USAirways: Ft. Lauderdale Hub, 2004

USAirways established a Caribbean basin hub in the middle of the last decade, but apparently it didn't last. Sort of a shame, and a bit unexpected in that USAirways, like other legacy carriers, has been looking to international traffic for revenue growth recently, evident in USAirway's services from Belize to Rio from its Charlotte hub, which much offer more traffic and profits.

KLM: Amsterdam-Paramaraibo

Both KLM and Surinam Airways fly this route today a few times per week-- its hard to believe that enough people need to get between the two points, but such is the state of affairs in post-colonial aviation. Surinam Airways recently switched from a B747-300 to an Airbus A340, leased from Air France.

British Airways: London-Salisbury (Harare)

To compliment yesterday's post is this envelope from the same period, half-illustrated with a B747 in early BA livery, on its way to Harare (via Nairobi), which was still called Salisbury until 1982. Note the captain's names listed at below-left.

Air Zimbabwe: London Gatwick-Salisbury (Harare)

In time for independence, is this rather business-like flight cover from a nascent Air Zimbabwe, which apparently was so new it hadn't settled on its Great Zimbabwe eagle emblem, yet, although the italicized Air Zimbabwe remains to this day. The country itself was so new, the capital hasn't been rechristened Harare. A B707 made the run to Gatwick, which in later years would be a B767.