Southwest Airways  Douglas DC-3  NC63104                        (c/n  20214)

                                 

                                     Southwest Airways (no relation to the currently highly successful Southwest Airlines) was founded                                 
                                     in 1946 in San Francisco.  It provided service initially to Los Angeles and Medford, with intermediate
                                     stops and specialized in quick turn-around operations ("two minute stops") at minor stations.  In fact,
                                     the integral built-in stairs, which became a regular feature on many third level carrier's DC-3s was first
                                     developed by Southwest.  The two rare shots in this entry show (above) NC63104 (an ex C-47A-DL)
                                     in the late 1940s at a very undeveloped SFO, and a close-up of the integral stairway.  Southwest actually
                                     developed the idea of a purser issuing tickets on board, but never exploited the concept..  Years later the
                                     practice was taken up by other airlines culminating in the highly successful Washington-New York-Boston
                                     Shuttle.