the Douglas DC-6 into the fleet in 1959, the DC-4s were gradually phased out. In 1964, Loftleiðir started operating its first Canadair CL-44D-4, and two years later the first of its four CL-44Js, a variant of the CL-44D4 stretched on request by Canadair. Loftleiðir was the only passenger operator of the turboprop, which was used as a cargo plane by other airlines. It was the largest passenger aircraft flying over the Atlantic Ocean at that time, carrying up to 189 passengers. Loftleiðir marketed the CL-44J under the name "Rolls-Royce 400 PropJet". This led to the confusion that the CL-44J is sometimes referred to as the Canadair-400. At that time, the company had 1,000 employees. The late sixties were an exciting time for Loftleiðir. In 1969, the company acquired International Air Bahama, a small airline operating Boeing 707 jets out of the Bahamas, and a year later, Loftleiðir became one of the founders of Cargolux, a thriving cargo airline. Also in 1970, Loftleiðir entered the jet age with its first two stretched Douglas DC-8-63 "Super DC-8" jetliners. In 1971, the company started flying between Iceland and Scandinavia with the slightly smaller DC-8-55. The growing competition from Flugfélag Íslands and the economical pressure during the 1970s energy crisis led to the merger of the two airlines in 1973 into one holding company, which was called Flugleiðir. In 1979, Flugfélag Íslands and Loftleiðir merged into a new airline, also called Flugleiðir, which later became known as Icelandair. The Loftleiðir branding re-emerged in 2003, when the newly created wet-lease and charter subsidiary of Icelandair Group was named Loftleiðir Icelandic. Pioneering low-cost flights The geographical position of Iceland in the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and America allowed Loftleiðir to offer passenger flights between the two continents with an intermediate stop at its home airport at Reykjavík, thus operating at lower costs because of easier aircraft and crew logistics than its outer European or American competitors. The airline was chosen by many young Americans as a cheap means of travel to Europe, which earned it the title Hippie Airline from the late 1960s. During different state visits to Iceland, Bill and Hillary Clinton both remembered the experience of their flights with Loftleiðir. During those years, Loftleiðir were often referred to, even by the company's own staff, as "the Hippie Airline" or "the Hippie Express". Many young Americans travelled to Europe after graduation, to experience the "old-world