In February 1954, Mrs. Bess Thurman Braniff was appointed a vice president of the company. Eastern had been trying unsuccessfully to obtain authority to fly to South America since 1938, and would operate 24 weekly flights from Miami, two from New York, and one from New Orleans to west coast South American cities that Braniff mainly served.[1]. [32], On January 7, 1981, the Board of Directors elected John J. Casey as president, chief executive officer and chairman of Braniff Airways, Inc. and Braniff International Corporation as a replacement to the outgoing and retiring Harding Lawrence. United States. [14], In 1970 Braniff accepted delivery of the 100th Boeing 747 built a 747-127, N601BN and began flights from Dallas to Honolulu, Hawaii on January 15, 1971. [27] From Los Angeles, new nonstop transpacific Boeing 747 service was flown to Guam and Seoul with direct, no change of plane 747 flights being operated to Hong Kong and Singapore. On April 26, 1990, the United States Department of Transportation approved the sale of Eastern Airlines' Latin American routes to American Airlines for US$349 million. VIP Classic Wings 98: Volume 2 was released later the same year as a special edition mail-order only product. Braniff reported an 80 percent increase in business during the life of the campaign in spite of an economic downturn the following year. Braniff was the only airline to order the 707-227 because their low density and powerful engines were perfectly suited to Braniff's thin and high routes from the US Mainland to South America. However, in early 2022, the private Trust that originally owned Braniff's intellectual property since 1983, reacquired these assets along with the original Braniff companies and corresponding assets. 1 Mar 1984. The merger added numerous cities, including Minneapolis/St. Scheduling conflicts between the executives caused the new venture to be disbanded. Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 until 1982 and continues today as a retailer, hotelier, travel service and branding and licensing company, administering the former airline's employee pass . Its designs reflected the bright colors and simple designs of South America and Latin America, and was used mainly on South American flights. In early 1935, Braniff became the first airline to fly from Chicago to the U.S.Mexico border. [1] In 1978 Braniff announced it had chosen the Boeing 757 and 767 to replace the DC-8s over its Latin America Division routes, but the airline never operated the 757, 767, A300 or MD-80.[19]. More information. Harding Lawrence elected to retire in December 1980, effective January 7, 1981, after nearly 16 years (1965-1981) of service to the company. As part of this campaign, some Boeing 727s were divided into Braniff Premier Service (traditional First Class service) and Coach Class. Braniff International Airways. For the footwear, Beth Levine created plastic boots and designed two-tone calfskin boots and shoes. Braniff's fuel bill increased from $200 million in 1978 to more than $400 million in 1979, with 25 percent of this increase a result of increased flying but 75 percent was solely due to the rise in fuel costs around the globe.[1]. This was the same for Western, National and Continental.[1]. However, deregulation of the airline industry was introduced in October 1978, and Braniff as well as many of the United States' major air carriers were caught in a peculiar predicament as a result of the unprecedented change in how airline business was conducted. Still today there are some ex-Braniff aircraft flying around the globe. Braniff was a leading partner in the planning of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and contributed many innovations to the airline industry during this time. Paul, Sioux City, and Sioux Falls in the North; Des Moines, Omaha, and St. Louis in the Midwest; and Tulsa, Shreveport, and New Orleans in the South. One of the wings hit cypress stumps and the plane crashed against the shore. The new airline performed as one of the best in the Universal System with a 99-percent completion rate reported during the month of July 1929 and the Airline also led the other divisions in number of passengers carried. Of . In April 1964, Braniff made deposits on two Boeing 2707 Supersonic Transports, $100,000 per aircraft. However, an unforeseen strike by the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) caused delays and a decrease in traffic that actually enabled the carrier to regroup during the decrease in service. Braniff's maintenance activities at Dallas Love Field continued to serve its non-Braniff customers and oversaw the maintenance of Braniff's grounded fleet at DFW Airport and Love Field. Welcome back to another video! Both operated until January 1974. International Airlines. 1k followers. Braniff assisted in World War II, grew their passenger business, bought out other airline companies, grew their fleet, and expanded their routes across North, Central, and South America. And it was long before Harding Lawrence . During 2017 and 2018, some of the original Braniff companies were reinstated for historical purposes and administration of Braniff's intellectual property assets including those of Mid-Continent Airlines, Pan American Grace Airways and Long and Harman Airlines, Inc. Only 30 Boeing 727-200s are left, and they are being repainted and . Thomas Elmer Braniff created a Mexico-based airline, Aerovias Braniff, in 1943. A plan recently approved by the C.A.B. Braniff International Airways (1928 - 1982), Braniff (1983 - 1989) For more details about an aircraft category, click on the corresponding number in the table below. [1], Lawrence accurately believed that the answer to deregulation was to expand Braniff's route system dramatically or face an immediate erosion of Braniff's highly profitable routes as a result of unbridled competition from especially the large trunk carriers along with the new low-cost startup carriers. FSX Braniff International Boeing 727-200. Airline: Braniff International Airways. As an example, Braniff's revenue for 1979 was three times less than American's, which had moved its headquarters to Braniff's hometown, DFW Airport in 1979. "Airline's start-up evokes sense of deja vu", "Fort Worth Airlines halts flights, files for Chapter 11", "Dallas-Based Braniff Airways Signs Historic Agreement With the Dallas Cowboys, TAC Air and Reed Enterprises for Braniff Headquarters", "Braniff Airways Wikisimpsons the Simpsons Wiki", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Braniff_International_Airways&oldid=1142062319, Braniff Travel Bonus Bonanza and Friends of the Orange 747s. . [11], In 1964, Troy Post, chairman of Greatamerica Corporation, an insurance holding company based in Dallas, purchased Braniff and National Car Rental as part of an expansion of holdings and growth outside the insurance business. In October 1951 departures from Dallas became daily: three a week to Buenos Aires and four to Rio de Janeiro. Eastern Air Lines had reported losses for 1981 and felt that the purchase of Braniff's South America routes would help, but Eastern's financial condition worsened through the 1980s. The new 727s could also be outfitted in a mixed cargo/passenger combi aircraft configuration and Braniff did operate "red eye" overnight services carrying cargo in the forward section with seating for 51 passengers in the rear coach compartment. In 2017, Delta Airlines, which also flew the 747 in Hawaii, became the last U.S. airline to use that aircraft. However, in spite of the service's less than stellar performance, the cost to Braniff was negligible thanks mainly to the agreements that Braniff negotiated with both British Airways and Air France. [1], To begin the overhaul of Braniff's image, Lawrence hired Jack Tinker and Partners, who assigned advertising executive Mary Wells later Mary Wells Lawrence after her November 1967 marriage to Harding Lawrence in Paris as account leader. [3], The new Braniff venture was profitable within a month of service inauguration but with the weakening economic conditions the company found itself in need of a merger partner. The Dallas Morning News reports once a year, every year since the carrier's 1982 demise, former pilots, whether they stayed in Dallas or moved across the country for work at . By 1984 it had become the largest commuter airline in the world and operated a fleet of 12 DC-3s along with Martin 404s, YS-11s, Embraer Bandeirantes, and a huge fleet of Cessna 402s Nicknamed the "jellybean" fleet, the new colors included turquoise, lemon yellow and lavender. FROM OKLAHOMA ACORN TO TEXAS OAK THE STORY OF BRANIFF AIRWAYS by Richard Benjamin Cass Two brothers, a dreamer and a pragmatist, joined forces to create one of the world's leading airlines, Braniff Airways. MIAMI Today in Aviation marks the 45th anniversary of the launch of Alexander Calder's Flying Colors of the United States livery by Braniff, depicted on a Boeing 727-200 from the airline, to celebrate the 4th of July. Go PREMIUM to remove Ads. They were returning to Shreveport from a small duck hunting lake near Lake Charles, Louisiana, in a Grumman Mallard aircraft with no deicing system. Tom Braniff, president of Braniff Airways, ordered the company's first DC-3s on August 29, 1939. Universal Airlines and Braniff Air Lines, Inc. Mary Wells and "The End of the Plain Plane", The Airfix model is cited and illustrated at the, Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 08:43, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 until 1982, Braniff International Airlines, Inc. in 199192, Braniff International Airways destinations, List of Braniff International Airways destinations, List of defunct airlines of the United States, "Concorde Flights Between Texas and Europe End; Big Dreams at the Start $1,447 for Flight to Paris", July 1, 1979 Braniff International route map, October 28, 1979 Braniff International system timetable & June 1, 1980 Braniff International route map, October 28, 1979 Braniff International system timetable, THEIR INSPIRATION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP WINS HONORS, May 1, 1981 Braniff International route map & 1981 Braniff International advertisement, "Daily 747s Nonstop to Bogota", "U.S. Oks Eastern's Route Sale American Airlines To Pay $349 Million". Braniff engineering and Braniff's advertising department modified Girard's colors, enlarged the "BI" logo, and added white wings and tails. Braniff Place World Headquarters, P. O. Under the agreement Braniff International would retain service to Venezuela and American Airlines would serve Braniff's Brazilian services as required by a bilateral treaty between the United States and Brazil. . However, Putnam was successful in obtaining an extension of time from Braniff's principal creditors until October 1982. Eastern had recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and planned to use the money from the route sale to repay creditors and regain its financial footing. Free shipping for many products! "[12], Management considered the campaign a success. In 1965 Braniff's fleet was about half jet, comprising 707s, 720s and British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jetliners. From Boston and Dallas/Fort Worth, new transatlantic Boeing 747 service to Europe was operated to Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt and Paris. Implementation of this program turned the Concorde program into a profitable as well as prestigious venture.[1][23]. Art to complement the color schemes was flown in from Mexico, Latin America, and South America. 5 were here. Emilio Pucci designed additional new uniforms for Braniff through 1975. Braniff Airways was the nation's eighth largest airline (then as Braniff International) at the time it ceased operations in 1982. . It is an add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator 98. The 'Parked' status corresponds to planes which have not flown for 20 days but of which we have no information that they have left the operator's fleet. In 1985, the company was sold to a private individual in Texas, who operated the entity as Braniff Education Systems, Inc., d/b/a as IATA or International Aviation and Travel Academy, which provided initial pilot training, airline simulator training, maintenance technician training and airline ticket and travel agent training. Texas Class created a one-fare, one-service airline domestically and removed First Class from all Braniff aircraft. . Charles Edmund Beard led Braniff into the jet age. With the addition of the South America route system, merger with Mid-Continent Airlines, and reduction in mail subsidy on the Mid-Continent system, Braniff International Airways recorded a US$1.8 million operating loss during 1953. The Ultra Look was an integral part of Braniff's new Elegance Campaign, which was designed to herald the maturing of Braniff, as well as the look and feel of opulence throughout the airline's operation. This allowed Braniff to begin late-night cargo service, while the aircraft carried passengers during the day in August 1966. Pucci used a series of nautical themes for crew uniforms for flight attendants, pilots, ground and terminal personnel. The original Braniff Airways was a legendary and unique airline. ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-135 - 970x90. According to information from Captain George A. Stevens: "Mr Braniff was on a hunting expedition with a group of important citizens of Louisiana. [13], Braniff opened the "Terminal of the Future" at Dallas Love Field in late December 1968 and the Jetrail Car Park people mover system in April 1970. Includes 1 Model C. Only mainline turboprop aircraft type operated by the airline. Started Operations. The varied fleet included both the Boeing 747SP and Concorde . After the merger Braniff operated 75 aircraft and over 4000 employees, including 400 pilots. Worth, Kansas City, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta and Miami, by the larger carriers, which were poised to immediately begin invading Braniff's long held territory. [30] Braniff's decreasing load factors combined with record-breaking fuel cost escalations, unfair and unbridled competition, unprecedented interest rates, and a national recession (the worst since the Great Depression of 1929), produced massive financial shortfalls especially in 1980, which was caused by the severe recession that was affecting travel globally. The Ultra Look was applied to all uniforms and the entire Braniff fleet (including the two Calder aircraft). She was instrumental in calming the fears of Braniff's creditors, which became concerned especially after the losses incurred in 1953, quickly followed by the loss of Mr. Braniff. The campaign was not successful, pushing Braniff's bread-and-butter business travelers over to traditional airlines with First Class on all flights. A sleek new paint scheme, dubbed Ultra, was designed by Braniff's industrial design firm, Harper and George along with Detroit auto company Cars and Concepts in conjunction with Halston. The airline had debts of over $1 billion and the $270 . The pride of the fleet was a pair of jets painted by legendary artist Alexander Calder - a DC-8 in the orange and red of South America, celebrating Braniff's large portfolio of routes there, and a 727 with patriotic red white and blue streaks to mark America's 1976 bicenntenial (although it had its detractors - one crew from a rival . Back in 1976, as the United States was turning into its 200th year as an independent republic, there were countless celebrations and local observances nationwide to . - Re-registered as G-N94AD / N94AD by British Airways / Braniff Airways from 5th Jan 1979 until 19th June 1980 - to allow the aircraft to be flown within the USA The United States Postal Service granted Braniff their first airmail route soon after and the new route was inaugurated in May 1934, which effectively saved the company from failure. In over five decades of existence, the airline operated a large variety of aircraft. However, the Mexican government suspended Aerovias Braniff's operating permits in October 1946, under pressure from Pan American Airways, Inc., and merger of the two carriers was not approved by the CAB. The acquisition of the Minneapolis/St. About This File. Collectibles that offer this specific name are rare for that reason. Braniff Realty, Inc., continued to operate the Airline's airport facilities including Braniff's Terminal of the Future at Love Field, until it was sold to American Airlines in 1996. In 1971, Congress cancelled the program, against the Nixon Administration's wishes. All three carriers entered into the agreement for the purpose of promotion of Concorde in the United States and around the world. As part of the acquisition, Acker became executive vice president and CFO of Braniff. [1] Besides standard model 747s, long range 747SPs were acquired as well for these new international flights with the 747 also being operated to South America. Irridescent colors of Chocolate Brown, Perseus Green, Mercury Blue and Terra Cotta along with two metallic colors were matched with striking racing stripes called Power Paint Stripes, which served to enhance the elegant scheme with a sleek racy feel. On April 26, 1982, the Civil Aeronautics Board approved the Eastern/Braniff lease agreement in a 50 unanimous decision. [1], The Braniff 747 livery of bright orange led to the aircraft being nicknamed "The Great Pumpkin". This included the updated 1966 Supersonic Derby Collection; 1968 Pucci Classic Collection; 1971 747 Braniff Place Pant Dress Collection; 1972 727 Braniff Place Pant Dress Collection; 1973 Pucci Blue Pilot Uniform; 1974 Pucci The Classic Collection and finally in 1975 the Flying Colors Collection, which only include impressive white coveralls with red and blue Flying Colors logo for maintenance personnel.[1]. The new Ultrasuede uniforms and Ultra Space leather aircraft interiors were dubbed the Ultra Look by Halston, who had used the term to describe his elegant fashions. At Washington Dulles, the cockpit and cabin crews were replaced by ones from Air France and British Airways for the continued flight to Europe, and the temporary Braniff registration stickers were removed. The typeface was employed across Braniff's operations, on everything from airplane livery to timetables, matchbooks, and serving pieces. . According to planespotters.net, Braniff operated a simply astonishing range of passenger aircraft in that time. Braniff's fuel costs rose from nearly US$200 million to US$400 million during 1979 and in spite of this huge increase in costs, the company still managed to implement service to multiple domestic destinations and expand across the Atlantic and Pacific and endure the airline coupon sales gimmicks used by passengers during the fourth quarter of 1979, which caused Braniff to lose 5 percentage points of load factor during the fourth quarter, and still only report a moderate loss of US$39 million. 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