Who remembers Ozark Air Lines?

[Padraig18]

I popped out for lunch a bit ago, and went to the cafe where I normally go; at the table where a group of us regularly eat together was an older guy---maybe 70--- sitting with my friend Bill. It turns out he is Bill's brother-in-law, and in the course of getting acquainted, he mentioned that he's a retired pilot who flew for Ozark Air Lines, which was based in St. Louis.

I'd never even heard of them, but according to him, they were a large carrier that covered an area roughly outlined by Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, NYC, Washington DC, Nashville and Dallas and Oklahoma City (a pretty big chunk of real estate). He said they were the largest EAS (Essential Airline Service) carrier in America, and had the largest domestic route system. They were apparently very profitable, and were absorbed by TWA during the 90's. He also said that they had the best safety record of any domestic or international carrier, having had only one fatal crash which was, according to the NTSB, 'unforeseeable and unavoidable' (wind sheer, I seem to recall him saying).

Anyone here ever fly them? Stories, etc.?

[mac56]

1. I flew them once, from Norfolk to Minneapolis, back in the early 80s.

Perfectly adequate flight. It was an early Saturday evening, and the flight attendants kept the wine flowing. Hee hee!

[Padraig18]

3. Hehehe

He mentioned that Ozark had a fairly 'liberal' policy regarding in-flight refreshments. :P

[mac56]

13. true that

nm

[Padraig18]

14. Gah! We sound like a bunch of lushes!

:P

[mac56]

15. hee hee

I'm not as think as you drunk I am.

[YNGW]

2. I remember them

I remember seeing their jets in Dallas airport, but they were a "fly by night" (no pun intended) airlines. Lots of airlines are gone: Eastern, Braniff, National, Pan Am, Southern, ....

The only airliner I'm aware that has never crashed is Quantas.

[terrya]

4. I remember Ozark.

They were one of the airlines that used to fly out of Decatur, Illinois, where I was born and raised.

[BiggJawn]

5. I remember when they flew DC-3's

Ozark, Lake Central, a coupla other small "regional" carriers I can't remember.

Used to go to the airport and watch the Pan-Am, TWA, and Eastern 707's and DC-8's load on one side of the terminal and then go to the other side and watch the DC-3's load up and leave.

[OneTwentyoNine]

6. Yep,I know of them....

http://www.ozarkairlines.com/

My only reason is because of being a flightsim junkie. They flew DC-3's for a time and most were re-created for flying in MS Flight simulator.

They were a big time outfit,but I don't think ever did service here to Wichita. Yet another company that would have been better without a merger. Now in the trash can as it were....

David

[Padraig18]

10. What a COOL site!

An airline 'fan site'! They must have been good, to be remembered with such affection. :)

[Richardo]

7. A friend of mine from Missouri used to call them "krazO"...

...which I liked. :D

[trof]

29. Ozark spelled backwards

[Padraig18]

30. LOL!

I hadn't seen the anagram, until you pointed that out! :P

[Gloria]

8. Yup, I remember them, though I never flew on them.....

Yes, so many are gone; Eastern Airlines, Braniff; Was one called Republic or something like that? I flew them in and out of Milwaukee...I don't think they had a very good safety record....

Then there were the international airlines, like Freddie Laker's and People Express. On one flight on PE, I had the dubious experience of one of the male attendants telling me that there would be a "crash" someday....they went belly up before that happened. I liked the box lunches you could buy....

[caledesi]

9. My neighbor was a pilot for Ozark, now retired. He had an

Ozark bumpersticker on his car. We don't talk now because I found out he was the one who let the air out of my tire when I had the "Attack Iraq, No!" sticker on my car.

[BOSSHOG]

11. Fond Memories of Ozark Airlines

In October 1972 Ozark provided my first leg to Navy Bootcamp in San Diego. Fayetteville, Arkansas to Dallas.

Drake Field in Fayetteville was (is) surrounded by the foothills of the Ozarks and it was always a terrifying joy flying over the mountains from Fort Smith to get to the little runway.

Thanks for the memories.

[MaineDem]

12. Low and slow on the big O

My husband went to Navy Boot Camp in Memphis and he has "fond" memories of Ozark Airlines.

Actually he always said it was a decent airlines. He flew on a perfectly acceptable DC-3! :)

Edited for a typo.

[Philostopher]

25. My first husband flew from Air Force basic at Lackland

Up to the DOD tech school at Chanute AFB in fall of '84, partly on Ozark. I forget if they flew him into Danville and he caught a bus from the base to get to Chanute, or if it was only one leg of the trip one side or the other of St. Louis. He said the plane and pilot weren't bad, but it was a white-knuckle ride through a thunderstorm the last hour or so of it. He was never so glad to get off a plane.

[SoCalDem]

16. I was a travel agent for 7 years in Indiana

in the 70's and you would be amazed at all the "local" carriers there USED to be..

Ozark..Mohawk..Piedmont..National..Midway..Frontier..Southern.. and the list goes on..

Small midwestern and southern cities had airline service.. There were no "hubs" then and you could fly in and out of lots of places without haviing to endure layovers and changes of planes..

The 80's a deregulation by Reagan did away with most of them, and with it, service in and out of smaller airports..

The fares did drop , but the "fun" also went out of flying..

So when the "govt" says deregulation fosters "competition" ...run away..very fast.. The competition is really just between the big fish and how fast they can gobble up all the little fishies.

[Padraig18]

17. I'm amazed...

I've been looking at that website, and I'm absolutely amazed at how dense the coverage seems to be, even in very small, 'out of the way' places like Ottumwa, IA (Radar O'Reilly's hometown). Today, we feel blessed that Greyhound stops here twice a day and that Amtrack has four trains a day in Mattoon, 12 miles away.

[SoCalDem]

18. My home town , Salina Kansas

had FULL rail service, THREE arilines and 3 bus companies.. Now it has NOTHING.. The town then, had maybe 20,000, and now it's up over 60,000.. Progress??..Hardly


This link has a lot more that I forgot.. There were SO many ..
http://www.airtimes.com/cgat/cgat.htm

?very tall graphic..so click to see

[SoCalDem]

19. Here's a cool site that lists ALL defunct airlines and what happened

http://users.skynet.be/airwim/defunctairlines.htm

[Padraig18]

21. This country sooooooo needs good mass-transit!

We have a BEAUTIFUL airport not 10 miles from where I sit big enough to handle Air Force One (it did back in 2000), we (IL) have a brand-spanking new system of rail trackage (thank you ICG/CN), a great state highway system and--- no good way to get between point A and point B, most times, exceopt to drive a car.

Am I missing something here, or is America? :shrug:

[greatauntoftriplets]

37. SoCalDem, the photo in your sig line is hysterical.

I remember Ozark Airlines, though I never flew on it.

Here is one even more obscure (also now defunct): Air Illinois. Their planes were so small that I could not stand straight walking up the aisle to my seat (I am 5' 10").

[SoCalDem]

40. It's a file that I screen captured at just the right moment..Here it is

[Braden]

20. my grandfather was an executive with Mowhawk

in the 50's and 60's

about ten years after WWII he finally was forced to fly again due money problems. He stayed on for 20 years. they used to have scheduled service to places like Utica NY, Glens Falls, Erie, Keene NH, all smaller markets that are now totally underserved if at all.

He has a framed letter from J. Edgar Hoover complimenting him on a personal stand he took against a hijacker, peacefully ending the incident.

[trof]

22. Remember them? Hell, I BOUGHT 'em!

TWA, my late lamented employer bought out Ozark in 1986.
http://www.ozarkairlines.com/

[Padraig18]

23. Fat lot of good it did either of them it seems...

*sigh*

[trof]

26. Yep.

It was a good deal for TWA, and then came <shudder>
Carl Icahn.
TWA, Pan Am, Braniff, Eastern, and so many more.
All gone.
:-(

[Padraig18]

27. I've asked several customers about it today...

They all shake their heads, and say 'what a shame they went under', and said at one point the local airport had 6 flights a day--- 3 to Chicago and 3 to St. Louis.

Sad...:(

[alwynsw]

24. They served Owensboro, KY for a while on the shuttle side

as I recall. I grew up there.

[Bluzmann57]

28. Yes Indeed

Ozark's demise nearly killed our airport here in the Quad-Cities. They were the major carrier out of here and advertised constantly. And yes, they did get absorbed by TWA but it wasn't quite the same, because TWA made smaller airports like this one just a connecting point to Chicago and St. Louis. To their credit though, thet had few delays and had a lot of flights.

[mr_hat]

31. Oh yeah. A fixture at my local airport in the day. I miss them. [nt]

[never cry wolf]

32. My first flight was Ozark

On an airPLANE, not a jet. I must have been about 10 or 12 in the mid 60's and flew out of O'hare to Bloomington, Il. where my mom grew up to visit Mema, my gramma.

I had previously taken the train at times but I think my parents wanted to give me the thrill of flying. I flew there twice and once to Rochester, Minn. to spend a month with my best bud in Albert Lea who moved away in 8th grade.

[murielm99]

33. Yes, I remember Ozark.

I used to fly Ozark from O'Hare to St. Louis, and then take another carrier East, when my brother lived in Baltimore. It was cheaper to take Ozark, and they were a good airline.

Once, when I was in college, in the sixties, a friend of mine was flying Ozark, stand-by, I think. I told her the stewardesses were all barefoot on Ozark, and she believed me!

She was one of those people who thought that if God had intended us to fly, He would have given us wings. I should not have teased her like that.

[Padraig18]

34. LOL!

Cute story! :P

[arwalden]

35. I Remember Ozark Mountain Daredevils...

Didn't they sing "Jackie Blue" or something like that?
-- Allen

[woofless]

36. Yup, they used to fly out of Joplin, MO n/t

[CO Liberal]

38. George Carlin Did Their Radio Commercials......

...back in the '60s when Ozark started serving the NY Metro Area. I remember listening to WABC one afternoon when an Ozark commercial came on. AT the end of the commercial, George Carlin said, "We're two-thirds transcontinental now!" Dan Ingram, one of the funniest DJs ever in the history of radio, then came on and said, "Well, that's better than being two-third trans-Atlantic!"

:-)

[toddzilla]

39. as a long time st. louis native..

i remember, but i hate flying. I'm not "afraid" of it, i just prefer driving.