Amazing shots - I am definitely digging all this Love Field nostalgia you've been posting over the last few weeks! I really appreciate all the effort that must have gone into tracking down some of these negatives. Keep hoping you'll unearth a shot of the original ticket counter as well, but I'm sure that's a needle in what must be a huge haystack.
Up until the late 1990s, the small black sign (pictured in the first shot) facing the East Concourse still said Braniff, Continental, Texas International, Ozark. I always loved seeing that when I went to DAL.
Interesting to see that the moving walkways on the North Concourse were removed prior to 1974. Do you know when and/or why this was done? I know all three concourses opened with two sets of moving walkways - American removed one side on the West Concourse during their remodel in '68 (and replaced the other side since they changed the floor profile to slope upward), and both "vintage" walkways were still in place on the East Concourse up until the early 2000s. Did Delta pull out the North Concourse installation when they added their upper-level gates?
Looking forward to next week's post as well.
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Great to see these photos and glad you were able to unearth them... the upper-level North Concourse gates have always been a real mystery to me. In use for only four years but a fairly complicated setup with escalators and the pass-over walkways. I suppose it was cheaper for Delta than rebuilding the entire concourse.
Do you know the rationale for WN's move to the West Concourse on 1/14/74? Was it to allow the closure of the main lobby and consolidate everything in the bag claim wing?
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Great post! Flashback Fridays are one of the best parts of the blog. I had been wondering at what point in the 1970s Southwest moved upstairs to the main terminal at HOU.
I remember the "hearts and planes" wall decorations of the late 1970s - they were still very visible at Love Field through until about 1990 or so. I hope you're able to find some of the photos you're looking for - definitely interested in seeing them myself. Nice work again!
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Great old photos - I didn't realize Southwest was located in the old international annex when HOU service began. Do you know when the main (upper level) terminal was reopened for operations?
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Great post! DAL holds special memories for so many people. I missed the "glory years" completely (wasn't even born until 1981) but as a kid I used to wander the empty North and East Concourses and try to imagine what it was like before DFW opened.
Would LOVE to see your black and whites from January 11, even if they're not very good quality! Hope you post them in a future update.
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This is truly a sad day. Frequent fliers value printed timetables more than the airlines realize, and Southwest was one of the few who listened to their passengers and brought them back after the first time you discontinued them.
You're right that they've grown extremely large in the last few years... most airlines that still publish timetables have cut back to direct/nonstop only. American and United's timetables slimmed down dramatically in the late 1990s before they were discontinued altogether. Perhaps that's an option for Southwest, although so many of your flights are one- or two-stop that it wouldn't be of much use, I suppose.
Between 9/11, last summer's fuel spike and the current economic downtown, many international carriers have suspended timetables - Alitalia, Iberia, Olympic, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and South African have all stopped in the last 18 months.
There are still plenty of airlines that publish schedules, although almost all of them are in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, Aegean Airlines, Tarom, Austrian Airlines, Japan Airlines, ANA, Korean Air, Cathay Pacific, Vietnam Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, just to name a few.
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