National Airways Corp (NAC) Fokker F27, Vickers Vicount   Boeing 737-200

 

Safe Air: Argosy ( Whistling Wheelbarrow)

 

Air New Zealand DC8, DC10 and soon to be scrapped B767 and 747, 737-319

 

Mt Cook Airlines Hawker Siddley 748, F27

 

Qantas 747 200B

Ansett BA146

 

Korean MD11

 

TAA B727

Varig (MD11, 737-200/300 and 767-300)

Vasp (737-200)

Transbrasil (767-200, 737-300)

Cruzeiro (A300 and 737-200)

Northwest DC-10

KLM MD-11

Singapore Airlines 747

:( sad topic

In order of aircraft I have flown on, and which are no longer operated by the companies I flew them with would include, roughly:

 

Qantas: Boeing 747-200 (SYD - AKL rtn)

East West Airlines: F28 Fokker Fellowship (SYD - OOL)

Australian Airlines (ex TAA) A300 (SYD - BNE and SYD - MEL)

Qantas A300 (the actual same A300 from TAA with a new paint job after merger/buyout)

Ansett Australia 737-300 VH-CZQ (See last entry in this list for the last time I flew this exact aircraft again!)

Ansett Australia 767-200 (Including one stormy night when VH-RMA replaced a 737-300 SYD-MEL service after the 737 diverted from YSSY and VH-RMA picked up the delayed flight half empty)

Ansett Australia A320 (including a cockpit visit airborne on VH-HYL)

Impulse Airlines 717-200 (including a cockpit visit airborne that turned into a jumpseat landing on invitation VH-VQA in the blue cockatoo livery)

Jetstar Airlines 717-200 (Including doing loading trials with Jetstar boarding/deplaning the aircraft).

Virgin Blue 737-400

Virgin Blue's only 737-300 VH-CZQ "Suzie-Q"

Defunct Airlines:

 

Frontier (1950-1986 incarnation)

Western

Continental

America West

 

Pretty easy to see where I've done most of my flying.

 

My brother and I flew our first flight from KGJT to KSLC on a DC-3 in the early 1970's.  It had to have been one of the oldest planes--maybe THE oldest plane--in Frontier's fleet at the time.  We were both hoping to ride on a jet and were crestfallen to see this beat-up little tail-dragger waiting for us to board.  Once we got into the air, though, it didn't matter.  The crew treated us like two young kings and the captain gave us a tour of the cockpit after we landed.  Our return flight was on one of Frontier's "newer" Convairs (probably a 240 or 340--I don't remember it being as big as the 580's).

 

I've also been on a 737-200 (Frontier), DC-9 (Western?--really hard landing at KSAN) and one of the early DASH-8 variants (Continental?).

Airlines:

 

Eastern

Continental

Northwest

 

Aircraft:

 

L1011

737-200

727-200

DC10

DC9

C-9B (NAS Lemoore to NAS Miramar runs back in 1993)

Eastern (my first flight, age eight, on a DC-8 from JFK to MIA - then back to JFK on a 720)

 

Northwest Orient (my first 747 flight, age 10, first year in service for the 747-100, on Flight 7, from JFK to ORD (for a year they had an ORD stop on the way to Seattle, Tokyo and Hong Kong)

 

Prinair (DeHavilland Heron, round trip from San Juan to St. Thomas)

 

Laker Skytrain

 

TWA (to Rome and back from Paris on 707s)

 

Ozark (anyone else remember their wine tasting flight?  Happiest holding pattern I've ever been in)

 

LIAT (which I think stood for Leeward Islands Air Transport - the running joke was that it really meant "Left In Another Terminal")

 

People Express (Newark to LA and then SFO to Newark on one of their leased 747s)

 

And fond memories of a 1973 flight to San Juan on an American DC-10 that had a lounge in coach complete with an electric piano - one of the passengers was a pretty decent jazz pianist and that made for a nice couple of hours).

 

Other aircraft types - L-1011, A300, lots of 727s.  Almost got to the UK on a VC-10 but the trip was cancelled - a near-miss that I still regret.

Great idea for a thread....

 

Carriers:

Comair-commuted on these guys for years.  (looking back through my N-numbers, I had actually been on the LEX accident aircraft (431CA) a few years before)

ASA-(now part of ExpressJet)

Colgan AIr-both on the Saab and Q400.  Never got to ride on the Beech.

Freedom Airlines (the DL Connection system, was part of Mesa Air Group), both DHC-8 and E145

MetroJet (US Airways, single-class B737-200's)

Southeast Airlines (MD-88, charter)

 

When I worked the ramp, I threw a lot of bags into USA3000's A320's.....also worked Ryan International frequently.  

The only airline that I can think of is Lufthansa Italia. Other than that it has been the same few airlines for me.

Air Atlanta Icelandic: L1011

Delta: L1011

Delta: 727

LTE: A320

Futura: 737-400

Ryanair: 737-200

Eirjet: A320

Aer Arann: RJ85

Frontier Airlines, on a DC-3 TUS-ABQ 1958. My very first flight on an airplane. I was only 3 years old, but can still remember it!

 

Bonanza Airlines, F-27 LAS-SLC 1968. My first flight on a turboprop. I had a room full of plastic Revell aircraft models I had built, and loved anything and everything to to with airplanes.

 

Continental Airlines 727-200 LAX-ELP-SAT 1973. My first flight on a jet. 18 years old, and on my way to Air Force basic training, followed by 9 months of tech school for avionics. Now I was going to actually WORK ON AIRPLANES. The start of a career that continues to the present day.

 

Other defunct/merged airlines I have flown on: PSA, Western, Air-Cal, Eastern and Northwest

Boy, the future of air flying looks rather bleak, tighter and tasteless. 

 

I just recently flew and crossed the pond from Europe in one of their airlines. "Today choices: Pasta or Fish. Well, something tasted fishy but no way to testify to that effect except through DNA analysis. But I had a half sandwich hidden. Still, it sucked. 8:43hrs

 

Back in the 50's, the tray with food used to be placed over a "real size pillow" in your laps and it was plenty of it. No little tables yet back then.

 

Sorry for the guy that flew with Pan Am too late in their timeline cause back in the 60's the female stewards were out of this world. I was still too young for any hunting but my eyes were old enough and they served me well on those flights. Sweet mother of the above, they were beauties and YOUNG! I never flew with Braniff International but back in Panama I heard they were even hotter than the Pan Am's.

 

But like Bill said, I mostly miss the food and civility too above everything else nowadays.

 

Side notes: I remember back in the 50's and 60's when seats were not assigned and smoking depended of who was seated next you. No smoking section in the back of the plane yet. 

 

Cheers,

I miss the 727 most of all. I marveled at how quiet it was in the cabin versus how noisy it was hearing it from the outside. That was one solid bird to fly in. It felt very stable even in rough weather but seemed to be a challenge for the pilots to make a smooth landing with. The 737-200 felt jumpy in the air with the slightest turbulence yet the 737NG series has a totally different feel all around. The two 737's may look the same but flying in them you can tell they are very different aircraft.

 

I remember flying jumpseat in the FedEx DC10's watching the pilots lean forward with the jokes in their chest making a landing on 9R at night. Back before all the jets were converted to MD10's flying in the old birds were a blast. Hearing/feeling that rumble way in the back on touchdown from the cockpit was something to experience.

Great Topic...

 

I have not read all the replies but here are mine:

 

Like many a Canuck I flew

 

Canadian Airlines (DC-10)

CP Air (DC-10 with Expo 86 Livery, DC-9)

Air Canada (BAe-146, B762, A343, A345, DC-9, DC-8, L1011)

 

And here are a couple that I am surprised that were not mentioned by fellow Canucks:

 

Pacific Western Airlines (Before they bought CP and became Canadi>n)

 

And finally from the East Coast Canadian kid, EPA - Eastern Provincial Airlines, before CP bought them.

 

Awesome topic again. The memories!

Northwest, that's about it.