It probably doesn’t keep you awake at night, but it is of comfort to me that I am not the only person my age who is a total aviation (and railroad) geek. You might find several folks of either persuasion, but finding one with both qualities is exceedingly rare. Fortunately, George Hamlin is such a person. We are about the same age, and George’s father-n-law worked for an airline. At a young age, we both had an innate sense to know when our surroundings were changing, and when familiar things would become historical rarities. For example, the new Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW) opened on January 13, 1974. If memory serves me right, that was a Sunday. On Friday evening January 11, I took my camera to Love Field’s wonderful observation deck to record the scene for posterity. Unfortunately, I was shooting black and white film and had a camera without a telephoto lens. Half the country away, George also knew that aviation in North Texas would be forever changed when DFW opened, and he nonreved down here in December 1973 to spend a day at Love Field to record Love’s last few days as the primary airport in the area. George had a nice Nikon and a telephoto lens, and his color shots provide a nice Flashback Friday perspective. George graciously has given us permission to use some of his photos for this post.
Back in 1973, Boeing 707s were still common aircraft. The view above features no less than four examples of the four-engine classic Boeing. The 707 on the left is being pushed back from the West Concourse, which is our current concourse at Love. Don’t worry, we will get back to that scene on the North Concourse later.
Over on the East Concourse above, we see two Continental DC-9-15s at the airline’s gates. In the background are some Texas International and Ozark aircraft. My father was Continental’s Station Manager at this time.
Texas International had built a single-story extension off the East Concourse to house their operation, which featured DC-9-30s and Convair 600 turboprops. Even at this relatively late date, the Convair on the right wears an older livery.
Braniff was the largest carrier at Love Field, and their 727-200 above is taxiing past their maintenance base. (The building still stands.)
Three airlines operated 747s into Love at this time, American, Delta, and Braniff. Above, we see the Braniff pumpkin heading out for its nonstop trek to Honolulu. Notice that the driver on the bag tug has stopped to watch the view. About a year and a half before this photo, I had taken my first 747 flight in this aircraft.
Prior to the introduction of the 747, the largest airliner was the “stretch eight.” The airplane pushing back is a Delta DC-8-61, and if my memory serves me correctly, it held about 240 passengers. This aircraft would later be re-engined with the same CFM engines that are on the 737-700. You wouldn't believe the amount of freight, mail, and bags that fit in those long, long cargo bins.
And finally, I have saved the best for last. Here is a rare color photo of N22SW, one of the three original Southwest aircraft parked at the far end of the North Concourse next to two American 707s. It is parked at an out of service gate. Note that the cargo bins are closed. The air stairs are extended on the far side of the aircraft, and if you look closely, you can see a Maintenance step ladder next to the air stairs, along with a Company pickup truck. It looks like this is where the fuel hydrant trucks were parked also.
This is the same scene a few months ago as the North Concourse was razed for the terminal modernization, which is currently underway.
Comments
Thank you, Brian, for this great Love Field history!
Be careful, Southwest is not as HONEST as they would have you believe.
First, I fly a fair bit… Southwest most of the time, but also US Air and Continental.
Recently I had booked several trips on Southwest, a couple for me, and one for my wife and I both... No big deal. But before I booked the flights, I was watching the Southwest flight prices. I was not in a big hurry to book the trips, all of them were 2-4 months out, so I was just checking prices every now-and-then...
Anyway, I saw all the trips I was watching take a $10 - $15 price increase per leg... So figured I better get these booked. So I did, I booked 6 trips, or legs at whatever the going price was that day.
My Mistake... I have always trusted Southwest. I fly them quite a bit, they work for me, and they have always been good to me. I just trusted them. Well...
Another trip came up, and Southwest was the most obvious choice. So I went to Southwest.com and plugged in my dates and stuff, and the trip came back cheaper than the very same trip I had booked earlier, although the actual trip that I had booked was further out.
So, for shits-and-grins, I plugged in one of the other trip dates that I already had booked... And low-and-behold, the damn thing was $26 less per leg now. So, needless say, I was a little PO'd... I just always thought the 'Lowest Fare' was the 'Lowest Fare' at the time that you booked it on Southwest... I just trusted them.
Well, I called Southwest... And a really nice lady walked me through how to re-book the same flight at the reduce cost and all that. And she explained to me that you do need to keep an eye on the flight prices, even at Southwest, because you may not be paying the lowest fare all the time.
So I went through all the flights I had already booked, and re-booked about 5 of the 6 legs at cheaper prices... Picked up about $142 in savings.
Now - Here's where they really get sneaky...
YOU don't get that money back! NOPE...
It basically goes into a little Southwest bank account, tied to your confirmation numbers for each of those flights. You lose it if you don't use it, and they do absolutely nothing to tell you or remind you that you have funds available to use, and you MUST use the refunded amount for -or- on a trip booked in the exact same person's name.
After I had gone through this whole process and re-booked all these trips... One would think you'd be able to log into your Southwest account, and somewhere there would be a place that would say... Your Southwest Credit Balance Is: $XXX.XX
NOPE, NADA, NOWHERE... As a matter of fact, they make it all most impossible for you even find out how much you have, or how to use it.
Again, I called Southwest and asked... Where can I find my credit balance in my account??? Shouldn't I be able to see it in my account??
NOPE... And this customer service lady was firmly convinced that what they (Southwest) were doing was the best way to do it - Ah... Yeah, for Southwest, damn sure not their customers.
Well, with all that said, I will still fly Southwest, but I have now thrown them in the pile with all the other scum bags airlines... And I know now you CANNOT trust them either.
It's ashame too... 'cause I really thought they held themselves to a higher standard.
Oh well...
o http://allyncutts.com/southwest-airlines-not-the-white-hat-wearing-compa...
Great Photos. Was nice to see love field in the old days
This is a fantastic set of photos. Thanks for digging them out.
Great stuff, Brian! Love old ramp and airport shots. George Hamlin is a real resource! Thanks for posting these, and thanks for Looking Back!
Nice article! Really enjoyed seeing all the planes, especially the stretch eight!
Thanks for the pics. I'm not from Dallas and only the age of the pictures themselves, but I loved looking at them. My father was a jet engine mechanic in the air force and passed on his love for airplanes to me. Looking at these reminds me of how excited he'd get showing me all the airplanes whenever we had to pick someone up at TPA.
Great pics....reminds me of when I worked at La Guardia from 67-69 for American Airlines...alot of people do not know that American trained their stewardesses in Dallas at a different airport.
I also worked at Sea-Tac in 70 and 71 when NW Airlines got the first of the 747s....that was when Hughes AirWest went on strike......we ran a small feeder airline called West Pacific
Airlines....flew Beech99s and Twin Otters.....flew to Spokane, Missoula, Pendleton, Yakima, Portland and several other smallers cities....It was fun until we ran out of money.....it cost a fortune to MAINTAIN engines and landing gears....thanks so much for the memory....been to Love Field many times in the 60s.....
Southwest Airlines shares the same anniversary as us and we are both still going great. Next year will be the 40th and that is wonderful! The first time I flew was in 1989, It was super and I enjoyed it tremendously. The next time was in 1996 and it was just as great. I have flown a few times since then and have enjoyed every one of them. It is the best way to travel ever. Thank you Southwest, we are very proud of your accomplishments and record.
Great pics, Brian. Thanks for sharing.
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