Classic PSA Uniform — Click on Image for more

Whatever Happened to Alaska Airlines — Remembering PSA, AirCal, Western — I noticed that for some reason this essay I wrote last summer lamenting the airline industry is getting a lot of new page views. Some senitmentalists I think linked to it. If you want to hear me carp about Alaskan Airlines and the miserable state of things check it out here.

excerpt:

The competition ended fast when the drips from USAir bought PSA and thought they could improve on what wasn’t broken.

Right after PSA was bought I asked one of the stewardesses about the sudden disappearance of the announcement jokes. “USA Air killed it,” she told me. “They thought it was unprofessional. It’s OUT!. And they removed the smiles from the planes too.” They also changed the color schemes from bright and lively to dull and depressing.

PSA went from fun to dreary in less than a year. In no time the dipshits from USAir had ruined the carrier and then bailed out from the routes they so badly wanted. Essentially Delta did the same thing with Western Air and American seemed to keep some presence but nothing like the promises. The ease of traveling from SFO to LAX (many $29 flights) on the cheap with flights leaving constantly ended with a thud. Worse, we lost the excitement too.

Southwest waltzed in and took over the business.