My dad worked at National Airlines in the 1970s. Looking at the flight map at 2:19, a lot of memories came back from my childhood. My parents, brother and I pass-rode to most of the "outer reaches" of the National Airlines flight system, such as San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. Fun times.
Please find me the year by year record of any annual losses National suffered during the 1970's. The airline was consistently profitable during that period, strikes or no strikes. It also had virtually no debt. NAL was anything but a "troubled" or "failing" airline when Texas Air, Pan Am, and Eastern was fighting over it. In fact that was why they were fighting over it.
Which is the point that I'm trying to make here. Yes, National was quite a successful airline during its time in the sky. Still, during the late 1970s - early 1980s, greed consumed the three airlines, (mainly Pan Am) because, since the Airline Deregulation Act, a select few were now in an awful position (like Pan Am) and couldn't afford to start a domestic route network. Hence, they sought to buy an airline that had good domestic routes. (Personally, Pan Am should've bought Braniff in 1980 since Braniff's rapid success was being turned around and it was only a matter of time before they went out of business. They also had a better domestic route system.)
Everything I've read about Pan Am and this merger said Seawell was a pompous clown who looked down on EVERYONE. Pan Am was really discriminated against after the airline deregulation act of 1978, but they were finally able to buy National, which was a poor choice. Pan Am's pilots got really hosed on the deal and National Pilots made more money. 747 fleets were mechanically different with National using GE engines where Pan Am used Pratt&Whitney.. It was a mess from start to finish.
YES! Seawell {sewerwell}, was a pompous ass, typical General, little man with a Napolean complex who shook hands like a dead fish! I know this, personally! He was the ruination of National and Pan Am! He used PanAm as his own private airline, transporting his domestic help, free, to and from his homes in the Caribbean. With my employee pass priveleges, many times, my husband & I were the only passengers on flights, to and from Etheuthera, Bahamas! The story of Pan Am goes far deeper into the corrupt military and government intervention, that may. or may not, ever come to light! 80 years old now, but pray for total disclosure, before I leave this Earth!
The merger wasnt forced at all. Pan Am got into a bidding war with Eastern and Texas Air, and Sewell couldnt let his ego be bruised so he came out on top as the highest bidder by grossly overpaying for National. Then he spent more money obliterating every last vestige of National. As for National themselves, they made money throughout their history. The only reason they went up for sale is Bud Maytag was tired of fighting with the unions and tired of being in the airline business, as he also owned Frontier Airlines (the original) around that time as well.
Interesting video. Be more studios with your research. The Lockheed 10-Electra and the Stintson were not turboprops. They were piston powered propellor airplanes. There's a big difference. Cheers
Yeah my dad worked for National down in Charleston South Carolina and when they started closing some of the roots he transferred to Detroit pan-am Air Cargo that's when I knew things were getting bad getting bad😢
One more thing. Literally the biggest former asset of NAL still in use today by American Airlines at MIA is the massive NAL hangar, just to the east of Concourse D (formerly called Concourse B). The structure fundamentally has not changed since it went up nearly 50 years ago in 1974. Pretty easy to notice when one is landing or taking off, and easy to spot on Google maps.
My family would visit my Grandparents on National to Sarasota in the 1970's.As a little kid I was excited about flying & their Sun-logos on their beverage-strirers & loved how meals were complimentary. My next door neighbor John Petch supposedly was on the team of engineers who invented the Boeing 747,He worked for Pan Am & I believe retired around 1991 which was good timing.
Poorly informed video. National Airlines did NOT have any debt. Their last airplanes had been paid off. I know, both my parents worked for National. Pan Am had ALL the debt and was poorly managed in the 1970s and 80s. Obviously done by someone who was never around any of this.
Correction: NAL began service to LHR with DC-8-54F equipment, later replaced by the 747-135 and then the DC-10-30. The DC-8-54Fs were leased from Airlift International.
Great vid as always! I used to wonder where Pan Am got their DC-10s until I found out about National. It's a shame their merger led to Pan Am's downfall.
@@douglasdixon524 sorry to hear that bro. Its very sad our fathers & families lost so much becasue of the corrupt mismanagement of Pan Am. National was such a strong and healthy airline and it is a shame it is gone now. And all because of what the top Pan Am management did running the company into the ground and to secure their golden parachutes only to leave the loyal employees with decades of service nothing. To bad this was before the criminal to big to fail garbage we see today. I hope those Pan Am elites get a healthy dose of Karma for what they did.
The leach execs of Pan Am walked away with fat pockets. They mismanaged this merger something terrible. This could have been successful if they played their cards right. Ughhhh!!
My dad worked at National Airlines in the 1970s. Looking at the flight map at 2:19, a lot of memories came back from my childhood. My parents, brother and I pass-rode to most of the "outer reaches" of the National Airlines flight system, such as San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. Fun times.
WELL DONE!!!! I loved both airlines and enjoyed many flighs in both,
Please find me the year by year record of any annual losses National suffered during the 1970's. The airline was consistently profitable during that period, strikes or no strikes. It also had virtually no debt. NAL was anything but a "troubled" or "failing" airline when Texas Air, Pan Am, and Eastern was fighting over it. In fact that was why they were fighting over it.
Which is the point that I'm trying to make here. Yes, National was quite a successful airline during its time in the sky. Still, during the late 1970s - early 1980s, greed consumed the three airlines, (mainly Pan Am) because, since the Airline Deregulation Act, a select few were now in an awful position (like Pan Am) and couldn't afford to start a domestic route network. Hence, they sought to buy an airline that had good domestic routes. (Personally, Pan Am should've bought Braniff in 1980 since Braniff's rapid success was being turned around and it was only a matter of time before they went out of business. They also had a better domestic route system.)
Nice video!
Thanks! :)
The Model 10 was NOT a turboprop! You're confusing the name Electra with the L-188 Electra!!!!
I loved flying NAL!
National and Northwest would have actually been a pretty good combination.
Everything I've read about Pan Am and this merger said Seawell was a pompous clown who looked down on EVERYONE. Pan Am was really discriminated against after the airline deregulation act of 1978, but they were finally able to buy National, which was a poor choice. Pan Am's pilots got really hosed on the deal and National Pilots made more money. 747 fleets were mechanically different with National using GE engines where Pan Am used Pratt&Whitney.. It was a mess from start to finish.
YES! Seawell {sewerwell}, was a pompous ass, typical General, little man with a Napolean complex who shook hands like a dead fish! I know this, personally! He was the ruination of National and Pan Am! He used PanAm as his own private airline, transporting his domestic help, free, to and from his homes in the Caribbean. With my employee pass priveleges, many times, my husband & I were the only passengers on flights, to and from Etheuthera, Bahamas! The story of Pan Am goes far deeper into the corrupt military and government intervention, that may. or may not, ever come to light! 80 years old now, but pray for total disclosure, before I leave this Earth!
The merger wasnt forced at all. Pan Am got into a bidding war with Eastern and Texas Air, and Sewell couldnt let his ego be bruised so he came out on top as the highest bidder by grossly overpaying for National. Then he spent more money obliterating every last vestige of National. As for National themselves, they made money throughout their history. The only reason they went up for sale is Bud Maytag was tired of fighting with the unions and tired of being in the airline business, as he also owned Frontier Airlines (the original) around that time as well.
interesting series
Thank you
Interesting video. Be more studios with your research. The Lockheed 10-Electra and the Stintson were not turboprops. They were piston powered propellor airplanes. There's a big difference. Cheers
Yeah my dad worked for National down in Charleston South Carolina and when they started closing some of the roots he transferred to Detroit pan-am Air Cargo that's when I knew things were getting bad getting bad😢
One more thing. Literally the biggest former asset of NAL still in use today by American Airlines at MIA is the massive NAL hangar, just to the east of Concourse D (formerly called Concourse B). The structure fundamentally has not changed since it went up nearly 50 years ago in 1974. Pretty easy to notice when one is landing or taking off, and easy to spot on Google maps.
My family would visit my Grandparents on National to Sarasota in the 1970's.As a little kid I was excited about flying & their Sun-logos on their beverage-strirers & loved how meals were complimentary. My next door neighbor John Petch supposedly was on the team of engineers who invented the Boeing 747,He worked for Pan Am & I believe retired around 1991 which was good timing.
Poorly informed video. National Airlines did NOT have any debt. Their last airplanes had been paid off. I know, both my parents worked for National. Pan Am had ALL the debt and was poorly managed in the 1970s and 80s. Obviously done by someone who was never around any of this.
Truth.
Correction: NAL began service to LHR with DC-8-54F equipment, later replaced by the 747-135 and then the DC-10-30. The DC-8-54Fs were leased from Airlift International.
Thank you for this information.
Oh my, now I know.
The Lockheed Electra 10 powered by turboprop engines?
No it was a mistake that I made.
Great vid as always! I used to wonder where Pan Am got their DC-10s until I found out about National. It's a shame their merger led to Pan Am's downfall.
There are a lot of things that led to Pan Am's downfall. I hope to someday cover it :)
@@Sideshowbob24 Looking forward to seeing that covered on your channel!
@@RetroAvi8or well I want this vid to be better than any other. Higher quality
PAm Am was the defunct airline not national, National had nothing to do with pam ams downfall but pan am destroyed national. you have it backwards
@@MiiFone1 Thank you, National had paid off their newest airplanes. That's why a bidding war started over them. National was a profitable airline.
Very interesting thx
I Miss the great, colorful and fun airlines like National. 😢😢
I was fleet with NAL from 1974-then PAA till 1985...Tampa and Houston....my dad was a mechanic with Eastern..
National opened service to London with leased DC8-50 equipment. The 747 came later and finally the DC10-30.
Yes they did
can you do a history of Continental airlines?
I can
NATIONAL AIRLINES WAS THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love National Airlines I always full them down to Florida does dc-10s were amazing
Pan Am Assets acquired by Delta along with 6,600 employees.
National Airlines. Airline of the Stars.
Yep.
National was a healthy Airlines that was destroyed by pan am. How do I know because my dad lost nearly his entire pension becasue of pan am
Yeah, Pan Am sealed their own fate, and sorry about your dad.
Same here, my father, a National Airline employee (1950 - 1978) who NEVER worked for Pan Am lost half of his because of crappy leadership at Pan Am.
@@douglasdixon524 sorry to hear that bro. Its very sad our fathers & families lost so much becasue of the corrupt mismanagement of Pan Am. National was such a strong and healthy airline and it is a shame it is gone now. And all because of what the top Pan Am management did running the company into the ground and to secure their golden parachutes only to leave the loyal employees with decades of service nothing. To bad this was before the criminal to big to fail garbage we see today. I hope those Pan Am elites get a healthy dose of Karma for what they did.
The leach execs of Pan Am walked away with fat pockets. They mismanaged this merger something terrible. This could have been successful if they played their cards right. Ughhhh!!
The original Lockheed Electra was not a turboprop powered aircraft.
I missed...
that's ok
National was always profitable! With no debt!!! Bud Maytag new how to run an airline!!! He was an ingenious airline boss!!!!!!!
Wow❤️🔥
Thx!
National Airlines Flight 2511....
Do a story of National Airlines of Las Vegas.
That can be arranged ;)
Do a story on National Airlines based out of Las Vegas, Nevada.
I have been planning to do that
There’s no such pronunciation of profitability as “Profittabikity” it’s pronounced “profit-a-biliry”
I miss Pan Am.