Another Defunct Angie’s List

[bcla]

PSA was great in the 1970's and 1980's. No reservation needed. My company used to buy books of 20 tickets, you'd just walk up to the counter and rip a ticket out of the book and they would put you on the next flight. At one point in 1980 I was doing 3 roundtrips a week between Sacramento and Los Angeles for business.
I would also add Western......Hughes Airwest........to the list. Western Airlines big sales pitch was free champagne on every flight.

That was back at a time when anyone could pass through security without being IDed and without a boarding pass. I even heard of a few airlines where one could get on a plane and pay for a trip from a flight attendant with a credit card. Those were the days.

Heck - it used to be OK to get past security with a blade as long as it was less than 4 inches long. I took a few pocket knives with me on planes and in clear sight of security. I distinctly remember some comic book scene at an airport where there some discussion of Wolverine's claws since they're longer than 4 inches, but where he claims that they're medical devices buried in his body and thus exempt. They're detected by the metal detector (obviously along with his metal-infused skeleton) and he then shoves his arm in the X-ray machine to show that his blades are buried in his body.

 

[bcla]

Maybe I'm late to the party, but why did 'Angie's list' change their name to just 'Angie'? I liked the old name since it implied it was a 'list' of something (i.e. home repair/maintenance/etc.).........which seems a lot clearer to me then the new name.

It's actually "Angi" now. Not sure what the deal was with dropping the E other than the website name was available.

 

[jujubiee4]

I'm still mourning Virgin America. Love their direct flights. Comfortable seats. Love their service and the
way they fawned over my kids when we were seated. I use to be able to book it and relax.

Kind of the way WDW use to be. lol

 

[_19disnA]

I was referring more to them dropping the word 'list' from their title. With or without the 'e' not sure what this change accomplishes.

 

[Micca]

***** Shuttle

I was trying to figure this one out, then I see another poster spell it out. But just for a moment, I thought "Wow, I can't believe they ever used that word in the name of an airline!"

 

[tvguy]

That was back at a time when anyone could pass through security without being IDed and without a boarding pass.

There was no security to pass through. Everyone and anyone could go right to the gate. I remember walking my now wife right to the gate in January 1981 for a flight, and meeting her at the gate when she returned.
I actually worked "security" at Sacramento Airport 1973-1975 while a member of the Sheriff's Department Explorer post. Most nights "security" was ONE Deputy Sheriff on site. During the day it was 4 deputies, with one in the office, one walking the airport, and 2 doing parking enforcement.

 

[tvguy]

It's actually "Angi" now. Not sure what the deal was with dropping the E other than the website name was available.

Angie sold out and the new owners felt the need to change the name.

 

[bcla]

There was no security to pass through. Everyone and anyone could go right to the gate. I remember walking my now wife right to the gate in January 1981 for a flight, and meeting her at the gate when she returned.
I actually worked "security" at Sacramento Airport 1973-1975 while a member of the Sheriff's Department Explorer post. Most nights "security" was ONE Deputy Sheriff on site. During the day it was 4 deputies, with one in the office, one walking the airport, and 2 doing parking enforcement.

I had a relative who was a travel agent who often met large groups at airports and I got to tag along. I distinctly remember going through SFO in the 70s and 80s and they at least had metal detectors. This says that metal detectors were required by the FAA starting in 1973.

https://www.ibm.com/blogs/systems/a...line-security-hijackings-and-metal-detectors/​

Starting January 5, 1973, the FAA instituted universal physical screening of passengers, and everyone had to pass through metal detectors and have their bags searched. In 1974, the Air Transportation Security Act sanctioned the FAA’s universal screening rule, forcing U.S. airports to adopt metal-detection screening portals for passengers and X-ray inspection systems for carry-on bags.​

 

[tvguy]

I had a relative who was a travel agent who often met large groups at airports and I got to tag along. I distinctly remember going through SFO in the 70s and 80s and they at least had metal detectors. This says that metal detectors were required by the FAA starting in 1973.

https://www.ibm.com/blogs/systems/a...line-security-hijackings-and-metal-detectors/​

Starting January 5, 1973, the FAA instituted universal physical screening of passengers, and everyone had to pass through metal detectors and have their bags searched. In 1974, the Air Transportation Security Act sanctioned the FAA’s universal screening rule, forcing U.S. airports to adopt metal-detection screening portals for passengers and X-ray inspection systems for carry-on bags.​

Well, I was working Security at SMF in 1975 and there were none there at that time.

 

[Lumpy1106]

First airline I ever flew on was PSA.
Remember World Airlines? My family took annual trips to Hawaii when I was a kid and almost always flew on World.
I do miss America West. If you fly on American and find yourself on a layover in Phoenix it's because that was America West's hub and American bought America West and kept the routes.

 

[RedAngie]

That was back at a time when anyone could pass through security without being IDed and without a boarding pass. I even heard of a few airlines where one could get on a plane and pay for a trip from a flight attendant with a credit card. Those were the days.

On People Express you paid on the plane. You checked in either at the counter or gate, but the FAs went around and collected payment. More work for them.

PE was probably the first airline where checked baggage and in flight refreshments cost extra. Carry on bags were free and some people would attempt to bring three or four HUGE bags aboard.

I remember the pre 9/11 days when you could just pass thru the metal detectors and wander around to any gate.

First airline I ever flew on was PSA.
Remember World Airlines? My family took annual trips to Hawaii when I was a kid and almost always flew on World.
I do miss America West. If you fly on American and find yourself on a layover in Phoenix it's because that was America West's hub and American bought America West and kept the routes.

When we went to Phoenix in November, we saw a plane with America West livery.

American painted some of their planes in the liveries of airlines they eventually took over: America West, USAir, Piedmont, TWA, and a few others.

 

[bcla]

On People Express you paid on the plane. You checked in either at the counter or gate, but the FAs went around and collected payment. More work for them.

PE was probably the first airline where checked baggage and in flight refreshments cost extra. Carry on bags were free and some people would attempt to bring three or four HUGE bags aboard.

I remember the pre 9/11 days when you could just pass thru the metal detectors and wander around to any gate.

When we went to Phoenix in November, we saw a plane with America West livery.

American painted some of their planes in the liveries of airlines they eventually took over: America West, USAir, Piedmont, TWA, and a few others.

I remember some of the early specials on People Express when they started new routes. They had some cheap fares like Oakland-Brussels one way for $99. And they had first class with real leather seats, but at fairly cheap prices where they then charged a la carte for everything else.

I remember a stand up comedian joking about them. Something about not exactly going to where one wanted. I'm trying to remember the exact joke, but it was like this:

Have you heard of People Express? They take you sort of from where you want to start to sort of where you want to go. So instead of flying you from San Francisco to New York City, they go from Oakland to Newark.​

 

[RedAngie]

I remember some of the early specials on People Express when they started new routes. They had some cheap fares like Oakland-Brussels one way for $99. And they had first class with real leather seats, but at fairly cheap prices where they then charged a la carte for everything else.

I remember a stand up comedian joking about them. Something about not exactly going to where one wanted. I'm trying to remember the exact joke, but it was like this:

Have you heard of People Express? They take you sort of from where you want to start to sort of where you want to go. So instead of flying you from San Francisco to New York City, they go from Oakland to Newark.​

Yes, in major metro areas, People Express usually used close by secondary airports. Sort of how Southwest started and still remains in Dallas and Chicago.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I was trying to figure this one out, then I see another poster spell it out. But just for a moment, I thought "Wow, I can't believe they ever used that word in the name of an airline!"

Some names I self censor.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I have flown on all of these in the past. Now I fly Allegiant the most last few years

TWA
Eastern
Continental
Northwest (Orient)
Allegheny/USAir/US Airways
AirTran

It never ceases to amaze me that Allegiant has stuck around as long as they have. DW and I have two nick-names for them; The "Ala Carte" airline (because absolutely everything costs extra), and the "Leisure" airline (because they almost never stick to their scheduled flight times). Our best example; we were booked on a flight from Colorado Springs to LAX and it was the first flight of the day on New Years day. We were delayed for about 2 hours because they could not find the pilot or first stewardess. Let that sink in a bit before the next flight you take on Allegiant. Another time we flew to Grand Junction - it got there on time but it took an hour and a half to get our luggage because it was icy outside...in Grand Junction Colorado...in winter...and they were taken by surprise. SMH. They've been around since before Spirit though so credit to them. Needless to say we'll check Allegiant as a last resort, but not my first choice in airlines by a lot.

 

[bcla]

Yes, in major metro areas, People Express usually used close by secondary airports. Sort of how Southwest started and still remains in Dallas and Chicago.

They did full page ads in major newspapers. I distinctly remember one that noted that they basically had a new terminal to themselves at EWR.

 

[AppleDumpling]

So instead of flying you from San Francisco to New York City, they go from Oakland to Newark.

Yes, in major metro areas, People Express usually used close by secondary airports. Sort of how Southwest started and still remains in Dallas and Chicago

Yep, which is why I never flew with them. I’m in New York, and use JFK or LaGuardia all the time, but avoid Newark like the plague. Way too inconvenient from my home on Long Island, involving usual heavy traffic and two major bridge crossings.

 

[bcla]

Yep, which is why I never flew with them. I’m in New York, and use JFK or LaGuardia all the time, but avoid Newark like the plague. Way too inconvenient from my home on Long Island, involving usual heavy traffic and two major bridge crossings.

The strange thing about San Francisco is that often Oakland Airport is more convenient. I remember an ad for OAK that stated that typical taxi times to OAK were faster from downtown San Francisco than they were to SFO, which is located about 12 miles away in San Mateo County.

I've heard Newark isn't really all that bad for business travelers in Manhattan.

 

[RedAngie]

They did full page ads in major newspapers. I distinctly remember one that noted that they basically had a new terminal to themselves at EWR.

People Express more or less had a terminal to themselves at Newark, but it was far from new. They used the original EWR terminal that was probably built in the 1940s and abandoned in the early 70s.

It was cramped and horribly out of date. Most gates didn’t have jet bridges, you had to go outside to board. It had few restaurants and other services.

One thing I did like was when returning to EWR, they often opened the back stairs in the tail of a 727 for deboarding.

Supposedly for the Wall Street area of Manhattan, EWR is the area’s most convenient airport.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I've heard Newark isn't really all that bad for business travelers in Manhattan.

Could be, but I’d say that’s debatable. Depends on where you’re staying and other variables. From midtown Manhattan, LaGuardia is technically the closest. JFK and Newark are further away by about the same distance, but JFK is easier to get to using public transportation.