FEATURES

PHOTO: DELTA AIR LINES

Delta Aims to be Best

by Jeff Kriendler

Meet the new Delta Air Lines which, fueled by improving global economic conditions, is expected to yield $1.2 billion in annual savings this year as it completes its merger with Northwest Airlines. The union of these two major carriers has vaulted Delta to the number one ranking in the world airline hierarchy as measured by size and scope. With other airline 'consolidation' possibilities in the works, not least the recently announced plan to combine United and Continental Airlines (which would, if approved, out-size Delta), the Georgian juggernaut is now using its solid financial foundation and powerful network to meet new competitive challenges while striving to foster cordial relations with its workforce of 70,000.

PHOTO: PHIL VABRE

ATC: The Scope and Real Picture

by Phil Vabre

“Mayday, mayday, mayday!” Those are words no air traffic controller ever wants to hear, but one night it happened to me. At three in the morning.

PHOTO: ROGER THIEDEMAN

Kai Tak Remembered

by Paul J Patterson

“I’ve seen better, John,” I said, grossly understating the severity of the current weather at Hong Kong. We were 60nm north, coming in from Dubai in a ‘stretch’ and re-fanned Douglas DC-8-73F. ‘Four hundred overcast and a mile’ is a piece of cake at most places—but Kai Tak Airport was not most places, especially for the infamous 'Checkerboard' approach.

PHOTO: MARK L BERRY

Pigship Probation

by Mark L Berry

I was on my way to a new life in the world of jets, and a seat was waiting for me in the next Boeing 727 class. But little did I know I would have to survive probation on TWA's 'Pigships' flying out of a divided Berlin. When I remember my early days, I always smile, though I might not always have been so amused at the time.

The song Long Live the Pigship is a slice of that era when every individual 727 had a nickname, every city’s local bar was called The Office, and every day felt like it could be my last one on the job if I didn’t do everything exactly right—even though it wasn’t always clear what that was. 

Listen in at www.hypnopaedia.org

Long Live the Pigship is written by Mark L Berry and Lynn McLeod, and performed by Synthetic Music Apparatus and Deborah Linden.

PHOTO: RICHARD BENNETT

Airline Safety and Accident Investigations Then & Now: A Personal View

by Richard Bennett

A retired TWA captain recalls his experience of an Air France Lockheed Constellation crash and how different the accident investigation was compared to today's standard set by the National Transportation Safety Board.

PHOTO: DHS COLLECTION

When MCA Made its Midwest Mark

by David H Stringer

The story of Mid-Continent Airlines, a trunk carrier operating in the heartland of the USA with routes stretching from Minot, North Dakota, at the northern end of its system, to Houston and New Orleans in the south. At the height of its operation before its merger with Braniff Airways in August 1952, MCA served 38 airports, all of them in the Central Time Zone.

PLUS

Belo Horizonte/Confins International: Gateway to Brazil’s Heart

by Christopher Pittman

Fly Me! I’m Nuala

by Nuala Galbari

DEPARTMENTS

Both Sides: The Good Luck Bank and Trust 

by Clayton Taylor 

Business Flyer: Emirates and the Airbus A380

by Andreas Rohde

Debrief

Stan Solomon offers a varied selection of anecdotes from the Airways.

Mailbag

Our global forum for our readers’ opinions, feedback, and contributions.

News from the Airways

Colorfully illustrated highlights of the major news developments from North America and around the world, including fleet changes, new airlines, and new paint schemes.

Reviews

AEROFLOT ORIGINS: Red Stars Volume 6

FROM PROPS TO JETS: Commercial Aviation's Transition to the Jet Age

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