The Airline Time Machine Podcast

Tim Haskin
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The Airline Time Machine Podcast

Tim Haskin has hung around airlines and airports since he was a little kid, and that led to a career with airlines, then in travel technology, time as a private pilot and aircraft owner, an obsession with collecting airline memorabilia, and a deep knowledge of the airline industry and its history.Those many experiences filled his head with a lot of airline stories, but the people around him are tired of hearing about it. The result was Airline Time Machine and a website, social media presence, and now podcast to provide an outlet for the stories of the airlines, the people, the aircraft, and the airports that contributed to our air travel experience today, with new episodes across a wide range of topics each week!

  1. MAR 24

    The Airline Name Code Episode!

    Every airline in the world has a two-character designator code that represents the airline’s name identity across reservation systems, flight information displays, ticketing details, luggage tags, and all of the other places where showing an airline’s full name can be simplified by substituting that recognized designator code. The development of those codes evolves as the early airline industry expands, and airline name codes that, in some cases, have been in use for eighty years, continue to...

    20 min

  2. MAR 6

    Let’s Have a Look! - An Airliner Window History

    Have you ever found yourself looking out of a cabin window on an airliner, and wondered what was keeping you in - and the outside out - during your flight? If you ask an aerospace engineer what their ideal airliner cabin window size and shape is, they might just tell you that the ideal airliner has no cabin windows. They’re a hassle to design and build, and they add to the maintenance and cleaning work required for an airliner. But airlines know that a lot of their customers wouldn’t enjoy fl...

    25 min

  3. FEB 21

    Delta, Detroit, and a Little Bit of Hub History!

    Delta Air Lines has a rich history in the air travel business, and this year is celebrating its one hundredth year of operations. And while a lot of Delta’s story is focused on the southern United States where Delta was founded in Macon, Georgia - a state where Delta is headquartered today - there's another large Delta hub in the eastern half of the U.S. at Detroit. Join me for the story of how an airline from Georgia finds itself with a big hub operation far to the north in Michigan, on the ...

    27 min

  4. FEB 6

    Warren Wheeler and The First Black-owned U.S. Airline

    During the first fifty years of air travel in the United States, the airline industry - as a service provider, and as an employer - is largely focused on White people. Black Americans are usually locked out of many airline jobs until long after the 1940s, and Black households have little exposure to air travel, both because of the high cost, and the segregated nature of many airport facilities. In a 1976 magazine article I found while doing background work for this podcast episode, a Black ai...

    20 min

  5. JAN 29

    Whatever Happened To: AirTran Airways?

    One of the most successful U.S. start-up airlines of the 1990s had six airline brands, and several legal names, involved in just its first four years. Then it settled down to become a nimble competitor, known for low fares, a quality product, cheeky advertising, and a multi-billion dollar business volume that generated a long string of profitable annual results. With this Airline Time Machine podcast we’ll look at the early years of AirTran Airways, its predecessor ValuJet Airlines, and what...

    30 min

  6. JAN 24

    Tickets, Please! - How Airline Tickets Have Evolved

    Airline tickets have changed dramatically over the roughly hundred years of passenger air travel, transforming from a simple paper “proof of purchase” modeled on railroad passenger tickets, to today’s digital transaction and security records. Join me for this look at airline ticket history, and the steps along the way that have been made to ensure that the correct passenger… is on the right airplane… of the proper airline! Send us a text

    33 min

  7. JAN 21

    Food Fight! The Great Transatlantic Sandwich Scuffle

    Before large jet airliners accelerate air travel growth in the late 1950s, flying between continents is an exhausting experience, requiring fifteen hours or more for the flight to New York from Europe. To help travelers pass the time, meal service is a big focus for the airlines, and the cuisine offered is an important way to distinguish an airline from its competitors in an era of tightly regulated airfares. Then, in early 1958, a fierce food fight breaks out between the European and U.S. ai...

    17 min

  8. JAN 7

    The U.S. Local Service Airlines - Air Service Everywhere!

    The growth of the oldest U.S. Trunk or Mainline air carriers after 1945 drives demand for air travel, and new, larger airliners to meet that need. But as the airlines and their aircraft grow, many smaller U.S. cities are in danger of losing their air service because they don't generate enough passenger volume to match the larger and costlier airliners coming on line. The solution is a new category of airline - the Local Service Carriers - licensed by the federal government in the late...

    41 min
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    Ratings & Reviews

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    out of 5
    4 Ratings

    About

    Tim Haskin has hung around airlines and airports since he was a little kid, and that led to a career with airlines, then in travel technology, time as a private pilot and aircraft owner, an obsession with collecting airline memorabilia, and a deep knowledge of the airline industry and its history.Those many experiences filled his head with a lot of airline stories, but the people around him are tired of hearing about it. The result was Airline Time Machine and a website, social media presence, and now podcast to provide an outlet for the stories of the airlines, the people, the aircraft, and the airports that contributed to our air travel experience today, with new episodes across a wide range of topics each week!

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