BRAIN & BRAUN AIRFREIGHTERS (PTY.), LTD. See BBA CARGO (PTY.), LTD

BRANIFF, INC.: United States (1983-1989). Chicago financier and Hyatt Hotel owner Jay Pritzker forms the Dalfort Corporation as a holding company in early 1983. This company now launches Braniff, Inc. as a national carrier and successor to the pioneer that had failed on May 12, 1982. Former Trans World Airlines (TWA) Vice President William Slattery is appointed president.

On June 23, Hyatt Air, an affiliate of the Hyatt Corporation, and the creditors of the old airline initial the “Hyatt Agreement,” which will see Hyatt make equity investments in, and arrange for loans to, the new carrier. The agreement, the basis for a reworked reorganization plan filed on July 15, is confirmed by the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas on September 1.

The new operation is incorporated in Nevada on November 29. Pritzker and other members of his family-owned company take the carrier out of bankruptcy on December 15, after raising $21.4 million in a public offering and investing another $100 million.

On February 10, 1984, the new entrant announces a promotional campaign in cooperation with the March of Dimes, in which the airline will distribute discount coupons to passengers and donate part of their ticket price to the charity.

Employing a fleet of 30 leased Boeing 727-227As leased from a trust established to benefit the secured creditors of the old Braniff International Airways, scheduled service, with the emphasis on business class, is inaugurated by the 2,200-employee airline between Dallas (DFW) and 19 other U. S. cities on March 1. The event is the largest one-day startup in commercial aviation history. A total of 170 daily departures are now offered.

Losses during late spring and summer are heavy; Vice Chairman Patrick Foley, who is also president of Hyatt Hotels, now spends several days a week assisting President Slattery at Braniff HQ. A former local Teamsters official, Marvin Schlinke, is appointed vice president-customer services.

Unable to compete effectively at Dallas (DFW) against American Airlines, it is decided in September to shift away from corporate traffic in favor of low-fare tactics. The move to discount fares, which will prove unsuccessful, is accompanied by a 25% reduction in staff. On October 1, the number of flight frequencies in several markets is reduced; overall departures decline to 145 daily.

Two months later, in November, Ronald Ridgeway replaces President Slattery and a total restructuring of the carrier begins. Leases on 10 aircraft are ended, service is slashed, the workforce is cut, and the route system is downsized. Despite high hopes, the results of the first three-quarters of the reincarnation are initially bad.

Enplanements total 2,362,000 and 3.33 million FTKs of freight are hauled. Revenues total $205.4 million, but expenses are $300.9 million. The operating loss is $95.5 million and the company suffers a net loss of $86.5 million.

By the end of January 1985, airline employment is down to 1,200 and the fleet includes 20 leased Boeing 727-227As. In February, the carrier’s creditors reject an offer of $160 million for its remaining assets. A minihub is opened at Kansas City on April 28, as the Dallas (DFW) center is de-emphasized.

Enplanements for the year total 2,402,000 and a total of 9.41 million FTKs are flown. Revenues advance 18.9% to $244.31 million, costs fall (largely as a result of restructuring) by 25.1% to $225.19 million, and a $19.11-million operating profit is achieved. The first net profit is $23.04 million.

Airline employment jumps 32.6% in 1986 to 1,940, as Kansas City becomes the company’s primary hub. Services are started to nine new markets from the Missouri hub, but in the process Braniff is caught up in the fare wars triggered by Frontier Airlines (1) and PEOPLExpress. Manhattan, Kansas-based Capitol Airlines becomes a “Braniff Express” code-sharing partner in December over three routes within the Sunflower State.

The year’s passenger boardings jump 6.5% to 2,556,851 and cargo increases 121.3% to 21.39 million FTKs. Total revenues decline 2.2% to $234.35 million, expenses incline upward by 9.6% to $246.65 million, and the operating loss is $12.29 million. The previous year’s net gain now becomes an $8.98-million loss.

The workforce is cut 22.7% in 1987 to 1,500. In February, twice-daily nonstop service is begun to Ft. Lauderdale from Washington, D. C., as are daily Dallas (DFW) to Ft. Lauderdale via Miami frequencies. Effects of the previous year’s fare wars and the costs of the major expansion into Florida now hurt the carrier finances. In May, Hyatt Hotels Corporation chairman Patrick Foley becomes president/CEO, with the mission of making the company attractive to a prospective buyer.

During the fall, a new Encore frequent flyer program is introduced. In October, the FAA launches an intensive program of airport screening. Over the next 18 months, FAA agents will be able to slip 734 test weapons or explosives through airline-run screening points and will, in turn, impose $5.21 million in fines against some 50 airlines that fail the unannounced tests.

Beginning in November, 10 former American Airlines B-737-223s are leased along with 5 more B-727-227As. Late in December, negotiations are undertaken and completed for the purchase of the financially troubled large regional Florida Express.

Ironically, the takeover will bring Braniff, under lease, 9 BAC 1-11-203AEs originally sold by Braniff International Airways to Allegheny

Airlines years earlier and then passed on to Florida Express by USAir. At the same time, owner Pritzker approaches Pan American World Airways (1) seeking a merger. Although the major’s chairman, C. Edward Acker, favors the move, his vice chairman, Martin R. Shugrue Jr., publicly opposes such a deal. In the face of these mixed signals, Pritzker retreats from his offer and seeks other buyers.

Despite these maneuvers, customer bookings still jump 38.7% to

3,546,000 while freight balloons 42.5% to 30.48 million FTKs. Although revenues rise 24.2% to $297.4 million, expenses shoot up 24.8% to $315.78 million. As a result, the operating loss increases to $18.37 million and net loss falls to $12.21 million.

Airline employment skyrockets 173.9% in 1988 to 4,108. On January 15, Florida Express begins “Braniff Express” BAC 1-11-203AE services throughout the Sunshine State; 3 more of the British-made jetliners will be delivered through the year as 12 are sold to Guinness Peat for $30 million and then leased-back. Simultaneously, the parent initiates twice-daily B-727-227A flights from Orlando to Chicago, Detroit, New York, and Washington, D. C., and daily frequencies from Orlando to Dallas (DFW).

In February, daily nonstops commence from Cleveland and Atlanta to Orlando. Florida Express flights are fully incorporated into the Braniff system in March, the same month in which the last chartered B-737-200 is received. Fares are raised in the early spring and the Florida Express purchase is completed on April 19. Later in the month, daily nonstop “Braniff Express” flights begin from Atlanta to Orlando, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, while B-727-200 daily service from Cleveland to Orlando becomes twice daily.

On June 9, the wealthy developers Jeffrey Chodorow of Philadelphia and New Yorker Arthur Cohen, having established the holding company BIA-COR Holdings in association with PaineWebber Group, purchases 80% control of the airline from the Pritzker family in a $117-million leveraged buyout (LBO) completed six days later. Each partner contributes $5 million and the rest comes from funds borrowed from Paine-Webber ($33 million), European American Bank ($20 million), and American Airlines ($21 million), plus assets sales.

The new owners bring in a new, mostly ex-Piedmont Airlines management team on June 25, led by the USAir subsidiary’s former presi-dent/CEO William G. McGee. The company, also in June, begins daily B-727-227A frequencies from Kansas City to Cleveland and Seattle in June, plus twice-daily flights from Kansas City to Albuquerque, Denver, and Indianapolis.

On July 1, daily nonstop flights begin from Kansas City to Milwaukee, Omaha, and Wichita. On August 31, Eastern Air Lines pulls out of Kansas City, leaving it to Braniff. On September 12, the carrier is rescheduled on its new Kansas City hub (formerly operated by Eastern); daily departures from that point increase from 50 to 76. Frequencies are increased to 18 destinations and new service is opened to Boston, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, and Houston.

The Eastern Air Lines commuter affiliate, Air Midwest, now becomes a “Braniff Express” carrier the same day; however, “Braniff Express” partner Capitol Airlines is served notice that its code-sharing agreement will be cancelled at the end of the fourth quarter. Simultaneously, Braniff sells four gates at Dallas (DFW), a hangar at Chicago (ORD), the Florida Express assets at Orlando, and slots at a few other airports to American Airlines for $41 million.

Additionally, $50 million in orders are placed with the BAC lessor for 24 Fokker 100s to replace the BAC 1-11s flown by subsidiary Florida Express and takes over the order for 50 Airbus Industry A320-200s abandoned by Pan American World Airways (1).

Adeal is made to obtain 7 B-737-293s, 3 B-737-2Q9s, 2 B-737-210Cs, and 1 each B-737-219, B-737-244, and B-737-247, plus eight B-737-3A4s from partner American Airlines. Departures from Kansas City increase to 82 per day on October 1, the most ever offered by a single airline from that city. Markets are entered at Tucson and Tulsa, and the new Kansas City hub is linked to the carrier’s secondary hub at Orlando.

Braniff stockholders vote to approve the transfer of their carrier to BIA-COR Holdings on October 24, at which point long-term debt rises from $22 million to $53.5 million. These various changes and positive public moves result in traffic gains, even as the airline finds itself in the red.

Passenger boardings increase 40.4% to 4,977,000. Cargo, however, falls by 33.1% to 30.32 million FTKs. Revenues balloon 61.2% to $479.4 million, but are exceeded by costs, which jump 62.9% to $514.5 million. The operating loss deepens almost by half to $35 million and net loss doubles to $24.6 million.

Already in court over the matter, the cancellation of the code-sharing agreement with Manhattan, Kansas-based Capitol Airlines comes into effect on January 2, 1989. Later in the month, a sixth daily roundtrip is added between Dallas (DFW) and Kansas City. The integration of Florida Express is completed on January 31. In early spring, the company announces plans to relocate its corporate headquarters to Orlando, site of the carrier’s secondary hub.

It will also build new maintenance facilities at both locations and reopen the Kansas City reservations center. In March, services are initiated to Washington, D. C. (lAD) and Seattle and Tacoma from most network destinations. Daily roundtrip nonstop flights are added in April from Kansas City to Newark and Ontario, California.

In May, Drexel Burnham Lambert and PaineWebber sell $100 million in 10-year senior reset notes with warrants to purchase Braniff common stock.

On June 1, the FAA assesses fines against those carriers failing its latest round of airport screening tests. Braniff, with six security breaches, is faced with $24,000 in punishment.

Also during the spring, a new “Reebok” livery is unveiled upon 2 B-737-293s and 2 SAAB 340As; however, company officials determine that the new colors are a mistake and order a new livery developed, reminiscent of the predecessor’s “Flying Colors.”

Twice-daily Newark-Orlando operations commence in July, the same month that the (first in the U. S.) Airbus Industrie A320s powered by V2500 engines are accepted. The new livery ordered earlier is first displayed on two new Airbuses: light blue undersurfaces, white top and tail, and large red “billboard” titles on one and, on the other, forest green undersurfaces, white top and tail, and large purple titles. At the same time, a B-737-293 is given a scheme with white undersurfaces, navy blue top and tail, and block titles and tail outline in robin’s egg blue.

As of July 31, the carrier has $177 million in long-term liabilities and a shareholder’s deficiency of $23 million; only $3.6 million in cash is available and there is a working capital deficit of $117 million.

Airbus flights commence in mid-August. The same month, the carrier agrees to pay the lessor, GPA Group, $12 million for the early return of its 12 BAC 1-11s as well as $31 million to switch its Fokker 100 order to one for 20 B-737-300s. Costs associated with the previous year’s ownership change and huge aircraft order amendments cannot be covered. On September 28, the company files for Chapter XI bankruptcy; major creditors include American Airlines, which is owed $21.3 million. The move forces the layoff of half the 4,700-person workforce. With only $5 million on hand after the summer season, operations are continued until the cash runs out on November 7 and all services cease.

Employees are laid off over the next three weeks and on November 24 the national closes its doors. Through the year’s first 11 months, Braniff flies a total of 4,868,000 passengers, a 6.5% increase over the same period a year earlier.

The company, which has retained a skeleton crew of 150 to operate charters, agrees in January 1990 to return 5 A320s that it has been leasing from GPA Group and for which it cannot make rental payments. During the first quarter, several B-727-227A charters are operated, but the airline cannot be reorganized and must enter Chapter VII liquidation.

On April 23, a bankruptcy judge authorizes the sale of the carrier’s trademarks, flight certificates, and operating manuals, for $313,000, to former owner Jeffrey Chodorow, who wants to begin his own airline, BN Air.

PAUL R. BRANIFF, INC.: United States (1928-1929). The pioneer passenger airline of the southwest initially joins the industry in May 1928 when insurance man Thomas E. Braniff and his younger brother, Paul, a World War I flyer and veteran of the 16th Aero Squadron, organize the company Paul R. Braniff, Inc. A significant financial backing is obtained from two Oklahoma oil concerns.

Employing 4 Stinson SB-1 Detroiters, the brothers’ infant firm commences passenger-only operations on June 20 over a 116-mile route between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, and later Wichita Falls.

En route over Arcadia, Oklahoma, the plane is fired upon by moonshiners, who believe there are “revenuers” aboard.

Following the inaugural, thrice-daily roundtrips are continued between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. A total of 3,000 passengers are flown in the first six months.

With insufficient income caused by lack of a subsidized mail contract, the company is only able to continue flying until spring of 1929. On April 1, Paul R. Braniff, Inc. is purchased by the Universal Aviation Corporation, a forerunner of today’s American Airlines, which will operate it as a subsidiary division of its Universal Air Lines System. Paul Bran-iff now heads off to Mexico where he will fly as a pilot for Theodore Hull’s CAT (Corporacion de Aeronautica de Transportes, S. A.).

BRANIFF AIRWAYS: United States (1930-1948). Braniff Airways is incorporated at Oklahoma City by the brothers Thomas E. (president) and Paul R. (secretary-treasurer-chief pilot) Braniff on November 3, 1930. A clause in the incorporation documents states that, as long as an airline operation is maintained under its terms, the concern must keep the name Braniff and it cannot be changed.

Ten days later, the new southwestern entrant commences passenger, cargo, and express revenue operations with two Lockheed Model 5 Vegas over the previous routes of Paul R. Braniff, Inc. to Tulsa and Wichita Falls. On December 5, the system is stretched from Tulsa to Kansas City.

A total of 54,944 miles are flown in 2 months and 1,181 passengers are transported.

On February 25, 1931, a Kansas City-Chicago segment is opened via St. Louis. Capitalization is now increased to $100,000, half of it contributed by Windy City businessman Benjamin Clayton. Hoping to participate in a successful Midwest network of combined independents, the company instigates the formation of the Independent Scheduled Air Transport Operators’ Association.

It now enters into agreements in April with Reed Airline, Rapid Air Transport, Hanford Tri-State Air Lines, Wyoming Air Service, U. S. Airways, Midland Air Express, The Oklahoma-Texas Air Line, Transamerican Airlines Corporation a. k.a. Thompson Aeronautical Corporation, and with Errett L. Cord, president and CEO of Century Air Lines.

On December 5, a Lockheed Model 5 Vega, piloted by Jack Ayres with five passengers en route to Chicago from Kansas City, is caught in a sleet storm and crashes while making an emergency landing at Kewa-nee, Illinois (two dead).

Assisted by a strong tailwind, pilot R. V. Carleton, flying a Lockheed Model 5 Vega with six passengers establishes a record for the Oklahoma City-Tulsa run on August 1, 1932: 244 mph.

As the result of investigations into an airmail scandal, the government cancels all airmail contracts on February 9, 1934 (effective February 19) and calls upon the U. S. Army Air Corps to fly the mail. Loss of business leads Braniff to close its Tulsa-St. Louis route.

When the military option fails, the Post Office takes new bids on the routes at the end of March. As a successful applicant, the Braniff brothers acquire in May the Chicago-Dallas via Kansas City, Wichita, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Fort Worth, route previously flown by United Airlines. Operated via Kansas City, Wichita, Ponca City, and Oklahoma City, the service becomes the source of the carrier’s principal income in June.

Following passage of the new Air Mail Act in midyear, the carrier expands dramatically; in addition to new mail-subsidized flights over

CAM-8 from Dallas to Chicago, markets such as Wichita and Fort Worth begin to receive visits from the company’s Lockheeds. Mail service is inaugurated on May 17 and passenger flights begin 13 days later.

Although mail continues to be flown, passenger service is suspended for the winter in November between Kansas City and Chicago. En route to Chicago from Dallas on December 8, a Lockheed Vega mailplane ices up over Columbia, Missouri, and crashes (one dead).

On January 1, 1935, the Braniff brothers acquire Long and Harmon Airlines, which holds AM-15 mail contracts for 10 Texas cities, including Dallas-Amarillo and Amarillo-Brownsville, plus other assets, including 2 Ford Tri-Motors, 5-AT-70 and 5-AT-86. At the same time, the company places an order for its first purchased twin-engine airliners, 7 Lockheed Model 10 Electra.

With the failure of Bowen Airlines in March, Braniff acquires its routes to Houston, Brownsville, and other south Texas destinations. The first Lockheed is delivered in March and enters service in April.

Because of the late delivery of an Electra, the company is unable to begin service to Tulsa on the specified July 1 date; as a result, the concession is withdrawn. Braniff now flies 13,000 miles per day over 3,000 route miles. Among the company’s 50 employees is Charles E. Beard, the new general traffic manager who will one day become the company president.

En route to Waco from Dallas on November 9, a Vega encounters 75-foot visibility over Fort Worth and crashes, killing pilot William Maus. Late in the year, 2 Lockheed Model DL-1 metal fuselage Vegas join the fleet. On December 23, while one of these is being tested at the central maintenance operation in Dallas, it crashes (six dead).

By early 1936, the Fords are retired and 7 Electras are plying the firm’s “Great Lakes to the Gulf’ routes. In February, the company loses all competition to its Texas services when competing Bowen Air Lines folds. This year, future newsman Walter Cronkite serves as a ticket agent at Oklahoma City. A Lockheed Model 10A must be written off following a crash at Dallas’ Love Field on December 23.

In March 1937, Braniff demonstrates its growing maturity through an order for 5 Douglas DC-2s. The Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT-86 is sold to the Ohio-based operator Akron Airways on April 30. The first of the new Douglas transports is placed into service on the Dallas-Brownsville run on June 12, the same day the airline’s first air hostess service is inaugurated. The Ford 5-AT-70 is sold out of service on June 25.

Late in the month, the last of 10 Lockheed Vegas is withdrawn. During the summer, DC-2 service is started to Chicago. Late in the year, the company raises charges of unfair competition against Trans-Continental and Western Air Lines (TWA). The charges against TWA are withdrawn in 1938. During the same year, the last DL-1 Vega is sold and the carrier posts its first profit: $28,000.

A DC-2 fails its takeoff from Oklahoma City on March 26, 1939 and crashes (eight dead). In July, the company files a complaint with the CAB seeking to halt the start-up of the nation’s premier “feeder” carrier, Essair Line, which would prove a competitor on trans-Texas routes.

An order is placed for four 21-passenger DC-3s “Super-B-Lines” in August, with the first of the $100,000 acquisitions appearing on the Dallas-Amarillo run on February 3, 1940. Before the company retires its Douglas transports in April 1960, 34 will have been acquired. Four additional DC-3s are acquired in March, allowing retirement of the last two L-10s in June and an increase in the number of Douglas flights to 30-per-day. Flights to the new Love Field at Dallas, opened on October 6, begin.

Braniff acquires 3 more DC-3s in May 1941, bringing the fleet total to 11, plus 6 DC-2s. The company now serves all Texas cities (except El Paso) and operates to Chicago via Oklahoma City and Kansas City. On December 5, a connection is opened at Nuevo Laredo with the CMA (Compania Mexicana de Aviacion, S. A. de C. V.). Enplanements for the year are 152,001.

The U. S. government takes about half of Braniff’s fleet for service in World War II and during the conflict, the carrier employs its remaining transports to fly contract routes to Panama and domestic runs on behalf of the Army.

In 1942, the fleet numbers 5 Douglas DC-2s and 10 DC-3s.

At the request of Air Transport Association of America (ATA) President Edgar Gorrell and the War Department, American Airlines executive M. P. “Rosie” Stallter is sent in January on a week-long inspection tour of the U. S. Army Air Forces’ Air Service Command bases in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Alabama, Utah, and California.

From this trip, Stallter and Gorrell devise and present the Army with a domestic military-cargo service plan to be operated by the airlines under government contract. Under the plan, five geographical segments are created, each assigned to a specific carrier: American Airlines the East Coast; Northeast Airlines the Northeast; Eastern Air Lines the Southeast; Northwest Airlines the Pacific Northwest; and Braniff the Southwest.

In addition to its domestic responsibilities, Braniff is assigned by the Air Transport Command to fly contract services from San Antonio to Albrook Field in the Panama Canal Zone, as well as to destinations in Guatemala and Mexico. The first roundtrip under this program begins on April 13.

Corporate headquarters are transferred to Love Field in Dallas.

As part of their campaign against Midway Island in the Pacific, Japanese naval forces attack the Aleutian Islands on June 3, capturing Attu and Kiska while grasping at the underdefended Dutch Harbor. In a textbook example of the mobilization foreseen by ATA President Gor-rell, the U. S. Army orders 11 airlines to halt their normal activities and dispatch aircraft to Edmonton, Alberta, for participation in a massive contract airlift which is quickly organized for the defense of Alaska.

Over 100 aircraft from Braniff and 10 other carriers execute daily roundtrips between Edmonton and Dutch Harbor through mid-July, transporting troops and supplies. Over 90% of the pilots involved had never flown to or from Alaska before and few had encountered such tough weather conditions.

Beginning in mid-July, the company contributes aircraft to a 50-transport group from 6 other contract carriers (American Airlines, Northeast Airlines, Chicago & Southern Air Lines, Pennsylvania Central Air Lines, Transcontinental and Western Air Lines, and United Airlines), which are rushed to Presque Isle. From here, the planes, joined by 110 Air Transport Command C-47s, will transport the supplies and men required to set up and man the bases at Newfoundland, Labrador, Greenland, and Iceland for “Operation Bolero,” a mass ferry of bombers from the U. S. to England.

In 1943, Washington turns aside the company’s complaint against the Essair Line. Late in the year, experimental Mexican permits (not permanent route concessions) held by Jose Navarro Elizondo are acquired and the Aerovias Braniff, S. A. subsidiary is established.

The Air Transport Command contract for flights to Central America and the Panama Canal Zone is completed in the spring of 1944. In just 2 years, the carrier has completed 2,300 accident-free flights south from San Antonio, transporting 17,000 passengers and 6.5 million pounds of cargo. A new airmail and freight division is formed on October 28 and Chicago-Mexico City air express flights commence on December 3.

On April 4, 1945, Aerovias Braniff, S. A., equipped with a Douglas DC-3 from its parent, inaugurates scheduled flights from Nuevo Laredo to Mexico City via Ciudad Victoria. The subsidiary receives some 7,000 miles of route awards from the Mexican government for routes out of the capital city to Cuba and Central America.

In late spring, two more Douglas transports are added and spurs are extended to Puebla and Veracruz while, on July 1, Mexico City-Merida services begin. Ordered by the Mexican government to halt services, Bran-iff goes to court to overturn suspension of the permit and continues to fly.

Braniff Airways renews its expansion at the close of World War II and into 1946, adding additional cities throughout the Midwest, including Wichita, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Laredo, Brownsville, Denver, Memphis, and Kansas City. As its route network grows to some 3,600 unduplicated miles, the company obtains surplus C-54s for conversion to civil-standard DC-4s; the first of these is placed into service between Dallas, Kansas City, and Chicago in May.

Although owner of a contested inroad into Mexico, the carrier begins a far more vast leap southward during the month when the CAB and President Truman award the airline 7,719 miles of routes in Latin America. Also granted is the right to provide service to such nations as Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Cuba, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico.

To cope with the demands such service will entail, Braniff constructs new facilities and in June orders 6 Douglas DC-6s. On October 26, Mexico refuses to grant Aerovias Braniff, S. A. concessions and formally revokes its permit. With the failure of the Latin subsidiary, Braniff is reduced to flying charters to Mexico. The first 52-seater DC-6 begins service over the Texas-Chicago route in November.

To help finance all of this expansion, the company arranges for a $10-million loan on February 3, 1947.

On June 4, 1948, scheduled DC-6 flights to South America are inaugurated from Houston to Lima; the same day, back in Dallas, company officials change the corporate identity to Braniff International Airways.

BRANIFF INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES: United States (19911992). Following the bankruptcy of Braniff, Inc. on September 28, 1989 and its cessation of operations on November 24, the carrier goes into liquidation under Chapter VII. On April 23, 1990, the bankruptcy judge authorizes the sale of the company’s trademarks, flight certificates, and operating manuals to former investor Jeffrey Chodorow, who wants to begin his own airline, under the auspices of his holding company, the Dallas (DFW)-based BN Air.

Following acquisition of the Braniff assets in the spring of 1991, another small carrier, Emerald Air, is purchased and merged and a fleet of 4 Boeing 727-200s (2 Dash-25s chartered from Express One International and 1 each Dash-214 and Dash-291) and 3 Douglas DC-9-15s is assembled. These inaugurate scheduled passenger flights in July linking the company’s base with Los Angeles, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, and Is-lip, New York.

Necessary facilities are not available at Los Angeles and force immediate cancellation of service into that market. Short on cash, the new entrant quickly files for Chapter XI bankruptcy protection on August 7, just 37 days after start-up.

A total of 170,000 passengers are flown on the year and revenues total $4.75 million. Although costs force an operating loss of $2.2 million, a net profit of $3.9 million is generated.

Operations continue to limp along during the first half of 1992. The fleet is altered to include 12 B-727-277As and 1 DC-9-15. The last in a long line of colorful liveries is introduced in May, when one Boeing is painted chartreuse. Catering primarily to leisure passengers interested in low fares, Braniff makes one daily departure from each of its scheduled 16 East Coast markets and also undertakes charters to holiday destinations.

Unable to achieve economic viability with such a reduced schedule and in competition with the majors’ half-price fares, the company stops flying on July 3. An estimated 3,500 passengers are stranded, with only three airlines (America West Airlines, Continental Airlines, and United Airlines) giving the unlucky any kind of break on their now-worthless tickets.

Unofficial websites for this defunct airlines are Www. pwl. netcom. com/~billjl/bnf. html, and Www. Ulink. net/~rudolfo/htryintro. html.

BRANIFF INTERNATIONAL AIRWAYS (BIA): United States (1948-1982). The only American air carrier ever to fly a supersonic transport (if only subsonically) is born in a flush of new expansion on June 4, 1948 when company officials, led by the brothers Thomas E. and Paul R. Braniff, change the carrier’s identity from Braniff Airways. On this day, BIA’s first scheduled Douglas DC-6 service to South America departs Houston for Peru (Lima) via Cuba, Panama, and Ecuador.

This premier Latin operation is followed by additional kick-off dates for flights to several more cities south of the border, including La Paz in February 1949. In order to take off with high gross weights from such a high-altitude airport (11,800 ft.) and still comply with FAR regulations, the DC-4 on this service uses JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off) for the next year. The company now employs 210 pilots and is the seventh largest U. S. airline.

Services begin in March 1949 to Rio de Janeiro, in March 1950 to Asuncion, and in May 1950 to Buenos Aires, where Juan and Eva Peron personally welcome Tom Braniff. Sao Paulo is added in October 1951, and late in the year 3 more DC-6s join the fleet, including the 175th and last unit to come off the production line, arriving on November 2.

Not forgetting its domestic desires or responsibilities, Braniff International continues to maintain the domestic routes begun in the 1930s. Airline employment in 1952 is 2,857. Service is provided to 29 U. S. and 9 Latin American cities.

Flight 65, a C-54A with 4 crew and 45 passengers, is lost at Hugoton, Kansas, on March 26; although the plane must be written off, there are no fatalities.

The first of 25 Convair CV-340s is delivered in July. On August 15, Mid-Continent Airlines is acquired, together with its fleet of DC-3s and CV-240s. Twenty-six previously unserved cities are added to the route network, including New Orleans and St. Louis. On November 1, the enlarged company becomes the first in the world to offer scheduled flights employing the Convair CV-340.

On April 1, 1953, the carrier’s mechanics’ union undertakes a 44-day job action, but it fails to shut down Braniff operations. The company’s twenty-fifth anniversary is celebrated on June 20.

On September 27, the carrier joins with United Air Lines in operating an interchange route from Dallas (DFW) to Seattle via Denver. The last DC-4 is retired in October.

Tragedy strikes the Dallas-based carrier on January 10, 1954 when CEO Thomas E. Braniff is killed with 10 others in the crash of a private Grumman Mallard near Shreveport, Louisiana. Three days later, he is replaced as board chairman by Fred Jones and as president by Executive Vice President Charles E. Beard, who had joined the company in 1935.

After an eight-year illness, Paul R. Braniff succumbs to bone cancer on June 1, survived by his wife and son, John Paul Braniff.

En route from Memphis to Minneapolis on August 22, a DC-3 with 3 crew and 16 passengers is caught by windshear during a storm near Mason City, Iowa, and is destroyed in the carrier’s first fatal accident since 1939 (12 dead).

In cooperation with Trans World Airlines (TWA), an interchange service is inaugurated on January 14, 1955, from Dallas to Las Vegas via Amarillo using TWA L-749As.

While on final ILS approach to Chicago (MDW) in dense fog on July 17, Flight 560 from Dallas (DAL), a CV-340 with 3 crew and 40 passengers, strikes a commercial sign outside the field and crashes through the boundary fence; 2 crew and 22 passengers are killed.

As the result of the CAB’s finding in its New York-Balboa Case, Braniff is able to launch one-plane service between New York and Washington, D. C. in August. Together with Eastern Air Lines the company opens an equipment exchange at Miami, allowing continuing flights to Panama and key cities on both coasts of South America.

In September, 2 Lockheed L-049s are acquired from LAV (Linea Aeropostal Venezolana, S. A.) to increase capacity on domestic services. Orders are placed for DC-7Cs, 5 CV-440s, and 5 Boeing 707227s. The 707s are equipped with Pratt & Whitney JT4A-3/4 engines, and will be the only ones of their model produced.

In November, the company begins all-cargo flights from Dallas with a pair of Curtiss C-46 Commandos. A letter of intent is signed with Lockheed on December 16 for 9 L-188s.

The carrier begins service on February 15, 1956 over a 1,050-mile route between Dallas and New York via Memphis, Nashville, and Washington, D. C. The actual L-188 Electra turboprop order is signed on February 25.

The interchange agreement with TWA ends on March 1.

In October, new DC-7Cs join the fleet and are integrated into the Dallas-New York operation on November 27.

Construction on a new maintenance base is started at Love Field in March 1957. The 5 CV-440 Metropolitans are placed in service in the spring. After diplomacy-caused delays, DC-6 El Conquistador service is inaugurated to Bogota on May 15, followed next day by DC-7C El Dorado flights.

Open house ceremonies for a new Love Field terminal are held on October 10. The company will complete its move into the new facility early the following year.

A new corporate headquarters building at Exchange Park in downtown Dallas is occupied on February 14, 1958. Simultaneously, the company introduces the world’s first systemwide computerized reservations system. The fleet now comprises 75 aircraft, including 22 DC-3s, 10 DC-6Bs, 6 DC-7Cs, 2 Lockheed L-049s, 31 Convairs, and 2 Curtiss C-46 freighters.

A DC-7C with 5 crew and 19 passengers crashes 13 kilometers from Miami during its initial approach on March 25 (9 dead).

The new Love Field maintenance facility is completed in the fall; a new maintenance base is opened in Dallas.

The first turboprop airliner in company service, the Lockheed L-188A Electra, is delivered on April 29, 1959; delivery ceremonies at Dallas (DAL), include the appearance of an original Model 10 Electra from the 1930s.

The first Boeing 707-227 Stratoliner destined for the company makes its maiden flight on June 11. The new Electras are placed into service from San Antonio to New York via Dallas on June 15, as well as from Houston to Chicago via Dallas.

The two Constellations are retired in September.

On September 29, Flight 542, a Lockheed L-188A Electra with 6 crew and 28 passengers en route from Houston to Dallas on a late night air coach service to Washington, D. C. and New York, develops propeller problems. The turboprop breaks up in midair and smashes into the ground 3.2 nm ESE of Buffalo, Texas; there are no survivors. Accident investigators will never determine the disaster’s exact cause, although the CAB reports on October 28 that the wings had snapped off the liner.

Electra service is inaugurated in November to Washington, D. C. (DCA), Denver, and Colorado Springs.

With Executive Vice President R. V. Carleton as pilot, the first of 4 new B-707-227s (the fifth having been lost on a test operation on October 19) is delivered from Seattle to Dallas (Love Field) on December 3 in 2 hrs. 52 min.

On December 19, Braniff International begins El Dorado Super Jet service employing the first B-707-227, piloted by Capt. Gordon Darnell, on Flight 6 from Dallas to New York. Dallas to Chicago B-707-227 service is inaugurated next day.

Dallas to Bogota DC-7C El Dorado service begins in January 1960 at the same time Dallas to Panama nonstop flights are initiated.

A nine-day El Dorado Super Jet preview service is conducted in South America during February; the itinerary runs from Dallas to Houston, Lima, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, then back to Rio, on to Buenos Aires, Asuncion, Panama, New York, and back to Dallas.

The first jet service to San Antonio is launched by BIA on March 1 when its new B-707-227s begin flying from that Texas city to Chicago. Chicago to Houston frequencies begin nine days later. Also in March, a $15.5-million order is placed for 3 B-720-027s, plus 1 option.

L-188A service to Kansas City and Minneapolis (MSP)is also inaugurated at this time.

B-707-227 frequencies are inaugurated over the Braniff-Eastern interchange from Dallas and Miami to Panama, Lima, and Buenos Aires on April 1. Routes are also extended over the interchange to Sao Paulo on April 27, Bogota on July 18, and Rio de Janeiro on August 2.

A major Latin American destination is finally achieved on November 9, when company Electras begin landing at Mexico City from Minneapolis (MSP) via Kansas City, Dallas, and San Antonio. Airline employment is 5,800 and the 18,432-mile route system covers 16 states in the U. S. and 10 Latin American countries. During the year, the last DC-3 is retired.

The 3 B-720-027s join the fleet in 1961, one each on February 11, late March 22, and in August; all are painted in a subtle red, white, and blue color scheme. B-720-027 El Dorado Super Jet service is inaugurated on February 20 from Chicago to Dallas and Houston.

On February 25, the pilot of the first B-720-027 received makes a hard landing at Houston, causing minor injuries to all 31 aboard the new plane. In April, a fourth B-720 is requested. Senator William Blakley and the Blakley-Braniff Foundation, owners of over one million company shares, are bought out in May by four Dallas businessmen.

On August 2, an L-049, sold to the “non-sked” Lloyd Airlines the previous year, is impounded at Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, by officials who suspect the plane of smuggling while on a charter flight from Miami to Uruguay.

A CV-340 makes a hard landing at Des Moines, Iowa, on October 10, causing minor injuries to all aboard. Five days later, an L-188 crashes at Fort Worth when its landing gear collapses. On October 20, the company announces its intention to acquire the new British Aircraft Corporation 1-11 for its domestic routes; the press release is significant in that it marks the first time a U. S. airline had ordered a new foreign jetliner “off the drawing board,” so to speak.

A DC-7C is lost in a ground accident at Dallas on November 19.

The fourth B-720-027 joins the fleet in May 1962. Originally ordered by Capital Airlines, a 10th Electra is acquired on May 10.

Orders are officially placed on July 26 for 6 British-made BAC 1-11-203AE jetliners. C-46 Commando all-cargo flights from Dallas cease at year’s end.

A B-707-227 with 57 aboard crashes near Panama City, Panama, on March 25, 1963; one stewardess is seriously hurt. A DC-7C with 52 aboard comes down in the same area on August 15, but no injuries are reported.

An attempt is made to acquire Pan American-Grace Airways (PANAGRA), and the board authorizes BIA to make a purchase offer on April 29. Officials of the jointly owned airline cannot agree upon the sale. The company’s thirty-fifth birthday is celebrated on June 20.

Enplanements total 2,617,132. Anet profit of $1.25 million is reported.

Airline employment in 1964 stands at 5,404 and the fleet includes 54 aircraft. Nonstop Bogota to Miami B-720-027 flights are inaugurated in January. In the spring, the Greatamerica Corporation purchases controlling interest. With temporary British registration, Braniff’s first new BAC 1-11-203AE is employed on July 6 to transport U. K. Minister of Aviation Julian Amery and his group to Melun Villaroche, France, for a meeting with Sud Est Aviation officials concerning the new Concorde supersonic transport.

Passenger boardings climb 9% to 2,875,969 and freight ton-miles flown are 32.1 million. Revenues advance 11.4% to $109.7 million and a record net profit of $5.97 million is posted.

The workforce in 1965 is up to 6,206. In January, B-720-027s replace DC-6Bs on the Texas-Seattle interchange. Greatamerica Corporation acquires a 57.5% stake in the company on January 11.

The first of 14 BAC 1-11-203AEs arrives at Newark on March 13 following a two-day flight from Prestwick, Scotland via Keflavik, Sonde-strom, Goose Bay, and Montreal. The same day it is flown on to Dallas where new crews begin the aircraft’s workup.

A B-720-027 with 61 aboard is badly damaged as the result of a hard landing at Houston on March 19. The new BAC 1-11-203AE is the first aircraft to take off from the new 8,000-ft. Love Field runway after it is dedicated on April 2.

The first true short-haul jetliner service in the U. S. is inaugurated on April 25 as the company’s new BAC 1-11-103AE Fastback Jet begins a flight on the multistop route from Corpus Christi to Minneapolis (MSP).

Introduction of the U. K. product marks the second most important penetration of the U. S. airline market by a British aircraft manufacturer to date, following the initial breakthrough of the Viscount with Capital Airlines some years earlier.

Begun during the previous year, negotiations continue with Pan American-Grace Airways (PANAGRA) for purchase of the airline.

The Pan American World Airways (1) share of the arrangement would be $22 million, while Braniff reaches a similar agreement with W. R. Grace for ownership of the other half interest. Just as the contract is being drawn up for an August transfer, Braniff management changes.

On August 6, with stock shares worth only $25 apiece, Troy V. Post is elected chairman and President Beard is succeeded by Continental Airlines Vice President Harding Lawrence. Greatamerica official C. Edward Acker becomes a senior vice president for finance and the carrier is now realigned into three major divisions.

The company renews negotiations for an agreement, subject to CAB approval, to purchase Pan American-Grace Airways (PANAGRA) and orders are placed for 12 Boeing 727-27s and 5 B-707-327Cs.

The B-720-048 St. Brendan is leased for a year from Aer Lingus Irish Airlines, Ltd.; in Braniff service, it will wear a lemon yellow upper fuselage color scheme, with its horizontals, wing, and engines left in bare metal finish.

The nose gear strut of a B-720-027, with 127 aboard, fails at Mexico City on September 11.

In the first week of November, the company begins an overt effort to change its public image by introducing a Pucci-designed BAC 1-11-203AE as the first in a long line of variously painted “Flying Colors” jetliners. This “new look,” credited to Mary Wells of the New York advertising firm of Jack Tinker and Partners, will see the fuselages of Braniff airliners painted a variety of bright colors, e. g., yellow, green, orange, beige, blue, with new colors and a new logo. While this ploy is satirized in some quarters, it will prove effective in helping to generate increased traffic and is officially known as “The End of the Plain Plane” concept.

Seeking to end a perceived “plain” appearance in its stewardesses, enterprising junior officials make plans to introduce the “Air Strip” hostesses, who will remove layers of clothing during a flight. Wiser heads stifle the idea.

Service to Acapulco, Mexico, begins on December 1.

Passenger boardings for the year increase 18% to 3,371,985. On revenues of $134.8 million, the operating gain is $13.76 million and net profit skyrockets 58% to $9.44 million.

Following a decade of steady domestic and Latin American progress, Braniff reaches out dramatically once more in the mid-to-late 1960s. In 1966, it joins other majors in submitting applications to the CAB, then examining the opening of new westward routes in its memorable TransPacific Case. In addition, a new around-the-clock maintenance program is started, utilization of the jet fleet is increased by 50%, and the longterm debt is refinanced.

Additional Pucci-painted aircraft (labeled “Easter Eggs”) are unveiled, each one different from the last, while female flight attendants are given new wardrobes with up to seven different iridescent-colored Pucci uniform combinations.

The first of 12 B-727-27QCs and 5 B-707-327Cs to join the fleet during the year begin to arrive in May; one of the first two units is painted yellow while the other displays an ochre color scheme. All 14 BAC 1-11-203AEs are in service by June, operating to 28 destinations in 13 states.

The Boeing trijets enter service on August 1 over the daytime passenger route from San Antonio to Washington, D. C. (DCA) via Austin and Dallas and, on August 1-2 on a freighter route from San Antonio to Chicago via Dallas.

Meanwhile, the long range Boeings based at Travis AFB, California, are employed to satisfy a large U. S. Military Airlift Command (MAC) contract which will stretch over six years for the support of American efforts in Southeast Asia.

Flight 250, a BAC 1-11-203AE with 4 crew and 38 passengers, crashes outside of Falls City, Nebraska, on August 6; there are no survivors.

Enplanements for the year are 4,515,487. Common stock rises to $124 per share. The operating profit swells to $24.42 million and net profit is up to $17.8 million on total revenues of $194.58 million.

Following a year of negotiations, the carrier reaches another milestone in its history in early 1967. On January 8, it finally acquires a major, longtime Latin American competitor, Pan American-Grace Airways (PANAGRA), an airline whose history is at least as illustrious as it’s own and that gives Braniff firm control of half the U. S. international routes to and within Latin America. The cost is $15 million to each coowner; however, the sale of surplus Pan American-Grace Airways (PANAGRA) aircraft and the consolidation of tax benefits quickly bring in revenues equal to the $30-million purchase price. The merger, technically finished on January 16, is completed on January 31.

To celebrate the merger, a B-707-227 is given a solid paint scheme with PANAGRA yellow colors. The livery is created by the carrier’s advertising department and Alexander Girard, a New Mexico architect; titles and logo are designed by Jack Tinker and Partners. Under terms of an interchange agreement with Pan American World Airways (1), a Pan Am B-707-321B is able to fly over Braniff routes from Houston and Dallas to Chicago and then on to London and Frankfurt.

By spring, the fleet includes 69 aircraft, including 7 DC-8-62s, 4 DC-8-31s, and 1 DC-8-55F retained from its longtime competitor. Braniff now assumes the PANAGRA interchange agreement with National Airlines and Pan American World Airways (1). Consequently, the company is able to provide one-plane through service from New York to Miami over National’s routes, from Miami to Panama with Pan Am’s, and over the old PANAGRA routes to Lima. To operate the Miami to Panama segment, Braniff leases a DC-8-62 to Pan Am, painting it in PAWA-1 livery.

The Pacific Northwest to Texas interchange agreement with United Air Lines, initiated back in 1953, ends on June 12. In early fall, the carrier and its Greatamerica owner are purchased (through a stock exchange) with Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). A reorganization of the company’s management structure is now begun. Harding Lawrence becomes both board chairman and CEO; C. Edward Acker is elected president, and Vice President-Operations John Casey also takes on the vice presidency for sales.

Twenty-two new jetliners are acquired during the year as all piston engine equipment is phased out. Meanwhile, the workforce climbs to 10,743. Passenger enplanements advance 19.3% to 5,595,398 and cargo traffic accelerates by 43.9%. On record total revenues of $266.18 million, the operating profit is $14,461,404 and net income drops to $4,701,672.

On January 5, 1968, the $2 million Braniff International Hostess College opens at Wycliff in Dallas. The wisdom of the Pan American-Grace Airways (PANAGRA) acquisition pays off when the CAB awards Braniff additional nonstop routes southward.

The entire Lockheed Electra fleet is sold to Citizens National Bank on March 28 and leased back for a year.

On April 1, a new “Fast Bucks” public relations campaign is begun, returning fare portions on late flights.

On May 3, a Lockheed Electra, with 88 aboard, crashes at Dawson, Texas, in a storm, while coming in to land at Dallas’ Love Field (85 dead).

An $8.5 million “Terminal of the Future” is opened at Love Field on December 4. The new concourse has 13 gates with jetways—the first available to the airline at its “home” airport. In downtown Dallas, a new $2 million computer center is occupied.

In December, as the result of actions taken in the Trans-Pacific Case, Braniff is allowed to expand once more, receiving several routes to Hawaii from the southeast via Mexico. Late in the year, the CAB grants a number of nonstop, long-haul routes from U. S. gateways to South American capitals.

The employee population numbers 11,500 and the fleet comprises 71 aircraft. Customer bookings advance 9.6% on the year to 6,135,269 while freight traffic is up by 30%. The operating profit jumps to $25.36 million and the net profit climbs to $10.41 million on a record income of $301.06 million.

The company’s fleet in 1969 consists of 4 B-707-227s, 8 B-707-327Cs, 34 B-727-27s, and 7 DC-8-63s. Orders are placed for 2 Boeing 747-127s and 4 B-707-138Bs are acquired from Qantas Airways (Pty.), Ltd. of Australia. The airline sells time on its new computer system to the regional Air West.

On March 27, the leased Electra fleet is retired and turned over to its owners, Citizens National Bank.

At midyear, a “Fastpark Jet Rail” system begins to transport passengers between parking areas at Love Field. Employing a bright orange B-707-327C, the company begins Honolulu operations on August 14 as an extension of its Chicago-Los Angeles run. Passengers from New York and Atlanta are able to connect at O’Hare International Airport for the trip to Hawaii.

During the year, the South American division begins to suffer significant losses as Latin American carriers conspire to force Braniff off the continent. Texas millionaire H. Ross Perot in December organizes a “Mission of Hope Flight” to Vietnam.

Just before Christmas, a Braniff B-707-327C, wearing a Christmas bow decal that had been applied to its light green fuselage, carries Red Cross representatives, media personnel, and a cargo of food and gifts for POWs to Southeast Asia. North Vietnam refuses the aircraft permission to land; however, the Pathet Lao does allow the plane to put down at Vientiane and its occupants to visit POWs at a Laos camp.

Enplanements are 5,933,700. Revenues accelerate to $332.98 million, but expenses insure that the operating gain dips to $17.76 million and the net profit falls to $6.24 million.

The employee population in 1970 is 9,586 and the fleet includes 74 aircraft. In the summer, the Security and Exchange Commission requires financially distressed LTV to divest itself of Braniff. Late in the year, an equipment swap is engineered with British West Indies Airways, Ltd. (2) (BWIA). In exchange for its 4 B-707-227s, Bran-iff will receive the Caribbean carrier’s 3 B-727-78s and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Passenger boardings decline 4.1% to 5.7 million while cargo traffic is off by 4.2%. As a result of these corporate maneuvers and traffic returns, a net loss of $3.05 million is suffered atop a declined operating profit of $8.17 million on total revenues of $331.2 million.

The first and only operational B-747-127 is received on January 15, 1971; painted in a colorful orange livery, this “Big Orange” is placed into service on the Dallas to Hawaii run. The second, an all-green machine, is traded back to its manufacturer before delivery of 2 B-727QCs. At this point, the 3 B-727-78s arrive from Trinidad and the company begins to remove its B-720-027s.

The first of 4 DC-8-51s are acquired from National Airlines. Anxious to replace its two-decade old red, white and blue “Pepsi-Cola” livery, the airline adopts three two-tone color schemes: two-tone blue and green; orange and ochre; and red and an orange known as “Aztec Gold.”

Despite all of these new color schemes, the carrier, needing still more capacity, leases a B-727-155C from Executive Jet Aviation in May for a year; its color scheme is all white, with black titles. This year, on its old southwestern turf, Braniff comes up against competition it cannot best. On June 18, upstart Southwest Airlines begins low-fare Houston-San Antonio Boeing 737-2H4 service, beginning a tariff battle that will become known as the “Texas Airline Fare War.”

Carrying a pistol and a suitcase of explosives, U. S. Navy deserter R. L. Jackson and a female Guatemalan accomplice, L. Sanchez-Archilla, hijack Flight 14, a B-707-327C with 110 passengers en route from Acapulco to San Antonio, on July 2. They force it to land at Lima after first diverting it to Monterrey where a $100,000 ransom is collected in exchange for a female hostage. The next day the Stratoliner is forced to fly on to Buenos Aires, following a stop at Rio de Janeiro where the hijackers evade a trap set for them. At Buenos Aires, the pirates demand that the airliner be refueled and cleared for a flight to Algeria. The Argentine government refuses both demands, whereupon the hijackers simply surrender. The pair will be put on trial in Argentina and sentenced to prison; in 1975, they will be extradited to Mexico, where they had been tried in absentia, and sentenced to Mexican prisons.

On December 12, FBI agents arrest one M. Petrovic at New York (JFK) for threatening to hijack a B-727-27 and for threatening a stewardess while en route from Washington, D. C.

Enplanements for the year increase to 6,096,744. Income rises to $341.36 million and operating income triples to $21.1 million; net profit also rebounds, increasing to $8.61 million.

B. E. Hurst, a 22-year-old former mental patient, attempts to hijack Flight 38, a B-727-227 with 101 passengers en route from Houston to Kansas City on January 12, 1972. After threatening to blow up the craft with dynamite if he is not granted $1 million in ransom, 10 parachutes, and safe passage to South America, he chooses not to jump and surrenders to police at Love Field in Dallas.

On March 15, the company’s ads begin to refer to its trimotors as 727 Braniff Place while its B-747-127 is called 747 Braniff Place, in honor of its multi-lounge configuration.

In April, the carrier’s top officers make a $50,000 contribution to the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP); $40,000 of the money given Nixon’s people is laundered via the company’s South American operation.

Shortly before Mohawk Airlines is merged into Allegheny Airlines on April 12, the latter purchases 8 of Braniff’s BAC 1 11-203AEs. The workforce is now 10,033. Passenger boardings jump 12.1% to

6,936,000 and cargo climbs 25.8%. Revenues rise 10.3% to $383.89 million and the operating profit reaches $29.32 million; net profit jumps an impressive 99% to $17.15 million. Fiscally, the year is the best in the company’s 45-year history.

The workforce in 1973 is 10,661. The carrier’s fleet standardization program is completed as 20 new B-727-227s join the fleet and 12 older aircraft are withdrawn, including the 4 ex-Qantas Airways (Pty.), Ltd. B-707-138Bs and several of the B-707-327Cs. In February, Braniff begins the most determined effort of any major competitor to overcome LaMar Muse’s Southwest Airlines by offering $13 one-way daytime flights between Dallas (DFW) and Houston. Muse chooses to match the fare or, for those passengers wishing to pay full cost, provide a “valuable gift.”

As many of the newcomer’s passengers are commuting businessmen, the “gifts” turn out to be fifths of expensive spirits which the recipients can take home duty free by placing their fares on their expense accounts. For two months, until Braniff surrenders by withdrawing its $13 offer, Southwest Airlines is the largest distributor of Chivas, Crown Royal, and Smirnoff in the entire state of Texas. Skirmishes with Southwest Airlines will continue for three more years.

On June 4, it is announced that artist Alexander Calder has been commissioned to paint the exterior of the airline’s South American-bound DC-8-51s. Meanwhile, hourly service is introduced between Dallas (DFW) and Denver. Other frequencies are added from DFW to Nashville, New Orleans, Newark, Miami, and Chicago.

In the transatlantic route case being heard before the CAB, Braniff seeks nonstop authority from DFW to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Zurich, Rome, and Frankfurt. Other route requests made of the regulators include Houston to Fairbanks via Dallas (DFW), Calgary, Edmonton, and Anchorage; Houston to Cancun via Merida and Cozumel; and Dallas (DFW) to La Paz via Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and San Jose del Cabo. A DC-8-51, Flying Colors of South America, painted by Alexander Calder, makes its first flight over the Dallas (DFW) area on October 30.

Also in October, Braniff becomes the first airline to become fully converted to the wide-body interior in its non-wide-body B-727-27s.

Customer bookings accelerate 11.5% to 7,732,000, but freight is off by 0.9%. Still, overall revenues shoot up to a record $445.63 million and profits are $42.59 million (operating) and $23.15 million (net). In fact, the pioneer has outscored the other U. S. trunk lines in percentage growth.

Only 23 new employees are hired in 1974. On January 13, Braniff relocates from Love Field to its new $52-million complex at the recently opened Dallas (DFW). The company becomes the largest operator from the modern complex with 304 daily arrivals and departures. It also introduces the Docutel Automated Baggage Handling System.

On January 30, Ralph Nader’s Aviation Consumers Action Project files a complaint with the CAB concerning Braniff’s contribution to the Nixon campaign.

At the same time, the carrier announces an expanded sales program placing increased reliance upon field sales and tie-ins with travel agencies. As a result, a number of walk-in street-level ticket offices are closed and replaced with a nationwide toll-free telephone number.

Pilot members of Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) strike the company between September 21-23; after the flyers return to work, negotiations continue and a mediated agreement is worked out on November 6.

Later in the year, an application is filed with the CAB seeking authority for a transatlantic route to London, continuing on to Paris, Frankfurt, and Rome.

Twenty more B-727-227s are delivered throughout the year and tour sales to South America increase by 80%.

Enplanements accelerate 9.3% to 8,459,000 and the number of FTKs flown rises by 2.8% to 126.5 million. The net profit climbs again, up to $26.13 million, atop an operating profit of $55.75 million on revenues of $552.39 million. All of these statistics are record highs for the company.

The workforce in 1975 is 10,690. In an effort to increase bookings for newly formed AeroPeru (Empresa de Transportes Aereos de Peru, S. A.), the Peruvian military government on February 1 orders Braniff to reduce its Lima to Miami frequencies by 50%. On February 14, the company is indicted in Federal court, along with Texas International Airlines, under the Sherman Antitrust Act for conspiring to put Southwest Airlines out of business. The case is eventually resolved and those in favor of deregulation of the airline industry frequently cite the Southwest-Braniff battles.

Heavy emphasis is now placed upon the generation of additional pleasure travel to Mexico and South America. However, on March 12 the CAB Enforcement Division files a major action against Braniff. The suit involves not only Braniff’s illegal campaign contribution, but also its operation of an understandable if illegal “anticompetitive practice campaign,” or kickback operation, involving off-the-book tickets in South America since the Pan American-Grace Airways (PANAGRA) buyout.