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Southwest Airlines Community

America and the Airlines

blusk
Aviator C
Okay, as you probably know, I am a total airplane (and railroad) geek and proud of it.  Well, I am excited because the National Air and Space Museum in Washington has just opened an airline exhibit.  This article from Bloomberg.com describes the new permanent addition, and you can also visit the museum's online exhibition about airline history--it has some great information, especially the "Objects & Images" pages.
14 Comments
Terry_Lessig
Explorer B
I also share your affinity for planes 'n' trains. I grew up with tracks in my backyard and tracks in my sky. They were roads beckoning. Perhaps the attraction is to be able to command something larger than ourselves. Freud would blame our mothers, Brian.
blusk
Aviator C
I know what you mean, Terry. From schools near the Santa Fe transcon, an old Pacific Electric branch or an old Cotton Belt line to living near LAX and Dallas Love Field in my youth, transportation got in my blood. To me, it is the thrill of what's over the next hill or beyond the next cloud. Brian
Sam12
Explorer C
I agree , I have a great love of anything airline and railroad related. I spent my Saturdays at Love Field as a kid and lived in University Park where the planes could be seen easily coming and going. The big thrill then was which Braniff color would be next! Plus I grew up reading the writings of the great David P. Morgan at Trains magazine. I never knew then ,of course, when going by the "747 Braniff Place" gate at Love Field for the 747 flights that the pilot could have been his brother , the great Len Morgan, who I would read later in Flying , or that I would eventually meet him at Flightshops at the St. Pete / Clearwater Airport! I can't wait to get to Washington for the new exhibit!
blusk
Aviator C
Sam, after being a Trains subscriber for almost 40 years, I finally have a complete set of the magazine from 1939 to the present. Among the earliest aviation books I bought was Len Morgan's book on the DC-3.. Brian
FriendofBlogBoy
Frequent Flyer B
Brian, This exhibit sounds way cool! When are we going? LOL You're now free to visit plane and train exhibits around the country... Kim EBB 🙂
Mike_Yuhas
Explorer C
Brian, At least a couple of us here at Trains magazine feel the same way about Southwest! When will you guys start flying into and out of Milwaukee?
blusk
Aviator C
Hi Mike, It's great to hear from America's best magazine! (Thanks for going back to the old logo, by the way.) I am far from being the expert on choosing new cities, and thankfully, we do have some great experts. I can tell you that we look at Milwaukee and Mitchell International (MKE) on a regular basis. whether that means we will someday start flying to MKE, I can't say--primarily because I don't know. I do know that we currently are trying to build service between our existing locations. Brian
jim
Adventurer C
I want to join you Kim. When do we go? That America by Air exhibit looks really, really cool. And - I do Milwaukee 3-4 times a year from El Paso since that's where the company I work for is. My boss does Milwaukee to Vegas at least six times a year. So add my vote to mike's for MKE as a new SWA city!
Tom20
Explorer C
Hi Brian, I have an airline blog of my own but I want to let you know that I think that you've done a really good job here - I've read your excellent articles in Airways and then recognized your name when I first visited the Southwest Blog. Keep up the good posts!
blusk
Aviator C
Hi Tom, Thanks for the kind words. Brian
Michael_Eisenbe
Explorer C
I also grew up with trains and planes. There was a railroad running behind the house I grew up in and I was always watching the trains. I guess I was in elementary school when my parents took me to see the planes at what was then Haror Field in Baltimore. They took me on my first plane trip on a DC3 to Atlantic City, NJ. I believe it made two or three stops along the way. Later when Friendship Airport opened (now BWI) my parents would take me there on Sunday afternoons and I loved watching the ground crews doing their work and wondering about how things were done behind the scenes. My parents said that I said I wanted to work for an airline when I grew up. I had relatives in NC so I was able to fly on National to Fayetteville,NC or Eastern to Florence, SC on Martin 404s. I spent over 30 years in the business world travelling around the country. I would always talk to the flight attendants and Customer Service people about their airlines and what it was like to work for an airline. I always thought that there was a better way to run an airline and still had the thought that I would like to work for an airline some day. Well, a little over seven years ago I finally grew up and started working for an airline, Southwest, and I love every minute of it. So, the next time you're in BWI during the afternoon or evening, ask for me. I'd LUV to meet you.
blusk
Aviator C
Michael, sounds like we have a lot in common! Blog Boy
Jeff5
Explorer C
I used to fly SWA all the time when I lived down south, however, here in Wisconsin we are about to become the stepchild of Northwest with Midwest fading and the UA and AA flights to Chicago are cancelled or delayed at least 50% of the time. Walking through Concourse D (Midwest) recently, it was nearly EMPTY at 5:15pm. Any chance you guys are reconsidering moving MKE up the list given the gates likely to become available and good growth of the northern Illinois suburbs full of people looking for a low-hassle alternative to O'Hare? Maybe the economy is a touch too rough right now to think expansion but perhaps the first steps can be taken until the economy recovers?
Christine111
Explorer C
I agree with Jeff. When I lived in Chicago, I flew SW all the time. We moved to Kenosha, WI (between Chicago & Milwaukee), so now I fly United for direct flights anywhere. It's still an hour drive for me to ORD, but 35 min to MKE. I would love to have SW in MKE.