SARASOTA BRADENTON AIRPORT IN THE LATE 1970s
This is the third part of the history of airline service at Sarasota Bradenton. The first part, covering the 1930s through the 1960s, can be found HERE. The second part, which covered 1970-1974, can be found HERE.
Delta DC-8-51 N814E on the ramp in December 1976. This was possibly a weather diversion from Tampa since Delta did not begin scheduled service to Sarasota Bradenton until 3 years later on December 15, 1979 using Boeing 727s and Douglas DC-9s. Shea Oakley wrote, "All it would have taken was a Florida thunderstorm hovering over Tampa [to require a diversion]. Delta had a daily DC-8-51 service into TPA in the mid-1970's. My family and I flew JFK-TPA in one in 1974." Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
The DC-8 dwarfs everything else in this photo. This view from the parking lot also shows one of two enclosed walkways added to the terminal in the mid 1970s. The main terminal would be off to the right from this vantage point. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
National began adding female names to their aircraft in late 1971 to coincide with the introduction of their "Fly Me" ad campaign. Boeing 727 "Ann" is pictured on the SRQ ramp on December 21, 1976. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
"Jane" at SRQ on January 30, 1977. Photo courtesy of Shea Oakley.
The increasingly crowded Sarasota ticket counters, July 15, 1977. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
A view of the ticket lobby from the second level, July 15, 1977. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
Most of the main airport lobby can be seen in this July 15, 1977 view from behind the ticket counter. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
Sitting in a lawn chair in the shade, watching the planes go by. This looks like paradise to an airplane-obsessed '70s kid like me!
The entrance to the enclosed walkway seen in the previous Delta DC-8 photo can be seen at far left. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
The entrance to the enclosed walkway seen in the previous Delta DC-8 photo can be seen at far left. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
Outside the National Airlines baggage claim, July 15, 1977. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
Two Florida Airlines DC-3s, wearing "The Connection" titles, on the Sarasota ramp on July 15, 1977. Florida's headquarters were in the building seen just above the DC-3 on the left. They also claimed to have the world's largest DC-3 fleet at the time, including the fleet of sister company Shawnee Airlines. Unfortunately, most of Shawnee's planes (seen in the distance at left and in the next photo) were parked in the weeds and were slowly stripped of parts to keep Florida's "threes" flying. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
Two of the Shawnee Airlines DC-3s seen parked in the distance in the previous photo. Too bad this is in black and white because this particular aircraft, N45366, was painted bright yellow with pink cheatlines. A color photo can be seen HERE. There is also a color view of this lineup farther down on this page. Photo taken July 15, 1977. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
A Martin 404 and eight DC-3s are among the many aircraft parked at the Florida Airlines maintenance base at Sarasota in this Florida Department of Transportation aerial photo taken on December 7, 1977.
The following SRQ photos were contributed by David Wick, who took them as a teenager with his Kodak Instamatic camera between 1975 and 1979. They are arranged as a gallery so you can click the first one and then scroll through the rest. David's captions will appear beneath each photo.
Aerial view of SRQ taken on December 7, 1977. The terminal is on the south side of the field.
A detail from the same photo shows the enclosed walkways added to each end of the terminal and an additional parking position added on the far east end of the ramp.
North Central was the first airline to enter the Sarasota market after the passage of airline deregulation with non-stop service from Detroit. This is the arrival of the inaugural flight on December 15, 1978. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
A crowd gathers to watch the departure of North Central's first flight from Sarasota on December 15, 1978. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
Nice color photo of DC-9-31 N960N taken by Paul Thallon on July 6, 1979. North Central merged with Southern Airways to form Republic Airlines on July 1, 1979, so I suppose this is technically a Republic DC-9 in North Central colors.
A pair of Eastern 727s on July 6, 1979. The aircraft at left is 727-25 N8104N. Photo copyright Paul Thallon.
Florida Airlines' growing collection of retired DC-3s slowly disintegrating on the west side of the airport. Three of the aircraft are ex-Shawnee Airlines. N18111, in the foreground, is now preserved at the Massey Aerodrome in Maryland. You can see the tail of an Eastern DC-9 at the passenger terminal at far right. Photo taken by Paul Thallon on July 6, 1979.
Florida Airlines Martin 404 N147S departing Sarasota Bradenton on July 23, 1979. Photo taken by Paul Thallon.
Eastern Air Lines Sarasota / Bradenton timetable effective November 1, 1979 shows non-stops to Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, Orlando and upcoming nonstop service to Newark. Courtesy of Shea Oakley.
Crowded conditions at the 1959-vintage Sarasota Bradenton terminal on November 24, 1979. For a detailed look at SRQ flight schedules at the time this photo was taken, check out the always amazing Departed Flights website. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
A map of the terminal as it looked in late 1979. This was part of a National Airlines information sheet about SRQ. Courtesy of Shea Oakley.
With the passage of deregulation, several major airlines planned to enter the Sarasota market to take advantage of Gulf coast vacation traffic but space constraints at the airport forced them to postpone service until the completion of a new terminal addition. This building was immediately to the southwest of the main terminal (which would be directly off to the right in this perspective) and included ticketing, baggage claim and waiting areas for Delta, United and Republic (formerly North Central). National, Eastern and Florida Airlines remained in the main terminal. Delta and United could not start service until the building was completed, which was about a week after this photo was taken on December 5, 1979. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
The new waiting area was nearly ready for business in this December 5, 1979 photo. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
Last minute preparations being made at the ticket counters on December 5, 1979, only 10 days before the arrival of the first Delta flight. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
One funny detail I noticed about the above photo: they apparently didn't have time to update the route map to include the new service. Sarasota isn't on it.
United began service to Sarasota on December 13, 1979 and Delta arrived two days later. Here's a view of the new ticket counters on December 28, 1979, about two weeks after the first Delta and United flights. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
A dramatic view of an arriving National 727, December 28, 1979. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
Two National 727s on the ramp at Sarasota Bradenton on December 28, 1979. This long familiar scene would soon disappear as National was taken over by Pan Am only ten days later on January 7, 1980. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
Passengers boarding a National 727 via the rear airstairs at SRQ for nearly the last time before the merger with Pan Am. The airline that pioneered service to Sarasota in 1937 and the famed Florida Sun King logo would soon fade from the skies. Although Pan Am envisioned the acquisition as a way to expand their domestic presence and feed their international flights, once the merger was complete they quickly began to dismantle National's long established route network. Pan Am left Sarasota in 1984. Photo courtesy of the Manatee County Public Library System.
