With Flight 1939, US Airways Flies Into The History Books

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: WFAE, Charlotte NC public radio

By Tom Bullock • 3 hours ago



The flight originates in Philadelphia, a nod to when the airline was known as Allegheny {Airlines}
US Airways

Friday at 12:05 p.m., a flight from Philadelphia will land at Charlotte Douglas Airport. This is not normally news, or history. But this flight will be both. .... If you happen to be in the terminal around that scheduled landing time make sure to stop by gate D-13 and look for US Airways flight 1939. It will be on the ground for two hours and then it’s off to Phoenix. When it takes off it will mark the end of an airline.

"Customers will no longer see US Airways," says Katie Cody, spokeswoman for American Airlines, which merged with US Airways nearly two years ago. "All the logos will switch over, all the tickets will now be American." ... The two airlines will merge their reservation systems, their websites, their apps. All the kiosks, check-in desks--everything US airways--will be gone by Monday. .... Cody points to that last flight number. "US Airways flight 1939 which is the original year of the start of the airline."

Back then it was focused on delivering mail in western Pennsylvania and the Ohio Valley. It would be 10 years before the first passengers would board. And if US Airways wasn’t an All American-enough name for you, the company was originally known as All American Aviation.
....

The route of this last US Airways flight is also a nod to its history. Starting in Philadelphia – a nod to the 27 years it flew under the name Allegheny Airlines. On to Charlotte, once the main hub of North Carolina’s homegrown airline, Piedmont, which was acquired by USAir in 1987. Then flight 1939 is off to Phoenix, once home to America West, which merged with US Airways in 2005. Then a northbound leg to San Francisco before making a redeye trek back to Philly. And when it lands, US Airways will be history.

Read more: http://wfae.org/post/flight-1939-us-airways-flies-history-books

---

My father worked for Allegheny Airlines. My first flight was on an Allegheny Martin 202 from DCA to Philadelphia and back.



US Airways flight takes wing for last time

Flight 1939 schedule is as follows:

10:05 a.m. EDT depart Philadelphia
12:04 p.m. EDT arrive Charlotte
2:35 p.m. EDT depart Charlotte
4:01 p.m. MST arrive Phoenix
5:10 p.m. MST depart Phoenix
7:12 p.m. PDT arrive San Francisco
9:55 p.m. PDT depart San Francisco
6:18 a.m. EDT arrive Philadelphia (Oct. 17)

[Perogie]

1. Sad to see so many companies gobbled up by others.

[MADem]

2. Not gobbled--merged. There's a difference. nt

[pangaia]

6. gobbled

[we can do it]

17. Yes, jobs are gobbled every time there is a merger.

Last edited Fri Oct 16, 2015, 04:41 PM - Edit history (1)

Stupid autocorrect- Meant every time- not overtime.

[MADem]

18. They're unionized.

FWIW, the American Airlines and US Airways flight attendants have been under the same union for a couple of years. People who leave won't be thrown out on their asses. They'll retire, if they're good and ready anyway.


Because fuel is so cheap, airlines are flying more, not less and their operating costs are reduced.

Oftentimes, airlines merge because one airline (or the other) wants to expand into new markets and increase their market share (number of gates) in existing ones.

[we can do it]

25. Meant every time- not overtime. And jobs do disappear when mergers occur, union or not.

They have condensed flights so much you are practically sitting on someone's lap every flight.

[MADem]

27. That was probably in preparation for the merger.

When both airlines have gate space in one city, they dump gates to save money.

Also, we're just past high season for Americans vacationing in Europe, and we'll be coming into high season for the sunbirds soon enough. It depends on where you're going, too.

[Perogie]

7. Same affect. US Airways ceases to exist.

[MADem]

10. The employees keep working. Northwest ceased to exist, in name, anyway.

The workers, though, are still working for DELTA.

And Western Airlines went the same way, too--those employees are also working for DELTA.

Before this, we said farewell to Allegheny Airlines--and "US Air!" (No "ways" back in the day...they changed their name).

You know the old saying, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose -- in any event, life goes on.

[Perogie]

12. Can I not feel something is lost without being told I'm wrong.

I miss the old companies. It's called nostalgia. I'm sad to see them go.

[LanternWaste]

20. Many people here are far too clever to allow nostalgia

Many people here are far too clever to allow nostalgia without criticizing it merely for the sake of criticism.

[MADem]

28. Of course you aren't wrong, but you have to keep moving forward.

There's no turning back.

Hell, I miss "Beastern" (which is what we used to call Eastern). The coach seats were massive, they gave you a meal (with a real fork and a sharp knife) that was edible, and you could usually find an empty row in the back to stretch out and have a nap if you wanted.

I can remember paying as much one way to go to the Carribean on Dear Old Beastern, though, as I've paid quite recently to go round trip to London. Air travel used to be exclusive and expensive. Now it's like Greyhound--Leave the Flying to Us!

[Perogie]

31. I don't need a pep talk from you.

I'll try to avoid commenting on any posts that you have.
Never the twain shall meet.

[MADem]

33. I wasn't giving you a pep talk.

Tell me--have we met before?

You seem somehow familiar to me.

Welcome to DU, I guess.

[pangaia]

32. Less competition...

GOBBLED

[appalachiablue]

3. Flew it many times including Allegheny and Piedmont. Seems most airlines are merging

so we have about 4-5 domestic carriers now? I remember when there were so many even good old TWA and Pan Am.

[Capt.Rocky300]

21. The irony is that deregulation was unleashed.....

upon the industry because there were only 6 airlines serving most of the country. The rest were regionals like Piedmont, Allegheny, Western, North Central, Texas International, etc. So, in the end, instead of more airlines and more competition we have fewer airlines than we started with. And in the meantime, thousands of airline workers lost their jobs and had their lives turned upside down by vultures like Frank Lorenzo and Carl Icahn. Some even committed suicide. Great experiment Alfred Kahn. I'd pee on his grave if I knew where he was buried.

Not that I'm bitter you understand.

[appalachiablue]

30. Deregulate the Banks for 'more competition', also the Media and the Airlines and we end

up with 5 conglomerates in each industry, like monopolies almost. Funny how that works. The M & A action and disregard for the Sherman Anti Trust Act since Dutch has been something to behold--misery from thousands of jobs, pensions and lives lost, the painful reality.
Being a Mid Atlantic person I've used Allegheny, Piedmont, US Airways all my life- from Htgn., WV, Richmond, Salisbury, MD, Balto., NY, FL. The maps and routes are real reminders, and I'm a bit nostalgic. Sigh..time marches on.

[Blus4u]

4. I flew Allegheny Arline's many times in and out of Roanoke, VA as a youngster

We moved out of the country in the mid 50's and would fly in every couple of years to visit the grands, who lived in Allegheny County.

I recall boarding one flight to find 2 hulking giants with long, scraggily beards, dressed in farmer's overalls and straw hats sitting in the rear. It turns out they were the Calhoun Brothers of "professional" wrestling fame during the late 50's or early 60's. One of the brothers was called Haystack Calhoun, can't remember the other one's name.

A little useless trivia...

Peace

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. Allegheny or Piedmont?

I flew from DCA to Roanoke and back in the fall of 1967 on a Piedmont Fokker F-27, like this one:



Roanoke is not shown as an Allegheny destination in this May 1, 1957, timetable:



Then again, neither is an Allegheny route I flew in the fall of 1972 from Pittsburgh to DCA on a Convair 580. It stopped along the way at cities in northern West Virginia.

This route map is from January 15, 1970:



I'm getting these from US Airways / USAir / Allegheny / Mohawk Timetables, Route Maps and History

[Blus4u]

11. My family moved to the Canal Zone in Panama in 1956.

We were from the Covington/Clifton Forge area in western VA.
I was 5 years old in 1956. I could have sworn it was Allegheny flying in an out of Roanoke.
But I also flew through Atlanta in and out of Raleigh and Fayetteville and Reagan Nat'l before and shortly after my teen years and found myself on Piedmont and Allegheny many times.

Peace

[pangaia]

34. Oh that F-27 and THE -580 GREAT aircraft

Now pretty much the easiest way to tell a 737 from a 320 is by the antenna sticking up behind the cockpit on the 320..

[mahatmakanejeeves]

36. Thanks. Now I'll be able to tell them apart.

The Convair 580 was a real rocket ship. It had a pair of Allison 501s on a Convair airframe, and an astonishing power to weight ratio. On the trip I took, Pittsburgh to Morgantown to Clarksburg to DCA, it was a drag race when we took off from those West Virginia airports.

Without checking Wikipedia or Airliners.net, I'm going to guess that F-27s are in daily service somewhere.

Thanks for writing.

[MADem]

5. I remember Allegheny Airlines!!

[DemoTex]

8. I am a retired US Airways captain.

BTW: Former US Air CEO Ed Colodny (who must be near 90) will fly on the SFO-PHL leg of FLT 1939.

[MADem]

19. Feeling nostalgic right about now?

I wouldn't blame you!

I hope old Ed has a few buddies aboard....just in case! They should have invited YOU!

[DFW]

13. I used to fly Allegheny all the time between PHL and Boston

I was going to college in Philadelphia and I had a girlfriend in the Boston area. Many cheap weekend round trip fares.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. One of the kids I grew up with

had a father who worked as a mechanical engineer for Allegheny. I remember he had a cool toy Allegheny jet. They also had an electric train set that no one was allowed to touch and an erector set.

[MisterP]

15. as we're forced to build HSR lines the future One Airline can load-shed its

loss-leader puddle-jumpers under 500 mi., so maybe no more Economy Minus (especially if Congress dares make a seat-pitch law)

in fact a bunch of single- and multistate bullet-train systems will allow for the regional "rainbow system" to come back--one for CA, another TX, FL, upstate NY, an Atlanta-based system: the main obstacle is land purchases and avoiding the scads of Congressmen who say it'll let dark people be more mobile ...

[NCjack]

16. "Piedmont! Piedmont! Piedmont!" was the chant on the last Piedmont flight

from Washington, DC to Raleigh-Durham, NC. Piedmont Airlines' management operated a great airline.

[olddots]

22. our freedom of choice

has become freedom from choice .These smaller airlines offered so much more than price and convenience they offered service and civility .

[JCMach1]

23. Boy has that de-regulation thing increased competition... Another case of:

this sure as hell isn't capitalism...

[longship]

24. Here in MI, many called Allegheny Airlines, Agony Airlines.

I flew them a couple of times and I thought they were great.

Sad to see the Allegheny name gone.

[jberryhill]

26. US Scareways was my favorite

[treestar]

29. my father used to fly on Allegheny Airlines

for business trips in the 60s and 70s. He told many stores about how bad they were.

I remember an almost bus-like situation where they had flights for the same route of DC to Philadelphia at 4:14 and 4:16 on very little planes. It was cool to look out the window in those planes, especially when you could see the Capitol Building.

[leveymg]

35. Given a choice, I always flew US Air rather than AA. Now, no such choice.

I found US Air cabin crew and ticketing agents to be uniformly more service-oriented, relaxed, and accommodating than their counterparts at AA. At AA, the most important thing seemed to be remain in-charge of passengers.

Given a choice between service and authority . . . no choice, anymore.