Over the years, many airlines have struggled to stay in business.
Pan Am was an icon of early travel that no longer exists, and even Hooters had its own airline.
Meanwhile, the Concorde was an engineering marvel that wowed passengers, but it no longer flies.
Did you know that the restaurant chain Hooters once had its own airline, where the wait staff got a chance to work at 32,000 feet? But the business didn’t last long.
Getting a new airline off the ground can be the easy part, but many struggle to stay above the competition.
Take Pan Am. America’s premier airline boasted the first ever scheduled international flight and became an icon of early air travel. But this wasn’t enough to save the company from going under.
And then there’s Concorde. The elegant supersonic jet was the preferred mode of transport for the rich and famous and could cross the Atlantic in just over three hours. Since its last flight in 2003, no other airliner has come close.
These three stories have it all — glitz, glamour, and tragedy. Where did it all go wrong?