This is a real longshot...

SecondAttempt

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Posting here because we have so many highly knowledgeable and experienced people here but I bet this stumps everyone.

I am trying to find out how/when United Airlines prepared passenger manifests in 1954, specifically for a flight from Honolulu to San Francisco. Hawaii was not a state then so such a flight may have been treated like an international flight. (I know from experience last summer that flights to Guam are still handled similarly to international flights with passport control both directions.)

I'm asking this because I have been doing some family history research and found a manifest from 1954 with ancestors names on it but they are scratched out. Notably all the other passengers have their citizenship noted in handwriting next to their names.

It's also interesting to me that all United flights to Honolulu at that time were first class. There were only 22 passengers on the plane. My guess is that the tickets would have been at least the modern equivalent of $10000-$20000 per ticket! And this was a poor family of 4. So I am trying to figure out what motivated this extremely expensive trip and why/when they apparently canceled. I would expect the manifest was prepared not long (maybe less than a week) before the flight, maybe the same day, so understanding when/why they may have canceled.

Anyway, I'm pretty doubtful that anyone here is old enough to have worked in the airline industry back then but any thoughts would be appreciated! I'm 59 and remember flying in the early 70s including check-in procedures and stuff from my perspective so maybe someone here in their 70s will at least remember flying in the early 50s and be able to comment on how things seemed to work.
 
The closest I can come is an old John Wayne movie called "The High and the Mighty" from 1954. It's a melodrama about people flying to the west coast of USA from Hawaii.

I recall being surprised about the requirements to state citizenship and some other stuff at check in. It wasn't onerous and I don't recall the requirement for a passport.

Good luck in your search.
 
Maybe you should try contacting United Airlines directly.
 
If it were me I'd reach out to United's PR department. I'd also post this question on other social like instagram and xtwitter, taging united along the way.
 
It wasn't a state but is was a territory since 1900.

I suspect that then as now it was considered domestic travel.

From USA.gov:
Whether you need a passport as a U.S. citizen to travel to or from a U.S. territory or Freely Associated State depends on your destination.
U.S. citizens do not need a passport to travel between the U.S. and these territories:

  • Guam
  • Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
  • Puerto Rico
  • U.S. Virgin Islands
While American Samoa is a U.S. territory, you do need a passport or a certified U.S. birth certificate to enter the island.

Non US citizens require a passport.
 
It wasn't a state but is was a territory since 1900.

I suspect that then as now it was considered domestic travel.

From USA.gov:
Whether you need a passport as a U.S. citizen to travel to or from a U.S. territory or Freely Associated State depends on your destination.
U.S. citizens do not need a passport to travel between the U.S. and these territories:

  • Guam
  • Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
  • Puerto Rico
  • U.S. Virgin Islands
While American Samoa is a U.S. territory, you do need a passport or a certified U.S. birth certificate to enter the island.

Non US citizens require a passport.
And yet last summer the airline checked our passports on boarding our flight to Guam and when we got there we had to go through both passport control and customs in Guam just like a foreign country. I think USA.gov represents the official USA position but the territories may have their own rules. I'd also note that the Northern Mariana Islands are actually a little different. They independently exited the TTPI in the 1970s and entered a political confederation with the United States.

They are sort of on the same level as Puerto Rico in the sense they are a Commonwealth. But Puerto Rico was obtained through the Spanish American War just as Guam was. But the NMI were part of the TTPI which was a United Nations Security Council Trust for the Japanese South Seas Mandate obtained in the settlement of the World War II in the Pacific. Japan was part of Japan not through conquest but by purchase from Germany. For the US State Department to cite them in the same status as Puerto Rico is simply incorrect and ignorant. (Not a political statement, administrations have made this error since the 1970s!)

I'm still researching this including contacts with NMI judiciary officials but I think a close relative was the architect of the NMI government, essentially the George Washington/Thomas Jefferson of several countries in the former TTPI including the NMI.

A great deal of the official US Government information about NMI is just factually wrong but there seems to be no interest in correcting it!
 
Things have tightened up a bit since 911.

Prior to that, a person didn't need a passport to drive across the Canada/US border, now it's required.

Probably lots of other borders have become more strict.
 
1954 was super early for commercial passenger flights. They existed, but it was the later 50's before they really got going. HI would have been a very long flight at the time. If you watched Mad Men (not joking, they really tried to be historically accurate) they seem to show it taking hold in the 60's. Even their execs aren't flying until the 2nd season, and the show starts in 1960.

I would not pay attention to First Class or whatever, as those categories probably meant something quite different back then - probably only one class. And the plane was probably not likely much bigger than a modern commuter jet. And ID's and stuff, eh, this is way before regulations.

Contact United's consumer relations, and see what you get.
 
Things have tightened up a bit since 911.

Prior to that, a person didn't need a passport to drive across the Canada/US border, now it's required.

Probably lots of other borders have become more strict.
You don't need a passport but you do need an enhanced Driver's License or Nexus card.
 
Thank you for the comments. I will try to contact United but honestly I'm not optimistic! I'm sure they have better things to do!
 
My father flew on a PanAm "Clipper" (flying boat) back in the day. Somehow my brother-in-law found the manifest on some genealogy web site. What a surprise when he told Dad he'd found it!

I can ask him about the trip, if you have any specific questions. Generally, the whole boarding process was a lot simpler then. I don't know about planes, but as a little kid we were able to board one of the big cruise ships (QEII?) as "visitors." I remember having to scramble to get off when they blew the ship's whistle, or we'd have been underway with them. So, yeah, a much more relaxed boarding atmosphere than today. I imagine air travel was similar.
 
My father flew on a PanAm "Clipper" (flying boat) back in the day. Somehow my brother-in-law found the manifest on some genealogy web site. What a surprise when he told Dad he'd found it!

I can ask him about the trip, if you have any specific questions. Generally, the whole boarding process was a lot simpler then. I don't know about planes, but as a little kid we were able to board one of the big cruise ships (QEII?) as "visitors." I remember having to scramble to get off when they blew the ship's whistle, or we'd have been underway with them. So, yeah, a much more relaxed boarding atmosphere than today. I imagine air travel was similar.
Now, just to go take a look, you have to go through a process similar to the TSA check-in procedure at the airport.

Between that and novo virus, I've pretty much ruled out any future cruises. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.
 
My father flew on a PanAm "Clipper" (flying boat) back in the day. Somehow my brother-in-law found the manifest on some genealogy web site. What a surprise when he told Dad he'd found it!

I can ask him about the trip, if you have any specific questions. Generally, the whole boarding process was a lot simpler then. I don't know about planes, but as a little kid we were able to board one of the big cruise ships (QEII?) as "visitors." I remember having to scramble to get off when they blew the ship's whistle, or we'd have been underway with them. So, yeah, a much more relaxed boarding atmosphere than today. I imagine air travel was similar.
On ancestry.com, I found the INS entry cards for my mother and me when we arrived at Idlewild Airport in NYC in January 1960. We came on a TWA Boeing 707.
 
On ancestry.com, I found the INS entry cards for my mother and me when we arrived at Idlewild Airport in NYC in January 1960. We came on a TWA Boeing 707.
My ancestors were scheduled to fly on a Boeing 347 Stratocruiser...before the 7x7 obsession!
 
I remember in the 70s flying where the "gate" was literally a gate in a chain link fence outside and you went there to get your boarding card checked before walking across the tarmac to the plane and climbing stairs.

Actually not a whole lot different in Kona and other small airports these days!
 
I remember in the 70s flying where the "gate" was literally a gate in a chain link fence outside and you went there to get your boarding card checked before walking across the tarmac to the plane and climbing stairs.

Actually not a whole lot different in Kona and other small airports these days!
Yeah, not unusual at all for inter island flights though jet ways are slowly replacing the steps and walking outside.
 
I am a family tree buff. Whatever website you found your manifest, there should be another list of passengers who were detained/cancelled if they were non citizens yet. Check other trip manifests to see if thy took a later trip as well.

I have found distant relatives who fled Europe in 1950's that way.
 
As to prices in 1954 vs now, a $225 airfare in 1954 would be (after adjusting for inflation) $2657 today. The first class fare of $350 in 1954 would be $4133 today. Google flights says a round trip flight (LAX -- HNL) is about $350
 
Just for grins I asked Perplexity(AI) your question :
(If you click on some of the footnote links, will link you to additional information)

To find a passenger manifest list from a 1954 United Airlines flight from Honolulu, Hawaii to San Francisco, California, you can try the following steps:

Contact the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They maintain records of passenger arrivals, including those from air travel5. While their records may not specifically mention United Airlines flights from 1954, they might have relevant information or be able to guide you to the correct record group.
  1. Reach out to the Hawaii State Archives. Although their indexed Ships Passenger Manifests only cover up to 1921, they may have information on where to find more recent records or be able to direct you to other resources specific to Hawaii.
  2. Get in touch with United Airlines directly. As they have been operating flights between Hawaii and the mainland since 1947, they might have historical records or be able to point you towards the appropriate archives2.
  3. Check with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (now part of the Department of Homeland Security), as they took over documenting passenger arrivals in 1900. You may need to inquire with them or the National Archives – Pacific Region branch for records from 1954.
  4. Consider contacting aviation history museums or organizations, such as the Museum of Flight, which has a collection related to United Air Lines Hawaiian Mainliner Passenger List7. While this specific collection may not cover 1954, they might have additional resources or connections to help in your search.
Keep in mind that access to passenger manifests from 1954 may be restricted due to privacy laws. You might need to provide proof of relation to a passenger or wait until the records become public domain. Additionally, it's worth noting that in 1954, United Airlines flights to Honolulu were all first class, with only 22 passengers on the plane14.
 
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Here is a Wikipedia link about the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser:

"In 1954, United Stratocruisers flew Los Angeles to Honolulu and between Seattle and San Francisco; United's B377 flights to Honolulu were all first class. In 1955, BOAC 377s had 50 First Class seats (fare $400 one way New York to London) or 81 Tourist seats (fare $290). "
 
Thanks for all the suggestions! I've been pursing this on my own in various ways and have found lots of interesting information although nothing related to the family in question. Among them:

The very first commercial passenger flight to Hawaii was made by Pan Am in 1937. The navigator on that flight was Fred Noonan...Amelia Earhardt's navigator.

I found actual advertised fares within the continental US and found that, from memory, NY-SFO was about $1400 in 1954. But I also found that United was offering $300 fares to Hawaii to promote their service so I'm not sure what to think. Even $300 would have been a lot for this family in 1954 though.
 
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