The 2013 merger of American Airlines and US Airways marked a major step in the consolidation of the U.S. airline industry. A young management team that began plotting mergers a decade earlier designed a brilliant strategy to seize an industry prize. In doing so, it enlisted the help of unions who engineered one of the labor movement's biggest corporate victories. The airlines' histories and the inside story of the takeover is told by two veteran airline reporters.

More than 500 different airlines with over five aircraft with more than 19 seats are covered in this book. They are listed alphabetically under their respective nationality, with a brief history of each airline. There are illustrations of tailplane logos and details of route destinations.

Using the words of its own people, this intriguing book provides an in-depth look at the incredibly successful airline that changed the rules of the game with a no-frills business model and innovative corporate culture. Southwest Airlines turns in-depth interviews with the company's leaders, managers, employees, and passengers into a powerful case study of this highly successful, game-changing business. Ranging from the early days of the company to the present, the book covers the history of the airline and its founders, while also detailing the unique corporate culture that attracts employees and passengers alike. Throughout its history, Southwest has championed a culture that puts employees first, creating a productive workforce by hiring for "attitude before aptitude" (because skills can be taught) and allowing employees to be themselves at work. The founders' philosophies of "servant leadership" and a "fun-LUVing" attitude continue to attract employees and influence the company's daily work today. In detailing the airline's inner workings in the words of its own people, this book shows other companies how they can emulate Southwest's powerful business model and strategies, as well as its hiring practices and corporate culture.

The history of US Airways begins in 1939 as All American Aviation, flying single-engine Stinson Reliant aircraft to carry mail under a contract by the US Postal Service. By 1953, All American became Allegheny Airlines with the goal to become one of America's premier airlines in the East. Allegheny grew by acquiring other airlines, the first being Lake Central Airlines in 1968, followed by Mohawk Airlines in 1972. In 1979, Allegheny became US Air to reflect the airline's desire to grow to the West Coast; this was followed by merging with PSA in 1988, Piedmont in 1989, Trump Shuttle in 1992, and America West in 2005. US Airways is now the fifth-largest airline in the United States, operating more than 2,000 flights daily. This book tells the story of the many men and women who transformed a small regional airline to become one of America's great success stories.

For more than 40 years the Historic Documents series has made primary source research easy by presenting excerpts from documents on the important events of each year for the United States and the world. Each volume includes approximately 70 events with well over 100 documents from the previous year, from official or other influential reports and surveys, to speeches from leaders and opinion makers, to court cases, legislation, testimony, and much more. Historic Documents is renowned for the well written and informative background, history, and context it provides for each document. The 2013 volume will begin with an insightful essay that sets the year’s events in context, and each document or group of documents is preceded by a comprehensive introduction that provides background information on the event. Full-source citations are provided. Readers have easy access to material through a detailed, thematic table of contents and a cumulative five-year index that directs them to related material in earlier volumes.

Founded by Thomas H. Davis in 1948, Piedmont Airlines was one of the most respected regional airlines of its time. This exhaustive history follows the airline from its humble beginnings at Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to its 1989 absorption into USAir after a buyout at the highest price ever commanded by a regional airline. Drawing upon corporate documents, local news stories, and countless personal interviews with former Piedmont employees, the author tells the airline's history in detail. Nearly 100 photographs show the airline's development, and two appendices provide comprehensive lists of its fleet and service destinations. Fully indexed.

"A lively, unexpected portrait of the jet-age stewardesses serving on iconic Pan Am airways between 1966 and 1975"--