Southern Airways was founded by
Frank Hulse and Ike Jones in 1944, followed by its first flight in 1949. As a local service carrier, Southern Airways covered the south-central U.S. In 1955, their network spanned from
Memphis south to
New Orleans and east to Charlotte and Jacksonville. In August 1953, Southern flew to 29 airports and in August 1967 to 50. Like other local-service airlines, Southern was subsidized; in 1962, its operating "revenues" of $14.0 million included $5.35 million "Pub. serv. rev." In May 1968, Southern's routes extended from
Tri-Cities in Tennessee south to New Orleans and
Jacksonville, and east from
Baton Rouge and
Monroe, Louisiana, to the coast at
Myrtle Beach and
Charleston. Later in 1968, a route sprouted northward: three weekday
Douglas DC-9-10s from Columbus, Georgia (CSG) nonstop to Washington Dulles and on to New York LaGuardia. These flights originated at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida (VPS) and also stopped at Dothan, Alabama. Like most local-service airlines, Southern flew only
Douglas DC-3s for the first few years. In 1961, they began adding 22 40-passenger, secondhand
Martin 4-0-4s acquired from
Eastern Air Lines, newer aircraft that were pressurised and had a rear ventral stairway. The last scheduled DC-3 flight was in 1967. Southern's first 65–75-passenger
Douglas DC-9 series 10s arrived in 1967 followed by 85–95-passenger
McDonnell Douglas DC-9 series 30s in 1969. The last scheduled flight by a Martin was on 20 April 1978 from Atlanta to Gadsden, Alabama, and back. Some DC-9s were bought new and some used; the used jets included DC-9-14s from
Delta Air Lines and Eastern Air Lines. Both airlines had purchased these aircraft new from Douglas. Unlike other local-service airlines, Southern did not operate
turboprops (such as the
Convair 580 and
Fairchild F-27 used by other local-service airlines) during the 1960s and 1970s, but by the time of the merger with North Central, Southern had replaced their Martin 4-0-4s with several 19-passenger
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner "Metro II" commuter propjets.
1970s By 1971, Southern was flying to
New York City and
Chicago and south to
Orlando and
Miami.
U.S. government regulation did not allow Southern to fly nonstop from New York or
Washington, DC, to Atlanta, so Southern had nonstops to
Columbus, Georgia, then on to
Dothan, Alabama;
Mobile, Alabama;
Panama City, Florida,
Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; and/or
Gulfport/
Biloxi, Mississippi. Many flights made five or six intermediate stops en route. With more DC-9s, many routes once served with propeller aircraft were served with jets that linked small cities to Atlanta and Memphis: • Columbus, Georgia, to Washington, DC continuing to New York City. •
Meridian, Mississippi, to
Birmingham, Alabama;
Columbus, Mississippi; and Laurel/
Hattiesburg, Mississippi •
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to Atlanta, Georgia, and Columbus, Mississippi • Muscle Shoals/
Florence, Alabama, to
Memphis, Tennessee, and
Huntsville/
Decatur, Alabama, with continuing eastbound service to Atlanta •
Greenville, Mississippi, to Memphis and Monroe, Louisiana, with continuing southbound service to Baton Rouge and New Orleans •
Columbia, South Carolina, to Greenville/
Spartanburg and
Charleston, South Carolina •
Albany, Georgia, to Atlanta, Georgia;
Valdosta, Georgia; Dothan, Alabama; and Columbus, Georgia One DC-9-14 aircraft operated a "
milk run" multistop routing from Miami to Orlando, Tallahassee, Panama City, Eglin AFB, Mobile, Gulfport, New Orleans, Birmingham, Atlanta, Huntsville, Memphis, St Louis, and Chicago Midway. Time en route was 14 hours and 32 minutes. By the mid-1970s, Southern's system had expanded to
St. Louis,
Detroit,
Ft. Lauderdale, and
Grand Cayman in the Caribbean, Southern's only international destination. In 1978 Southern expanded westward from Memphis to
Wichita and
Denver. Southern Airways called itself the "Route of the Aristocrats" and they used the slogan "Nobody's Second Class on Southern" in their 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 hijackings.
Southern Airways Flight 49, a DC-9 en route from Memphis to Miami was hijacked on November 10, 1972, during a stop in Birmingham. The three hijackers boarded the plane 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 they would be able to collect the cash from the Cuban government, so a receivable existed. Southern Airways was repaid $2 million by the Cuban government, which was attempting to improve relations with the United States.
Difficulties and merger in final color scheme at
St Louis in February 1978 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) had put negative impact on the airline's once excellent safety record. Improved
highways including the
interstate freeway system coupled with an increased willingness of passengers to drive to airports farther away for more convenient flights or lower air fares 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. Republic acquired
Hughes Airwest before being acquired in 1986 by
Northwest Airlines, which continued to operate many flights from the former Southern hub in Memphis. Northwest merged into
Delta Air Lines in 2008. ==Destinations==