Philadelphia International Airport

Philadelphia International Airport (IATA: PHL, ICAO: KPHL, FAA LID: PHL), often referred to just by its IATA code PHL, is a major airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and is the largest airport in the Delaware Valley region and in the state. The airport is a major international hub for American Airlines and a regional cargo hub for UPS Airlines. The airport has service to destinations in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Most of the airport property is located in Philadelphia proper. The international terminal and the western end of the airfield are located in Tinicum Township, Delaware County.

History

Starting in 1925 the Pennsylvania National Guard used the PHL site (known as Hog Island) as a training airfield. The site was dedicated as the "Philadelphia Municipal Airport" by Charles Lindbergh in 1927, but it had no proper terminal building until 1940; airlines used the airfield (at 39°55′48″N 75°04′41″W / 39.930°N 75.078°W / 39.930; -75.078) in nearby Camden, New Jersey. Once Philadelphia's terminal was completed (on the east side of the field) American, Eastern, TWA and United began flights.

American Airlines

American Airlines, Inc. (AA) is a major American airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Operating an extensive international and domestic network, American Airlines is the world's largest airline by fleet size and revenue, and the second largest by number of destinations served, after United Airlines. It operates from its main hub at Dallas/Fort Worth, and its hubs at Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Los Angeles, Miami, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C., while its primary maintenance base is at Tulsa International Airport. Its primary competitors are United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines.

American Airlines is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance, and coordinates fares, services, and scheduling with British Airways, Iberia, and Finnair in the transatlantic market and with Japan Airlines in the transpacific market. Regional service is operated by independent and subsidiary carriers under the brand name American Eagle.

Business class

Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names which vary by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between economy class and first class, but many airlines now offer business class as the highest level of service, having eliminated first class seating. Business class is distinguished from other travel classes by the quality of seating, food, drinks, ground service and other amenities. Full business class is usually denoted 'J' or 'C' with schedule flexibility, but can be many other letters depending on circumstances.

Airlines

History

Airlines began separating full-fare and discounted economy class passengers in the late 1970s. In 1976, KLM introduced a Full Fare Facilities (FFF) service for its full fare economy class passengers, which allowed them to sit at the front of the economy cabin immediately behind first class, and this concept was quickly copied by several other airlines including Air Canada. Both United Airlines and Trans World Airlines experimented with a similar three-class concept in 1978, but abandoned it due to negative reactions from discount economy class travelers who felt that amenities were being taken away from them. United also cited the difficulty of tracking which passengers should be seated in which section of the economy cabin on connecting flights.American Airlines also began separating full-fare economy passengers from discounted economy passengers in 1978, and offered open middle seats for full-fare passengers.

US Airways

US Airways was a major American airline that ceased operations on October 17, 2015 after merging with American Airlines. It operated an extensive international and domestic network, with 193 destinations in 24 countries in North America, South America, Europe and the Middle East. The airline was an affiliate member of Oneworld and utilized a fleet of 343 mainline jet aircraft, as well as 278 regional jet and turbo-prop aircraft operated by contract and subsidiary airlines under the name US Airways Express.

The carrier operated the US Airways Shuttle, a US Airways brand which provided hourly service between Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. As of October 2013, US Airways employed 32,312 people worldwide and operated 3,028 daily flights (1,241 US Airways Mainline, 1,790 US Airways Express) Roughly 60% of US Airways flights were operated by US Airways Express.

In 1979, after passage of the Airline Deregulation Act, Allegheny Airlines changed its name to USAir and began seeking to expand its operations. A decade later, it had acquired Piedmont Airlines and Pacific Southwest Airlines, and was one of the U.S.'s seven remaining transcontinental legacy carriers. In 2005, America West Airlines carried out a reverse merger, acquiring the assets and branding of the larger US Airways while putting the America West leadership team largely in charge of the merged airline.

Philadelphia International Records

Philadelphia International Records (PIR) is an American record label based in Philadelphia. It was founded in 1971 by the writer-producer duo, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, along with their long time collaborator Thom Bell. It was famous for showcasing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as Philly soul) that was founded on the gospel, doo-wop, and soul music of the time. This Philly Soul sound later became a prominent and distinct era within R&B itself. During the 1970s the label released a string of worldwide hits which emphasized lavish orchestral instrumentation, heavy bass, and driving percussion. Some of their most popular and best selling acts included The O'Jays, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass, MFSB, Billy Paul, and Lou Rawls. Between 1971 and the early 80s, the label sold over 170 gold and platinum records. Philadelphia International Records has been mostly defunct since 1987, and finally shut down in 2001. As of 2007, Sony Music Entertainment owns all rights to the Philadelphia International Records music catalogue.