When Snyder’s Marie Clark heard Dan Rather announce on the CBS Evening News that Braniff Airlines had filed for bankruptcy, she said she felt her entire world come crashing down on her.
A flight attendant for 11 years, she was now unemployed. However, she said it did not turn out as bad as she first thought. She went on to build a successful life and career in Snyder.
Clark will share stories of her career with Braniff during Monday’s Scurry County Historical Commission meeting, which will be held at 5 p.m. in the Winston Field terminal building meeting room.
Forty-four years ago Clark, who graduated college with a degree in art, applied for a job with Braniff Airlines. Hired as an air hostess in 1971, she said Braniff changed the name to flight attendant when the company began to hire men.
Clark and other recruits had to complete six weeks of training before earning their certification.
“Our training was all about safety,” Clark said. “We had to learn where all of the emergency exits were on all of the planes in Braniff’s fleet.”
According to Clark, Federal Aviation Association (FFA) inspectors could quiz flight attendants at any time. If they did not respond correctly, they could be grounded.
Training included first aid classes and emergency childbirth procedures.
“I am glad I did not have any childbirth emergencies,” Clark said. “I know other flight attendants that did.”
Clark worked on seven different Braniff planes, ranging from the BAC to 727s, Boeings, McDonald-Douglas and the Concorde, which the airline used from Jan. 1, 1979 to May 31, 1980.
Clark said she was one of 19 flight attendants who qualified to serve on the Concorde. She described it is as “taller and longer than Braniff’s other aircraft, but narrower on the inside.” The first-class seating capacity was 100, but it was rarely full, she said.
The Concorde could fly from Washington, D.C. to Europe in three hours, but tickets cost 20 percent more than other flights. It also used more fuel due to the Rolls Royce engines, she said.
“We’d get slammed on takeoff,” Clark said. “But the Concorde made us feel like we were part of the space age.”
With the cost of fuel increasing, Clark said Braniff quit Concorde flights after 17 months. Two years later, the airline declared bankruptcy.
“The airline did not notify its employees (of the bankruptcy),” she said. “Some crews were stranded overseas until they could make arrangements to return to the U.S.”
Before the airline folded, Clark said it treated its passengers well, including free meals for first-class and coach passengers. She said the “silver service” was when flight attendants pushed carts of food down the aisles several times during longer flights.
Braniff’s campaign to “end the plain plane” resulted in brightly colored aircrafts and re-decorated interiors, Clark said.
“That was the pop culture age. I believe that the colors made people happy,” she said.
Flight attendants’ uniforms were designed by Emilio Pucci. When the deregulation of airlines ended, she said Braniff expanded service to major cities in the U.S. and other continents, including Europe and South America. Layovers improved as Braniff flew to more destinations, Clark said.
“We took our jobs very seriously,” she said. “But we also had fun.”
Flight crews spent their layover time in different ways, including attending plays, shopping or renting a car to explore the state or country. Clark said the beach in Hawaii was her favorite destination.
Clark said before cell phones, flight attendants who were on call had to remain at home in case they were called in to work.
“We had one hour to get to the airport,” she said.
Clark rarely experienced difficulties on flights, but she said three incidents resulted in emergency landings. One involved a soldier returning from the Vietnam War who woke up from a nap confused and tried to open the back door of a 747.
“The plug type door could not be opened and eventually the pilot talked him down,” she said.
On an overseas flight, a woman began having a panic attack, resulting in an emergency landing in Scotland.
Early in her career, Clark said a man had a heart attack on a flight to Hawaii.
Weather also caused delays. A severe snow storm prevented her flight from landing in London on New Year’s Eve one year. She said the pilots were re-routed to an airport in Ireland.
She said one 747 was struck by lightning.
“The plane lit up, but no real damage was done,” she said, adding that she found 10 inches of paint burned off the exterior of the airplane.
Even after Braniff folded, Clark said flight crews kept in touch and she attended employee reunions. Former employees shared stories and pictures in a book published in 2011.
“I wrote 42 of the stories,” she said.
After her Braniff job ended, Clark said she did not want to start over at another airline. She did work as a goodwill ambassador for American Airlines in Lubbock for one year.
After she met and married Stanley Clark, they moved to Snyder. She said he taught her the jewelry business and they worked together for 20 years, until his death.
Clark has returned to her art roots and keeps busy with oil and digital paintings. Among her other accomplishments were earning a black belt in tae kwon do and serving as an instructor when she lived in Lubbock.
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