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1976 DC-9-40


1976 DC-9-40

The legal theory that if an airline operated solely within a state and abstained from interstate operations it would be exempt from CAB regulations was not well received with many investors in the early days of the creation of what would become Airmerican Star. Richard Oswalt's first attempt to create an airline that would operate solely within Texas was a failure, so much so that his company Airmerican Airlines Enterprises went bankrupt just before the Texas Supreme Court ruled in his favour in Oswalt v Association of American Airlines for Market Stability (a legal fund mostly contributed to by Alden, Texas's largest air carrier at the time). However, financial problems did not stop Oswalt from celebrating the win. Finding a new group to back the idea was exceptionally difficult until Oswalt met eccentric San Antonio heiress Doris Starr. She had cash to splash and was willing to spend enough to ensure Oswalt's carrier could commence operations if the airline would serve San Antonio and the airline was named after her. Oswalt had already planned a Hobby to SAT route but he was worried about the viability of the name Starr Airlines plus he already held trademark on the brand name Airmerican. Dorris suggested the mouthful Airmerican Starr. Loathe to lose his best source of funding, Oswalt compromised on the name Airmerican Star. Thus, in 1974, the company acquired three used DC-9-40s which had been scrubbed of any previous livery markings and wrapped one of them in a special livery. This plane was featured in all promotional material for the airline to prepare for the 1975 launch but costumers who arrived for the airline's first scheduled flight boarded a bare metal aircraft with a registration stenciled on the back of its fuselage. After de-regulation, the airline grew rapidly from its original hubs in Hobby and San Antonio to operate out of Little Rock and Reno by the early 80s. The airline's fleet entirely consisted of DC-9 family aircraft, most of which were painted in bare metal (sometimes with a title and nothing else but somewhat more frequently entirely unmarked) whilst a small number of aircraft wore a very basic livery as depicted above. Oddly, the earliest days of Airmerican Star are remembered by the lack of brand identity in the bare metal only aircraft rather than by the aircraft that featured the airline's mediocre initial livery.



    ^_^

    Love it!

    Great concept, based on lore, I am guessing an AE Southwest?

    This looks like one of those airlines that you can never really trust and only fly because they're cheaper than the competition, and I love it. Nice work!

    ^_^

    Love it!

    Darn Tootin' Y'all

     

    Great concept, based on lore, I am guessing an AE Southwest?

    Thank you. Obviously some WN basis but it's going to become a proper LCC and it's not going to be nearly as large and successful

     

    This looks like one of those airlines that you can never really trust and only fly because they're cheaper than the competition, and I love it. Nice work!

    I really trust any airline that uses what looks like the old Wal Mart font