The Airline Time Machine Podcast

United Airlines recently announced that a woman is now the airline's most senior captain, a first for a major airline. But women piloting U.S. jetliners is something that only began to occur in the 1970s, and today just over 5% of all U.S. Airline Transport Pilot rating holders are women. Join me for the story of the first U.S. airline captain, Emily Howell Warner of Colorado, and the challenging environment she had to conquer to earn four stripes on her uniform sleeve! Send us Fan Mail

Every airline in the world has a two-character designator code that represents the airline’s name identity across reservation systems, flight information displays, ticketing details, luggage tags, and all of the other places where showing an airline’s full name can be simplified by substituting that recognized designator code. The development of those codes evolves as the early airline industry expands, and airline name codes that, in some cases, have been in use for eighty years, continue to...

Delta Air Lines has a rich history in the air travel business, and this year is celebrating its one hundredth year of operations. And while a lot of Delta’s story is focused on the southern United States where Delta was founded in Macon, Georgia - a state where Delta is headquartered today - there's another large Delta hub in the eastern half of the U.S. at Detroit. Join me for the story of how an airline from Georgia finds itself with a big hub operation far to the north in Michigan, on the ...

One of the most successful U.S. start-up airlines of the 1990s had six airline brands, and several legal names, involved in just its first four years. Then it settled down to become a nimble competitor, known for low fares, a quality product, cheeky advertising, and a multi-billion dollar business volume that generated a long string of profitable annual results. With this Airline Time Machine podcast we’ll look at the early years of AirTran Airways, its predecessor ValuJet Airlines, and what...

Before large jet airliners accelerate air travel growth in the late 1950s, flying between continents is an exhausting experience, requiring fifteen hours or more for the flight to New York from Europe. To help travelers pass the time, meal service is a big focus for the airlines, and the cuisine offered is an important way to distinguish an airline from its competitors in an era of tightly regulated airfares. Then, in early 1958, a fierce food fight breaks out between the European and U.S. ai...

In some of the largest U.S. urban areas, road traffic congestion can be one of the biggest challenges to moving between the downtown area and the airport. Imagine, though, being able to get from Manhattan to La Guardia Airport in New York in just 6 minutes, or from Oakland to the San Francisco Airport in 7 minutes. For many years, scheduled service helicopter airlines made fast airport travel times like those possible, but they’ve all failed to stay in business. Join me for their ...

The early 1950s is an exciting time in the airline business, and - more specifically - the airliner business. Airliner manufacturers are developing new planes that fly faster, farther, and with more passengers and cargo, but from England a new airliner sound is being heard - the high, shrill scream of jet engines. Most airlines are reluctant to embrace the new jet technology, both because it’s unlike the proven airliners they’re currently flying, but also because they’ve spent enormous sums ...

Tens of thousands of airline flights operate daily around the world, but every now and then one stands out because it helps make history, even though it was just another flight, on just another day. From 1976 until 2003, the supersonic Concorde airliner was frequently in the news, either for the noise it created, or the often famous people it carried. Join me for a look at how a normally scheduled British Airways flight in July of 1985, operated by Concorde, played a crucial role in one of t...

If you’ve visited central Florida for a Disney vacation, you may have wished there was an easier, faster, way to get from the Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World. Before that resort opens in October of 1971, planning for Walt Disney World includes a large jet airport within the resort’s grounds, to make it easy for visitors to start and end their visit. Join me for a look at how air travel influenced the plans for the development of Walt Disney World, and a special period...

Lavatory. Water closet. Washroom. Toilet. WC. Commode... or there's many more! Whatever name you choose, an airliner’s onboard personal comfort facilities are seen by a lot of travelers as an essential resource to have on their flight. Join me for this exploration of the history of airliner toilet facilities, and their evolution from the most basic equipment to meet flyer’s bodily needs, to the sophisticated hygiene systems installed in new airliners today. Send us Fan Mail

Not too long ago, cigarette smoking was widespread, and permitted, onboard most passenger airliners worldwide. A lot of travelers boarding flights today who don’t remember that era would likely be surprised by how prevalent inflight smoking was, by the way the process was managed, and by the smell of aircraft cabins and the damage that lit cigarettes caused to airliner cabin furnishings. With this podcast episode, let’s take a look at the history of smoking onboard airliners, how that...

In February of 1995, one of the busiest airports in the U.S. - Denver's Stapleton International Airport - closes, replaced by the new Denver International Airport several miles to the east. Over the next few years, the massive infrastructure of Stapleton Airport, including its terminal building, hangars, parking facilities, support structures, and miles of runways would disappear, largely erasing more than 60 years of aviation activity. This is the story of how a busy international airport ...