, discrimination, consumer protection violations and other allegations of passenger mistreatment. A 1996 Government Accountability Office report found that

1380-507: The head of the regulatory agency, Senate leadership, the Carter administration, and even some in the airline industry. The coalition swiftly gained legislative results in 1978. Dan McKinnon would be the last chairman of the CAB and would oversee its final closure on January 1, 1985. Senator Howard Cannon of Nevada introduced S. 2493 on February 6, 1978. The bill was passed and was signed by Carter on October 24, 1978. The stated goals of

1426-406: The hub, then reach the final destination by flying from the hub to another airport, the spoke. While more efficient for serving smaller markets, this system has enabled some airlines to drive out competition from their "fortress hubs." The growth of low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines has brought more point-to-point service back into the United States air transport system, and contributed to

North Central Airlines - Misplaced Pages Continue

1472-699: The industry and its customers would benefit from new entrants, the abolishing of price regulation, and reduced control over routes and hub cities. In 1970 and 1971, the Council of Economic Advisers in the Nixon administration , along with the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice and other agencies, proposed legislation to diminish price collusion and entry barriers in rail and trucking transportation. While

1518-435: The industry's spectacular growth, with the number of air passengers increasing from 207.5 million in 1974 to 721.1 million last year. As a result, no one foresaw the extent to which new bottlenecks would develop: a flight-choked Northeast corridor, overcrowded airports, delays, and terrorist risks consequently making air travel increasingly difficult. Nor did anyone foresee the extent to which change might unfairly harm workers in

1564-465: The industry. Still, fares have come down. Airline revenue per passenger mile has declined from an inflation-adjusted 33.3 cents in 1974, to 13 cents in the first half of 2010. In 1974 the cheapest round-trip New York-Los Angeles flight (in inflation-adjusted dollars) that regulators would allow: $ 1,442. Today one can fly that same route for $ 268. That is why the number of travelers has gone way up. So we sit in crowded planes, munch potato chips, flare up when

1610-717: The initiative was in process in the Ford administration , the Senate Judiciary Committee , which had jurisdiction over antitrust law , began hearings on airline deregulation in 1975. Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy took the lead in the hearings. The committee was deemed a friendlier forum than what likely would have been the more appropriate venue, the Aviation Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee . The Ford administration supported

1656-586: The long flight, the hijackers threatened to crash the plane into the Oak Ridge, Tennessee , nuclear facilities, insisted on talking with President Richard Nixon , and demanded a ransom of $ 10 million. Southern Airways was only able to come up with $ 2 million. Eventually, the pilot talked the hijackers into settling for the $ 2 million when the plane landed in Chattanooga for refueling. Upon landing in Havana,

1702-426: The nation's railroads into trouble. The Penn Central Railroad had collapsed in 1970, which was at that time the largest bankruptcy in history; this resulted in a huge taxpayer-funded bailout and the creation of the government-owned corporations Conrail and Amtrak . Leading economists had argued for several decades that the regulation led to inefficiency and higher costs. The Carter administration argued that

1748-483: The national air transportation network. Costs have fallen more dramatically on higher-traffic, longer-distance routes than on shorter ones. Exposure to competition led to heavy losses and conflicts with labor unions for a number of carriers. Between 1978 and mid-2001, eight major carriers (including Eastern , Midway , Braniff , Pan Am , Continental , Northwest Airlines , and TWA ) and more than 100 smaller airlines went bankrupt or were liquidated, including most of

1794-575: The route map in the aforementioned June 8, 1979 system timetable, North Central's network stretched from as far west as Tucson to as far east as Boston and as far north as Winnipeg to as far south as Miami with such cities as Atlanta , Baltimore , Chicago , Cincinnati , Cleveland , Denver , Detroit , Fort Lauderdale , Houston , Kansas City , Milwaukee , Minneapolis / St. Paul , New York City , Omaha , Philadelphia , Syracuse , Tampa , Toronto and Washington D.C. also being served at this time. Southern Airways Southern Airways

1840-516: The two airlines formed Republic Airlines in July 1979 , the first merger following airline deregulation . Republic soon targeted San Francisco -based Hughes Airwest for acquisition, and the deal was finalized in October 1980 for $ 38.5 million. Saddled with debt from two acquisitions and new aircraft, the airline struggled in the early 1980s, and even introduced a human mascot version of Herman

1886-487: The upper Midwest, concentrating their fleet at the Detroit and Minneapolis hubs. In 1986 , Republic merged with Northwest Orient Airlines , which was also headquartered at Minneapolis and had a large operation at Detroit, which ended the legacy of Wisconsin Central and North Central. Following the merger, the new airline became Northwest Airlines (dropping the "Orient"), which merged into Delta Air Lines in 2008. Once

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1932-488: Was a local service carrier , a scheduled airline certificated by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board , in the United States , from its founding by Frank Hulse in 1949 until 1979, when it merged with North Central Airlines to become Republic Airlines . Southern's corporate headquarters were in Birmingham, with operations headquartered at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , near Atlanta. Following

1978-460: Was operating 130-passenger seat McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50 and 100-passenger seat McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jets as well as 48-passenger seat Convair 580 turboprops with service to the following destinations in the U.S. and Canada shortly before the acquisition of and merger with Southern Airways was completed thus resulting in the formation of Republic Airlines in July 1979: Domestic U.S. destinations Canadian destinations According to

2024-538: Was operating 29 Convair 580s. The last DC-3 flight was early 1969; NC was the last local service carrier to use it. In 1969 North Central Airlines moved its headquarters to the south side of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport ; in 2009 the building was the Building C Maintenance and Administrative Facility of Northwest Airlines . It is now used by Delta Air Lines after its 2008 merger with Northwest. The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) classified North Central as

2070-470: Was subsidized; in 1962 its "revenue" of $ 27.2 million included $ 8.5 million "Pub. serv. rev." The airline worked with the U.S. government to aid troubled airlines in South America. The first of five Douglas DC-9-31s entered service in September 1967 and the piston-powered Convair 340s and Convair 440s were all converted to Convair 580s with turboprop engines; the airline also acquired more DC-9s and

2116-721: Was subsidized; in 1962, its operating "revenues" of $ 14.0 million included $ 5.35 million "Pub. serv. rev." In May 1968, Southern's routes extended from Tri-Cities in Tennessee south to New Orleans and Jacksonville , and east from Baton Rouge and Monroe, Louisiana , to the coast at Myrtle Beach and Charleston . Later in 1968, a route sprouted northward: three weekday Douglas DC-9-10s from Columbus, Georgia (CSG) nonstop to Washington Dulles and on to New York LaGuardia. These flights originated at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida (VPS) and also stopped at Dothan, Alabama. Like most local-service airlines, Southern flew only Douglas DC-3s for

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