Several years ago, I discovered an organization called Airliners International and was pleased to attend their three-day convention last June at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, along with another aviation enthusiast from the Raleigh-Durham Airport (see my post of September 22, 2022 titled Airliners International at Chicago O’Hare). We had such a good time and met a number of other like-minded folks, we decided to put the show on our calendars for 2023. The annual expo is held in a different US city each year and this year’s gathering was held in Dallas from June 22 through 24. Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport (DFW) serves as headquarters to the world's largest carrier, American Airlines, while Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL) is home to the world's biggest low-cost carrier, Southwest Airlines. DFW alone is the second busiest airport in the country with 28 commercial airlines which served more than 30 million passengers in 2021. This North Texas region could arguably be considered among the most important in the US aviation industry.
It was an easy drive from home to the Raleigh Airport and I was finally able to complete a seamless security screening thanks to having both CLEAR and TSA PreCheck. Then I made my way to the Admirals Club across from Gate C3 where I was warmly greeted by Augustine, who offered me personal travel assistance. Unfortunately, there was only one seat available in First Class and my upgrade wouldn’t clear as I was number 13 on the upgrade list. That certainly wasn't the end of the world for the relatively short flight to Dallas. The Admirals Club was fairly quiet on that Thursday morning in late June and before too long, my friend arrived, was admitted to the club as my guest and we waited for our mid-morning flight departure in pleasant surroundings. One advantage to working at the airport is knowing the gate agents. Thanks to Yogi and Lyn for allowing us to pre-board the B737-800 aircraft. We’d booked seats 9A and 9C in the second row of Main Cabin Extra, seating in the first few rows of the coach cabin offering early boarding, extra legroom, and complimentary alcoholic drinks. The gentleman who was initially seated between us in 9B must have ben number one on the upgrade list as Yogi soon boarded the aircraft and directed him to Seat 2D in First Class which meant we had an empty middle seat between us for the two hour and 28-minute flight.
The convention staff secured another great show rate of $129 per night at the conveniently located Hyatt Regency DFW Airport where the trade show took place. Opened in 1978 and renovated in 2012, the hotel is located adjacent to Terminal C at the airport and offered complimentary shuttle service to all terminals every 20 minutes on a 24-hour basis. The hotel has 811 guest rooms and suites and, as a World of Hyatt Loyalty Member, I was upgraded at check-in to a 560 square foot Junior Suite on the 12th floor. That suite offered a spacious work station, a King Hyatt Grand Bed, a sleeper sofa and floor-to-ceiling windows. All guest rooms came with free WiFi and the suite featured a 55” flat screen TV with cable/satellite channels and video-on-demand. It also had a coffee maker and mini-refrigerator, but unfortunately there was no in-room safe or individual bottles of body wash, shampoo or conditioner, only pre-filled dispensers affixed to the shower tiles. This suite did have a great view of the international gates at Terminal D and I was able to spot a British Airways A380, a Lufthansa B787-9 and a Qatar Airways A350-1000 at first glance that afternoon.
We soon met up outside the Enterprise Ballroom to pick up our convention registration materials. Sponsored by the World Airline Historical Society, the conference attracts aviation enthusiasts from all over the word with hundreds of collectibles dealers sharing rare and one of a kind items related to commercial air travel. We toured a portion of the exhibits where just about anything that would interest an AvGeek was offered for sale, from landing gear to safety cards. Two hundred forty-one different vendor tables filled the ballroom and Items included beautiful vintage lithograph airline posters, model aircraft of all sizes in current and former liveries, glassware, timetables, galley storage equipment and, new this year, some wearables like t-shirts, ball caps, jackets and polos highlighted by any number of current and former airline logos. Braniff International Airways also had a history display and the Braniff Boutique of licensed curated products in the show hall.
The Opening Night Welcome Reception took place at Harvest Hall in nearby Grapevine and shuttle bus service was provided from the Hyatt for registered attendees. This 20,000 square foot food and entertainment destination is located at the crossroads of Main Street and Dallas Road. Situated at the gateway to historic Grapevine, it features seven different chef-driven kitchens, craft coffee and cocktails, as well as an intimate venue for public and private events. We were given a $15 prepaid gift card for use at any venue in the hall and this is where we met up with the friends we made at last year’s conference in Chicago. After we had a bite to eat, we wandered through the venue and ended up at the South Hall’s Karaoke Bar, complete with a live band and an even livelier crowd. It wasn’t too long before my friends found themselves on stage performing Journey’s 1981 hit Don’t Stop Believin’ and, while I wouldn’t advise them to quit their day jobs anytime soon, the audience was kind and I captured their virtuoso performance on video.
Friday was a very busy day. The buffet breakfast in the hotel’s Jacob’s Spring Grill was all inclusive and fueled us well for our planned agenda. First up was a tour of the American Airlines Maintenance Hangar 5 at the DFW Airport. This tour was ably led by James Talkington, Hangar Operations Center Supervisor, who oversees operations for the entire facility, including 320 airplane mechanics working in three shifts, and many other engineers, planners and ancillary personnel. Initially, we went upstairs to the area where life rafts and slides were tested and repacked. Life rafts, along with life vests, are critical safety equipment for extended overwater flight. In the event of a water landing, these products must be made from quality materials to ensure the safety of passengers. Evacuation slides are crucial in emergency flight situations, allowing passengers to safely exit the plane and/or remain afloat until help can arrive. I particularly enjoyed the slide inflation demonstration. Slides inflate with an initial boost from a canister of compressed carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The canister provides only about one-third the volume needed to inflate the slides with the remaining volume supplied by ambient air, channeled into the slides through aspirators. The best part of the hangar tour was simply strolling around the maintenance bay downstairs where aircraft were towed in for service. As luck would have it, an American B777-200 was in the hangar that day for a replacement of its Rolls-Royce Trent 877 high bypass turbofan port engine, which weighs over eight and a half tons and generates over 92,000 lbf of thrust at takeoff. Those engines are huge as is the aircraft itself when seen from the ground. We were like kids in a candy store that day and also had an opportunity to board the plane, and take our places in the captain’s seat where James happily took our photos.
Our second event on Friday was the coveted ramp tour whose 20 slots sold out in the first few minutes of “going live” several weeks earlier. We took an airport shuttle to the approach area of Runway 17C at DFW and watched enthralled as various aircraft came in for landing literally right over our heads. Of course, most of the arriving aircraft were American metal but we also witnessed several arriving flights from Spirit and Frontier Airlines. After a time, we were bused to an area across from the midpoint of the same runway to get views of wheels down activity and watch the aircraft scream by as they applied speed brakes and reverse thrust. What makes these ramp tours so special is that we're permitted to leave the shuttle to take pictures and videos with a close-up view most folks never get to enjoy. We were also able to appreciate the progress made on a number of taxiway capital improvement projects while driving both to and from the runway. On our return to the Hyatt, we caught the first of two ticketed Braniff Style Shows, which included a pictorial history of the airline and former employees modeling flight attendant and cockpit crew uniforms from yesteryear.
On Saturday, the final day of the conference, our day began with another visit to Jacob’s Spring Grill for their satisfying buffet breakfast. We next visited the American Airlines CR Smith Museum in nearby Fort Worth, named for the aviation pioneer and first president of the company Cyrus Rowlett Smith. The museum preserves the history of American Airlines and explains what it takes to run the airline, as told through the perspective of the team members who work there. Through its activities, the museum serves schools, the general public and American Airlines team members. One of the few in the world dedicated solely to commercial aviation, it’s much more than a museum - it's a sight-and-sound, hands-on, window-seat look at the world of flight. Exhibits include hundreds of historical artifacts, photographs, full-scale aircraft engines and a rare, and painstakingly restored Douglas DC-3 airliner called the Flagship Knoxville. Fifty airline retirees and over 200 active employees contributed 12,000 volunteer hours to restore the 1940s vintage aircraft to its now-pristine condition.
Captain Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo, the first female pilot to fly for a major US commercial airline, was the Keynote Speaker at that evening’s Closing Banquet. In 1973, at the tender age of 24, she became the first female pilot for American Airlines and flew as a Captain on the B727, B757 and the B767 wide body. At the same time she also became the first woman in the world to earn a Flight Engineer Turbojet Rating. Aviation was in her blood. Her father was a pilot for Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and later with Trans World Airlines (TWA). After leaving the airline industry he owned and operated Tiburzi Airways, a flight school and charter company in Danbury, Connecticut. Bonnie took her first flying lesson in 1960 at age 12. By the time she was 17, she could fly circles around most of the adult, male students at her father’s flight school. She began her aviation career flying as a flight instructor and charter pilot before breaking aviation’s glass ceiling in 1973. She later wrote her autobiography titled Takeoff: The Story of America’s First Woman Pilot for a Major Airline in 1986 and retired from American in 1999 after a successful and fulfilling 26-year career.
We returned home to Raleigh the next afternoon with a better awareness of the airline industry’s rich and colorful history. Hats off to the World Airline Historical Society for another memorable conference. Plans are already afoot for next year’s gathering from June 26 through 29 in Kansas City, MO.
Until next time…safe travels.
Very interesting - and glad to hear the security preparations finally worked out well !!!