September 30 2021
Volume 51 - No. 39
By Tom Morrow
Air travel today often is less enjoyable and far more hectic than in “the old days.” Once upon a time there was an air carrier that had a reputation of being “the fun airline” – the “World’s Friendliest Airline” and, it was. San Diego-based Pacific Southwest Airlines, affectionately known to Californians simply as “PSA,” operated from 1949 to 1988. In its early years it was an “intra-state” carrier – meaning all destination The Paper - 760.747.7119
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cities were within the state of California.
Kenny Friedkin founded PSA in 1949, with a $1,000 monthly lease of one Douglas DC-3. This lone 1935-era two-engine plane made a weekly round-trip flight from San Diego to Oakland, with a stop-over in Burbank. At first reservations were taken from San Diego by using a World War II surplus latrine, refitted as a ticket office. Friedkin was born in New York City during World War I. He and his
parents moved to Kansas, and later San Diego, California. He got interested in aviation after he saw an air show in San Diego at the age of 8. Friedkin obtained his pilot license at the age of 17. In 1945, he opened a flight school called the PlosserFriedkin School (later named the Friedkin School of Aeronautics). The parent company to the school was Friedkin Aeronautics Inc. But, the school was not making enough profit, so he tried numerous business methods from aerial fish delivery to banner-towing with the help of his comrades J. Floyd Andrews
and Bill Shimp.
Friedkin tried to build a charter airline called Friedkin Airlines, which flew between San Diego and El Centro, but it was a failure. Using the lessons learned from that abortive attempt and receiving advice from a travel agent, Friedkin and his wife, Jean, created Pacific Southwest Airlines. The airline was a huge success, and gave Friedkin Aeronautics Inc. a profit. In 1951, PSA began flying into San Francisco International Airport, and
There Once Was an Airline . . .