NWA DOA?

North Central Airlines: Once Northwest Airlines' main rival at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport; in 1979 it merged with Southern Airways, a regional carrier that operated out of Atlanta and other Southern destinations, to form Republic Airlines.

Allegheny Airlines: Known derisively as "Agony Airlines" because of so many service complaints. A forerunner of today's US Airways; based in Pittsburgh. Changed its name to USAir in 1979.

Hughes Airwest: A Howard Hughes-owned airline with planes that sported yellow fuselages and so were dubbed "flying bananas." Acquired by Republic in 1980.

National Airlines: Enraged feminists in the 1970s with its "Fly Me" ad campaign featuring female flight attendants. Based in Miami, the carrier was acquired by Pan American World Airways in 1980.

Braniff International Airways: Shut down in 1982, but it lives on through a snippet of a Braniff TV ad that airs at the end of every episode of "South Park."

Republic Airlines: Acquired by rival Northwest in 1986.

Ozark Air Lines: Served Minneapolis-St. Paul from its base in St. Louis. Acquired by Trans World Airlines in 1986.

People Express: A 1980s pioneer in no-frills air service. Acquired by Continental Airlines in 1987.

Western Airlines: Remembered for its TV ads featuring a cartoon bird. ("The ooooonly way to fly!") Based in Los Angeles. Acquired by Delta Air Lines in 1987; Delta's Salt Lake City hub is a legacy of this deal.

Piedmont Airlines: A regional airline based in Winston-Salem, N.C.; at its peak, it flew as far west as Denver. Added service to Minneapolis-St. Paul in the 1980s. Acquired by USAir in 1989.

Pan American World Airways: Even now, an icon because of its dominance in the early years of U.S. international air travel. Sold its Pacific division to United Airlines in 1985; sold European routes to Delta, filed for bankruptcy and shut down in 1991.

Eastern Airlines: Imploded amid labor unrest and mismanagement by corporate raider Frank Lorenzo. Shut down in bankruptcy in 1991.

Midway Airlines: Launched in the 1970s to revitalize Chicago's Midway Airport. Shut down in bankruptcy in 1991.

Trans World Airlines: Controlled by Howard Hughes in the 1940s and '50s, and by Carl Icahn from 1985 to 1993. Based first in Kansas City, Mo., then New York and finally in St. Louis. Acquired by American Airlines in 2001.

America West Airlines: Based in Arizona. Changed its name to US Airways after acquiring that airline in 2005.

CASEY COMMON