Peoria Station

Few if anyone knew it at the time, but Federal regulation of scheduled airline service in the United States began unraveling in the late 1960s. Since 1938, when Congress created the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), airline fare and route changes were subject to federal approval. In 1968, the Civil Aeronautics Board ruled that airline fare changes must be systemwide rather than on select routes. Subsequent price reductions were rare, leaving flight frequency and onboard service as the only tools available to attract passengers. Consequentially, these practices created overcapacity with many flights operating half-full. The trouble with CAB's inflexible regulations became apparent during an eleven-month recession which began in December 1969.  The Greater Peoria Airport saw a slight dip in passenger traffic during 1970, but this was attributable less to recession than to a week-long Ozark Air Lines mechanics' strike in April 1970. About 275,000 passengers were handled that...

In the last post in this series, we looked at Ozark Air Lines' growth at Peoria and the prospect for jet service. In December 1965, DeWitt Collins announced his retirement as airport director, a position in which he had served since 1948. His successor, Thomas Schepke, serving as assistant director since 1950, assumed the director's job in March 1966. Ron Burling was hired in May to assist Schepke.  Among Schepke's duties was to prepare for the inauguration of PIA's first turbojet service on Ozark Air Lines' DC-9s and help manage airport expansion. Extension of Runway 4-22 by 1,000 feet to the northeast required closure of Airport Road north of its intersection with Harmon Highway. A 525 foot southwest extension was planned, giving the runway 5,202 feet. Eventually, this was increased to 5,700 feet by adding 600 feet to the northeast extension, and cutting the southwest extension to 500 feet. Initial GPAA approval for the project came in late-December 1966....