June 2004 - Issue 6
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The History of Commercial Aviation
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Commercial Aviation Timeline
With deregulation finally allowing its entrance into the domestic airline market, Pan Am merges with National Airlines. After entering a bidding war with Texas International, Pan Am pays $400 million for National – considerably more than the airline is worth. The acquisition marks the beginning of a dismal decade for Pan Am.
The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Association and its 13,000 members go on strike after months of failed negotiations with the federal government. The union sought a reduced 32-hour work week, a $10,000 pay raise and a better retirement package. Two days after the walkout, President Ronald Reagan fired 11,000 of the controllers who did not return and declared a lifetime ban on their rehiring by the FAA.
The Boeing 757 first takes to the skies. Designed to replace Boeing’s aging 727 fleet, the 757 is up to 80 percent more fuel efficient than its predecessor. The new fleet looks more promising in costs cutting and serving more passengers at any given time.
Braniff International suspends its airline operations and becomes the nation’s first major airline to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Other airlines would soon follow.
Frank
Lorenzo’s Texas International acquires a financially-strapped Continental
Airlines. The airline declares bankruptcy, allowing Lorenzo to throw out
existing labor union contracts. Continental employees are offered their jobs
back at one-half of the salary.
Lockheed
rolls out its final L-1011. Lackluster sales for the L-1011 forced Lockheed
to cease production of the widebody jet. The move marked Lockheed’s exit
from the commercial aircraft industry.
To stem its mounting losses, Pan Am sells its Pacific routes to United Airlines for $715 million. Pan Am would later sell its Atlantic routes to Delta. By the end of the 1980s, Pan Am’s operating losses totaled $3 billion.
A
struggling Eastern Airlines is acquired by Texas International. By
threatening to sell the airline, Eastern President Frank Borman intended to
simply scare his labor unions into taking severe pay cuts. He ended up
handing the reigns over to the man the unions feared most, Frank Lorenzo.