The Airline Time Machine Podcast

The story of the scrappy Icelandic airline Loftleiðir, how it became a significant player in budget travel transatlantic tourism in the Jet Age, and the role it had in promoting tiny Luxembourg as a noted Europe travel hub! Send us Fan Mail

United Airlines recently announced that a woman is now the airline's most senior captain, a first for a major airline. But women piloting U.S. jetliners is something that only began to occur in the 1970s, and today just over 5% of all U.S. Airline Transport Pilot rating holders are women. Join me for the story of the first U.S. airline captain, Emily Howell Warner of Colorado, and the challenging environment she had to conquer to earn four stripes on her uniform sleeve! Send us Fan Mail

After keeping a secret for seventy years, a former stewardess shares her story of a rainy day, a DC-3, a famous journalist, and a crash landing at Yakima, Washington! Send us Fan Mail

Every airline in the world has a two-character designator code that represents the airline’s name identity across reservation systems, flight information displays, ticketing details, luggage tags, and all of the other places where showing an airline’s full name can be simplified by substituting that recognized designator code. The development of those codes evolves as the early airline industry expands, and airline name codes that, in some cases, have been in use for eighty years, continue to be used in digital applications today. Join me for the story of how airline name codes came about, their sometimes hidden meanings, and how they’ve developed, and been perceived, over generations. Send us Fan Mail

Have you ever found yourself looking out of a cabin window on an airliner, and wondered what was keeping you in - and the outside out - during your flight? If you ask an aerospace engineer what their ideal airliner cabin window size and shape is, they might just tell you that the ideal airliner has no cabin windows. They’re a hassle to design and build, and they add to the maintenance and cleaning work required for an airliner. But airlines know that a lot of their customers wouldn’t enjoy flying in a tube with no outside view, so windows in the passenger cabin have been a fixture since the earliest days of air travel. With this Airline Time Machine podcast, let’s explore the role that airliner windows have, the many variations in window design over the years, and how a modern airliner window’s made. And, looking ahead, how might future airliner design change the windows we’ll find in airplanes. Send us Fan Mail

Delta Air Lines has a rich history in the air travel business, and this year is celebrating its one hundredth year of operations. And while a lot of Delta’s story is focused on the southern United States where Delta was founded in Macon, Georgia - a state where Delta is headquartered today - there's another large Delta hub in the eastern half of the U.S. at Detroit. Join me for the story of how an airline from Georgia finds itself with a big hub operation far to the north in Michigan, on the border with Canada, and how that hub is contributing to Delta’s business today. Send us Fan Mail

During the first fifty years of air travel in the United States, the airline industry - as a service provider, and as an employer - is largely focused on White people. Black Americans are usually locked out of many airline jobs until long after the 1940s, and Black households have little exposure to air travel, both because of the high cost, and the segregated nature of many airport facilities. In a 1976 magazine article I found while doing background work for this podcast episode, a Black airline pilot is quoted saying: “ Whites have long ago realized that time is money. Some of us [ and he’s referring to Black Americans ] are still wondering if it’s safe to ride on trains. ” Then in the early 1960s, a 19-year old from North Carolina opens a small flying school at the airport in Chapel Hill, close to where he grew up. Warren Wheeler loves to fly, he’s determined to make a living doing it, and he’s Black. Join me for this look at how Warren grew his flight school into the first Black-owned airline in the U.S., while also becoming a jet captain for a major airline, and the impact his work has had across generations. Send us Fan Mail

One of the most successful U.S. start-up airlines of the 1990s had six airline brands, and several legal names, involved in just its first four years. Then it settled down to become a nimble competitor, known for low fares, a quality product, cheeky advertising, and a multi-billion dollar business volume that generated a long string of profitable annual results. With this Airline Time Machine podcast we’ll look at the early years of AirTran Airways, its predecessor ValuJet Airlines, and what ultimately became of the eighth largest airline in the U.S., its unusual fleet, and 8,500 staff. Send us Fan Mail

Airline tickets have changed dramatically over the roughly hundred years of passenger air travel, transforming from a simple paper “proof of purchase” modeled on railroad passenger tickets, to today’s digital transaction and security records. Join me for this look at airline ticket history, and the steps along the way that have been made to ensure that the correct passenger… is on the right airplane… of the proper airline! Send us Fan Mail

Before large jet airliners accelerate air travel growth in the late 1950s, flying between continents is an exhausting experience, requiring fifteen hours or more for the flight to New York from Europe. To help travelers pass the time, meal service is a big focus for the airlines, and the cuisine offered is an important way to distinguish an airline from its competitors in an era of tightly regulated airfares. Then, in early 1958, a fierce food fight breaks out between the European and U.S. airlines over what constitutes a “sandwich”, and the fight involves disparagement, threats to cancel landing rights, legal actions, and a big financial penalty. Join me for this look at the Transatlantic Sandwich Scuffle of 1958, and how it’s resolved as the airline industry moves toward defining what low cost air travel will look - and taste - like! Send us Fan Mail

The growth of the oldest U.S. Trunk or Mainline air carriers after 1945 drives demand for air travel, and new, larger airliners to meet that need. But as the airlines and their aircraft grow, many smaller U.S. cities are in danger of losing their air service because they don't generate enough passenger volume to match the larger and costlier airliners coming on line. The solution is a new category of airline - the Local Service Carriers - licensed by the federal government in the late '40s, and assigned to strictly controlled geographic areas to provide reliable air service for hundreds of small airports. Join me for this look at those special airlines, the role they played in the U.S. air transportation system, and the impacts still seen today from their operations. Send us Fan Mail

In some of the largest U.S. urban areas, road traffic congestion can be one of the biggest challenges to moving between the downtown area and the airport. Imagine, though, being able to get from Manhattan to La Guardia Airport in New York in just 6 minutes, or from Oakland to the San Francisco Airport in 7 minutes. For many years, scheduled service helicopter airlines made fast airport travel times like those possible, but they’ve all failed to stay in business. Join me for their story, and a look at what may be ahead for close-in urban air service. Send us Fan Mail

During some of the most exciting developments and innovation in a young and emerging U.S. airline industry - from the 1930s through the late 1950s - two of the most sought-after airline career paths are unavailable to black Americans. They’re denied positions as airline pilots or flight attendants, no matter what their relevant experience or technical qualifications. With this Airline Time Machine podcast, let’s look at how the first Black stewardess in the U.S. changed that narrative, and what it took for her to break through that highly visible barrier in our airline history. Send us Fan Mail

The early 1950s is an exciting time in the airline business, and - more specifically - the airliner business. Airliner manufacturers are developing new planes that fly faster, farther, and with more passengers and cargo, but from England a new airliner sound is being heard - the high, shrill scream of jet engines. Most airlines are reluctant to embrace the new jet technology, both because it’s unlike the proven airliners they’re currently flying, but also because they’ve spent enormous sums of money buying those older planes, and are years away from paying them off. But U.S. aircraft companies are gaining experience with jet engine technology through military programs, and are seeking ways to apply that learning to a new generation of airliners powered by jets. Let's look at how one of those companies - Boeing of Seattle - makes the decision to move into a technologically advanced jet airliner family, and the role that a dramatic aerobatics maneuver in a very public setting has on that work. Send us Fan Mail

Beginning in the 1930s, many airlines maintain large networks of City Ticket Offices to conduct business with their customers in high-traffic shopping, office and hotel neighborhoods, far removed from their own airport operations. These in-town facilities become known as a City Ticket Office (or by the airline staff acronym “CTO”), to differentiate them from the Airport Ticket Office (or ATO) in each area. Join me for this look at the rise of the once common airline City Ticket Office as a high visibility, splashy promotion of the airline, reflecting the carrier’s style and personality, while also becoming an important link to many of the airline’s most important customers. Send us Fan Mail

Tens of thousands of airline flights operate daily around the world, but every now and then one stands out because it helps make history, even though it was just another flight, on just another day. From 1976 until 2003, the supersonic Concorde airliner was frequently in the news, either for the noise it created, or the often famous people it carried. Join me for a look at how a normally scheduled British Airways flight in July of 1985, operated by Concorde, played a crucial role in one of the largest rock concerts ever organized. Send us Fan Mail

The idea that some things are segregated by gender is not uncommon for many of us as we encounter washrooms, gym locker rooms, private schools and clubs, or religious facilities with restricted access based on gender. But starting in the 1950s, one United States airline introduces “Men Only” flights on one of its most popular business travel routes. Join me for a look at the exclusion of female passengers from the airline's Executive Club service, the rationale behind that exclusion, and how it all turned out. Send us Fan Mail

If you’ve visited central Florida for a Disney vacation, you may have wished there was an easier, faster, way to get from the Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World. Before that resort opens in October of 1971, planning for Walt Disney World includes a large jet airport within the resort’s grounds, to make it easy for visitors to start and end their visit. Join me for a look at how air travel influenced the plans for the development of Walt Disney World, and a special period of time when it was possible to buy an airline ticket that would land you within the resort itself! Send us Fan Mail

Some air travelers are more than VIPs - they’re the VERY VIPs, the heads of state or monarchs whose travel comes with unusual requirements for privacy, secrecy, and security that just can’t typically be met by a scheduled airline service. Join me for an exploration of how air travel by heads of state began, has been intertwined with airline flying for a century, and will keep evolving past the 2020s. Send us Fan Mail

Lavatory. Water closet. Washroom. Toilet. WC. Commode... or there's many more! Whatever name you choose, an airliner’s onboard personal comfort facilities are seen by a lot of travelers as an essential resource to have on their flight. Join me for this exploration of the history of airliner toilet facilities, and their evolution from the most basic equipment to meet flyer’s bodily needs, to the sophisticated hygiene systems installed in new airliners today. Send us Fan Mail