National Airlines
Encyclopedia : N : NA : NAT : National Airlines
- This article discusses airlines by the name "National Airlines"; see National airlines for a list of flag carriers.
National Airlines was the name of two different airlines based in the United States.
National Airlines (1934-1980)
History
The original National Airlines (IATA: NA, ICAO: NAL, and Callsign: National) was founded in 1934 and was based in Florida. Under the leadership of its president and founder, George T. Baker, it operated primarily within Florida and the southeastern United States until 1944, when it gained authorization to operate the route between New York City and Miami, Florida. International service to Havana, Cuba, began in 1946, and was to continue until 1961. The National Airlines route network expanded west to Houston, Texas and north to Boston, Massachusetts in the 1950s. On November 10, 1958, National became the first airline to introduce domestic jet service in the United States, with a flight between Miami's international airport and Idlewild International Airport in New York City. Routes from Florida to California via Houston were added in 1961. In 1964, National became the first exclusively jet powered service in the United States, and by 1970 became the third U.S. transatlantic passenger carrier with the inauguration of daily nonstop round-trip service between Miami and London, England. By the late 1970s, National operated a large fleet of Boeing 727 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft. National Airlines was acquired by Pan American World Airways in 1980 and its operations were merged into those of the larger carrier.
Fleet
The history of the original National Airlines spanned nearly fifty years and during that time it operated a variety of different types of aircraft. In the postwar era, its fleet consisted of the:- Convair 340
- Convair 440
- C-46 Commando
- Douglas DC-4
- Douglas DC-6
- Douglas DC-7
- Lockheed Constellation
- Lockheed L-188 Electra
- Douglas DC-8
- Boeing 727-100
- Boeing 727-200
- Boeing 747-100
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10
National Airlines (1999-2002)
On May 27, 1999, National Airlines (IATA: N7, ICAO: ROK, and Callsign: Red Rock) returned as a Las Vegas based low fare airline. The airline was created to bring tourists to Las Vegas. Profitable at first, the second National used Boeing 757 jets to fly to a few major cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Chicago, Illinois, Miami, Florida, Boston, Massachusetts, Seattle, Washington, and New York. The airline was partially funded by several Las Vegas casinos.The airline had spacious cabins providing coach at 33" and first class at 40", bigger than most legacy carriers today.
History
The new National found itself in financial trouble after 9/11, and ceased operations on November 6, 2002.Fleet
The fleet of the second National Airlines was comprised of Boeing 757-200 aircraft.External links
- [National Airlines (1934-1980)]
- [National Airlines (1934-1980) Former Flight Attendants Organization]
- [National Sundowners Flights of Memories 1937-1980]
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