PIA - A History: Events of 1987
Happenings were frequent in 1987, so I'm sticking with analysis-by-year for now. Those late-1986 mergers brought less competition and higher fares into 1987. As a consequence, scheduled flights and passenger traffic decreased. These were good times, however. Let's begin with a rundown of happenings by airline. AMERICAN EAGLE (Simmons Airlines) When 1987 began, this carrier offered six weekday roundtrips between Peoria and Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) and four Peoria-Springfield (SPI) tag-ons. The latter gained a fifth roundtrip on February 2. On March 1, American Eagle eliminated an O'Hare roundtrip, and reduced Springfield tag-ons to four until April 5. Scheduling five ORD-PIA-SPI roundtrips continued to be the norm through November. Until October 1, American Eagle operated a 46-seat ATR-42 on a mid-afternoon turnaround from Chicago-O'Hare. Then on November 1, it resumed use of the French-built turboprop on late-morning turnaround from Chicago-O'Hare. All other