One of the most popular exhibits in the Museum highlights a San Diego institution: Pacific Southwest Airlines, known to most as PSA. The story of PSA, which is thoroughly documented in the exhibit, starts with Kenny Friedkin, a season aviation instructor who operated a flight school at Lindbergh Field in San Diego, The Friedkin School of Aeronautics, after World War II. After a few successful years of instructing war veterans, the Flight School business began to slow down. Looking for other business opportunities, in 1949 Friedkin made the fateful decision to start an airline. On My 6, 1949 a leased DC-3 taxied down the runway headed for Oakland and a legend was born. Friedkin name the carrier Pacific Southwest Airline (PSA but because so many navy men from San Diego flew on it, it soon would gain the nickname Poor Sailor’s Airline.

From the start, PSA’s business model was to offer low fares and quality service, indeed, there first advertising slogan was “the World’s Friendliest Airline.” This model caught on, and soon PSA attracted more passengers than just sailors. The airline grew, both in terms of aircraft and destinations. Besides the flights from San Diego to Oakland, Burbank and San Francisco were added. PSA was now in real competition with major airlines like United and TWA, offering flights in some instances at half their cost. Additional DC-3s were followed by 70 passenger DC-4s in the mid-1950s. It was also during this decade that PSA started to earn the reputation for only hiring single, attractive stewardesses.

The next decade began with the introduction of an airplane which would become a PSA icon, the Lockheed Electra L-188. Although the 60s was a decade of incredible growth, it began with a great loss, as founder Kenny Friedkin passed away in 1962. The latter half of the decade showed even more impressive expansion: new routes, new aircraft and a new 185,000 square foot administration and hangar complex. However, some might argue that the most important introduction PSA made in the 1960s was the unveiling of the first miniskirt stewardess uniform of 1966! The decade closed with the introduction of the famous smile on each PSA airplane, cementing in people’s minds that PSA truly was the “World’s Friendliest Airline.”

If the 1960s was a decade of rapid growth, the 1970s was an era of success, mixed with pitfalls. So confident was the airline, PSA ventured into the hotel and rental car business. More routes were added and more passengers were attracted to PSA, with each year setting new records. With the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, PSA finally was allowed to open routes to other states besides California. Soon PSA was servicing Nevada, Utah and Arizona. For all of the ups and downs of the 1970s, the vent involving PSA which would impact the minds of most Americans would occur on September 25, 1978. It was on this warm Monday morning when a Cessna 172 collided with PSA flight 182 over San Diego, killing 144 people on the ground and in the air. Of those who died, 37 were PSA employees, which sent a shockwave through the airline’s family. However, the airline quickly recovered, closing out the decade with record profits and passenger totals for 1979.

Revenue continued to grow for the first years of the 1980s and with the introduction of the new DC-9 Super 80 aircraft and the BAE 146-200, the number of total passengers served rose as well. Even more routes came online, including destinations in Oregon and Washington State. PSA even had flights to Mexico, making it an international carrier. It soon became apparent that the trend of airlines merging and increased competition might be too much for PSA to overcome. The era when an airline could offer low cost fares and still provide friendly service had come and gone. As the decade came to a close, the airline was sold to US Air and the last PSA flight took off on April 8, 1988.

But the story of Pacific Southwest Airlines did not end there. The memories of those who worked for and flew on the smiling PSA Jets live on. Over the years, past employees have gathered and recollected about the times they had at this unique company, which truly was a family. In addition, many credit PSA as being the inspiration for successful small airlines with operate today, such as Southwest, who offer discount fares and relatively friendly service. The PSA exhibit captures the spirit of the airline, and the flight attendant uniform display is one of the most popular in the entire Museum.