JACKSONVILLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN THE 1980s
Jacksonville International Airport was just over 11 years old as the 1980s began. The 1970s had been a time of slow and steady growth but the volatile post-deregulation years of the early 80s saw a rapid succession of new airlines and the loss of several older carriers through mergers or bankruptcy. National Airlines was the first to go. The company that once dominated JAX was taken over by Pan Am on January 7, 1980 and all of its former routes at the airport were abandoned by late 1982.
The multi-million dollar International Arrivals Building was completed in summer 1980. On July 17 the new facility was visited by President Jimmy Carter and local dignitaries. Air Force One and a Pan Am 707 are pictured on the ramp. Photo from the Jacksonville International Airport flickr archives.
A wide view of Air Force One and a Pan Am 707 at the newly completed International Arrivals Building on July 17, 1980. Photo from the Jacksonville International Airport flickr archives.
A collection of Jacksonville quick reference schedules from 1980. The Eastern timetable shows 19 departures a day: Atlanta(7), Charlotte(1), Chicago(1), Daytona Beach(6), New York Kennedy(2), and Washington National (2). Pan Am had reduced former National Airlines schedules to a mere 4 flights a day by July 1980: Houston(1), Miami(1), Norfolk(1), Washington National(1). Delta had 13 flights a day: Atlanta(7), Dallas / Ft. Worth(1), New York LaGuardia(2), Orlando(1), and West Palm Beach(2).
This terminal diagram is from a brochure about the Jacksonville International Airport printed in 1980. The complete brochure can be seen HERE.
Phoenix Airlines operated a short-lived commuter service from Jacksonville to Atlanta DeKalb-Peachtree via St. Simons Island and Savannah during spring 1980. Florida Commuter Airlines' schedule effective September 1, 1980 shows a single Tallahassee - Jacksonville round-trip each weekday. (FCA timetable from the Doug Ewen Jr. collection via timetableimages.com.)
Aerial view of Jacksonville International from January 2, 1981 showing a Delta L-1011, Republic DC-9 and two Eastern DC-9s at the terminal. Air Florida, Braniff, Pan Am and Florida Commuter Airlines (which became Southern Airlines later in the year) also served JAX at the time. Altair Airlines, People Express, Texas International and commuter airlines Dolphin, Devoe, and Sunbird inaugurated service later in the year. Photo from the Jacksonville International Airport flickr archives.
Here's a detail from the above photo. As a kid, I loved the way the Delta L-1011s towered over the parking lot, with the wing tips only about 50 feet from the road.
The early to mid 1980s saw numerous small commuter airlines come and go at JAX. Florida Commuter Airlines became Southern Airlines in 1981 and offered flights to Daytona and Tallahassee. Sunbird initiated service to JAX in the summer of 1981 with non-stops to Columbia, SC. Devoe Airlines flew routes from Jacksonville to Tallahassee and Orlando.
Republic Airlines was formed by the merger of Southern Airways and North Central Airlines in 1979. Southern had served Jacksonville since 1949. Photo from the AirNikon Collection, taken in March 1982, at which time Republic was flying between Jacksonville and Atlanta.
Delta DC-8-61 N1306L at gate 2 in Jacksonville in March 1982 with a 727 also at the concourse. AirNikon Collection .
As Pan Am dropped routes to JAX, other airlines moved in to fill the gaps. In this February 1, 1982 quick reference schedule, Texas International was flying two daily non-stops to New Orleans with continuing service to Houston and Denver. On October 31, 1982 Texas International was merged into Continental Airlines which continued to fly two nonstop flights a day from JAX, one to New Orleans and one to Houston.
Eastern Air Lines 727-225 N8848E in the bare metal color scheme in March 1982. AirNikon Collection .
Circa 1982 view of JAX showing two Dolphin Airways Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirantes, two Eastern 727s and an Eastern DC-9 at the terminal. Photo from the Jacksonville International Airport flickr archives.
Dolphin Airways "special advance copy" flight schedule effective October 31, 1982 shows 21 flights departing Jacksonville each weekday: Charleston(3), Orlando(4), Savannah(4), Tallahassee(4), Tampa(4) and West Palm Beach(2). Virtually all of these routes were previously flown by National Airlines.
Dolphin Airways Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante N68DA at JAX in December 1982. Photo taken by Ellis M. Chernoff .
Devoe Airlines Piper Chieftain N3525D is pictured at Jacksonville in November 1982. Photo taken by Ellis M. Chernoff .
Piedmont Airlines added Jacksonville to their system in 1982 with nonstop flights to their Charlotte hub. Ozark began service to JAX in 1984 with two daily nonstops to Nashville, continuing on to their St. Louis base.
Circa 1983 view showing the reconstruction of the south ramp. It appears that the concourses are being repainted from the original dark brown to a lighter gray. Photo from the Jacksonville International Airport flickr archives.
Continental's golden DC-9 N521TX in beautiful morning light, pictured at JAX in May 1983. This was a former Texas International plane. Photo by Ellis M. Chernoff .
More commuter airlines in the mid 1980s: PBA began flying to Jacksonville on February 1, 1983 with 4 flights a day to Tampa and 3 to Tallahassee. Trans Air began service in 1984 with 2 daily round-trips to Orlando. Southern Express served JAX 5 times a day from Tampa in 1985. Other commuter airlines that served JAX in the mid to late 1980s include Air New Orleans and Comair.
After only three months at JAX, PBA had increased flight frequencies to 4 daily round-trips to Tallahassee and 10 round-trips to Tampa, flown with Embraer Bandeirantes and YS-11 turboprops. YS-11 N259P is shown at Jacksonville in May 1983. PBA would later add a Jacksonville - Ft. Lauderdale - Miami - Key West route, also flown with YS-11s. Photo by Ellis M. Chernoff .
Low-cost, no-frills carrier People Express arrived in 1981 and quickly became one of the top airlines at Jacksonville. By 1983 they were surpassed only by Delta and Eastern in number of passengers boarded at JAX. N433BN is pictured in November 1983. Photo by Ellis M. Chernoff .
An Ozark DC-9 taxis to the gate, circa 1984. Photo from the Petr Popelar collection via Airliners.net.
Piedmont Airlines 737 on a stormy Jacksonville day, September 21, 1984. Photo copyright George Hamlin.
A fantastic aerial photo from October 4, 1984 showing a wide variety of airlines and aircraft at JAX. At far left, a People Express 727 heads out onto the taxiway. In the foreground a PBA Cessna 402 and Martin 404 are parked at the International Arrivals Building, which apparently doubled as a commuter airline terminal. Also seen at the south concourse are a TWA 727 and Piedmont 737. At the middle concourse, a pair of Eastern planes, a 757 and DC-9-50, share space with an American Airlines 727 and Ozark DC-9. A Delta 767 is seen at far right. Photo from the Jacksonville International Airport flickr archives.
October 4, 1984 view showing the general aviation ramps north of the terminal. Of particular interest are the unidentified Vickers Viscount at bottom left and the DC-3 parked near it. Photo from the Jacksonville International Airport flickr archives.
Here's a closer view of the DC-3 seen in the above photo. N8064A was owned by Amerijet International, a charter cargo company. December 4, 1984. Photo taken by Gerard Helmer
Circa 1986 curbside view of the check-in / passenger drop off on the north side of the terminal. Photo from the Jacksonville International Airport flickr archives.
The airline signs from left to right in this photo are American, Ozark, TWA, Piedmont, Delta, Continental, and Eastern. Photo from the Jacksonville International Airport flickr archives.
Passenger traffic at Jacksonville International increased approximately 43% during the 1980s and roughly doubled in the two decades since it opened in 1968. By the late 80s, a major terminal expansion was underway and included the extension of two concourses and the addition of a new ticketing and baggage claim building on the east side of the main terminal. This July 3, 1989 photo shows construction of the new passenger lobby and a semi-circular addition to the middle concourse. The recent extension of the north concourse can be seen at right.
At the end of the 1980s, Jacksonville International was served by 11 airlines: American, Continental, Delta, Eastern, Midway, Pan Am, TWA, United, USAir and commuters Comair (operating as Delta Connection) and USAir Express. You can view detailed JAX flight schedules from December 1989 over at the amazing Departed Flights website. To see more airport histories from Florida and Georgia, click the link below.
Be sure to check out the history of Jacksonville's first two commercial airports Paxon Field and Imeson Airport.
Be sure to check out the history of Jacksonville's first two commercial airports Paxon Field and Imeson Airport.