Looking Back: 50 Years Of ATW Award Recipients, Key Industry Events

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First issue of ATW,  May 1964

ATW, which has been publishing a monthly magazine since 1964, began recognizing airlines for their industry achievements in 1974, with United Airlines named as the first Airline of the Year. Since then, hundreds of airlines, manufacturers, companies and individuals have walked across the stage at what many in the industry today call the “Oscars” of the airline industry.

As we look to 2024, and as a run-up to our 50th year of recognizing industry achievements on May 31, 2024, we invite you to look back with us on the Awards and key aviation events ATW has covered over the past 50 years, which we will present 10 years at a time over the next several issues.

Winston Church is quoted as saying, “The longer you can look back, the further forward you can look.” What we learned from looking back into our archives is that aviation has been amazingly resilient as it has dealt with repeated challenges over the years, including US deregulation, global economic uncertainty, rising fuel prices, cost-cutting measures, and declining and rising demand—many of the same issues the industry deals with today. Sustainability issues—from cutting emissions and noise, and even an early experiment into hydrogen-electric aircraft—have been on the industry’s agenda for years as new aircraft with more fuel-efficient and quieter engines and technologies were developed.

Hopefully, this review on key aviation events through ATW’s archives will cause the industry to keep looking “further forward” to the next-generation of industry achievements. It is sure to be a great ride. 

Aircraft
1974 Airline of the Year: United Airlines. United Airlines was the recipient of ATW’s inaugural Airline of the Year Award in 1974, which was not covered in the magazine. However, this was the first year the Chicago-based airline’s livery changed from the Friendship livery to the Saul Bass Tulip. 
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1975 Airline of the Year: Pan American, for fighting back from the brink of bankruptcy in 1975 and “cutting so deeply” into its prior-year losses. 
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1976 Airline of the Year: Air France and British Airways, for launching supersonic airline service. 
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1977 Airline of the Year: Delta Air Lines, for achieving a $100-million-plus profit for 1977, an “all-time record” in the airline world and Delta’s 30th consecutive annual profit.
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1978 Airline of the Year: Swissair, for excellent performance over many years and for being the launch customer for the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50 and DC-9-80. Swissair also urged Airbus to launch the A310.
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1979 Airline of the Year: Republic Airlines, which was created from a merger between Southern Airways and North Central Airlines to meet the challenges of the 1980s.
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1980 Airline of the Year: Japan Airlines, for its “superb” blending of technical innovation and competence with outstanding service to its customers.
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1981 Airline of the Year: American Airlines, for being a “leading force” among US trunkline carriers,“ overcoming severe challenges resulting from deregulation.”
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1982 Airline of the Year: Lufthansa German Airlines, for “consistent high quality passenger and cargo service,” ranking 10th in passengers carried, 13th in RPKs and 5th in freight traffic in 1981. Lufthansa was also singled out for its dedication to advanced technology and its application to the airline industry, which was demonstrated in its fleet modernization program. 
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1983 Airline of the Year: Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), for its many innovations and quality passenger service, financial turnaround, technical management and market development as the “revitalized airline displayed considerable innovation in its quest for dominance in the business-class markets both within Europe and across the Atlantic.” 

KEY EVENTS

May 1964: North Atlantic traffic up 680% since 1950, 14-year study showed. 

January 1974: Australian flag carrier Qantas (an acronym for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services) made the transition to mass transportation.

EVENT
April 1974: UK-based British Airways was formed out of a merger between British Overseas Airways Corp. (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA). 

June 1974: Nine airlines were expected to operate various versions of the Boeing 747 freighter by year-end. They were Air Canada, Air France, American Airlines, the Flying Tiger Line, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Seaboard World Airlines and two unidentified airlines.

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August 1974: The first Farnborough International Airshow was held Sept. 2-8, 1974. It was billed as the “first fully international UK aerospace exposition.”

August 1975: Automated check-in was gaining popularity as an ATW article on Western Airlines (acquired by Delta Air Lines in 1987) said the station-oriented computer terminal system was “proving to be flexible and efficient.” It stated: “Computer preparation of tickets is planned next, along with through seat selection for multi-leg flights. Possibilities for the future include baggage tag and boarding pass printing, although the economics of such additions are being evaluated in the light of forecasts of future traffic volumes and the cost-effectiveness of such automation.” 

September 1975: Airline executives attending the IATA AGM in Oslo faced the industry’s “bleakest outlook” that included worldwide inflation that stemmed from tripling fuel costs, resulting in declining traffic.

EVENT AD
November 1975: The Concorde, which made its first transatlantic crossing on Sept. 26, 1973, was planned to inaugurate its first scheduled supersonic passenger service Jan. 21, 1976—British Airways initially flying it from London to Bahrain and Air France flying it from Paris to Rio de Janeiro.

February 1976: The 22,000-lb. thrust CFM56 high-technology fan engine passed the 1,000-hr. test point. The rapid rise in airline jet fuel costs was making new technology engines a “must, not just a wish.” 

January 1977: Meal service spending: An ATW survey showed carriers had begun to shift to an emphasis toward snacks and other more economical forms of inflight food. In 1975, the per-meal cost average was nearly $3.50; in 1976, it was $2.80.

July 1978: It was predicted that airlines could face up to $10 billion in costs to comply with the 1985 US deadline on aircraft engine noise and proposed US engine emission laws.

September 1978: Merger fever began to sweep the US. Potential mergers included: Continental-Western, North Central-Southern, National-Pan Am-Texas International, and Seaboard World-Flying Tigers.

November 1978: Airbus was gearing up to start production on the 200-seat A310 in March 1979.

EVENT AD
December 1978: The Boeing 757 was in development, with promises to be the “best bet for reducing costs in shorter-range markets.”

April 1979: Digital avionics systems were beginning to appear in the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-80, the Boeing 757 and 767 to ease cockpit workload.

June 1981: Simulators were saving airlines $138 million a year, an ATW survey found, and savings were expected to increase rapidly as fuel prices increased and FAA approved more simulator training for pilots. 

August 1981: Ancillary revenues were becoming a significant source of income for global airlines, an ATW survey revealed, with reported earnings of more than $2.45 billion from ancillary activities in 1980.

EVENT AD
September 1981: Boeing rolled out the first 767 on Aug. 4, 1981, ushering in a new era of aircraft “designed chiefly to provide airlines with improved fuel economics.” First delivery was due in August 1982. The 767 program was launched in July 1978 when United Airlines placed an order for 30 of the type. 

March 1982: The Boeing 757, which rolled out Jan. 13, 1982, made its first flight Feb. 19, 1982. 

EVENT AD
April 1982: Airbus rolled out the A310, which had one side painted in Swissair colors and the other in Lufthansa colors, representing the two launch customers. At the time of the rollout, Airbus had 88 firm orders for the new 210-seat twin aisle, with 90 options, from 14 airlines.

October 1982: Boeing rolled out the 747-300 on Sept. 21, 1982, and delivered it on March 5, 1983, to Swissair, which ordered five of the type for $550 million at list prices.

ADVERTISING IN ATW

AD
May 1964: United Airlines. “United Air Lines? I’m going on a trip and I have a slight problem ... How do I take my bass viola along?”
AD
April 1974: General Electric. “Fuel shortage? This CF6 engine is saving fuel at the rate of 20,000,000 gallons a year.”
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June 1974: Concorde. “Soon there will be only two kinds of airlines…those with Concorde and those which take twice as long.”
AD
May 1975: Playboy. “The 3 billion dollar sure thing—He’s the man who reads Playboy. And he buys at least that much in airline tickets every year. Of all men under 50 who took a business air trip last year, nearly 30% are Playboy readers.” 
AD
September 1974: Airbus A300. “The right plane for today’s economics,” that included “soaring fuel prices, spiraling inflation, high interest costs and environmental considerations.”
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January 1976: Boeing. Most popular family in the sky.
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August 1978: CFM International. “The CFM56 Engine—the right way to meet noise regulations and combat rising fuel prices.”
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March 1982: ATR 42. The new regional transport aircraft. “The fuel-saving ATR 42 is a 42/49 seat transport powered by two Pratt & Whitney Aircraft of Canada PW 100/2 advanced-technology turboprops.”
Linda Blachly

Linda Blachly is Senior Associate Editor for Air Transport World and Aviation Week. She joined the company in July 2010 and is responsible for producing features for Air Transport World’s monthly magazine and engaging content for the aviationweek.com. She is based in the Washington DC office.