Braniff International History | End of the Plain Plane – Airline Employee Shop

Braniff International History

Braniff International was the most colorful airline America ever had, from two brothers' Oklahoma air service to jets painted in bold solid colors, designer uniforms and a Concorde connection out of Dallas/Fort Worth. Here's the short history, plus the Braniff collection, one of the largest collections in our store.

The Braniff brothers (1928–1950s)

Paul Braniff, a World War I aviator, and his brother Tom, an Oklahoma City insurance man, started flying passengers on June 20, 1928, with a Stinson Detroiter between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Braniff Airways won the Chicago–Dallas airmail route in 1934, becoming the first airline to link the Great Lakes with the Mexican border, and moved its headquarters to Dallas during World War II. It bought Mid-Continent Airlines in 1952 and built a headquarters and maintenance base at Dallas Love Field in 1958.

The End of the Plain Plane (1965–1978)

Harding Lawrence became Braniff's leader in 1965 and hired advertising executive Mary Wells, whose agency created the "End of the Plain Plane" campaign. Designer Alexander Girard painted Braniff's fleet in solid, vivid colors and restyled everything from logos to lounges, while Emilio Pucci dressed the flight attendants in space-age fashions, bubble helmets included. In 1967 Braniff bought Panagra and expanded across South America. Artist Alexander Calder painted a DC-8 as "Flying Colors" in 1973 and a 727 as "Flying Colors of the United States" for the 1976 Bicentennial. Later ads told travelers, "When you got it — flaunt it."

DFW, Concorde and deregulation

Braniff moved its base to the new Dallas/Fort Worth airport in the 1970s. Starting in January 1979, it ran a Concorde interchange flight with British Airways and Air France between DFW and Washington Dulles, connecting to London and Paris. After airline deregulation in 1978, Braniff applied for hundreds of new routes and expanded rapidly just as fuel prices and interest rates soared. Losses mounted, and on May 12, 1982, Braniff International stopped flying and filed for bankruptcy, affecting about 9,500 employees.

Braniff after 1982

The name flew again from 1984 to 1989 with backing from the Hyatt hotel family, launching 18 cities on its first day, and briefly once more in 1991. To many Texans and airline people, though, "Braniff" will always mean the colorful jets of the Lawrence era.

A few things collectors love

  • Braniff's orange Boeing 747 flagship was nicknamed "the Great Pumpkin."
  • No Concorde ever actually wore Braniff colors. The famous promotional photos were retouched.
  • Tom Braniff died in a private plane crash in 1954.

Shop Braniff

Browse Braniff logo apparel, coffee mugs, coasters, tote bags and vintage destination posters from Texas to Rio in the Braniff collection, and add an airline bag tag or key tag for a Braniff fan.

Braniff merchandise at AirlineEmployeeShop.com is officially licensed through Argyle Enterprises. This page is for historical interest.