Southern Airways was a regional airline
operating in the United States from its founding
by Frank Hulse in 1949 until 1979 when it merged
with North Central Airlines to become Republic
Airlines, which on October 1, 1986, became part
of Northwest Airlines, which in 2008 became a
part of Delta Air Lines. Southern was
headquartered at William B. Hartsfield Airport,
near Atlanta.
Southern Airways was the Local Service airline
covering the south-central U.S. In 1955 routes
spanned from Memphis south to New Orleans and
east to Charlotte and Jacksonville.
By 1968 Southern's route system extended from
its most northerly stop at the Tri-Cities
regional airport in Tennessee south to New
Orleans and Jacksonville. At the west edge of
Southern's route system were Baton Rouge and
Monroe, Louisiana. Routes extended east to the
Atlantic Ocean at Myrtle Beach and Charleston.
Like most other Local Service airlines Southern
flew only Douglas DC-3s for its first few years;
it began acquiring 40-passenger secondhand
Martin 4-0-4 piston airliners from Eastern Air
Lines in 1961 and its last DC-3 was retired in
1967. The first 65-75 passenger Douglas DC-9-10s
arrived in 1967 and 85-95 passenger DC-9-30s in
1969. Some of these were bought new from the
manufacturer. Unlike other local service
airlines Southern did not use turboprop aircraft
in the 1960s, but by the time of the North
Central merger Southern had replaced its Martins
with a small fleet of 19-passenger Fairchild
Metro II turboprop airliners.
By 1971 Southern was operating flights into New
York City and Chicago and as far south as
Orlando and Miami. Because U.S. government
regulation of airline routes prohibited Southern
from operating flights from New York or
Washington, D.C. nonstop to Atlanta, Southern
had multiple daily flights from New York and
Washington nonstop to Columbus, Georgia, then on
to Dothan, Alabama; Mobile, Alabama; Panama
City, Florida, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida;
and/or Gulfport/Biloxi, Mississippi. Southern
remained a regional airline in character with
many flights scheduled with up to five or six
stops.
With increasing acquisitions of DC-9 jet
aircraft, many routes once served with
propeller-driven aircraft were served with jets.
Jet flights linked small cities to hubs at
Atlanta and Memphis, sometimes with multiple
stops. None of these routes is served with
full-size jet aircraft as of 2011. Some of these
airports no longer have scheduled airline
service.
By
the mid-1970s Southern's route system had expanded to
St. Louis, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale and Grand Cayman,
Southern's only international destination. Southern
Airways billed itself as the "Route of the Aristocrats."
and used the slogan "Nobody's Second Class on Southern"
in its television commercials. They were famous for
their promotional shot glasses: for a time, differently
designed shot glasses were issued each year. Original
Southern shot glasses are valued by collectors of
airline memorabilia.During the early 1970s,
before strict airport security was implemented across
the United States, several airlines experienced
hijacking incidents. One such incident occurred on
November 10, 1972, when Southern Airways Flight 49, a
Southern Airways DC-9 en route from Memphis to Miami was
hijacked during a stopover in Birmingham, Alabama.
The three hijackers boarded the plane in Birmingham
armed with handguns and hand grenades. At gunpoint, the
hijackers took the airplane, the plane’s crew of four,
and 27 passengers to nine American cities, Toronto, and
eventually to Havana, Cuba. During the long flight the
hijackers threatened to crash the plane into the Oak
Ridge, Tennessee, nuclear facilities, insisted on
talking with President Richard Nixon, and demanded a
ransom of $10 million. Southern Airways was only able to
come up with $2 million. Eventually the pilot talked the
hijackers into settling for the $2 million when the
plane landed in Chattanooga for refueling. Upon landing
in Havana the Cuban authorities arrested the hijackers
and, after a brief delay, sent the plane, passengers,
and crew back to the United States. The hijackers and $2
million stayed in Cuba.
Southern Airways accounted for the $2 million by
debiting it to an account entitled “Hijacking
Payment.” This account was reported as a type of
receivable under “other assets” on Southern’s
balance sheet. The company maintained that it
would be able to collect the cash from the Cuban
government and that, therefore, a receivable
existed. Southern Airways was repaid $2 million
by the Cuban government, which was attempting to
improve relations with the United States.
By the late 1970s, Southern Airways began to
experience difficulties. Two fatal accidents
Southern Airways Flight 932 November 14, 1970
and Southern Airways Flight 242 April 4, 1977
blighted the airline's otherwise excellent
safety record. Improved highways and an
increasing willingness among passengers to drive
to airports farther away for more convenient
flights made many of Southern's routes obsolete.With
dramatic increases in the price of jet fuel in
the 1970s, many of Southern's routes were no
longer cost-effective. On July 1, 1979, Southern
merged with North Central Airlines to form
Republic Airlines and the "Route of the
Aristocrats" came to an end.
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