DALLAS — Though it is one of the earliest names in aviation, the original Braniff Airways last flew in 1982 and is a name the younger generations of travelers have never known.
But they likely see the Braniff legacy no matter where they fly and a new project could give them a chance to experience it first-hand.
“Any airplanes you see that have a unique color scheme are a result of us. We were the first to do that,” said Ben Cass, the chairman of Braniff Airways, Inc., the organization that still manages the marketing and licensing records of the bygone airline including the online store BraniffBoutique.com.
Braniff’s brightly colored planes were just one of many innovations and features now commonplace in the air industry. Headquartered in Dallas, old WFAA footage from the SMU Jones Film Library shows cutting-edge features for the era at Love Field such as a jet rail and a first-of-its-kind departure board.
Flight attendants, called hostesses, wore designer Pucci uniforms, and planes were outfitted with large, comfortable leather seats.
“They were going to do things in a different way and it was highly successful,” said Cass.
It was all part of the Braniff mission to make flying a more comfortable and more friendly experience at a time when many passengers were still apprehensive about air travel.
"Braniff believed flying should be an experience as though you are sitting in your home. It should be friendly and not something you were concerned or worried about," Cass said.
This is why hostesses would spend six weeks living at the airline’s Hostess College learning how to provide passengers with the best experience possible. In addition to the rooms where they would live and sleep, the college had classrooms, a mock-up airplane cabin for training purposes, a pool table, and other entertainment.
One of the distinctive features of the building built in 1968 on Wycliff Avenue near the Dallas North Tollway was the circular fireplace room on the first floor called the “Dream Parlor.” It was the designated spot where women could visit with boyfriends, husbands, and other family because those guests were not allowed up to the rooms.
Now the building’s past is the motivation for its future. The fireplace, the rooms, the living areas could all get new life with a revival project planning to turn the empty building into a 75-room, Braniff-themed boutique hotel.
Cass said the project will use the same fireplace, art, and other designs the hostesses used.
"The preliminary plans are they want to put it back as we had it in 1968."
The developer for the project is Mehrdad Moayedi, the same developer who restored The Statler Hotel in Downtown Dallas. Around the world, there are only a handful of airline-themed boutique hotels including the TWA Hotel at New York’s John F. Kennedy International.
Cass said renovation should begin soon and the project initially aimed for completion at some point in 2022.