- Pacific Southwest Airlines
Infobox Airline
airline = Pacific Southwest Airlines
logo_size = 150
IATA = PS
ICAO = PSA
callsign = PSA
founded = 1949
headquarters = San Diego,California
hubs =
*Los Angeles International Airport
*San Diego International Airport
focus_cities =
frequent_flyer =
lounge = Presidents Club
alliance =
fleet_size = 75 (At time of Shutdown)
destinations = 31
company_slogan = Catch our Smile
subsidiaries =
website =Pacific Southwest Airlines was an
airline headquartered inSan Diego, California . It is one of the four heritage airlines that formUS Airways , the other airlines beingAmerica West Airlines , Piedmont Airlines andAllegheny Airlines . Prior to its merger, PSA was one of the first large discount airlines in theUnited States and is considered a precursor toSouthwest Airlines . ItsBoeing customer number was 14. Following the merger with USAir, the PSA name was given to Jetstream International Airlines in order to preserve the PSA name and trademarks.History
Kenny Friedkin founded the airline in 1949 with a leased
Douglas DC-3 . That aircraft inaugurated a weekly round trip from San Diego to Oakland via Burbank. Reservations were initially taken from aWorld War II surplus latrine refitted as a ticket office. In 1951, PSA crossed theSan Francisco Bay and began flying to San Francisco. In 1955, PSA purchased twoDouglas DC-4 aircraft fromCapital Airlines and painted boxes around the windows to make the planes resemble the more advancedDouglas DC-6 .During the 1960s, PSA operated
Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft on the San Diego-San Francisco route: these were replaced withBoeing 727-214 andBoeing 737-214 s by the end of the decade. In the mid-1970s, PSA briefly operatedLockheed L-1011 aircraft before deeming them unprofitable and selling them. The L-1011-1 aircraft produced for PSA were unique in having lower deck seating. [ [http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/aboutus/pressroom/history/psa.aspx US Airways | US Airways: A Heritage Story ] ] PSA expanded its service to Sacramento, San Jose, Long Beach, andOntario, California during this period, and by 1980 was operating a hub atLos Angeles International Airport .After
airline deregulation ,California 's major intrastate airlines (PSA,Air California (later rebranded AirCal),Western Airlines andUnited Airlines ) became embroiled in intense airfare wars. PSA attempted to extend its route network beyond California with flights to Reno, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Tucson, and Albuquerque. The airline also introduced automated ticketing and check-in machines at several major airports, and briefly operated flights toCabo San Lucas ,Mexico . When PSA's plan to buy out the assets of Dallas-Ft. Worth-basedBraniff International Airways fell flat, the airline expanded its route network north toWashington ,Oregon andIdaho . PSA used a new fleet ofBAe 146 regional jets to serve smaller airports on the West Coast, such asEureka, California andConcord, California . PSA held a contest, publicized in full-page newspaper ads, to name the fleet. The winning entry was [http://www.psa-history.org/hangar/smiliner.php Smiliner] .In 1986, Western and AirCal were purchased by out-of-state airlines (
Delta Air Lines andAmerican Airlines respectively). Some believe USAir was actually pursuing AirCal because of fleet commonality — (Boeing 737-300s) — but that American Airlines spoiled the deal and PSA was its second choice. Upon hearing that USAir was interested in AirCal, American Airlines aggressively courted the AirCal Board of Directors. It made more sense for American Airlines to purchase PSA due to fleet commonality, but American Airlines was determined not to concede market share. Therefore, many believe the American/AirCal deal was essentially an attempt to impede USAir's expansion. However, this plan did not work.An hour after the AirCal deal was announced, PSA agreed to merge with USAir, which was completed in 1987. PSA's last flight took place on
April 8 ,1988 . The PSA route network slowly disintegrated within USAir and was completely gone by 1994: most of the former airline's assets were scrapped or moved to USAir's hubs on the East Coast. PSA's operations base atSan Diego International Airport was gutted and now serves as that airport's commuter terminal. PSA had planned from the start to become a nationwide carrier, but this never came to fruitition. By the time of the merger, PSA's route system covered only the western United States, extending only as far east as Colorado and New Mexico.Southwest Airlines has since duplicated many of PSA's former San Diego routes.In the
San Diego Aerospace Museum , there is a display showcasing PSA, the city's hometown airline.PSA was one of the sponsors of the original "
The Dating Game " TV show on ABC from 1965-73.Following the 2005 merger of US Airways and America West, a US Airways Airbus A319 was repainted in PSA's
livery as one of fourheritage aircraft commemorating the airlines that merged to form the present-day US Airways. The aircraft was dedicated at San Diego International Airport's commuter terminal (PSA's former operations base) onMarch 30 ,2006 , and flew similar flight patterns to the ones actually operated by PSA, as another commemorative bonus.Corporate culture
At the time, PSA was known for its sense of humor. Its slogan was "The World's Friendliest Airline," and its recognizable trademark was a smile painted on the nose of each plane and an accompanying ad campaign declaring "Catch Our Smile." Because of the major San Diego flight schedule and because of the discount fares, military personnel nicknamed PSA the "Poor Sailor's Airline." After PSA was bought by USAir, ex-PSA mechanics would occasionally paint smiles on USAir planes as a joke. [cite web|last=Trinkle|first=Kevin|url=http://www.psa-history.org/ussmile.htm|title=Smiles on US Airways|work=The PSA History Page|accessdate=2006-06-05]
During the seventies, PSA was also known for its brightly-colored and extremely short
flight attendant uniforms. One PSA flight attendant, Marilyn Tritt, wrote a book about her tenure at the company titled "Long Legs and Short Nights" (ISBN 0-9649577-0-1).Southwest Airlines founderHerb Kelleher studied PSA extensively and used many of the airline's ideas to form the corporate culture at Southwest, and even on early flights used the same "Long Legs And Short Nights" theme for stewardesses on board typical Southwest Airlines flights.Incidents and accidents
*On
September 25 ,1978 ,PSA Flight 182 , aBoeing 727-200 , operating the airline's Sacramento-Los Angeles -San Diego route, was on final approach to San Diego'sLindbergh Field when it collided with aCessna 172 on a training flight. Both planes crashed in the city's North Park section, killing all 128 passengers and 7 crew members aboard the PSAjetliner , both occupants of theCessna and 7 people on the ground. Nine others on the ground were injured and 22 homes were destroyed or damaged. The accident, with a death toll of 144, is the deadliest air disaster inSan Diego County history as well as the deadliest California air disaster to date.*On
December 7 ,1987 ,PSA Flight 1771 , aBAE-146 , bound forSan Francisco International Airport fromLos Angeles International Airport , was cruising above the central California coast when it suddenly entered a high-speed nosedive and crashed on a cattle ranch near the small town ofCayucos . Investigations determined that a disgruntled USAir employee, Dave Burke, recently fired for theft, had armed himself and boarded the flight, which was carrying his former manager. After writing a suicide note on an air sickness bag, Burke shot his ex-manager, both pilots and then himself, causing the airplane to crash. All 43 aboard the jetliner -- 38 passengers and 5 crew members -- perished.Hijackings
"There have been several attempted hijackings which resulted in no injuries and the surrender of the often lone hijacker. These incidents are not included. The following are notable hijackings because of fatalities or success in forcing the aircraft to fly to another country"
*On January 7, 1972, PSA 902, a Boeing 727-200 flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles was hijacked to Cuba. The captain negotiated release of the passengers in Los Angeles and the hijackers, armed with a shotgun and other arms, were taken to Cuba [ [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19720107-2 ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727 ? ] ] with a fueling stop in Tampa where they released custody of the aircraft back to the captain. Three flight attendants and three off duty flight attendants were not released with the passengers and accompanied the flight to Cuba. [ Airliner Magazine, November, 2000 ]
*On July 5, 1972, PSA 710, a Boeing 737-200 flight from Sacramento, California to San Francisco was hijacked with demands to fly to the Soviet Union. The plane was stormed resulting in the death of one passenger and the two hijackers. [ [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19720705-0 ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-200 San Francisco International Airport, CA (SFO) ] ] One of the passengers of this flight, who was non-fatally shot in the back, was actorVictor Sen Yung , best known asHop Sing from the "Bonanza " television series. There was one other passenger who was shot who survived. [Ada Evening News, July 6, 1972, p. 1]1987 Cities Served
California
*Sacramento
*Oakland
*San Francisco
*Monterey
*Stockton
*San Jose
*Fresno
*Burbank
*Ontario
*Orange County
*Los Angeles
*Long Beach
*San DiegoArizona
*Phoenix
*TucsonColorado
*Steamboat Springs
New Mexico
*Albuquerque
Nevada
*Las Vegas
*RenoOregon
*Portland
*Eugene
*Bend Redmond
*MedfordWashington
*Bellingham
*Seattle/Tacoma
*Spokane
*Pasco
*YakimaMexico
*Los Cabos
*Mazatlan
*Puerto VallartaFleet
PSA Fleet Details At Time Of shutdown:
Historic Fleet
Retired PSA Fleet Details:
References
External links
* [http://www.jetPSA.com/ The PSA History Museum] - Dedicated to preserving the history of PSA
* [http://www.catchoursmile.com/ Catch Our Smile] - Extensive history and images of PSA
* [http://www.psa-history.org/ PSA-history.org] - History of PSA
* [http://www.amazon.com/Poor-sailors-airline-Southwest-Airlines/dp/1888962186] - Poor sailors' airline: A history of Pacific Southwest Airlines
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