MD-82 N478AC
f lies over California’s
snow-capped Sierra
Nevada mountain
range. AirCal f lew the
MD-82 to Lake Tahoe
Airport in California
when the jet ban was
lifted in 1983.Holiday Airlines, which had gone bankrupt. Holiday had also
operated two Lockheed Electras turboprops and Air California
acquired these aircraft which were immediately put into service
flying to Lake Tahoe’s mountain airport.
New services to and from Lake Tahoe included flights to San
Diego, San Jose, Oakland, and Burbank. Now, almost 20 years
old, the Air California Electras were among the last in United
States in passenger service.
Deregulation and
Turbulence
With the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act, Air California found
itself in the position to pursue limitless opportunities to expand
and grow beyond its Californian borders. The carrier took
cautious steps with its new freedom by first applying for routes
to Reno and Las Vegas in its neighbouring state of Nevada.
Approval was granted in early 1979, leading the carrier to place
an order for seven McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft which
would be more fuel efficient and noise friendly than the older
types in service.
Air California became an all jet fleet once again in 1980 when
the obsolete Electras were retired and the Lake Tahoe service
was halted. However, expansion continued with Portland,
Oregon being added to the route system with services from
Reno, Oakland and San Jose. This provided a crucial link to the
Pacific Northwest market.
In the summer of 1980, Los Angeles International Airport
became the last major Southern California airport added to the
Air California route system, and this put the carrier in head to
head competition with regional and national airlines including
its nemesis competitor, PSA.
With the skies now open, new cities dropped by the majors
like Fresno and Monterey were picked up by Air California and
this allowed it to establish a firm position from LAX and other
cities. Air California had flown almost three million passengers
by the end of 1980 and was re-classified by the Civil Aeronautics
Board (CAB) as a national carrier.AirCal
In 1981, with merger madness in full swing, low cost airline Air
Florida placed a bid to purchase Air California, which was granted
by the CAB. However, the purchase was blocked by a pair of local
Orange County real estate investors who in turn purchased the
airline from the Westgate Corporation for $61.5m.http://www.airlinerworld.com 63