PIA - A History: New Destinations and a Second Airline, 1974-1977
Having avoided the worst effects of the mid-1970s recession, Peoria was considered a "prosperity pocket." Major area employers like Caterpillar, Bemis, Hyster, Keystone Steel & Wire, Pabst, WABCO) actually posted record sales in 1974.
Caterpillar sales grew another 21.6 percent in 1975 and the company employed 33,600 in the area at the start of the year. Some 8,000 had been added to the payroll since 1965 (mostly since 1971) and was expecting to add up to 9,000 more, mostly by 1980. So the local economy was good when Ozark Air Lines decided to expand its Peoria service offerings.
Caterpillar sales grew another 21.6 percent in 1975 and the company employed 33,600 in the area at the start of the year. Some 8,000 had been added to the payroll since 1965 (mostly since 1971) and was expecting to add up to 9,000 more, mostly by 1980. So the local economy was good when Ozark Air Lines decided to expand its Peoria service offerings.
NEED FOR AN O'HARE ALTERNATIVE
After the last flights shifted from Midway Airport in mid-1962, Chicago-O'Hare International Airport became the world's busiest. Since then, Peoria travelers had relied on O'Hare for most domestic and international connections, but increasing congestion from rapidly growing traffic prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1969 to impose hourly limits (slot controls) on O'Hare flights.
In 1974, O'Hare functioned as a domestic hub or major terminal point for Trunks like American, Braniff, Continental, Delta, Eastern, Northwest Orient, TWA and United while Locals like Allegheny, North Central, Piedmont and Ozark offered feeder flights. A few commuter carriers had begun flying to O'Hare as well. International service was provided by Air Canada, Air France, Alitalia, British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Mexicana, Northwest Orient, Pan Am, SAS, Swissair and TWA.
Congestion caused numerous delays so an alternative to O'Hare was needed. Limited flights to the modernized Midway Airport would not suffice as most airlines had withdrawn service there after the Arab Oil Embargo led to fuel shortages and flight reductions.
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport offered good domestic connections, but on a far smaller scale than O'Hare, and had only one nonstop, scheduled international service - Mexicana's thrice-weekly nonstops to Mexico City (begun in 1973). Service to both Minneapolis/St. Paul and Kansas City had been too limited for adequate connections. Milwaukee service, suspended early in 1974, endured too many stops and was unlikely to resume.
Ozark's same-plane, twice-daily service to the East Coast, begun in 1969, offered a good alternative to O'Hare, but primarily for origin-and-destination (O&D) passengers.
EXPANSION
The situation changed dramatically on July 1, 1974 when Ozark Air Lines inaugurated its daily Minneapolis/St. Paul-Peoria-Indianapolis-Louisville route using a DC-9. The new service appeared suddenly, with the Peoria Journal Star reporting it three days prior to the inaugural! There were no hearings so it appears the airline was using route authority it had held for years.
At the time, Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport served a metro area of just over 2,000,000 residents. As home base and hub for both Northwest Orient Airlines and North Central Airlines, MSP offered numerous connections, though to mostly domestic points.
Indianapolis' Weir Cook Municipal Airport served a much smaller metro area (1.1 million residents in 1970) and the Indiana capital lacked major hub status, but inter-line connections were possible to American, Delta, Eastern and TWA trunk routes as well as a decent number of points served by Allegheny Airlines. Slightly smaller, Louisville offered connections but nothing that couldn't be found at Chicago-O'Hare, Indianapolis or St. Louis.
On September 25, 1974 the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) lifted its route freeze and began taking new applications. Sen. Adlai Stevenson (D-Illinois) then contacted 14 airlines regarding Peoria service. Continental Airlines, which had filed for Peoria routes in July 1973, was one of these. Four others - Allegheny, Delta, North Central and Southern - were indifferent, but left the door open for future interest. Braniff, Piedmont, TWA and United gave no interest and as of mid-October 1974, American, Eastern, Hughes Airwest, National and Northwest Orient had failed to respond.
Peoria travelers received more good news in November 1974 when Ozark announced the start of one-stop service to Denver's Stapleton International Airport, which provided good connections throughout the Mountain West and to the West Coast. The airline already held one-stop Peoria-Denver route authority since 1966. Then in mid-December 1974, the airline filed for nonstop authority. Interestingly, the Greater Peoria Airport Authority opposed Ozark's Denver service because, it believed, that airline was attempting to prevent Continental Airlines from entering the Peoria market! Nevertheless, New York (LaGuardia)-Washington (Dulles)-Champaign-Peoria-Sioux City-Denver flights began April 1, 1975. Also on that date, Ozark added a daily Peoria-Champaign-New York (LaGuardia) roundtrip.
Ozark's April 1975 timetable shows 28 weekday departures, 18 of these on DC-9s.
MORE DENVER FLIGHTS...AND C.A.B. HEARINGS (FINALLY!)
Ozark added a second Peoria-Sioux City-Denver roundtrip on September 1, 1975. Reduction of East Coast service and other adjustments gave Peoria 27 weekday departures, but 18 of them still flown on DC-9s.
In January 1975, Ozark re-applied for route authority linking Champaign, Peoria and Springfield with Cleveland and Detroit. On April 22 that year, the Civil Aeronautics Board began probing Peoria's air service needs, acting on a petition filed by the Greater Peoria Airport Authority and Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce the prior October. CAB would study the need for new service to Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City and additional flights to Chicago. The agency began formal hearings into expanding Peoria air service on September 17, 1975.
By this time, Peoria had attracted interest from a third carrier. On May 1, 1975, Allegheny Airlines filed for routes from Peoria to Chicago-O'Hare, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit and Kansas City. An August meeting between Airport Director Ron Burling and new airline president Edwin Colodny established Allegheny's desire for Kansas City-Peoria-Cleveland-Pittsburgh-Philadelphia (twice daily) and Peoria-Detroit-Buffalo (one daily) routes.
Predictably, Ozark opposed Allegheny's bid and accused it of filing its application for Peoria routes to solely gain access to Kansas City.
On October 1, 1976 the Civil Aeronautics Board awarded Continental Airlines route authority linking Peoria with Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Kansas City and Los Angeles; approved Ozark's Detroit route, Peoria-Denver nonstops and rejected Allegheny Airlines' bid.
OZARK EXPANDS AGAIN, PEORIA GETS SECOND CARRIER
On December 15, 1976 Ozark Air Lines inaugurated Omaha-Moline-Peoria-Detroit and St. Louis-Springfield-Peoria-Detroit routings, each once daily on DC-9-10s. On February 1, one of two daily Peoria-Sioux City-Denver roundtrips was dropped and replaced by an Indianapolis-Peoria-Denver roundtrip.
Continental Airlines inaugurated Chicago (O'Hare)-Peoria-Kansas City-Los Angeles service on February 28, 1977 with two flights daily in each direction. Boeing 727-200s equipped for 128 seats were assigned to all flights, giving Peoria its first scheduled service with the popular Boeing tri-jet.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES, 1974-1976
Their last official day of operation is unclear, but at the GPAA's November 14, 1973 meeting, it announced the closure of Runways 8-26 and 18-36. The former, slated to become a taxiway, had been unused nearly a year, while the latter had been closed to night operations for three years. PIA simply had no need for four operational runways.
On March 12, 1974 an Ozark Air Lines FH-227 operating a St. Louis-Peoria-Chicago (O'Hare) flight, skidded off the runway due to snow and high winds.
On May 30, 1974, a U. S. Air Force B-57 enroute from Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts to Forbes Field in Topeka, Kansas developed engine problems and made an emergency landing at the Greater Peoria Airport.
On July 13, 1974 an Ozark Air Lines DC-9-30 operating an extra flight to Chicago-O'Hare for Caterpillar vacationers, blew out a tire on takeoff from St. Louis. The plane landed at Peoria safely and 95 passengers were accommodated on later flights.
Peorians mourned the death on August 26, 1974 of aviation pioneer, Charles A. Lindbergh, who helped inaugurated air mail service at the old Kellar Field on April 15, 1926. Lindbergh was 72.
An ad announcing Federal Express' new small package service first appeared in the Peoria Journal Star on Monday, October 21, 1974. One flight brought packages here at 5:15 a.m. and one picked up packages here at 9:15 p. m. The carrier, which began operations from its Memphis hub in April 1973, operated a fleet of Dassault Falcons. An article on the expanding carrier in Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine's July 21, 1975 issue shows a Milwaukee-Peoria-St. Louis-Memphis routing.
At GPAA's January 8, 1975 meeting, officials mentioned the need to widen a taxiway so keep chartered Douglas DC-8s from slipping off the terminal apron on tight turns. Four incidents had occurred to places in the prior two months.
While on the subject of DC-8 charters, a curious incident occurred May 8, 1975 when United Air Lines delayed a Las Vegas charter nine hours. The airline refused to operate an illegal flight when it was learned that many of the 120 passengers waiting to board were not qualified members of an afinity group. The Civil Aeronautics Board gave United a last-minute approval for the charter and a DC-8 was flown to Peoria from Chicago-O'Hare. The flight, which was supposed to depart at 11:00 a.m., actually left at 8:00 p.m.
President Gerald Ford arrived Peoria on Air Force One August 19, 1975 so he could help dedicate the Dirksen Congressional Center in Pekin. The president returned to Peoria on Air Force One March 5, 1976 for a campaign appearance in advance of the March 16 primary election.
On March 25, 1976 an Overseas National Airways DC-8-32 displaying bicentennial colors left Peoria for Washington, DC with Klaus Radio/RCA/Whirlpool dealers aboard. The plane returned here March 28.
During July 18-22, 1976 United Air Lines offered Peorians a Las Vegas charter on a DC-8. American Airlines used a Boeing 707 for a San Francisco/Lake Tahoe charter on July 20-27, 1976.
The next phase in air service expansion began December 9, 1976 when Ozark Air Lines filed for Peoria-Atlanta route authority.
ROUTE MAP, SCHEDULES
The Greater Peoria Airport resumed rapid passenger traffic growth in 1974 when about 334,000* travelers passed through its gates. New Minneapolis/St. Paul, Indianapolis, Louisville and Denver flights no doubt helped increase traffic to 356,000* passengers in 1975, likewise when the airport handled 398,000* passengers in 1976.
*Estimates based on the Illinois Airport Inventory Report 2012.
Schedules below are based on the July 15, 1977 Official Airline Guide - North American Edition. Ozark Air Lines operated 28 weekday departures. Add Continental's four and you have 32 weekday departures, a 25 percent increase over June 1974. Of the 32 departures, 27 were operated with jets!
It should be noted that in 1976, Ozark Air Lines began offering roundtrip, same-plane service between Peoria, St. Louis and Dallas/Ft. Worth. The service was still offered in July 1977. Also noteworthy is that Ozark Air Lines dropped its daily roundtrip between Peoria and Kansas City, most likely due to Continental Airlines' new service. Slow, turboprop FH-227s couldn't compete with Boeing 727-200s.
Ozark's same-plane, twice-daily service to the East Coast, begun in 1969, offered a good alternative to O'Hare, but primarily for origin-and-destination (O&D) passengers.
EXPANSION
The situation changed dramatically on July 1, 1974 when Ozark Air Lines inaugurated its daily Minneapolis/St. Paul-Peoria-Indianapolis-Louisville route using a DC-9. The new service appeared suddenly, with the Peoria Journal Star reporting it three days prior to the inaugural! There were no hearings so it appears the airline was using route authority it had held for years.
At the time, Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport served a metro area of just over 2,000,000 residents. As home base and hub for both Northwest Orient Airlines and North Central Airlines, MSP offered numerous connections, though to mostly domestic points.
Indianapolis' Weir Cook Municipal Airport served a much smaller metro area (1.1 million residents in 1970) and the Indiana capital lacked major hub status, but inter-line connections were possible to American, Delta, Eastern and TWA trunk routes as well as a decent number of points served by Allegheny Airlines. Slightly smaller, Louisville offered connections but nothing that couldn't be found at Chicago-O'Hare, Indianapolis or St. Louis.
On September 25, 1974 the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) lifted its route freeze and began taking new applications. Sen. Adlai Stevenson (D-Illinois) then contacted 14 airlines regarding Peoria service. Continental Airlines, which had filed for Peoria routes in July 1973, was one of these. Four others - Allegheny, Delta, North Central and Southern - were indifferent, but left the door open for future interest. Braniff, Piedmont, TWA and United gave no interest and as of mid-October 1974, American, Eastern, Hughes Airwest, National and Northwest Orient had failed to respond.
Peoria travelers received more good news in November 1974 when Ozark announced the start of one-stop service to Denver's Stapleton International Airport, which provided good connections throughout the Mountain West and to the West Coast. The airline already held one-stop Peoria-Denver route authority since 1966. Then in mid-December 1974, the airline filed for nonstop authority. Interestingly, the Greater Peoria Airport Authority opposed Ozark's Denver service because, it believed, that airline was attempting to prevent Continental Airlines from entering the Peoria market! Nevertheless, New York (LaGuardia)-Washington (Dulles)-Champaign-Peoria-Sioux City-Denver flights began April 1, 1975. Also on that date, Ozark added a daily Peoria-Champaign-New York (LaGuardia) roundtrip.
Ozark's April 1975 timetable shows 28 weekday departures, 18 of these on DC-9s.
MORE DENVER FLIGHTS...AND C.A.B. HEARINGS (FINALLY!)
Ozark added a second Peoria-Sioux City-Denver roundtrip on September 1, 1975. Reduction of East Coast service and other adjustments gave Peoria 27 weekday departures, but 18 of them still flown on DC-9s.
In January 1975, Ozark re-applied for route authority linking Champaign, Peoria and Springfield with Cleveland and Detroit. On April 22 that year, the Civil Aeronautics Board began probing Peoria's air service needs, acting on a petition filed by the Greater Peoria Airport Authority and Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce the prior October. CAB would study the need for new service to Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City and additional flights to Chicago. The agency began formal hearings into expanding Peoria air service on September 17, 1975.
By this time, Peoria had attracted interest from a third carrier. On May 1, 1975, Allegheny Airlines filed for routes from Peoria to Chicago-O'Hare, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit and Kansas City. An August meeting between Airport Director Ron Burling and new airline president Edwin Colodny established Allegheny's desire for Kansas City-Peoria-Cleveland-Pittsburgh-Philadelphia (twice daily) and Peoria-Detroit-Buffalo (one daily) routes.
Predictably, Ozark opposed Allegheny's bid and accused it of filing its application for Peoria routes to solely gain access to Kansas City.
On October 1, 1976 the Civil Aeronautics Board awarded Continental Airlines route authority linking Peoria with Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Kansas City and Los Angeles; approved Ozark's Detroit route, Peoria-Denver nonstops and rejected Allegheny Airlines' bid.
OZARK EXPANDS AGAIN, PEORIA GETS SECOND CARRIER
On December 15, 1976 Ozark Air Lines inaugurated Omaha-Moline-Peoria-Detroit and St. Louis-Springfield-Peoria-Detroit routings, each once daily on DC-9-10s. On February 1, one of two daily Peoria-Sioux City-Denver roundtrips was dropped and replaced by an Indianapolis-Peoria-Denver roundtrip.
Continental Airlines inaugurated Chicago (O'Hare)-Peoria-Kansas City-Los Angeles service on February 28, 1977 with two flights daily in each direction. Boeing 727-200s equipped for 128 seats were assigned to all flights, giving Peoria its first scheduled service with the popular Boeing tri-jet.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES, 1974-1976
Their last official day of operation is unclear, but at the GPAA's November 14, 1973 meeting, it announced the closure of Runways 8-26 and 18-36. The former, slated to become a taxiway, had been unused nearly a year, while the latter had been closed to night operations for three years. PIA simply had no need for four operational runways.
On March 12, 1974 an Ozark Air Lines FH-227 operating a St. Louis-Peoria-Chicago (O'Hare) flight, skidded off the runway due to snow and high winds.
On May 30, 1974, a U. S. Air Force B-57 enroute from Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts to Forbes Field in Topeka, Kansas developed engine problems and made an emergency landing at the Greater Peoria Airport.
On July 13, 1974 an Ozark Air Lines DC-9-30 operating an extra flight to Chicago-O'Hare for Caterpillar vacationers, blew out a tire on takeoff from St. Louis. The plane landed at Peoria safely and 95 passengers were accommodated on later flights.
Peorians mourned the death on August 26, 1974 of aviation pioneer, Charles A. Lindbergh, who helped inaugurated air mail service at the old Kellar Field on April 15, 1926. Lindbergh was 72.
An ad announcing Federal Express' new small package service first appeared in the Peoria Journal Star on Monday, October 21, 1974. One flight brought packages here at 5:15 a.m. and one picked up packages here at 9:15 p. m. The carrier, which began operations from its Memphis hub in April 1973, operated a fleet of Dassault Falcons. An article on the expanding carrier in Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine's July 21, 1975 issue shows a Milwaukee-Peoria-St. Louis-Memphis routing.
At GPAA's January 8, 1975 meeting, officials mentioned the need to widen a taxiway so keep chartered Douglas DC-8s from slipping off the terminal apron on tight turns. Four incidents had occurred to places in the prior two months.
While on the subject of DC-8 charters, a curious incident occurred May 8, 1975 when United Air Lines delayed a Las Vegas charter nine hours. The airline refused to operate an illegal flight when it was learned that many of the 120 passengers waiting to board were not qualified members of an afinity group. The Civil Aeronautics Board gave United a last-minute approval for the charter and a DC-8 was flown to Peoria from Chicago-O'Hare. The flight, which was supposed to depart at 11:00 a.m., actually left at 8:00 p.m.
President Gerald Ford arrived Peoria on Air Force One August 19, 1975 so he could help dedicate the Dirksen Congressional Center in Pekin. The president returned to Peoria on Air Force One March 5, 1976 for a campaign appearance in advance of the March 16 primary election.
On March 25, 1976 an Overseas National Airways DC-8-32 displaying bicentennial colors left Peoria for Washington, DC with Klaus Radio/RCA/Whirlpool dealers aboard. The plane returned here March 28.
During July 18-22, 1976 United Air Lines offered Peorians a Las Vegas charter on a DC-8. American Airlines used a Boeing 707 for a San Francisco/Lake Tahoe charter on July 20-27, 1976.
The next phase in air service expansion began December 9, 1976 when Ozark Air Lines filed for Peoria-Atlanta route authority.
ROUTE MAP, SCHEDULES
The Greater Peoria Airport resumed rapid passenger traffic growth in 1974 when about 334,000* travelers passed through its gates. New Minneapolis/St. Paul, Indianapolis, Louisville and Denver flights no doubt helped increase traffic to 356,000* passengers in 1975, likewise when the airport handled 398,000* passengers in 1976.
*Estimates based on the Illinois Airport Inventory Report 2012.
Schedules below are based on the July 15, 1977 Official Airline Guide - North American Edition. Ozark Air Lines operated 28 weekday departures. Add Continental's four and you have 32 weekday departures, a 25 percent increase over June 1974. Of the 32 departures, 27 were operated with jets!
It should be noted that in 1976, Ozark Air Lines began offering roundtrip, same-plane service between Peoria, St. Louis and Dallas/Ft. Worth. The service was still offered in July 1977. Also noteworthy is that Ozark Air Lines dropped its daily roundtrip between Peoria and Kansas City, most likely due to Continental Airlines' new service. Slow, turboprop FH-227s couldn't compete with Boeing 727-200s.
- David P. Jordan
Thank you so much, very interesting. I think the PIA-DEN flight at 0812 came in from IND, but I am not sure. It shows the PIA-DEN flight at 0812 as not coming in from anywhere, but I think it came in from IND.
ReplyDeleteI can see why AL was rejected. Cant really support 4 daily flights to MCI (2 on CO and 2 on AL), which would leave AL with only PIA-DTW-BUF. So mine as well reject it. Ozark was also quite predatory in trying to keep other carriers out. Great job overall...next up deregulation and a bunch of new airlines.
Hi Bobloblaw,
DeleteYou're correct about the IND-PIA-DEN routing. I used military time, and put 1954 hours on the original spreadsheet, when it should have been 0754 hours. Correction made.
Not to be too picky, but does the 950 from ORD FH227 continue to STL at 1015? Otherwise there is a imbalance in FK7s in PIA. And the 2227 FH227 to CMI doesnt seem to come from anywhere. Sorry to be so picky. Great job so though.
ReplyDeleteCorrections made. The FH-227 arriving from ORD should have been at 2215 rather than 1015. I mistakenly labeled the 0950 arrival from ORD as an FH-227 which should have been a DC-9-30.
Delete