Long range and bonus questions

In the 70s the wide bodies became the standard for overseas travel, but what was the aircraft most commonly used before that for non-stop flights? I am thinking the 707 and the DC-8.

On another note, in mid-70s I took a couple of trips SFO/LAX/MEX on Western DC-10s, but no US airline runs wide bodies there anymore. Why did Western do that? And who competed with them? I am pretty sure that we left from SFO, even though we lived closer to SJC, and I can’t figure why SFO was better. I wish there was a retro Kayak that would allow me to plug in a date and do searches for the past. Or is there?

One last groundbreaking idea: the A380 is so large, it could be split for two airlines, one takes the upper floor, the other takes the lower, and they share the risk. Sort of like code-sharing, but they maintain their own brands. Has this ever been done?

Yes, the 707 and DC-8 were used for most long-haul travel. All but the shortest transoceanic trips required a fuel stop.

In the mid-70’s the US airline industry was still heavily regulated. There were far fewer flights available from SJC at the time.

In the 70’s widebody aircraft such as the DC-10 and L-1011 were used commonly on domestic flights because they had similar total fuel burn to the earlier narrowbody aircraft like the 707 and DC-8 (but carrying much more seats) and newer narrowbody aircraft such as the 727, 737, and DC-9 did not have transcontinental range.

If I owned airline A, I DO NOT want airline B to compete on my route, let alone share my plane with them.