Small Cities ‘to be Hurt Tremendously’ by Airline Cuts”Airline Subsidy Cuts Leave Three Towns Flightless”No Convenient Route to Buffalo-actual newspaper headlines, 2007-08It wasn’t always like this. At least, not during the era of the Local Service Airlines. From the 1950s through the mid-1980s, these feisty, colorful startups provided a level of service unheard of today, reaching small communities across America. They had to. Encouraged and supported by the Civil Aeronautics Board, these privately-owned companies were mandated to bring reliable scheduled airline transportation-plus airmail and small package service-to the citizens of places like Enid, Oklahoma; or Walla Walla, Washington; or Kokomo, Indiana-and other places ignored by the bigger and older airlines. The “locals” may have begun with second-hand propeller-driven equipment, like the legendary DC-3, but by the mid-60s they were operating turboprops and jets-just like the bigger airlines. And some of these (click here for further information)