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Airlie history
Airlie company history timeline
In 1961, the newly created “Airlie Center” opened its doors and many throughout the nation were astounded by its modernity.
Southwest Air was founded in 1966 when a group of Texas investors, including Rollin King, M. Lamar Muse, and Herbert D. Kelleher, pooled $560,000 to form the Air Southwest Company.
Public Company Incorporated: 1967 as Air Southwest Co.
While all the other airlines had signed a contract to move to the new airport in 1968, Southwest had not done so because it was not in existence at that time.
Together, then men presented their new holiday for the first time before a conference Nelson sponsored at Airlie in 1969.
1969: Senator Gaylord Nelson sponsored a conference at Airlie to promote a new holiday he created alongside United States Representative Pete McCloskey—Earth Day.
Kelleher, an attorney whose stake in the airline was a mere $20,000, took the case all the way to the United States Supreme Court, and in December 1970 this court ruled in favor of Air Southwest.
Six months later, after fighting numerous legal battles, changing its name to Southwest Air, and selling stock in the company, the fledgling airline began operations on June 18, 1971.
In 1973, Braniff Airlines began a fare war with Southwest over service from this airport to Dallas.
The company also introduced cargo service between the airports it served and by the end of 1973 had notched its first profitable year, carrying over half a million passengers.
In 1974, Southwest's competitors began moving out to the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, leaving the airline with a monopoly on service from the cheaper, more convenient airport.
In 1977, the airline put into effect its plan to offer service from Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, El Paso, and Austin.
The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 removed governmental control of routes and fare pricing with the intention of encouraging competition and increasing efficiency.
In late December 1979, earlier opponents of Southwest's continuing use of Love Field won a partial victory in Congress.
In 1979, Southwest introduced self-ticketing machines in many of its airports to speed up and simplify passenger ticketing, and the airline introduced service to New Orleans, its first destination outside Texas.
The airline inaugurated service to Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Albuquerque in April 1980.
In September 1981, President Howard Putnam resigned to become the head of Braniff International Airlines, and was succeeded as president and chief executive officer by Chairman Kelleher, who brought his flamboyant personal style to the job of running the airline.
Also in 1981, after a series of petition drives, stewardesses won the right in their new contract not to wear hot pants on the job.
In early 1982, Southwest introduced service from Kansas City, Missouri, to seven destinations.
Service from Denver began in May 1983.
The airline's steady growth continued in 1983, as it added customers, flights, and airplanes.
"Why Herb Kelleher Gets So Much Respect from Labor," Business Week, September 24, 1984.
In 1984, helped by ongoing peace with its labor unions, Southwest continued to increase capacity and rack up steady profits, despite growing competition from Continental, Braniff, and Muse Air, founded by the former president of Southwest.
During the summer of 1986, the airline stepped up the hoopla surrounding its low fares, making "fun" its new corporate byword and implementing a "fun" uniform of golf shirts, surfer shorts, and tennis shoes, along with in-flight games and giveaways.
Sickles, Robin C. 1987.
Gibney, Frank, Jr., "Southwest's Friendly Skies," Newsweek, May 30, 1988.
Passengers on flights during the winter holiday season of 1988 reported that flight attendants were dressed as elves and reindeer, and that the pilot sang Christmas carols over the public address system while gently rocking the plane from side to side.
Kelly, Kevin, "Southwest Airlines: Flying High with 'Uncle Herb'," Business Week, July 3, 1989.
In 1990, Eastern Airlines was handed a 60-count federal indictment charging it with shoddy and dishonest maintenance practices.
Relying on conservative financial management, the company was able to avoid the pitfalls of debt that crippled many other carriers in the early 1990s, and despite suffering a loss in its fourth quarter, turned an overall profit in 1990.
Southwest Airlines Co., Southwest Airlines History, Dallas: Southwest Airlines Co., 1991.
By 1992, there were at least twelve "fortress hubs," or airports where one airline controlled more than 60 percent of the traffic.
By 1993, the industry began to rebound.
Air quality was again questioned in 1993 when it was revealed that, as a cost-saving measure, many airlines were circulating fresh air into their aircraft less frequently than they had in the past.
In 1993, when Southwest was expanding to the East Coast via Baltimore/Washington International Airport, Southwest was the only major carrier to take home a profit.
In 1994, five fatal crashes, three involving commuter airlines, brought safety concerns to light once again.
In 1994, Representatives Jolene Unsoeld (D-Wash.) and Jim Ross Lightfoot (R-Iowa) introduced a bill that would have required the use of child safety restraints on commercial flights.
In 1995, the company reached $2.8 billion in operating revenues.
Southwest commemorated its 1996 silver anniversary with a special plane called Silver One.
After the fifth crash, Secretary of Transportation Federico Peña ordered a safety audit of the entire airline industry. As a result, commuter airlines, which had previously been held to a lower standard of safety than major carriers, were placed under new operating rules that required them to bring their safety standards up to those of the other companies by the end of 1996.
——, "The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America," Fortune, January 12, 1998.
The question of who would follow Southwest's inimitable leader and spokesman, Herb Kelleher, was resolved in June 2001.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, wrought further change on the airline industry.
The act also established the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 to deal directly with the needs of families who were victims of the september 11th attacks.
2002. "From Consolidation to Crisis: The Airline Industry in Transition." DePaul Business Law Journal 14 (spring).
As of 2003, it was not clear who would survive this latest shakeout or what the future of the airline industry would be.
In 2003 British Airways and Air France discontinued all Concorde flights because the flights were no longer profitable.
Jim Parker retired as CEO in 2004 following contentious contract negotiations with the flight attendants' and mechanics' unions.
Revenues continued to increase at a 10 percent clip, reaching $6.5 billion in 2004.
A member of Historic Hotels of America since 2015, Airlie’s history dates back well over a century.
In 2020, Earth Day officially turns 50 years old, celebrating an incredible milestone in both Virginia history and eco-friendly practices.
"Airlines ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Encyclopedia.com. (June 21, 2022). https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/airlines-0
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| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The National Conference Center | 1974 | $5.6M | 94 | 2 |
| Riverhouse on the Deschutes | 1974 | $7.7M | 200 | - |
| Short Hills Country CLB Pro | 1922 | $5.0M | 25 | - |
| GREEN ISLAND COUNTRY CLUB | 1961 | $10.0M | 50 | - |
| Clevelander | 1998 | $810,000 | 30 | 4 |
| Oakwood Country Club | 1881 | $5.0M | 350 | - |
| Augusta Country Club | 1899 | $10.0M | 115 | - |
| Elmcrest Country Club | 1947 | $10.0M | 6 | 10 |
| South Hills Country Club | 1952 | $10.0M | 85 | 3 |
| Terrace Gardens At Ken Caryl | - | $3.3M | 30 | - |
Airlie history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Airlie, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Airlie. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Airlie. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Airlie. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Airlie and its employees or that of Zippia.
Airlie may also be known as or be related to Airlie, Airlie Center and Airlie Conference Center.