Braniff International Intl Flatware Extremely Rare Set!

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VINTAGE STAINLESS STEEL UTENSILS USED IN THE FIRST CLASS SECTION OF BRANIFF INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES IT IS RARE TO FIND A COMPLETE SET OF THIS DINNERWARE. 12 KNIVES, 10 FORKS, 3 SPOONS!!!!! 25 PIECES TOTAL! HUGE LOT!! These are from the late 1960's early1970's from the original Braniff International Airlines. A few of each type of utensil have cracks and/or chips in the melamine handles (2 knives, 2 forks, 1 spoon) . Email if you would like more pictures . Airline History: In 1928 an insurance salesman and financier named Thomas E. Braniff financed an aviation company with his brother Paul Revere Braniff, named Paul R. Braniff, Inc. The airline was named Tulsa-Oklahoma City Airways and offered passenger service between most of the major cities in Oklahoma . The original Braniff brothers would remain a part of the company, even as the ownership was transferred repeatedly. Eventually Braniff was purchased by what was to become today's American Airlines. However, after briefly operating the Braniff division, the holding company shut the operation down. The Braniff brothers restarted another airline in 1930 as Braniff Airways, Inc. During the 1930s, Braniff Airways expanded its service throughout the Midwest . Braniff's long-term survival was assured when Paul Braniff, then General Manager, flew to Washington , D.C. , to petition for the Chicago-Dallas airmail route. The United States Post Office granted Braniff its first airmail route, in the wake of the 1934 Air Mail Scandal. In 1935, Braniff became the first airline to fly from Chicago , Illinois , to the U.S.-Mexico border. Paul Braniff left the airline in 1935 to pursue other interests but Tom Braniff retained control of the carrier and hired Charles "Chuck" Beard to run the airline's day-to-day operations. Beard became President and CEO of Braniff in 1954. Over the years, Braniff acquired a number of other airlines, as well as new Douglas DC-2 and Douglas DC-3 aircraft to fuel its expansion. Most of its operational network remained focused on the midwestern north-south portion of the United States . During WWII, the airline leased a portion of its fleet to the United States military, and facilities at Dallas Love Field and throughout the country became training sites for pilots and mechanics. During the 1940s, Braniff was allowed by the Civil Aeronautics Board to serve the Caribbean, Latin America, and South America . These routes were served by the new and improved Douglas DC-6 aircraft. During the 1950s the airline expanded nationwide. The acquisition of Mid-Continent Airlines in 1952 allowed Braniff to add several more domestic cities to its already established north-south route system. On January 10, 1954, Thomas E. Braniff died in one of his personal planes, which crashed lakeside, on the shore of Lake Wallace , 15 miles outside of Shreveport , Caddo Parish, Louisiana .Paul R. Braniff died later that year of cancer. Charles "Chuck" Beard became the first non-Braniff President of the carrier after Tom's death. He would lead Braniff into the jet-age, and would be instrumental in turning Braniff into a 95% jet carrier by 1964. In 1959, Braniff entered the jet age with the introduction of the Boeing 707-227. On May 12, 1982, Braniff Airways ceased all operations, thus ending 54 years of service in the American airline industry. N601BN "747 Braniff Place" (also known as "The Great Pumpkin" because it was painted orange) made the very last Braniff flight from Hawaii to Dallas/Fort Worth on May 13. PLEASE EMAIL WITH ANY QUESTIONS.DO NOT PASS UP THIS ONCE IN A LIFETIME DEAL!!! SIMILAR ITEMS HAVE BEEN LISTED ON EBAY FOR $10 A PIECE!!!! read more

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