SCENIC AIRLINES: 2705 Airport Drive, North Las Vegas, Nevada 89030, United States; Phone (702) 638-3200; Fax (702) 638-3295; Http://www. scenic. com; Code YR; Year Founded 1967. Organized as an air taxi by John R. Seibold in at Las Vegas North Town Airport in June 1967, Scenic initiates operations with a five-seat aircraft and two employees. During the next three years, Scenic becomes a fully established commuter airline offering scheduled service and sight-seeing flights in Nevada and Arizona. In 1969, the year it tunrs full-time to flight-seeing, Scenic developed the first automated air tour narration system.
In 1970, Scenic joins with the FAA, the National Park Service, and other tour operators to establish air traffic procedures for safe and environmentally sound flights over the Grand Canyon. It also places its first Cessna 402 into service.
On October 18, 1971, all 10 aboard a Cessna 402 are killed when the plane encounters bad weather during a flight from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon and crashes at Peach Springs, Arizona, while attempting to return to its point of origin.
The company signs its first international marketing agreement in 1972 to promote tourism to Las Vegas as “The Gateway to the Grand Canyon.” The 100,000th passenger is boarded in 1973. By 1974, annual enplanements total 68,750.
Airline employment in 1975 stands at 105. The carrier enjoys a busy year, first switching from North Las Vegas Air Terminal to McCarren International Airport. Simultaneously, a new flight complex, including an 80,000-sq.-ft. hangar, is acquired to handle increasing traffic.
Scenic joins the Deltamatic computerized reservations system of Delta Air Lines. Services are provided with a fleet made up of Cessna 402s and 404s, while orders are placed for three Swearingen Metrolin-ers. On November 30, a Cessna 402 crashes at Elko, Nevada (two dead).
Passenger boardings jump 30% to 97,500. As a result of its outstanding tourism promotions, Seibold’s enterprise receives a Presidential E award at year’s end.
The number of employees is increased by 21.9% in 1976 to 128. Scenic is now best known for its passenger charters, the major emphasis of which is a 200-mi.-long flight over the Grand Canyon.
To offer nostalgic and unusual sight-seeing tours, the Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT-11 is acquired from Wings and Wheels Museum in Santee, South Carolina, on January 23. Three Swearingen Metro IIs arrive and the company begins flying to Lake Tahoe and other destinations in Southern California.
Customer bookings swell 24.5% to 121,000.
On February 2, 1977, Ford 5-AT-11 crashes into a ditch while taking off from Las Vegas; one passenger is hurt and the plane is slightly damaged. The ancient airliner is repaired in time for the summer tourist season. Meanwhile, two more Metroliners join the fleet.
Increased marketing built around the Ford helps traffic to reach a total of 139,897 passengers carried.
Although two more Cessna 404 Titans are acquired in 1978, the company elects to concentrate primarily upon its Las Vegas-Grand Canyon market, suspending several other routes.
As a result of this change, customer bookings fall by 12.6% to 122,291.
The workforce is increased by 5.5% in 1979 to 135 and the fleet, in addition to the Ford, includes 15 Titans. A branch office is opened in Tokyo during the year to manage all sales and marketing activities for business generated in Japan. During the summer, the one-millionth passenger is boarded.
Cargo climbs 76.3% to 40,000 pounds and enplanements jump 36.4% to 166,753.
Passenger boardings at the 48-employee carrier are up by 26% in 1980 to 210,474. A Cessna 404 Titan and its occupants are lost in a crash near Grand Canyon National Park Airport at Tusayan, Arizona, on July 21. On August 10, a windstorm rips the carrier’s Ford Tri-Motor from its tie downs and flips it onto its back and into a ditch; it is a total wreck.
Flights to the Grand Canyon from Phoenix and Las Vegas continue apace in 1981 with a fleet that includes 13 Cessna 404 Titans, 15 Cessna 402s, and the inoperable Ford 5-AT-11. Due to a drop in the value of the dollar, a traffic downturn begins in May. Also during the year, Scenic pioneers the use of aircraft simulators in regional airline service for the training of its flight crews.
By year’s end, passenger bookings are off by 22% to 164,305.
Continued impact of the recession causes the carrier to lay off 53.3% of its workforce in 1982, leaving only 70 employees. The fleet is downsized; withdrawn are four Cessna 402s, two Cessna 404s and one Cessna 414. More than 200 flights are operated daily between Las Vegas and Phoenix and the Grand Canyon.
In August, the remains of the smashed trimotor are donated to the San Diego Aerospace Museum. The first two of six ordered de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otters, called “Vistaliners” after their oversized windows, are acquired.
Passenger boardings drop still further, down 25.8% to 121,837.
Enplanements fall yet again in 1983, dropping 26.4% to 89,708.
Employment grows 25% in 1984 to 125 as the last of 8 “Vistaliners” enters services, replacing all of the smaller Cessnas. For promotional purposes, the carrier orders Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT-74 from its owner, LeMaster, Inc. of Ottawa, Kansas.
Operations are transferred from Scottsdale Airport to Phoenix’s new Sky Harbor Airport, from which six flights a day are scheduled to the Grand Caynon; a dozen are still sent to that site from Las Vegas. Longtime President Karl A. Fahr retires and is succeeded by John Siebold, with Richard A. Thomas as senior vice president.
Passenger traffic resumes its upward course, climbing 7% as 95,958 passengers are transported.
The workforce is cut 12% in 1985 to 60.
After a yearlong $200,000 refurbishment, the Ford completes a week-long cross-country flight designed to evoke the romance of the transcontinental runs made by that aircraft type during the 1930s. Undertaken between September 5 and 12, roughly along the route of Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) , the flight is filmed from an accompanying Twin Otter by Saarlandischer Rundfunk of Frankfurt as part of a travelogue for West German television designed to boost tourism to the U. S. The aircraft is piloted by Scenic Capt. Fred Weir, United Airlines father and son pilots Bernard and Bryan Godlove, and Trans World Airlines (TWA) Vice President Ronald Reynolds. When it reaches New York, President Siebold officially purchases the trimotor, allowing it to spend October in East Hartford, Connecticut, helping to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Pratt & Whitney engine concern.
Customer bookings for Grand Canyon flights dip 2.5% to 93,570.
The payroll is increased by 22.7% in 1986 to 135 and the fleet includes Ford 5-AT-74, 9 DHC-6-300 Vistaliners, and 2 Metroliners. During the year, Scenic begins converting its Vistaliners with Raisbeck quiet propeller technology, which reduces ground noise impact by two-thirds, thus making the modified Twin Otter the quietest sight-seeing aircraft flying over the Grand Canyon.
Passenger boardings increase 38.8% to 129,939.
The workforce grows again in 1987, up by 40.7% to 190. In February, four more Twin Otters are acquired; they, too, are outfitted with Vistaliner window modifications. Former Regional Airline Association Executive Vice President Alan R. Stephen is named president in May.
Customer bookings accelerate 34.4% to 174,634.
Airline employment grows by 10% in 1988 to 220 as the number of Twin Otters “Vistaliners” increases by 12 to 25. In May, the carrier introduces $39 one-way and $78 roundtrip fares between Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. Simultaneously, the carrier contracts with Travel Sales International to act as its agent in Italy and Jim Readings, Inc. to represent it in London. The two millionth sight-seeing passenger (cumulative) is boarded during the summer. The trimotor resumes flying.
Enplanements on “trans-Canyon” tour flights increases by 35.5% to 327,761.
The workforce is reduced by 20.5% in 1989 to 175. The Metros are withdrawn as six additional DHC-6s Vistaliners are delivered.
Customer bookings accelerate by 48% to 368,053.
The employee population is elevated by 7.6% in 1990 to 283 and there are 25 Twin Otters in the fleet. The Ford Tri-Motor continues promotional operations.
Passenger boardings move ahead by 5% to 386,572.
Company employment is cut by 2.5% in 1991 to 278 and the number of Twin Otters is reduced to 16. Scheduled service is inaugurated linking the company base with Bullhead City and Laughlin and a new flight-seeing route is opened to Monument Valley, the site employed as background in many Westerns. Throughout the year, owner John Seibold, preparatory to his December retirement, seeks a buyer, but he is unsuccessful.
Customer bookings decline 24.6% to 291,572.
The payroll is cut by 15.5% in 1992 to 235 as 2 more DHC-6s arrive. Scenic celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and implements a new SHARES reservations system.
Bookings for the year drop 3% to 283,592.
The full complement of 25 Twin Otters are back on the line at the beginning 1993. In the spring, the carrier agrees to sell the aerial tour portion of its business to Aviation West, the Skywest Airlines subsidiary. The Skywest acquisition allows Scenic to offer an increased number of spectacular sights in the Southwest Grand Circle Region from multiple gateways: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona, Show Low, Grand Canyon, and Page. Operational facilities are also located at St. George, Kanab, and Cedar City, Utah.
The company now expands its special services department at Las Vegas to offer customized tours and chartered flights throughout the Southwest. It also revises its advertising slogan from “Grand Canyon Experience” to “Gateway to the National Parks.”
Passenger boardings this year plunge 57.1% to 123,900.
In 1994, Scenic opens overseas offices in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Greece, Israel, and Mexico, expanding its worldwide coverage to 19 countries. Customer bookings, largely as a result, recover, increasing to 314,252.
The carrier’s fleet in 1995 includes 19 de Havilland Canada Vistaliners, 31 Cessnas, 9 multiengine aircraft, and 4 Cessna 208B Caravans. Early in the year, the company opens offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Venezuela. Scenic is appointed the “Delta Connection” carrier to the Grand Canyon in December. The code-sharing arrangement with the major is a subsection in the arrangement held with Delta Air Lines by Scenic’s parent, Skywest Airlines.
Passenger boardings increase by 7% to 336,419. The good fortune allows profits: $850,000 (operating) and $692,000 (net).
Airline employment is cut by 6.7% in 1996 to 280. During the first quarter, four-times-a-day scheduled “Delta Connection” flights to Grand Canyon Airport from McCarran International Airport at Las Vegas.
In an effort to work more closely with travel agents, retailers may now book some 40 different Scenic tours through the SABRE, Apollo, or WorldSpan reservations systems.
A $5-million terminal is opened at North Las Vegas Airport in early April, which substitutes for the previously operated Scenic Tour Center at McCarran International Airport. The “Delta Connection” contract is now enlarged to cover flights from Las Vegas to Page, Arizona. Scenic also places 14 new motor coaches, equipped with video narration systems, into service; these are designed to enhance passenger enjoyment during their various transfers.
Despite these improvements, enplanements plunge 12.2% to 269,370 and revenues fall 2.3% to $38.39 million. Expenses are $38.54 million and the previous year’s profits become losses as both a $143,000 operating loss and a $299,000 net loss are reported.
In 1997, Scenic celebrates its thirtieth anniversary. The product line is expanded to include Yellowstone tour packages and a new Caesars Magical Nights Tour.
While flying westbound along the San Juan River gorge on June 4, a Cessna 177B with a pilot and three passengers, suffers engine exhaustion. Unable to find a landing site, the pilot ditches into Lake Powell. One person receives minor injuries during evacuation; however, the plane sinks.
En route from Montrose Regional Airport in Colorado to Page, Arizona, on October 8, a Cessna 208B Caravan piloted by Capt. Robert Armstrong with eight passengers aboard disappears. The wreckage is found by searchers on Uncompahgre Plateau at the 10,000-ft. level two days later and there are no survivors.
The tragedy does not take away from a good traffic year, in which customer bookings accelerate 10.1% to 294,403.
Flag tours is purchased in 1998 and a vacation and motor coach tour division is started. The carrier expands its code-sharing agreement with Delta to include daily services from Phoenix to Page.
Just after takeoff from a private airport near Monument Valley, Utah, on March 24, a Cessna 207A with a pilot and five passengers suffers total loss of engine power. A forced landing is made in rough sandy terrain, the nose wheel landing gear separates from the fuselage, and the airplane comes to rest in an inverted position. Four aboard receive minor injuries.
While on its landing roll at the same Monument Valley airstrip on May 17, a Cessna 172P with a pilot and two passengers is caught by a strong gust of wind that forces it to bounce and break its nosegear. The plane comes to rest on its nose and all aboard receive minor injuries.
In order to concentrate on its core business of providing regional airline service, Skywest Airlines, on August 27, sells most of the assets of its Scenic subsidiary to Eagle Canyon Airlines. In making the announcement, Skywest Executive Vice President Bradford R. Rich notes that the Page, Arizona-based tour division will be retained. The sale includes all 18 of Scenic’s Twin Otter Vistaliners and other assets that Eagle hopes to eventually integrate. Scenic initially continues separate operations as passenger boardings slide to 262,000.
Amalgamation of Scenic and a planned name change in 1999 by the new owners to Eagle Scenic Airlines does not, afterall, occur. Instead, recognizing the importance of the historic FAA Part 121 carrier’s branding, Eagle Canyon elects to retain the original name.
David Young becomes CEO and he continues to operate the Twin Otters, often supplementing them with Eagle’s larger Fokker Friendships. The U. S. Air Tour Association Web site will report that Scenic has offered 27,648 flights that have transported more than 460,000 passengers, 80% of whom originate from outside the country.
A total of 349 workers are employed at the beginning of 2000. Flight 304, a DHC-6-300 with 2 crew and 15 Japanese passengers fails its takeoff from Monument Valley Airport on a May 5 service to Grand Canyon Airport when a gust of wind catches the aircraft, forcing it off the left side of the runway. Although the nose gear is torn off and the nose section is crushed aft to the windshield, no injuries are reported.
SCENIC AIRWAYS: United States (1927-1930). In mid-July 1927, pilot Lawrence G. Fritz and his copilot, Ford Motor Company chief pilot J. Parker Van Sandt, who is also serving as operations director of Stout Air Services, depart Detroit to deliver the Ford 4-AT-7 to Los Angeles Lincoln automobile dealer Jack L. Maddus, who has agreed to serve as West Coast distributor for the TriMotor and to establish an airline. Among the passengers are Ford Chief Engineer William B. Mayo, Eddie Hamilton, and six others.
According to Van Sandt’s account of the delivery flight, which was later written down as “Origin & History of Scenic Airways, 1926-1929,” and which has recently been posted on the homepage of Grand Canyon Airlines, it was he who persuaded the group to detour, while en route from Salt Lake City, over the Grand Canyon to Williams, Arizona, taking in the view. This half-hour flight is credited with having inspired an entire new business, the Grand Canyon air tour industry. The 4-AT-7 arrives in Los Angeles on July 27, where Fritz becomes “Commodore” of the Maddux fleet, and is joined as copilot by Edward A. Bel-lande when Van Sandt returns to Stout.
Captured by the idea of offering sightseers the opportunity to fly over the Grand Canyon, Van Sandt mulls over his emerging concept and after conversations with engineer Mayo, Lawrence Scudder in Chicago, and others (who see a new way to sell airplanes), the chief pilot organizes Scenic Airways in the fall. A site for company headquarters and an airfield is selected on 700 acres of U. S. Forest Service land 12 mi. S of El Tovar, near the Canyon rim. Van Sandt duly leases the location from the government and arrives in a Stinson Detroiter to build a hangar and lay out a primitive airstrip.
Van Sandt, who is still on the Ford payroll, organizes the delivery of two TriMotors over the winter of 1927-1928. In the spring of 1928, the founder returns to his north rim airport and having hired an administration, a mechanic, and an additional pilot, employs the Stinson to initiate the first flight-seeing services in May. An advertising slogan “You Haven’t Seen the Canyon Until You’ve Seen It From the Air” appears in newspapers and magazines promoting the new aerial tours. The new competition is resented by the proprietors of the El Tovar Hotel (run for the Santa Fe Railroad by the noted Fred Harvey restaurant chain), who also control local ground tourism at the Canyon’s south rim. Still, at the end of the month, Van Sandt gos back to Detroit to get his larger aircraft.
The first TriMotor, the $45,000 Ford 4-AT-22, is personally delivered by Van Sandt on June 5, followed by the $55,475 Ford 5-AT-49 on June 18 and Ford 4-AT-24 on June 23. The latter is equipped with a special 78-foot wing and costs $3,000 more than the former. Flights from the Canyon’s north rim to south rim begin in August.
In his memoir, Van Sandt reveals two additional sources of concern. The first is the U. S. Forest Service itself, local officials of which are not pleased by the intrusion of noisy aircraft in the airspace over the ages-silent Canyon. Scenic wins their “begrudging acceptance” by giving free flights to as many USFS personnel as possible. The most hazardous obstacle are the local prairie dog population. Collapsed burrows dug by the little rodents under the landing area cause several broken landing gear for departing or landing aircraft.
The sight-seeing business continues throughout the remainder of the summer until winter weather shuts it down. With assistance from Lawrence Scudder, land is purchased in Phoenix for the construction of an airport (christened “Sky Harbor”) and establishment of a flying school. A second airport is opened at Albuquerque and a branch of the Phoenix flying school is also opened.
The two Ford TriMotors resume Grand Canyon sight-seeing flights in May 1929. Business is brisk throughout the spring and summer. Ford 4-AT-24 is sold to Continental Air Express of Los Angeles on September 14.
The October stock market crash puts an end to the availability of tourists able to pay for Grand Canyon flights and thus Ford 4-AT-22 is sold to Col. Reg I. Robbins of Fort Worth, Texas, on November 8. Ford 5-AT-49 is sold to United Aviation Corporation at Chicago in March 1930, at which time Scenic Airways shuts its doors and its founder becomes Ford’s aircraft sales representative in Europe.
World History
