SOUTHERN AIRWAYS and REPUBLIC AIRLINES

Southern began flying in 1949, but we won't attempt to go through its 30 year history. That's best explained HERE. Southern (which became Republic in 1979) is included here because its route system served as a virtual blueprint for numerous commuter airlines that followed (ASA in particular) and many ex-Southern Martin 404s became the workhorses of the commuter airline industry in Florida and Georgia.

The rapid growth of commuter airlines in Atlanta after the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978 can almost be entirely attributed to the equally rapid retreat of major and local service airlines from dozens of small cities across the southeast. At the time Deregulation became law, 4 large airlines were flying short-haul segments from Atlanta with relatively large aircraft: Delta, Eastern, Piedmont and Southern. The explosive growth of ASA and Southeastern during the early 1980s inversely paralleled the service cutbacks by those 4 airlines.   


Below: Southern was the last "major" airline in the U.S. to fly piston engine aircraft. Martin 404 N145S is seen on the ramp at Atlanta in November 1974. Southern's April 1, 1976 timetable shows M-404s flying from Atlanta non-stop to Anniston, AL, Athens, GA, Columbus, GA, Gadsden, AL, Greenville/Spartanburg, SC, Moultrie/ Thomasville, GA, and Tuscaloosa, AL. This particular aircraft, N145S, was originally built for Eastern and would later fly with Florida Airlines, Air South, Ocean Airways and Southern International as Air Florida Commuter.

Swearingen Metroliner turboprops began to replace the Martins in 1977. The 19-passenger aircraft were plagued by engine troubles and many passengers disliked the cramped cabin. N70A is pictured at Atlanta in 1978.

DC-9s were flown from Atlanta to dozens of cities including small towns such as Albany, GA, Valdosta, GA, Dothan, AL and Tuscaloosa, AL. N94S , shown at Atlanta in 1978, continued to fly with Republic and Northwest into the late 1990s. Incredibly, as of late 2009, several of Southern's old DC-9s built in the 1960s are still in service with Northwest/Delta.

This map from Spring 1980 was published by the Official Airline Guide in conjuction with Republic Airlines and shows the incredible density of the route network (shown in red) inherited from Southern Airways. The main airline abbreviations shown are: DL-Delta, EA-Eastern, NA-National, NW-Northwest, PI-Piedmont, QH-Air Florida, RC-Republic .  CLICK PHOTO for hi-res version.

The Convair 580s continued to fly from Atlanta to Tuscaloosa and Muscle Shoals until 1984, when the Atlanta hub inherited from Southern Airways was closed. N4805C (msn 60) is pictured in Republic's second paint scheme at Atlanta Hartsfield in 1984. It was originally built as a Convair 440 for Delta. After being converted to turboprop power, it flew with North Central, Republic, Northwest and Air Resorts. It is reportedly now in Venezuela.

Republic was merged into Northwest in 1986 and Northwest was absorbed by Delta in 2008. Many of Republic's old DC-9-50s continued to fly, freshly repainted in Delta colors.