FUNERAL SERVICES OF O.T. MARSHALL

O.T. passed away Monday July 24th after a lengthy illness. He will be remembered as the Eastern employee who attended Braniff functions and helped with our charities - he will be missed.
The family has chosen The First Christian Church in Lancaster to be the receipient of any memorials you may wish to make.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Randy Day began his career with Braniff #1 at DAL Stores around 1971. He eventually transferred to the DFW Ramp where he worked until shutdown in May 1982.

Randy lived at Cedar Creek Lake, Texas. He leaves daughter Rachel and son Christopher. Randy also leaves sister Diana and seven brothers, including Gerry Day, longtime Braniff employee.

Randy was 55 years old

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR ROGER STREET

Subject: Roger is home with the Lord!


Dear friends,

Just a quick note to advise our family and friends that this morning Roger
went peaceably to be with the Lord. It has been a long struggle and he
has been declining for awhile. Fortunately, it was quick when the end came,
they think that perhaps it was a cerebral hemmorage.

There will be a memorial service at our home church on Sunday at 4pm in
Bethany Beach, De.

Roger will be buried in Hampton, Iowa on June 21, with a viewing starting at
11:00 until about 1:00, a graveside service at 1:30. It will be at Sietsema
Vogel funeral home. The address is 306 Central Avenue East, Hampton, IA,
50441.

The boys and Roger's daughter Kathey will be returning to Delaware and then
accompanying me to Iowa, we would covet your prayers.

Love, Susan

Friday, June 16, 2006

Braniff BAC-111 Crash August 6, 1966 - Dedication in Falls City, NE

Braniff Family:

I have some information that could be of great interest to those that lost loved ones in the Braniff Airlines BAC-111 that crashed in a farm field just outside of Falls City, NE on August 6, 1966. My Father James Allen Hilliker was the Co-pilot that died that day along with 3 other crew & 38 passengers.

On this 40th Anniversary there is going to be a marker put up at the site honoring the 42 people who lost their lives. There is a B&B & hotel in Falls City & my sister & brother are planning on attending a dedication on Sunday August 6, 1966 at the site.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Vendors for the 2006 Braniff Family Reunion

2006 BRANIFF FAMILY REUNION DATE AND TIME

Funeral Services for Linda Dye

Her sister's phone numbers:

Cheryl's phone numbers are
214 207 4126
214 739 1708 Homev

Saturday, November 26, 2005

The Braniff/Sun Country Connection?

Need help in Sloving Murder of a Braniff Family Member

My Aunt, Beverly Bruneau (Casey) was a FA for Braniff. In 1981 she was murdered. Although the detectives from the Grapevine police department have a strong suspect in the case we have yet to bring him to justice. We are begging for help as many in the Braniff family knew my Aunt and the suspect in this homicide. We have yet to rest and my Auntie Bev is missed so much. She would be proud of her family because we will not give up the fight in the pursuit of her killer. Please call the Grapevine police department if you have any information that may help, ANYTHING!

Grapevine Police Department
307 W. Dallas Road
Grapevine, Texas 76051
Emergency: 911
Non-emergency: 817-410-8127

This message was posted as a service to the Braniff Family. The message was posted as received. No names are being passed other than the name of the Braniff Family member who has passed away. The Braniff Family is not stating knowledge of this case or guit in anyway.

Friday, April 08, 2005

Braniff Family Friend offers donations to the Braniff Family and discounts on Prescriptions

Remembering Braniff at DFW Airport

Vendors for the 2006 Braniff Family Reunion

Looking for lost friend - Mario Azocar

A Writer is looking for some record breaking Braniff Pilots

Anyone Knowing the where about of this former employee

27th Annual BISE Fly In and Picnic

2004 Braniff Family Reunion

2004 Braniff Family Reunion - Special Hotel Rates

LOOKING FOR Braniff F.A. ROSS KYLLO

2004 BRANIFF REUNION

Anyone know the current Teamster Local Union Number?

Braniff Retirement Club mail address

Braniff Retirment Club
%Sally A. Campbell
3207 Waldrop
Dallas, TX. 75229-5005

Wednesday, January 07, 2004

Braniff Retirement Club - 2004 meetings

Braniff Retirement Club meetings are at Senter East Park Building in Irving. This is off Chamberain in Irving. The dates are as follows:

January 2004 (no meeting)
February 5, 2004
March 11, 2004
April 1, 2004
May 13, 2004
June 3, 2004
July and August we do not have meetings--off for the summer
This is as far as the schedule goes until next year.

Wednesday, January 07, 2004

Searching for information regarding an aircraft accident

Falls City, Nebraska Crash site Vistor

Ma'am
My name is Paul Arthur and I actually visited the crash site in the Spring of 2001. I became interested in this particular crash after reading the NTSB report in which I obtained the coordinates of the wreckage.
My interest led me to use my GPS to visit the crash site based on the original NTSB report. I found the site near a corner lot of a cornfield near Falls City, Nebraska. As I walked around the field, much to my suprise, I did not see a memorial dedicated to the people that lost thier lives. I did however, find small pieces of the wreckage, to include what looked like a seat number on a small strip -faded blue lettering? 3B. As I was walking around, two farmers asked me 1) what I was doing there and 2) if I needed help. I told them that I was just doing research into an old airliner crash.
One of the farmers told me that he has large pieces of the wreckage in an old barn and if I was interested, he would show me. I respectfully declined and walked around for about 30 more minutes.
The area is very peaceful and it appears that there are bits and pieces of the wreckage still there - small pieces of metal, glass etc. The artifacts that I found, I buried back into the field.
I have a fondness of the BAC 1-11 and Braniff Airlines.
I am not sure if anyone even cares to know, but I thought I would just share with you that someone who wasnt even 1 year old at the time of the crash, visited the crash site and keeps the people that lost their lives that fateful night, in my thoughts and prayers.
Respectully,
Paul Arthur

Saturday, December 06, 2003

Writer's looking for information on Braniff Flight 542

My wife and I are writers in The Woodlands, Texas. Our next project will be a fact-based fiction book about the crash of Braniff Flight 542 near Buffalo, Texas on the night of September 29, 1959. We are looking for members of the Braniff family that will contribute their knowledge of the events and the people to this project. This is not going to be an easy book to write. It will not be glamorized but it will be sensitive to the events and the people. I anticipate that it will be written in a manner similar to Issac's Storm. We've had success with that format and our first book, The Ice Box Murders, is being released on October 1. We are extremely good researchers and we really get after it when we start a project. If you can assist us by circulating our e-mail to the Braniff family we would appreciate it very much.

Sunday, September 21, 2003

Looking for Trent Cowart

Susie Meurer is ill

Comments on the 2003 Barniff Family Reunion

The 2004 Braniff Family Reunion Date Announcement

Looking for Delores (Dee)Rogers(Rodgers?)

Information on the Braniff Pass Card for Retired Braniff Family Members

February 6, 2003, ATTENTION ALL RETIRED PIEDMONT SILVER EAGLE PILOTS & PILOTS WIDOWS

Information on the Clipped B's, the official Hostess' retirement organization

The Braniff International "Clipped B's" is the official Hostess' retirement organization.

Any Hostess or Flight Attendant that worked for Braniff 1, 2 or 3 is welcome to join. The dues are only $20.00 per year.

The Clipped-B's are having a Luncheon the First Friday in May

In October, a LARGE reunion is planned in Dallas. (The last reunion was in 1997).

To ask for a memership form, please write to:

Helen Adair
Braniff Clipped-B's Registration
6255 West Northwest Hwy.
No. 204
Dallas, Texas 75225 USA

Sunday, March 23, 2003

I am looking for video related to Braniff

I am looking for any video, be it 8mm, 16mm, or VHS(I am not working with Beta - but I am sure we can find someone to convert it).

I am currently working with computer programs that will digitize any video and burn it to CD or DVD.

I am most interested in the TV commercials that were broadcast during the time that I worked for Braniff S/O December 1989 - 727 F/0 September 1988 - 727 until this bankruptcy.

I would like to gather any home movies, TV ads or historical video and compile it to a CD or DVD for future archive.

Thank You

William J. Page
1528 Cross Bend Rd
Plano, TX 75023
972-423-2765

wjpage@netzero.net

Sunday, March 23, 2003

Church before The Braniff Family Reunion

Looking for information on Ron Stumpf

Looking for co-workers 1977-1982 Houston - From Susie Plaisance McDermand

2002 Braniff Family Reunion pictures now available

Toni Guymon is looking for a family member.

Another interesting story related to the doomed Braniff flight 250.

My name is Jerry E. Zmolek, I worked for Braniff from Feb. 1957 to the shutdown as an line aircraft mechanic, lead, and also as supervisor. In August 1966 I was assigned to fly to OMA for two weeks vacation relief for one of our mechanics that preformed work on the overnight aircraft, usually from three to four aircraft that required some minor work and daily inspection.

On the 6th of Aug. 1966 I boarded one of our flights at Dal. Love Field I was told there is a chance I will get bumped off at MKC because I was riding as a NR and
not on a positive pass. When we landed at MKC and I walked to the Bnf. ticket counter and showed the agent my cockpit pass for flt. 250 I was advised that
the flt. 250 to OMA was running late. After a few minutes the agent came over where I was sitting along with four other Bnf. flt. crew and cabin attendants
that were dead heading to OMA and said there is a Bnf. CV-340 ferrying to OMA at one of the gates and if we want, he will radio the crew and we can ride with them, so we got our suitcases plus my tool box and boarded the ferry flt.

I closed the main entry door, walked into the cockpit, introduced myself, explained my purpose of my trip, sat down in the fold up jump seat and told the crew we are ready to start engines.

About 20 minutes into the flt. we encountered heavy turbulence, lighting, and heavy rain, and our aircraft radar should the squaw line as being several miles wide and no way to avoid it. As we approached OMA the
rain had stopped, after landing there was a very strong north wind blowing.

We taxied to an assigned gate, shut down the engines and opened the main door an cargo service man ran up the steps and asked if we knew that the Bnf. BAC-111 that just crashed behind us. We didn't know what he was talking about until we walked into the terminal area, and found out everybody in a state of panic including people waiting for passengers from flt. 250. I managed to stop one of the agents long enough to ask what is happening, and he told me a Braniff BAC-111 flt. 250 from MKC was on the way here and crashed
in a Kansas wheat field. That flt. number sounded familiar so I got the slip of paper (cockpit pass) out of my shirt pocket and it was indeed a pass for flt. 250, my legs got wobbly and I almost passed out.

The next morning as I got back to the ticket counter to get more information on the crash, a ticket agent informed that there are some FAA and FBI want to interview me in one of the Braniff offices, as I walked into the office I was greeted by a couple men from each of the departments. The first thing I was
asked " why I was not on the flt., and what do I know about the airplane that crashed." after I explained that there was an empty ferry flt. flying from MKC
to OMA and the MKC agent told me and the other flt. crew that can we ride it instead of waiting for to BAC-111, and we will arrive there about the same time.

In a day or so I received orders from Dalllas to ride cockpit as extra crew member on all BAC-111 flights in and out OMA to help find out what could have contributed to the flt. 250 crash. Four or five days later I was told that weather was a contributing factor to the crash. On one of the flights out of OMA I was riding cockpit and shortly after we reached out assigned altitude, we got into some stormy weather and severe turbulence, as we were being bounced around in the storm, I told the Captain to throttle back
and reduce the airspeed that might help, so the tail don't break off, he looked at me first and then told the first Officer (Co-pilot) to hold the under airspeed horn handle to silent till we clear the storm, and said "chief you are right".

It was not until few weeks later that I was told that the radar on the fatal BAC-111 showed a clearing on the approaching storm, so the crew flew into the clearing, but very possible the clear spot might have been a horizontal tornado,and there were confirmed tornados reported in that area by the weather bureau at that time.

Wednesday, July 24, 2002

Current Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation List

Rebuttals to story from Roger Sorenson

An interesting story, from Roger D. Sorenson.

To Braniff Airlines,

To Whom this may concern:

I was a passenger on your flight number 250 which I witnessed exploding in midair on August 6, 1966, where 38 passengers and 4 crew perished. My name is Roger D. Sorenson.USMC 2163074. I was in training in Millington Tennessee. At the time I was a Marine Corps Private. I was enroute to Minneapolis from Memphis. I flew standby. I'm not exactly sure of the routing of your aircraft but the scenario was like this:

I was wearing my dress-blue uniform. I boarded a flight at Memphis. Somewhere I was re-routed to Braniff 250. I called my parents in Minnesota and gave them the flight numbers. The aircraft was having severe heating and cooling problems. I was excitingly aware of every minute detail since I was one of the only "two" Marines completing the year long training for AVIATION TRAINING DEVICES MAINTENANCE AND INSTRUCTOR.(Military Occupational Speciality 6600). (The other Marine was Private Eugene W. Arcement, who now lives in Houma, Lousianna.

Braniff 250 sat down at one very small airport. I wasn't paying much attention which airport since all I could think about was passing this class or being sent directly into combat if I failed exams. My parents, Melvin E. Sorenson and Lila M. Sorenson had driven 100 miles from Albert Lea, Minnesota to Minneapolis to meet me.

While 250 was on the ground for an emergency checkup or something all the passengers exited the plane. We were all reboarded. A female supervisor came aboard the aircraft and informed me that I had been "bumped" by a first class passenger. I walked down the aluminum stairs and waited in the open air. A large heavy-set man, 30-35 years old, 300 pounds, in a black suit and brief case brushed past me and entered the aircraft. I was very upset at being dumped, but I shrugged it off since I was lucky enough to get this far on a $25.00 standby ticket.

I watched flight 250 takeoff straight down the runway from where I stood on the tarmac, and lift off with heavy black fumes spewing from the right wing and swirling around in large rotating circles. I was trying to remember the emergency procedures they had taught me at Millington Naval Training Center. My Sheffield watch, purchased downtown Memphis ticked off the seconds. I figured the plane was doing about 180 miles per hour and had risen only about 3000 feet when it exploded in mid-air. I couldn't believe my eyes and I guess I totally blanked out the idea that the plane had dissappeared-- out of sight instantly. I walked inside the small waiting room. I told some people that I thought I had just witnessed the darnest thing. No one would believe. Within just a few minutes the same female supervisor came over to me and said , "Roger Sorenson, your seat is waiting for you on the smaller aircraft out on the tarmac. I was happy as could be and I ran out to the aircraft with just my small hand-carried bag.

No one was alarmed yet.

This second aircraft flew me directly to Minneapolis. I guess I slept most the way. Upon arriving, I searched most the airport for my parents. I discovered my mother sitting and crying aloud. An announcement over the loudspeaker mentioned something about a plane accident. I didn't see my father. I said mother, it's me "Roger". She jumped up and for the first time in my life she crushed me in her arms. After she calmed down she said that they had announced that all passengers on Braniff flight 250 had perished.(I had notified them which flights I was on). I said "WHAT!?" I was bumped off that flight, Mom. She slowly recovered. I said "Where's Dad?" She say, "he's over there on that railing". Dad was bawling uncontrollably. I walked over to him in my Marine Corps dress blues and held him. I repeated: "Dad, it's me Roger." Dad cried "NO! YOU'RE NOT MY ROGER. ROGER IS DEAD!!! ROGER IS DEAD!!!

It took a good hour or more before my father came out of the shock and realized that I was alive.
I escorted my parents to their white over blue 1960 Chevrolet Impala and drove them down to Albert Lea.

As I recall it, no one ever mentioned this incident to me while at home or when I returned to Millington, I never read any newspaper articles and wasn't interested in any news on the radio or television. My focus was on preparing myself as best I could for the war in Viet Nam. I reviewed the incident to my best friend, Eugene W. Arcement, when I returned to school in Tennessee. After gracuation we flew to El Toro Marine Corps Base in Santa Ana California. I never heard from him again until June 7, 2002. He tracked me down and said he still tells his friends and family about Roger, who missed that flight which "exploded".
I'm terribly sorry for all those folks who perished. I can hardly believe that I blanked this incident out of my memory for 35 years.

Sincerely,

Roger D. Sorenson
815 Kainui Place
Kailua, Hawaii 96734
e-mail sorensonr001@hawaii.rr.com

Saturday, June 29, 2002

I am looking for an old friend

In Memory Of Pages Update

Thanks to our wonderful friends at the Braniff Retirement Club, we have been able to add many of our family members that have passed on, into our "In Memory Of" pages. They provided us with names since 1994! We recently spent several days entering all of these names. Let me tell you it was a sad job...

Some information related to this, we did not have much information on most of the names. In many cases all we had was name and year of death, in some case we had the month of death as well. So if the dates look funny, that is why. If you have more information on any of the family members, please let us know and we will try to update the information.


Remember that we are trying to get this web site set-up and maintained as an informational area that will last through the ages. To do this we will need donations to build a trust fund that will allow this site to live forever. It won't take much in overall terms, but it will take some money. The wonderful folks at EnterNet NOW, Inc. donated all of the work that it took to put this site together (about 15 thousand dollars worth!). But they can not give us hosting for free. Last years donations paid for the first year. EnterNet NOW, Inc. has given us a very special deal for the continued hosting, and it will cost about $300.00 per year. This is a very extensive database driven website, so we don't want to trust it to just anyone! So please help us to keep this going, every dollar helps.

By the way, The Braniff Family is a legally registered nonprofit with the State of Texas and we are in the process of registering with the IRS, currently we are registered with the IRS as a C corporation, but we hope to be a reclassified as a nonprofit corporation soon....

Friday, April 26, 2002

Request for information

In Memory Of pages now available!

One of the sad things of life is that we all have to leave this earth one day. We all have our beliefs of what that means, for me it involves heaven and Jesus. But what ever your belief, we were all in the Braniff Family! With that said, we would like everyone to take a moment and make sure that every one of our lost family members will be memorialized on these pages. If after you have checked the pages and you do not see someone, please go to the In Memory Of pages and enter their information.

If you wish to create a special memorial for someone, please let us know. We ask for a one time charge of $250.00 for a special page for a single person. We will place pictures and content that you give us on that page and it will stay there for as long as The Braniff Family website lasts. This is a special way for you to memorialize that someone special that worked for Braniff. Just email me at carrie@thebranifffamily with your request and I will send you the required information needs.

Friday, March 01, 2002

Harding Lawrence - July 15, 1920 - January 16, 2002

HARDING LAWRENCE—The Man Who Took the Airlines into “The Wild Hue Yonder”

In the words of one writer, “Hardly a man alive looked more like the ideal head man of an airline than Harding Lawrence.” Another wrote, of his assuming the presidency of Braniff, that it was “as if the Ashley Famous agency had sent over someone to play the part of a dynamic airline president.” He was handsome, aggressive, and experienced, and his drive and workaholic dedication were already legendary in the industry by the time he took over the leadership of Braniff in 1965, as was a streak of independence that led him to name a son “State’s Rights.” Lawrence was the last of the “first generation” of airline pioneers to mold an airline in his own image (a la Eddie Rickenbacker at Eastern, C. R. Smith at American, and Bob Six at Continental) until deregulation changed the rules, and he would turn Braniff from a drab, conservative, largely regional airline into a flamboyant and colorful international carrier and the most-discussed airline in the world.

Lawrence was born in Perkins, Oklahoma, on July 15, 1920, the son of Moncey and Helen Lawrence and the youngest of three brothers. His father had worked as a schoolteacher and pastor in Perkins and Yale. When he was eleven, the family moved from Drumright, Oklahoma, to Gladewater, Texas, where his parents opened a hotel. He graduated from high school a year ahead of schedule at age sixteen and attended Kilgore Junior College for two years, earning membership in the honors group (Phi Theta Kappa). He received a B.B.A. degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1942. From South Texas College of Law at Houston, he was granted an L.L.B. degree in 1949.

When World War II broke out, Lawrence became involved with the No. 1 (RAF) British Flying Training School at Terrell, Texas, a civilian flight school under contract to train British pilots. Part of this time, from 1942 to 1944, was spent serving as an assistant director of the school under Leroy Luckey (also a native Oklahoman). He also served as head of the school’s instrument training program, and as assistant director of maintenance developed a production-line maintenance program for the school’s aircraft. He later spent two years on active duty with the United States Air Force.

In 1946 he joined Essair (later Pioneer Airlines) as assistant to the vice president of operations. In 1947 he became general traffic and sales manager, and in May 1948 he was promoted to the position of vice-president of traffic and sales. He held the latter position until April 1, 1955 when Pioneer merged with Continental Airlines. Robert Six, legendary president of Continental would later remark that “one of the reasons Continental merged with Pioneer was so I could get Harding.”

Lawrence was Continental’s vice-president of traffic and sales for three years and in 1958 was appointed executive vice-president (the industry’s youngest), a position which he held until his appointment as Braniff Airways president in 1965. At Continental, he was one of the driving forces behind an overhaul of Continental’s image with the introduction of the “Proud Bird with the Golden Tail” campaign, a marketing scheme that drew nationwide attention. Lawrence also introduced “progressive maintenance” on Continental’s fleet of four Boeing 707s, scheduling all maintenance at night so that each airplane could be flown sixteen hours per day. In ten years, Continental would grow faster than all other airlines—545%—and Lawrence was largely responsible for the record of quality service, imaginative promotion, low-costs, on-time performance, and use of jets that made that growth possible.

By 1965, Six had gradually turned the day-to-day operation of Continental over to Lawrence, and Lawrence was widely regarded as Six’s personal choice to succeed him as president. But the offer never came, and on April 5, 1965, Harding Lawrence became president and chief executive officer of Braniff Airways, Inc. on the retirement of Charles E. Beard.
Harding Lawrence was responsible for driving the sweeping overhauls that would position Braniff as a stylish and international airline company, using the techniques that had worked so well at Continental: aggressive marketing, good equipment utilization, and careful cost control, and a reorganization of the company into three divisions (operations, planning, and marketing). Under his leadership the airline gained a reputation for innovation. Shortly after his arrival he announced his wish for a new airline, and accelerated the transformation to an all-jet fleet, which had begun under his predecessor’s tenure. With the help of Mary Wells (whom Lawrence would later marry), Alexander Girard, and Emilio Pucci, Lawrence declared the “end of the Plain Plane,” painting the fleet in seven different solid colors, fitting flight attendants in a series of uniforms designed by Pucci, installing VIP waiting rooms in all its terminals, serving all meals on china and all drinks in glasses, and publicizing its new image in a series of flashy ads that drew national attention from the major media. Virtually overnight, Lawrence completely erased Braniff’s staid and stale image and made it the most talked-about airline in the world. The change revolutionized the airline industry; foreign as well as U.S. domestic airlines began to follow Braniff's lead, adopting bold new color schemes in bright new colors.

Another first occurred in 1973, as Braniff brought modern art to the airlines, choosing artist Alexander Calder, the creator of the mobile and “kinetic art,” to paint one of his creations on one of its DC-8s. The red, blue, and yellow jet was named “The Flying Colors of South America” and went into scheduled service in 1973. In 1976 Braniff again called on Calder to paint one of its fleet, this time a Boeing 727, in red, white, and blue. Christened “The Flying Colors of the United States,” the jetliner flew all over the Braniff route system as a salute to America’s bicentennial.

From1965 to 1977, Braniff grew rapidly and enjoyed strong returns. The acquisition of Pan America-Grace Airways (Panagra) made Braniff a major player in the South American market, and service to Hawaii and the South Pacific began in 1969. Interchange service to Alaska began in 1974. In 1977 the airline introduced a new “ultra” look, with more subdued color schemes and leather interiors for its aircraft, and haute couture uniforms designed by Halston.
In 1978, Lawrence seized deregulation as the opportunity to grow the airline into a world-player, at the same time stunning the industry with an application to the Civil Aeronautics Board for an astounding 626 dormant routes. Granted 67 of these, Braniff began a massive expansion, culminating on December 15, 1978, with the initiation in one 24-hour period of 32 new routes serving 16 cities never before served by the airline. It was the largest single-day increase by any airline in history. Within a matter of weeks, Braniff was flying on 49 new routes. European routes were added in 1979.
History was again made in 1979, this time at Mach .95, as two Concordes of Air France and British Airways flew in from the east on Friday, January 12, and lined up to land on parallel runways at Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport. The simultaneous touchdown marked the beginning of regularly scheduled supersonic service between DFW and Europe by Braniff in cooperation with Air France and British Airways. The new interchange was the first of its kind involving a United States carrier and foreign airlines, and Braniff would be the only U.S. airline to fly the Concorde, albeit at subsonic speeds (the FAA had banned supersonic flights over land).

However, Lawrence’s endeavors would turn out ill timed. In 1979, the economy entered a severe recession and passenger traffic plummeted. At the time the cost of fuel doubled. Fierce competition among airlines coupled with skyrocketing operating costs at the airline resulted in the company’s first major operating loss in over a decade, in spite of drastic cutbacks.

Lawrence announced his retirement in 1980 after fifteen years as chief executive of Braniff. He now participates as a private investor in oil and gas exploration with partners in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Colorado. He lives with his wife, the former Mary Wells, on St. Vincent in the West Indies and in France. He has five children.

Years of accumulated corporate debt coupled with deregulation of the aviation industry, economic recession, and market over-expansion spelled Braniff’s doom in the Eighties. The company of the “Flying Colors” filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 1, 1982.

Braniff resumed operations in 1984 with a new lean look and competitive, low-fare approach. Employees were enthusiastic and the public supportive. The airline briefly posted profits, but success proved short-lived, and Braniff again filed bankruptcy in the fall of 1989.The company’s final incarnation, primarily as a charter service, lasted from1991 to 1992.

Michael McMurtrey
Stillwater, OK
April 2000



SOURCES:
“Alexander Calder.” On-line: http://www.braniffinternational.com/calder.htm. Accessed 24 April 2000.

“Braniff in Brief.” On-line: http://www.dallashistory.org/html/braniff_in_brief.html. Accessed 24 April 2000.

“Braniff Overhauls Services, Appearance.” Aviation Week 83 (15 November 1965), 40.

“Braniff Plans Extensive Changes; Seeks All-Jet Equipment by 1967.” Aviation Week 82 (21 June 1965), 32.

“Braniff refuels on razzle-dazzle.” Business Week (20 November 1965), 110.

Brown, Stanley H. Ling: The Rise, Fall, and Return of a Texas Titan. New York: Atheneum, 1972.

“Color It Braniff.” Newsweek 67 (24 January 1966), 76.

Davies, R.E.G. Airlines of the United States Since 1914. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1972.

“Harding Lawrence.” On-line: http://www.braniffinternational.org/hlawrence.htm. Accessed 24 April 2000.

Lawrence, Harding. Letter to author, 20 January 2000.

Nance, John J. Splash of Colors: The Self-Destruction of Braniff International. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1984.

“New Course for Braniff.” Time 85 (19 February 1965), 92.

Peterson, Barbara Sturken, and James Glab. Rapid Descent: Deregulation and the Shakeout in the Airlines. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994.

Serling, Robert J. Maverick: The Story of Robert Six and Continental Airlines. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1974

“The Wild Hue Yonder.” Life 59 (3 December 1965), 76.

Untitled. On-line: http://www.braniffinternational.com/concorde.htm. Accessed 25 April 2000.

Harding Lawrence died of pancreatic cancer at his home in the Virgin Islands on January 16, 2002. He was 81. Mr. Lawrence will never be forgotten. He was one of the family.... To read a wonderful bio written by Michael McMurtrey of Stillwater, OK, please

Friday, February 01, 2002

Know some one who has passed, got a picture of them?

If you have pictures of some of our family members who have left this world. Please consider loaning them to The Braniff Family. We want to begin creating a photo album that will memorialize some of our lost family.

So if you have some pictures, you can email them to use if you have them in digital format, or you can snail mail them to us. Email them to carrie@thebranifffamily.org. Snail mail to 751 Lonesome Dove Lane, Copper Canyon, Texas 75077-4829.

If you are sending them in snail mail, PLEASE use an official US Post office photo mailer so they will not get damaged. We will return them once we have scanned them, but we can not take responsibility for them. Of course we will take the utmost care when handling them, but again, we really can not be responsible for damage. Return postage would be helpful, we are not a rich group, but not required.

Also, please include all information known about the person, name, where they worked, when the passed away When they started working for Braniff, when they left Braniff and so on. The more information we have the better.

Wednesday, January 16, 2002

A Funny Customer Service Story

For all of you out there who've had to deal with an irate customer, this one is for you. It's a classic! In tribute to those 'special' customers we all love!

An award should go to the United Airlines gate agent in Denver for being smart and funny, and making her point, when confronted with a passenger who probably deserved to fly as cargo.

A crowded United flight was canceled. A single agent was rebooking a long line of inconvenienced travelers. Suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket down on the counter and said, "I HAVE to be on this flight and it has to be FIRST CLASS."

The agent replied, "I'm sorry sir. I'll be happy to try to help you, but I've got to help these folks first, and I'm sure we'll be able to work something out." The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear, "Do you have any idea who I am?"

Without hesitating, the gate agent smiled and grabbed her public address microphone. "May I have your attention please?" she began, her voice bellowing throughout the terminal. "We have a passenger here at the gate WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to the gate."

With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man glared at the United agent, gritted his teeth and swore, F*** you!"

Without flinching, she smiled and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but you'll have to stand in line for that, too."

If you have a funny story to submit, email them to us!!

Wednesday, January 16, 2002

New way to support The Braniff Family!

EnterNet NOW, Inc. has allowed us to join their Non Profit Promotion. Basically they will donate $10.00 for every new customer that signs up when the use the promotion code "TBF". They will also $0.50 for every active and paid month of a customer that has designated the "TBF" promotion code to our organization!

Now here is some good news, they are cheaper than most national providers! They are only $17.95 per month for 56K dial ups! Heck why pay AOL 23.95 or Earth Link $21.95 when you can have the same Tier 1 level of service for $17.95 and Help