4. Houston Intercontinental Advertisement c.1965

After reaching a deal with the City of Houston for an expanded airport to be built north of the city, Vanguard Airlines was quick to capitalize on the new "Intercontinental" Airport, capable of handling it's next generation of aircraft. In one corner, the supersonic Boeing 2707 SST and the Anglo-French Concorde were ready to take the market by storm, cutting transit times in half or better. In the other, the Boeing 747 promised to bring a new level of luxury to air travel with it's 'Hotel in the Sky' philosophy. With Vanguard having placed orders for all 3 new airplanes, new airports like IAH would become the forefront of American aviation and bring the nation into the next generation.

Though the Concorde and the Boeing 2707 would never be operated by the airline, with the latter never even reaching the production stage, IAH would serve as the de facto home for Vanguard's Boeing 747s until the development of the Memphis Technical Operations center, which opened in 1986. IAH's size and relative VG dominance would position it to become the premier International gateway for the airline, serving every inhabited continent by 2013.


(Found this really cool poster online and just HAD to use it, credit to the original owner, whoever you are!)