COURTESYOFC.R. SMITHMUSEUM
F
ourdecadesago, aircaliforniagavethe
big yellow school bus a run for its money.
TheOrange County–based airline—which
operated from1967until itsacquisitionbyAmerican
Airlines in the late 1980s— implemented aunique
marketing program in the summer of 1975 that
allowedpassengerstonominatechildrenforadaylong
field trip tomajorhistorical sites inCalifornia. The
300 lucky8- to 14-year-oldwinnersof theBicenten-
nial Sunjet FieldTrip jetted off in aBoeing 737 to
visit sites like theStateCapitol, Sutter’sFortand the
nearby small townof Coloma, where goldwas first
discovered inCalifornia.Thesefree, fullychaperoned
excursions from SanDiego to Sacramento showed
deservingyoungstersthatwhen itcomestoeducation,
thesky’s the limit.–abbykinsinger
THELASTWORD
SUMMER 1975
HIGHEREDUCATION
130
JUNE2015
AMERICANWAY
A737-100sporting
AirCalifornia’s redesigned
livery (asof 1981)fliesover
HuntingtonBeach, California.
