Air California
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| Founded | 1967 | |||
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| Ceased operations | 1987 (integrated into American Airlines) | |||
| Hubs | John Wayne Airport | |||
| Fleet size | 30 | |||
| Destinations | 13 | |||
| Parent company | American Airlines | |||
| Headquarters | Newport Beach, California | |||
Air California, later AirCal, was a regional airline using mainline equipment and serving different points in the state of California and some neighboring western U.S. states. It was founded by a partnership of Orange County businessmen as an alternative to other airlines and what was left of the state's passenger railroad system. The airline's initial market of service as of their January 1967 debut was between Orange County Airport (SNA) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), a previously unserved routing, using four-engine Lockheed Electra airliners. Air California was headquartered in Newport Beach, California.[1][2][3]
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[edit] History
[edit] Early Fleet
Air California was one of the last 20 carriers to utilize the Electra in regular service. One of the airline's early promotional campaigns included an illustration of an Electra dressed in the airline's gold "sunburst" tail emblem, with the slogan, "Our Electras Are Easy To Take."
In the late 1970s its fleet was primarily Boeing 737 jet aircraft, along with an Electra or two for Lake Tahoe flights.
[edit] Marketing
One marketing program used by Air California in the early to mid 1970s was to offer school field trips to Sacramento at $25 a head, where school children would be taken on a tour of the California State Capitol, Governor's Mansion, and Sutter's Fort.
Another marketing program took place in 1980, when AirCal began upgrading its fleet with the new DC 9-80 (MD80). For a short span of several hours at Burbank Airport, one could purchase one-way passes good for up to one year to either of the two San Francisco Bay Area airports it served at that time (San Jose and Oakland). The price was $9.80 one way/$19.60 round trip, with a limit of four round trips. Later that year, when AirCal began service to SFO, the passes were valid for that destination, too.
It was a fierce competitor of Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA), another intrastate carrier. After the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 it opened service to Reno, Nevada and Portland, Oregon, but became a takeover target for the larger national carriers.
In 1981, it changed its name from Air California to AirCal and adopted a bright new logo and image, including a new wardrobe for its employees by noted fashion designer, Mary McFadden. During the 1980s, it operated a mix of Boeing 737s, seven McDonnell Douglas MD-80s, and six British Aerospace BAe-146s. Coincidentally, the latter two types were also operated by its rival Pacific Southwest Airlines on several of the same routes.
[edit] The End
AirCal, along with its equipment, routes, and facilities, was eventually acquired piecemeal by AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines, in 1987. American continued to fly many repainted and refitted AirCal aircraft from a new hub at San Jose International Airport (SJC) until American transferred the bulk of its San Jose operations to Reno Air in the mid-1990s. American would later take over Reno Air in 1999, and San Jose was made an American hub until the early 2000s (and a downturn in the economy).
Currently,[when?] all eight former AirCal Boeing 737-3A4s are operated by Southwest Airlines. AirCal also had ordered a ninth 737-3A4, but it was never delivered. Eventually, this aircraft found its way into the Southwest Airlines' fleet as well. As of August 2010, Southwest retired most of the former AirCal fleet, with N679AA being the remaining one in service.
[edit] References
- ^ World Airline Directory. Flight International. 20 March 1975. p. 465. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%200529.html. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ "Newport Beach city, California." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 25, 2009.
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 30, 1985.34." Retrieved on June 17, 2009.
