AIRWAYS HISTORY The Story of Airline Timetables
Wide editions . Beginning in 1958 , the OAG was also offered in a full quick-reference edition .
In Europe , the ABC World Airways Guide , printed in England , was a counterpart of the OAG . In 1993 , the publishers of ABC purchased the company that then published the OAG . The two standard references of the industry were now combined and branded simply as OAG .
Today , the OAG Company is based in the UK , and quickreference ‘ pocket ’ editions for different parts of the world are still printed for those willing to pay for a portable , printed listing of flight schedules .
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But printed timetables — those once important documents that appeared on a regular basis , splashed with advertising and graphics — have been relegated to the world of collectibles , antiques from another age .
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Almost every airline in the United States issued timetables in the spring and fall , with the change from standard time to daylight savings time and back again . And most airlines also issued several other editions throughout the year .
OAG AND ABC
For travel agents , airline reservationists , and other industry professionals , the bible of airline schedules was the Official Airline Guide ( OAG ). Each month , the Reuben H . Donnelley Company of Chicago would print a book – the OAG – which was a compilation of reprinted timetables from airlines around the world . These reference works were available in North American and World
The demise of the airline timetable is just one example of change in an industry that is constantly changing and reinventing the way it does business . For better or worse , our businessman from 1966 would not have those timetables at his disposal today . Nor would he be served the complimentary hot dinner on his coach flight between New York and New Orleans – just one of the amenities that was taken for granted in those days of air travel gone by .
A version of this article originally appeared in the December 2009 issue of Airways ( AW166 ).
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