14 This handle was one of two used on the entrance doors to the Braniff executive office on the 10th floor of Braniff Tower at Exchange Park at Love Field . The building served as the company ’ s headquarters from 1957 to 1978 . The ‘ bluebird of happiness ’ desk relief was created by a local Dallas company and given to Braniff as a gift in 2018 . // CHRIS SLOAN |
Cass recalls the period vividly . “ I remember the daily bombardment of articles : ‘ financially troubled ’, ‘ overexpanded ’; all of these things that created this aura of sadness . One of the most incredible things I remember was the inundation of donations that a public corporation received from the citizens of Dallas . That shows you how much the company meant to people here .”
Two stripped-down successors used the Braniff name , but little else of the originally swashbuckling carrier survived for long . Hyatt Corporation launched Braniff , Inc ., as a low-cost carrier from DFW , Orlando , and then Kansas City . Often nicknamed Braniff II ,
|
the domestic 727 operator with a bland red , white , and blue livery bore scant resemblance to the stylish original . It lasted only from 1984 to 1989 . The final Braniff III , which adopted a hybrid of the 1971 and 1978 ‘ Cars and Concepts Ultra ’ scheme , also folded its wings in 1992 after barely a year in operation . Much ink was spilled on this story , particularly John Nance ’ s , Splash of Colors : The Self Destruction of Braniff International , a book that was not devoid of controversy . More on that later .
PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION
Ben Cass , then a boy in Dallas , was watching all of this history
|
unfold . “ There ’ s that day that decides that you are going to be in aviation for your lifetime ,” he laughs . For him , that day came in 1972 , at Dallas Love Field , where he was picking up his grandmother from a delayed Braniff flight from New York .
“ I saw all of those jets . And there it was , the switch for me . I immediately started going to the ticket counters for timetables and brochures , which I still have .”
Cass ’ s father , CA Cass , Jr ., led the Audit and Vault Department of the Dallas branch of the Federal Reserve . As a member of the Dallas elite and a Freemason , Cass ’ s father was good friends with Harding Lawrence . Together , they fanned the young enthusiast ’ s passion . Braniff ’ s public relations department sent over “ literally boxes full of press releases , photos , and all kinds of stuff that they knew or thought I would want to have ,” says Cass , who received these Braniff care packages right up to the airline ’ s collapse .
|
After graduating from Oklahoma State University in 1988 , Cass eventually joined the aviation industry — becoming a Chief Pilot for a regional cargo airline , opening a string of innovative and successful flight schools , and eventually fixing flight schools that were out of compliance with the FAA . He was recruited for Pilot positions with Delta ’ s Comair and management positions at Pan Am , but the early 1990s travails of the industry grounded those opportunities . |
|||
14 |
While the iterations of Braniff International Airways never employed Cass , he did work for a while as Chief Pilot for the Braniff Education Systems , |