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We thank both the Ozark Air Lines/Silver Swallows and the  OzarkAirLines.com  Web Site for allowing us to reproduce the history of Ozark Air Lines on this site and for the use of graphics from their sites.

Ozark Air Lines Photo Page

Ozark Air Lines History

Ozark Air Lines : The Fifties
The fifty's marked the first decade for Ozark Air Lines. Service started Sept. 26th, 1950 when the first flight departed St. Louis for Chicago via Decatur with only one passenger. As of Christmas, 1959, Ozark served ten states and 52 cities and towns in America’s breadbasket while operating 26,930 scheduled route miles daily. Ozark Airlines had truly come of age- and the best was yet to come

The Ozark Airlines title familiar to most of us has actually been used by three airlines.

In 1932 the first outfit called Ozark conducted operations from Kansas City to Springfield, MO with Stinson aircraft. The short lived line ceased flights by March, 1933 as depression gripped the country.

During World War II another, apparently unrelated organization was formed in Springfield, Missouri to provide transportation from the Ozark region to other points in the Show-Me state. The second Ozark Airlines began on 1 September, 1943 and initially provided service to St Louis, Kansas City, Clinton and Columbia with Beech Staggerwings and at least one Cessna Crane. With the end of the second world war, the airline’s operations were suspended as the federal government tried to get a regulatory handle on the booming commercial aviation sector. This Ozark ceased scheduled flights on 3 Nov, 1945, while its owners tried to gain a federal certificate to resume business as an inter-state operation.

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), as the controlling Federal agency for the industry, issued certificates to a number of "local service" airlines in the late forties to provide short-range service to the many small towns and cities throughout the country, while the "trunk" airlines, such as United, Braniff and Continental carried out long-distance service.

In 1947 the CAB awarded Parks Airlines, of St Louis, a certificate to fly 3000 miles of local routes radiating from its home city. Two years later, Parks had still not started operations, and the CAB stripped the line of its authority while awarding the routes to Mid-Continent Airlines (merged into Braniff in 1952) and the dormant Ozark. The airline that would become the "Route of the Swallows" was in back business.

The reborn airline’s first flight departed St. Louis for Chicago via Decatur on 26 September,1950 with only one passenger. To cover the routes assigned, Ozark had assumed four Parks Airlines DC-3s, establishing a relationship with twin-engined Douglas transports that would last throughout the route’s history. More DC-3s followed the original quartet, all second-hand and most ex military.

Ozark had "inherited" local routes that served 42 cities in nine states. (Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa and Illinois) The line’s first president was Laddie Hamilton, and the route had a bright future in the booming ‘fifties. Competition with the trunk lines was never an issue, as while Ozark and American might both have St.Louis to Chicago flights, the major carrier could fly non-stop, while Ozark’s certificate mandated several stops enroute, at towns like Alton, Springfield and Bloomington..

Although the line rapidly expanded its area of service, some routes proved more lucrative than others. While St. Louis to Chicago would prove the Ozark’s "main-line’ for years, service to Tulsa, Oklahoma was ended in 1954, as well as the intermediate stops in the Sooner metropolises of Miami and Bartlesville. Tennessee and Arkansas were also dropped from the timetable, although all three states would return to the company’s fold in time. The company made money too, although not a tremendous amount. In 1954 the company reported a profit of $48,000, ranking it 12th of 13 local service airlines in the nation. As with all of the local service lines, Ozark depended on federal subsidies and mail contracts to survive

New states were added to the timetable throughout the decade as Milwaukee, Wisconsin was added in 1953, Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1957, and Omaha, Nebraska in 1959. By the end of the fifties, Ozark had grown to be the primary local service carrier in the Missouri-Iowa-Illinois region.

From the mid-fifties, most of Ozark’s workhorse green-stripped DC-3s had been modified with "high-performance" kits that included full gear doors and other drag-reducing enhancements that increased the aircraft’s top speed by over 20 mph. Late in the decade the line procured its first turbine powered aircraft, as three Fokker/Fairchild F-27 "Friendships" were ordered. Turbo-prop service was initiated on 27 Sep. 1959 on the line’s two most important routes, Chicago-St Louis-Joplin, and St Louis to Minneapolis, both with the required intermediate stops. Not only would the new aircraft feature a cruise speed almost 100kts over the DC-3s, but the 40 seat, high-winged F-27 would also introduce the new Ozark "Swallow" image, a logo that would last to the end of the airline, over a quarter century later.

As of Christmas, 1959, Ozark served ten states and 52 cities and towns in America’s breadbasket while operating 26,930 scheduled route miles daily. Ozark Airlines had truly come of age- and the best was yet to come.

Ozark Stats of the Fifties: (as reported to the "Aviation Week")

Go Getter Bird Note: A special Thank You and tip of the Ozark hat to Rich Morgan who has taken an interest in the history of Ozark Air Lines and the writer of this article on Ozark History from the '50.

Rich, provided the following information about himself and how he became interested in our airline.
"I've been writing at the amateur level for over 20 years, and have over 15 articles printed so far in railroad historical and professional Navy journals. Most of my work has appeared in the Navy historical/professional journal "The Hook", which is published by the Tailhook Assoc. (yes, THAT Tailhook Association...).
I'm not from the region originally, but went to Mizzou 1974-78, met my wife there, and have taken the Kansas City area as my adopted home since then. OZ was the "home line" at Columbia, so that's why it still interests me. I only wish I'd spent a lot more time shooting pictures down there! I spent 16 years in the Navy flying EA-6B Prowlers, and have lived in the Northern Virginia area since 1995 only because that's where the job is. I work in the Pentagon, where I have access to the library and back issues of "Aviation Week" and "Wall Street Journal", which has allowed me to develop a surprisingly large file on Ozark.

The Silver Swallows thank the www.ozarkairlines.com site for allowing us to reproduce the history of Ozark Air Lines.

Ozark Air Lines: The Sixties
Ozark Air Lines entered the sixties serving 34 cities in nine midwestern states. Over the decade the line would more than double its passengers loadings, reach the east coast and join the jet age. By the end of the 60's decade, Ozark had a fleet of 38 aircraft, flying 578,208,000 revenue passenger miles and carrying 2,277,000 passengers.

Ozark Air Lines entered the sixties serving 34 cities in nine midwestern states. Over the decade the line would more than double its passengers loadings, reach the east coast and join the jet age.

Ozark steadily continued its growth as a local service provider as small towns like Moberly and Kirksville Missouri, Sterling and Galesburg Illinois were added by 1961. Several bigger cities and states in the region also joined the schedule, Sioux Falls (and South Dakota) in 1962, and Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1963. Some low-traffic small towns were destined to lose service in the same period as Danville and Cairo, IL were dropped. Freight-only "Cargo-Getter" service was introduced between St Louis and Chicago, initially in DC-3s and later in Fairchilds as Ozark widened its markets.

The airline's aircraft fleet went through major changes through the decade, as the workhorse Douglas DC-3s continued in operation until the last official flight on 26 October, 1968. Six Convair CV-240 aircraft were operated from 1963 to 1965, when they were sent to New York regional carrier Mohawk Airlines in a unique sale/trade agreement that brought 15 Martin 4-0-4s to Ozark. 21 new Fairchild FH-227s turbo-props were ordered in 1966 to become the airline's standard "small town" equipment and would replace the Martins, original F-27s and the last of the DC-3s by the end of 1968.

Ozark had announced early in the decade that it was looking for turbo-jet powered aircraft, and briefly flirted with ordering British BAC 1-11 types in 1961. It would not be until 1966 that jets actually arrived in Ozark green and white, when three Douglas DC-9-10 aircraft started service. The arrival of the DC-9s signaled that Ozark was ready to break out of its mold as a midwest, local-service airline and spread its wings to the coasts.

Delivery of T-tailed Douglas twin jets allowed service to Denver, Colorado from October, 1966. In April, 1969, the line was authorized to begin flights to New York/LaGuardia (LGA) and Washington National (DCA) from Peoria and Champaign Illinois. The 661 mile PIA-DCA leg became the longest on the airline's route structure, and was advertised as a by-pass for crowded Chicago/O'Hare. Three daily flights to the east coast were soon reduced to two due to low traffic levels, but Ozark finally had a presence in these critical east coast cities. Texas was added to the timetable in October, 1969 as service from St Louis and Tulsa was inagurated to Dallas' Love Field.

On 27 Dec. 67 Ozark suffered its first major mishap when two year old DC-9-10 N974Z crashed at Sioux City IA. Flight 982, enroute to Chicago, was departing SUX in freezing rain and crashed into the trees and snow immediately after take off. Although the starboard wing was sheared off on impact, the four crewmembers and 62 passengers miraculously escaped with no serious injuries.

Merger was on Ozark's mind in the sixties, as in 1962 and again 1966 the company told the Civil Aviation Board (CAB) that it was talking with Central Airlines about combining forces. Central was another local-service airline operating in the OK/TX/KS/CO/AR region with Convairs and DC-3s. The 1966 proposal planned to retain the Ozark title as the combined name and would have added 41 cities and three states to the route map. In both cases talks were halted prior to consumation and the airlines went their own way. Central would merge with Frontier in 1967, while OZ would enjoy almost another twenty years of independence.

GO GETTERS GO OZARK AIR LINES!

Ozark Stats of the Sixties:
(as reported to the "Aviation Week & Space Technology")

Ozark Air Lines: The Seventies
Over the decade the airline would begin service to five new states, continue route experimentation and compete on a whole new playing field as airline deregulation became the law of the land. Based on 1978 traffic statistic Ozark flew 33,263,000 revenue miles, carrying 4,725,800 passengers that resulted in 1,634,800,000 revenue passenger miles.

A nation’s President resigned, Disco reigned, man last visited the moon and OZARK flourished. Over the decade the airline would begin service to five new states, continue route experimentation and compete on a whole new playing field as airline deregulation became the law of the land.

Ozark’s fleet of Douglas DC-9s continued to grow through the period, as over twenty of the Douglas twins were bought or leased for service, either directly from the builder or second hand from airlines like Delta. Two of the new aircraft were DC-9-32s, equipped with long-range fuel tanks. While the jet fleet grew, the line’s force of turbo-prop FH-227s was slowly reduced in size as Ozark dropped service from more of the area’s small airports, such as Kirksville, MO, Ottumwa IA and Sterling, IL.

The airline broke tradition in 1978 when it ordered two Boeing 727-200s. Although the pair would be painted in full green and white swallow scheme, neither would ever operate for the regional carrier, as both were sold to Pan Am at delivery, Ozark electing to stay with the DC-9 as its only jet aircraft.

Taking on outside work, Ozark’s St Louis maintenance base overhauled USAF C-9As (essentially DC-9-30s) from nearby Scott, AFB and maintained Hugh Hefner’s personal DC-9. The gloss black aircraft with its trademark Playboy Bunny markings would become a familiar sight on the Ozark ramp at Lambert through the period.

Two major Ozark cities debuted large new airports as Kansas City International (MCI) and Dallas-Ft Worth (DFW) were opened, both replacing smaller downtown facilities. New states were added to the timetable, as Ozark began flights to Detroit, Michigan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Georgia and New Orleans, Louisiana through the decade. Florida became an Ozark state in 1979 as Miami, Tampa Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando were added as destinations. In time Ozark would serve eight different locations in the "Sunshine State."

Ozark wasn’t afraid to try innovative ideas, as it introduced "commuter" service to Chicago’s Meigs Field in March, 1972 with three leased DeHavilland of Canada DHC-6 "Twin Otters". The high-winged, fixed gear, twin-turboprop aircraft were perfect for use into the short (3900 ft) lake-front field and by mid 1972 was flying eight daily weekday flights into the downtown location from the state capital at Springfield. Traffic never reached appropriate levels however, and service was suspended by 1974. In a similar fashion, Ozark operated seasonal flights to Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks in 1977-78 using Fairchild FH-227s into Lee C. Fine airport.

Tragedy struck Ozark on 22 July, as Fairchild N4215 crashed on approach to Lambert-St Louis Airfield during a severe thunderstorm. The aircraft was scheduled as flight 809, from Nashville, Clarksville, Paducah, Cape Girardeau and Marion. 39 of the 45 people on board perished in the accident, which was attributed by the NTSB as probably due to a "sudden downdraft created by the thunderstorm". It was the first fatal accident in the airline’s 25 year history.

In 1978 the Federal Government decided to deregulate the domestic airline industry. Deregulation meant that airlines could adjust service and rates as competition allowed and they saw fit. It meant an end to Civil Aeronautics Board micro-management of airline operations, which was welcome industry wide. However, the act also meant that competition would be much more fierce, and that smaller lines like Ozark would have to scramble to survive. Deregulation would lead to a flurry of new routes for Ozark, allow it to finally stretch to the Pacific coast and inevitably lead to its merger into a larger competitor. But that would in the next decade.

GO GETTERS GO OZARK AIR LINES!

Ozark Stats of the Seventies:
(as reported to the "Aviation Week & Space Technology")

OZARK AIR LINES: The Eighties
Deregulation had changed the face of Ozark as the line continued to expand, reaching westward to Las Vegas in 1981 and San Diego a year later. During the same time frame, Norfolk. Cleveland and San Antonio became Ozark towns, and Florida destinations rose to six. Over 35 years, Ozark had developed from a puddle-jumping local airline flying DC-3s to a coast-to-coast, DC-9 only operation centered in St Louis.

As Ozark Air Lines entered its fourth decade of service, it served 20 states with a fleet of 54 aircraft.

Deregulation had changed the face of Ozark as the line continued to expand, reaching westward to Las Vegas in 1981 and San Diego a year later. During the same time frame, Norfolk. Cleveland and San Antonio became Ozark towns, and Florida destinations rose to six even as several small, traditional Ozark stops like Paducah and Mattoon were deleted from the timetable.

By 1983, total route-miles exceeded 35,000, with 109 departures a day from St Louis.

Things weren't all "in the green" for the company, as a strike by machinists shut down the airline for 28 days in May, 1980, but the route rebounded strongly, gaining it a favorable article in the 20 October, 1981 "Wall Street Journal". The strike also marked the end of propeller aircraft in Ozark's inventory as the remaining Fairchild FH-227Bs were sold off, many to European second-level airlines. Although Ozark initially used its DC-9s to pick up the turbo-prop's service, the higher cost of the full jet service led to an agreement in October, 1985 with third-level carrier Air Midwest to assume service to a number of the region's smaller airports with their Swearangin Metroliners under the "Ozark Midwest" banner.

The company's Douglas fleet swelled through the '80s as additional second-hand DC-9s arrived from a variety of sources. Four McDonnell-Douglas MD-82s, the stretched and improved successor to the DC-9, would arrive in 1984-85 as the last new aircraft purchased by Ozark.

Through the '80s Ozark competed against the "bigs" with a variety of marketing schemes, including a new, cleaner paint scheme for its aircraft in 1981. In 1984 the line introduced an actor portraying Mark Twain on some of its flights to share some of the rich local color from its Heartland area of service.

Over 35 years, Ozark had developed from a puddle-jumping local airline flying DC-3s to a coast-to-coast, DC-9 only operation centered in St Louis. The line was not destined to survive the decade however, and in early 1986 an agreement was cut to merge Ozark into Carl Ichan's TWA for $224M. In spite of monopoly concerns stated by the US Justice Department, (the combined lines would control 75% of the gates out of Lambert-St Louis Airport) the merger was approved. For better or worse, 4000 employees and 50 aircraft joined TWA on 26 October 1986, and one of the more colorful local airlines in America came to an end.

Ozark Stats of the decade:

   Web Museum of Commercial Aviation

    Ozark the 1950s

    Ozark the 1960s

    Ozark the 1970s

    Ozark the 1980s

    NY Times Archives - August 1981

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