Southwest Airlines Community

Branson, Jackson MS, Key West. All three end in June. ... View more

Sad to see MDW-IND go. A leg I've taken many a time. 737s in EYW! Can't remember if Piedmont ever flew 737s into there, or just F.28s. Assume the Air Tran EYW flights are all 717s. ... View more

Well, I just got back from TUS and grabbed six more copies of the final WN timetable. I didn't 'clean them out', though, as I said I was going to. Guess I felt guilty. Anyway, now I have 9 copies, as I have always grabbed three copies of each new issue when it comes out: Two to actually look through and/or use for travel planning, and one which goes, unopened and (hopefully) un-fingerprinted, into the schedule archive. The archive consists of 11 file boxes of 'post-deregulation' (1980 to present) schedules, and two file drawers full of the 'crown jewels'--pre-1980 schedules going all the was back to 1932 (American Airways and Transcontinental and Western Air [T&WA]). Additional file drawers are stuffed full of other airline ephemera such as route maps, "Welcome aboard" packets, safety cards, annual reports, etc. Oh, and let's not forget the old OAGs (Official Airline Guides), which back in the pre-1970 era were basically a bound collection of schedules from all US and Canadian airlines. I have three (1940, 1956, and 1961), and they are a great 'snapshot' of the industry at a particular point in time. Would love to get more, but, as Brian mentions above, they are pricey. I do intend, as always, to search for a few more old schedules at next week's Airliners International convention in Orlando, but I am buying far fewer examples of airline stuff than I was 20 or even 10 years ago. Guess my collection is just about complete! One thing I've always wondered is why airlines don't offer a printed schedule by paid subscription. It would be wonderful for us collectors, and I'd gladly pay the cost to receive a "real" schedule four times or so per year. It wouldn't even have to show connections: Just direct flights with maybe a numerical-order flight routings section at the end. That would be wonderful! ... View more

Brian-- As a fellow sked collector, I mourn the demise of the WN timetable, although I had been expecting this for some time. I have to laugh at the "Don't worry, our schedules can still be accessed easily at wouthwest.com..." line, since in my experience NOTHING online EVER comes "easily"! But then, I'll always be a dyed-in-the-wool Luddite. I will always hate computers and everything connected to them. Oh well, got to drive over to TUS today and clear them out of the 'final issue'! Since "nobody uses them anymore", I'm sure no one will care if I take them all for my collection (and to sell at airliner shows in future years)! ... View more

Thanks, Brian, for the tribute to the 'real' DTW! I too love the old terminals, and Love is also one of my favorites. The city of Dallas had better never, ever, remove or cover up the 1958 "air age" map of the world on the terminal floor. One I would add to your list of examples is the older, central part of the MSP terminal. After all, it served as "Lincoln International" in the original "Airport"! Paging Joe Patroni... Anyway, my first time experiencing the Smith terminal, and all of what was then DTW, was in the summer of 1975. I was 17, flying around the AA system on my own, and had come in on a 707 'red-eye' from SFO, arriving just as the day began. I had several hours to fully explore the entire terminal complex before leaving on a 727-100 for IND and the then-spanking new DFW. I loved that airport! I remember how the Detroit carmakers would show off new models in the lobby area. That summer I distinctly remember an AMC Pacer on display, which certainly looked like no other car on the road! I did not return to DTW for 30 years, until the summer of '05, after driving from MKE to Detroit the long way, up through 'da Yoopers' and over the Mackinaw bridge. I took Southwest to MDW and then onwards home. Like you state, the terminal still had that classic 'golden age' feel to it. I'm glad I was there again before it closed. Mike in TUS ... View more

vash--I'll bet the Sun-times is counting arrivals and departures separately, while USA Today is not, which would explain the 22/44 discrepancy. ... View more