Southern Airways was a
regional airline (known at the time as a "local-service air carrier" as designated by the federal
Civil Aeronautics Board
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1938 and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services including scheduled passenger airline serviceStringer, David H."Non-Skeds: T ...
) in the United States, from its founding by
Frank Hulse Frank Wilson Hulse, III (1913 – 1992), founder and former chairman of Southern Airways. He is a member of the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.
References
External links Southern Airways employees website
1913 births
1992 deaths
20th-cen ...
in 1949 until 1979, when it merged with
North Central Airlines
North Central Airlines was a regional airline in the Midwestern United States. Founded as Wisconsin Central Airlines in 1944 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, the company moved to Madison in 1947. This is also when the "Herman the duck" logo was bo ...
to become
Republic Airlines
Republic Airlines was an American airline formed by the merger of North Central Airlines and Southern Airways on July 1, 1979. Their headquarters were at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, in what is now Fort Snelling, Minnesota, Fort ...
. Southern's corporate headquarters were in Birmingham, with operations headquartered at
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , also known as Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport, Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield, Hartsfield–Jackson and, formerly, as the Atlanta Municipal Airport, is the primary internatio ...
, near Atlanta.
History
As a local-service airline, Southern Airways covered the south-central U.S. In 1955, their network spanned from
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
south to
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
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
, and east from
Baton Rouge and
Monroe, Louisiana, to the coast at
Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...
and
Charleston. Later in 1968, a route sprouted northward: three weekday
Douglas DC-9-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
After ...
s 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 4-0-4
The Martin 4-0-4 was an American pressurized passenger airliner built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. In addition to airline use initially in the United States, it was used by the United States Coast Guard and United States Navy as the RM-1G ( ...
s 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
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
* Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...
DC-9
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
After ...
series 10s arrived in 1967 followed by 85–95-passenger
McDonnell Douglas DC-9
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
Afte ...
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
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...
and Eastern Air Lines. Both airlines had purchased these aircraft new from Douglas. Unlike other local-service airlines, Southern did not operate
turboprop
A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...
s (such as the
Convair 580
The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...
and
Fairchild F-27
The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 were versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined turboprop passenger aircraft manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to the standa ...
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
The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild Aircraft at a plant in San ...
"Metro II"s.
1970s
![Douglas DC-9-10 N92S Southern ATL 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Douglas_DC-9-10_N92S_Southern_ATL_06.10.73.jpg)
By 1971, Southern was flying to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
and south to
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
and
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
.
U.S. government regulation did not allow Southern to fly nonstop from New York or
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, to Atlanta, so Southern had nonstops to
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...
, then on to
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner ...
;
Mobile, Alabama;
Panama City, Florida
Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn ...
,
Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). Th ...
; and/or
Gulfport/
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...
. 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
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
;
Columbus, Mississippi; and Laurel/
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
*
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population o ...
, to Atlanta, Georgia, and Columbus, Mississippi
*Muscle Shoals/
Florence, Alabama, to
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, and
Huntsville
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...
/
Decatur, Alabama
Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler La ...
, with continuing eastbound service to Atlanta
*
Greenville, Mississippi
Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta.
H ...
, to Memphis and Monroe, Louisiana, with continuing southbound service to Baton Rouge and New Orleans
*
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...
, to Greenville/
Spartanburg
Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Offi ...
and
Charleston, South Carolina
*
Albany, Georgia
Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia m ...
, to Atlanta, Georgia;
Valdosta, Georgia
Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457.
Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in 2021 had ...
; Dothan, Alabama; and Columbus, Georgia
One DC-9-14 aircraft operated a "
milk run
The phrase milk run originated in World War II, when United States Army Air Corps and Royal Air Force aircrews used it to describe a mission with little danger.
Other sources show the term "milk run" to be in use in rural areas of the American Upp ...
" 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
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
,
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Ft. Lauderdale, and
Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles (1 ...
in the Caribbean, Southern's only international destination. In 1978 Southern expanded westward from Memphis to
Wichita and
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
.
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 glass
A shot glass is a glass originally designed to hold or measure spirits or liquor, which is either imbibed straight from the glass ("a shot") or poured into a cocktail ("a drink"). An alcoholic beverage served in a shot glass and typically cons ...
es: 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
The hijacking of Southern Airways Flight 49 started on November 10, 1972 in Birmingham, Alabama, stretching over 30 hours, three countries, and , not ending until the next evening in Havana, Cuba. Three men, Melvin Cale, Louis Moore, and Henry D. ...
, 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
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, and eventually to
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , 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
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, 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
![Douglas DC-9-14 N3309L SO STL 19](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Douglas_DC-9-14_N3309L_SO_STL_19.02.78_edited-3.jpg)
By the late 1970s, Southern Airways began to experience difficulties. Two fatal accidents (See
Southern Airways Flight 932
Southern Airways Flight 932 was a chartered Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 domestic United States commercial jet flight from Stallings Field (ISO) in Kinston, North Carolina, to Huntington Tri-State Airport/Milton J. Ferguson Field (HTS) near ...
, November 14, 1970, and
Southern Airways Flight 242
Southern Airways Flight 242 was a flight from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Atlanta, Georgia, with a stop in Huntsville, Alabama. On April 4, 1977, it executed a forced landing on Georgia State Route 381 in New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia, Unit ...
, April 4, 1977) blighted the airline's otherwise excellent safety record. Improved
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...
s including the
interstate
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
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
Republic Airlines was an American airline formed by the merger of North Central Airlines and Southern Airways on July 1, 1979. Their headquarters were at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, in what is now Fort Snelling, Minnesota, Fort ...
and the "Route of the Aristocrats" came to an end. Republic acquired
Hughes Airwest
Hughes Airwest was a regional airline in the western United States, backed by Howard Hughes' Summa Corporation. Its original name in 1968 was Air West and the air carrier was owned by Nick Bez. Hughes Airwest flew routes in the wes ...
before being acquired in 1986 by
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
, which continued to operate many flights from the former Southern hub in Memphis. Northwest merged into Delta Air Lines in 2008.
Destinations
These cities served are taken from timetables from 1950 to 1979. Cities served with DC-9s are in bold.
*
Albany, Georgia
Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia m ...
*
Anderson, South Carolina
Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 75,702. It is one of the principal cities in the Green ...
*
Anniston, Alabama
Anniston is the county seat of Calhoun County in Alabama and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 23,106. Acc ...
*
Athens, Georgia
Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...
*
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
(hub)
*
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...
*
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...
*
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...
(served via
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolit ...
)
*
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
*
Bristol, Tennessee
Bristol is a city in the State of Tennessee. Located in Sullivan County, its population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. T ...
(served via the
Tri-Cities Regional Airport
Tri-Cities Airport (also known as Tri-Cities Airport, TN/VA), is in Blountville, Tennessee, United States. It serves the Tri-Cities area (Bristol, Kingsport, Johnson City) of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. The airport is governed ...
) in Tennessee)
*
Bristol, Virginia (served via the Tri-Cities Regional Airport in Tennessee)
*
Charleston, South Carolina
*
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
*
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...
*
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
Midway Airport, later
O'Hare Airport
Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop busines ...
*
Clarksdale, Mississippi
*
Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 202 ...
*
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...
*
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...
*
Columbus, Mississippi
*
Corinth, Mississippi
Corinth is a city in and the county seat of Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,573 at the 2010 census. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835. It lies on the state line with Tennessee.
History
Corinth was founded i ...
*
Crossville, Tennessee
Crossville is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Crossville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,071 at the 2020 census.
History
Crossville developed at the inters ...
*
Decatur, Alabama
Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler La ...
*
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
*
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
*
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner ...
*
Dyersburg, Tennessee
*
Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). Th ...
(airport serves
Fort Walton Beach, Florida and
Destin, Florida
Destin is a city located in Okaloosa County, Florida. It is a principal city of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin, Florida, metropolitan area.
Located on Florida's Emerald Coast, Destin is known for its white beaches and emerald green ...
)
*
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
*
Florence, Alabama (served via
Muscle Shoals, Alabama}
*
Gadsden, Alabama
*
Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles (1 ...
,
Cayman Islands (only international destination served by Southern)
*
Greenville, Mississippi
Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta.
H ...
*
Greenville, South Carolina/
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Off ...
*
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverp ...
*
Greenwood, South Carolina
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population in the 2020 United States Census was 22,545 down from 23,222 at the 2010 census. The city is home to Lander University.
Geography and ...
*
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolit ...
*
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
*
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in ...
*
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...
*
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States census.
Jackson ...
*
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
*
Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth largest city in Tennessee. Joh ...
(served via the
Tri-Cities Regional Airport
Tri-Cities Airport (also known as Tri-Cities Airport, TN/VA), is in Blountville, Tennessee, United States. It serves the Tri-Cities area (Bristol, Kingsport, Johnson City) of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. The airport is governed ...
in Tennessee)
*
Kingsport, Tennessee (served via Tri-Cities Regional Airport in Tennessee)
*
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...
*
LaGrange, Georgia
*
Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel is a city in and the second county seat of Jones County, Mississippi, Jones County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 17,161. It is located northeast of Ellisville, M ...
*
Macon, Georgia
*
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
(hub)
*
Meridian, Mississippi
*
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
*
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
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Mobile, Alabama
*
Monroe, Louisiana
*
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
*
Morgantown, West Virginia
*
Morristown, Tennessee
*
Moultrie, Georgia
Moultrie is the county seat and largest city of Colquitt County, Georgia, United States. It is the third largest city in Southwest Georgia, behind Thomasville and Albany. As of the 2010 census, Moultrie's population was 14,268. It was originally ...
*
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
*
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
*
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
*
Natchez, Mississippi
*
(focus city)
*
New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia ...
,
*
Orlando, Florida (focus city)
*
Panama City, Florida
Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn ...
*
Paris, Tennessee
*
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport– Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 2 ...
*
Rockwood, Tennessee
Rockwood is a city in Roane County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 5,562 at the time of the 2010 census. It is included in the Harriman, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Rockwood is located at (35.869147, -84.67 ...
*
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
*
Selma, Alabama
*
Sheffield, Alabama
Sheffield is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Shoals metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 9,039. Sheffield is the birthplace of "country-soul pioneer" and songwriter Arth ...
(served via Muscle Shoals, Alabama)
*
Shelbyville, Tennessee
Shelbyville is a city in and the county seat of Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. The town was laid out in 1810 and incorporated in 1819. Shelbyville had a population of 20,335 residents at the 2010 census. The town is a hub of the Tenness ...
*
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...
*
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
*
Tullahoma, Tennessee
Tullahoma is a city in Coffee and Franklin counties in southern Middle Tennessee, United States. The population was 20,339 at the 2020 census. In 2019, the population was estimated to be 19,555. It is the principal city of the Tullahoma micropo ...
* Tri-Cities Regional Airport in Tennessee (serves the Bristol/Kingsport/Johnson City area)
*
Tupelo, Mississippi
*
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population o ...
*
Tuscumbia, Alabama
Tuscumbia is a city in and the county seat of Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,423. The city is part of The Shoals metropolitan area.
Tuscumbia was the hometown of Helen Keller, who lived at ...
(served via Muscle Shoals, Alabama)
*
Union City, Tennessee
Union City is located in Obion County, Tennessee, United States. The 2020 census reported the population of the town as 11,170. It is the principal urban settlement of the surrounding micropolitan area, which includes Obion County and Fulton Count ...
*
University, Mississippi
University is a census-designated place (CDP) and the official name for an area covering a portion of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) campus, in Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. The CDP is surrounded by the city of Oxford
...
/
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Ox ...
*
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Dulles Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Eastern United States, loc ...
*
West Memphis, AR
West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 26,245 at the 2010 census, ranking it as the state's 18th largest city, behind Bella Vista. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area, and is ...
(served via Memphis, Tennessee)
*
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...
*
Valdosta, Georgia
Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457.
Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in 2021 had ...
*
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.
Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vi ...
Timetable dates used to compile the above list: July 1, 1950; Sept. 26, 1954; Nov. 1, 1960; June 18, 1962; July 1, 1964; June 1, 1966; Sept. 3, 1968; Dec. 1, 1973; July 1, 1974, July 1, 1978, and April 29, 1979.
[http://www.timetableimages.com; www.departedfligthts.com; www.60sairlineantiques.net, Southern Airways timetables and maps]
Fleet
*
Douglas DC-3 – 29 operated
*
Martin 4-0-4
The Martin 4-0-4 was an American pressurized passenger airliner built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. In addition to airline use initially in the United States, it was used by the United States Coast Guard and United States Navy as the RM-1G ( ...
– 22 operated
*
Douglas DC-9-14 – 27 operated
*
Douglas DC-9-15
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
After ...
– 9 operated
*
Douglas DC-9-15F
*
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
After ...
– 9 operated
*
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32F – one operated
*
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild Aircraft at a plant in San ...
– "Metro II" series commuter turboprop aircraft
See also
*
List of defunct airlines of the United States
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
References
Further reading
* Killion, Gary L, ''The Martinliners'', Airways International Inc, 1998,
{{Legacy carrier
Airlines established in 1949
Airlines disestablished in 1979
American companies established in 1949
1979 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
American companies disestablished in 1979