Did you know that there were two times in the history of Southwest Airlines where the company had aircraft other than the 737? In 1979-80 Southwest operated one Boeing 727 on lease from Braniff as part of an anti-trust settlement. They gave the 727 program another run from 1983-1985 using aircraft leased from PeoplExpress. They leased up to 6 aircraft during that period. 
Photo courtesy of George W. Hamlin. Used with permission. For more information on Southwest Airlines 727 operation, check out this article: http://prsync.com/southwest-airlines/a-rare-view-of-southwests--operations-6692/
If you are a pilot chances are you have spent way too much time in Teterboro. Mike Wagner found a way to put his love for KTEB into words.
If you have trouble viewing the video, please click here to see it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MikeWagner23#p/a/u/1/mzM3aaypEYo
David Koenig, AP Airlines Writer, On Tuesday November 9, 2010, 12:53 pm EST DALLAS (AP) -- Startup airline Virgin America said Tuesday that it's making money for the first time thanks to higher fares. CEO David Cush said the company will grow its fleet aggressively next year and hopes to expand to Chicago and Newark, N.J. The 3-year-old low-cost airline backed by Richard Branson said it earned $7.5 million in the July-through-September period, compared with a loss of $5.9 million a year ago. Revenue jumped 28 percent to $202 million, and passenger revenue per mile rose 20 percent, which Cush said was due to higher fares. Cush said the privately held company plans to increase its fleet from 28 Airbus planes to 47 by the end of 2011 -- it recently placed an order for 40 aircraft. That will produce an increase in capacity of 35 percent next year. U.S. airlines have benefited this year from holding down capacity, which drives up fares. Recently, many of the airlines have been adding flights compared to the lean schedules they operated in the fall of 2009, but Cush said he isn't overly worried that too many new flights will push down fares. Cush said his biggest concern was rising fuel prices. Virgin America is paying extra to lock in maximum prices for 86 percent of its fuel the rest of this year, a strategy that Southwest Airlines used to insulate itself from record fuel prices in 2008. "Airlines as an industry had a near-death experience in the summer of 2008 with fuel prices," Cush said. "We decided we would never put our company in that position again." Virgin America plans to start service next month to Dallas, and to Los Cabos and Cancun in Mexico over the next two months. Cush said the airline is negotiating with city officials in Chicago for gates at O'Hare Airport. Virgin also wants to fly to Newark, part of the New York-area market, but it was shut out when United and Continental made a deal to shift some of their takeoff and landing slots to Southwest Airlines Co. Virgin America flies to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, Boston, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla., and Toronto. United and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines are Virgin's biggest competitors, overlapping on about 80 percent of Virgin's traffic. Expanding to Texas will put the young carrier in even tougher head-to-head competition with American, which dominates at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Gulfstream International Group, (AMEX: GIA) the parent company of Gulfstream Airlines filed for Chapter 11 to restructure its debt and secure long term financing. The Fort Lauderdale based airline operates 23 Beech 1900 Airliners and has 239 active pilots. Furloughed pilots are currently being recalled. Gulfstream has asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to continue to pay it's employees during the restructure. Their are no planned layoffs as a direct result of the filing.
Great news for furloughed US Airways pilots and flight attendants! US Airways announced Monday a plan to recall up to 80 pilots next year. This recall will bring the total number of furloughed pilots down to 100 and bring the active pilot count up to 4,970. In addition to pilot recalls, US Airways announced a recall of 420 flight attendants.
