HIGH ALTITUDE BRANIFF - Braniff International inaugurated Daily nonstop Boeing 727 Trijet service from the Texas State Capitol of Austin, Texas, to the Nation's Capitol, Washington, DC on April 1, 1968. The new jet service marked the first time that nonstop service was offered between Austin Robert Mueller Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.
Braniff initially offered one nonstop in both directions that was timed for the convenience of the business traveler, which made up over 70 percent of the airline's business. One-stop, single plane service from San Antonio made the new flight highly lucrative for passengers traveling to and from the Central and Southwest Texas areas. The new service offered a full range of traffic flow from the Northeast to as far south as Mexico City. San Antonio was hosting the Hemisfair in 1968, and the Summer Olympics would be held in Mexico City during the summer of 1968, making the new Braniff flight perfectly timed to serve these tourist attractions.
Braniff's schedule between San Antonio and Newark with intermediate stops at Washington National and Austin were as follows:
NEW!! Northbound - Boeing 727
San Antonio International - Austin Mueller - Washington Dulles - Newark
Depart SAT 835AM Arrive AUS 901AM Flight 18 Daily
Depart AUS 930AM Arrive IAD 117PM Flight 18 Daily Fiesta Brunch/Champagne/Coach Meal
Depart IAD 146PM Arrive EWR 233PM Flight 18 Daily Liquor Service First/Coach
Additional northbound service between Austin and Washington featured a one-stop change-of-plane Electra II and Boeing 727 late morning departure and a three-stop mid-afternoon Boeing 727 flight. Flight 392, an Electra II turboprop, departed Austin at 1100AM and flew to Dallas where a connection was made to a Boeing 727. The flight continued to Washington Dulles where it arrived at 402PM. The three-stop Boeing 727 Flight 112 departed Austin at 315PM and arrived at Washington National at 917PM after three intermediate stops at Dallas, Memphis, and Nashville.
NEW!! Southbound - Boeing 727
Newark - Washington Dulles - Austin Mueller - San Antonio International
Depart EWR 415PM Arrive IAD 510PM Flight 11 Daily Liquor Service First/Coach
Depart IAD 540PM Arrive AUS 733PM Flight 11 Daily Dinner/Wine with First Class Meal/Liquor Service
Depart AUS 755PM Arrive SAT 818PM Flight 11 Daily
Washington DC travelers were also able to fly to Austin on two additional flights. An early morning Flight 7 departed Dulles at 925AM for Dallas Love Field where passengers changed planes to continue to Austin. Flight 131 arrived at Austin Mueller at 226PM. The second Flight 17 departed Dulles at 715PM for Dallas Love Field where passengers changed planes and then continued to Austin as Flight 255.
Photo 1: A Braniff International Boeing 727-200 Trijet is parked on the ramp at Austin Robert Mueller Airport in 1975. The big Boeing jetliner, painted in the 1971 Glenn Geddis/Harper and George Orange over Mustard/Ochre Two Tone Color Scheme, was the focal point of this company licensed post card.
Photo 2: The Braniff International Domestic and International Timetable dated April 28, 1968, featured the Texas to Washington DC service which was overshadowed by the airline's revolutionary new On-Time Campaign. Braniff dedicated itself to being on-time and implemented a passenger reimbursement program if its planes did not arrive or depart within 15 minutes of scheduled time. Braniff passengers on late flights were given Fastbuck coins worth $1.00 USD each that they could reimburse at any Braniff ticket counter. The Civil Aeronautics Board determined that the reimbursement constituted an unauthorized fare discount and the program was discontinued. However, Braniff was the number one on-time airline in both 1968 and 1969. Braniff’s sister company was National Car Rental, which was purchased by Greatamerica Corporation in 1964 and was sold, along with Braniff, to LTV Ling Temco Vought.
Photo 3: On the upper one-third portion of the front cover of the April 28, 1968, timetable, a departure from the classic Girard designed schedule, was a banner at the top that declared "Braniff On-Time Timetable" on a white background with black script. The remainder of the timetable was bright solid red with only the April 28, 1968, effective date at the very bottom of the schedule in black script. The timetable detailed Braniff's new flight which originated in San Antonio northbound and Newark on the southbound leg. On the inner cover over the timetable this unique advertisement touted the new Time Is Money Campaign and Braniff's new on-time guarantee.
Braniff Airways Foundation
Copyright 1926 2026
Photo 1,2,3: Braniff Airways, Incorporated, Copyright
Braniff International Heritage Archives
Now Associated with The University of Texas at Dallas System
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