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Updated 16.06.2004

The Yugoslav Aeroput was one of four European airlines who bought Lockheed Electra L-10. From 1937 to 1939 Aeroput took altogether eight Electras into service. 

The first Yugoslav airline company AEROPUT, was founded on June 17, 1927. The first line - Belgrade-Zagreb - became operational on February 15, 1928. The following year - 1929 - the company joined the International Air Traffic Association (IATA). By 1930, "Aeroput" airplanes had regular flights from Belgrade to Gratz and Vienna (via Zagreb), and to Thessaloniki (via Skoplje). Thus the shortest air link between Central Europe and the Aegean area was formed across the Yugoslav territory. 
Initially the fleet consisted of three Potez-29 biplanes with five passenger seats. In 1932 "Aeroput" broadened its fleet with Farman "F - 306" aircraft, and from 1934 the company purchased three "Spartan", two "Coudron-Geland" planes and one "De Havilland Dragon". From 1937 to 1939 Aeroput acquired eight "Lockheed Electra - 10" aircraft. 

   Aeroput Electra in 1938

Relying on its renewed fleet, the company greatly expanded its list of destinations in 1937 and 1938. Regular flights to Sofia, Tirana, and Budapest were introduced, as well as a seasonal-tourist flight Dubrovnik-Zagreb-Vienna - Brno - Prague. In cooperation with Italian and Romanian companies, the Bucharest - Belgrade - Zagreb - Venice - Milan - Turin line was introduced.

In 1940 Aeroput advertised for flights to most of important European cities like Warshava, Praha, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Munich and Berlin. It's most probably that the Lockheed Electra was used here.

The impressive development of the company and of the newest transport sector was interrupted by World War II. At least one Aeroput Electra was taken by the British RAF.

In the period from 1928 - 1940 Aeroput had 77.510 passengers, performed 21.187 flights, their aircraft flew 4.817.482 km and transported 773 tons of goods.

Thanks to the enormous efforts made by pre-war Aeroput flight staff and technicians the company begun flying again on April 1, 1947 under its past name "Yugoslav Airlines" (JAT). Dedicating the greatest possible attention to flight safety - just like Aeroput - JAT equipped its fleet with latest-generation western technology aircraft. With 3 German three-engine "Junkers JU-52" planes and 8 American "Douglas DC-3", JAT immediately established flights to all domestic destinations, as well as international flights to Prague, Warsaw, Bucharest and Tirana.

Ansett began in 1931 as a passenger car service between Hamilton and Ballarat, Victoria, operated by Reginald Myles Ansett, using a second-hand Studebaker. Out of the income from this, one of the first Australian road carriage services, Ansett was able to purchase a DH Gipsy Moth, initially as a hobby, in which he learned to fly.

In 1935 the Victorian Government saw the Ansett road operation as competition to the
railways and passed legislation which ended the road freight operation. Ansett's response was to register Ansett Airways and begin to give flying lessons using a Porterfield aircraft, VH-UVH.

Entry of the Porterfield in the Brisbane-Adelaide Air Race that year netted further funds in the form of the first prize of five hundred pounds. They bought an Airspeed Envoy and, in 1936, invested a thousand pounds in their first commercial machine, a Fokker F.XI Universal, VH-UTO. Services began from the small field at Hamilton, Victoria, in early 1936, the Fokker delivering eight passengers to Essendon on February 17th, piloted by Vern Cerche. This was followed by the purchase of an eight-seat Envoy for services to Sydney.
However, the Government set up the Department of Civil Aviation in July that year, with authority to to subsidise airlines, and Ansett, though it had not yet achieved any major profit, survived. Mail contracts followed, and in 1937 Ansett Airways Limited was incorporated in Victoria as a public company. The base of operations moved to Essendon Airport, Melbourne. The fleet included Lockheed L.10B Electra aircraft, and services extended to Broken Hill and (with fuelling stops) Adelaide, South Australia, then serviced by the rural-sited Parafield airfield.

Ansett ceased regular operations during World War 2, except for its Hamilton-Melbourne service, and worked under contract to the USAAF, flying personnel throughout Australia in its remaining two Lockheeds, and assisting in the evacuations of Darwin and Broome after Japanese bombing. 

After the War, Ansett resumed interstate services. In 1947 the airline obtained three USAAF C-47 aircraft and converted them to DC-3 standard, operating them on routes between Melbourne-Mount Gambier-Adelaide, and Melbourne-Wagga Wagga-Canberra. In May 1946, Ansett Airways became Ansett Transport Industries.
In 1957 Australian National Airways was in difficulties, and Ansett bought ANA, then Queensland Air Lines and Butler Air Transport and became Ansett-ANA. 

Paul R. Braniff, Inc. was founded in Oklahoma in June 1928. It started services from OKC with three round-trip flights daily, Monday thru Friday in 1928. The first flight roared out of Oklahoma City with a Stinson Detroiter on June 20, 1928. 
Braniff Airlines merged with Universal Aviation of St Louis, Mo. in 1929.

   Braniff Airways logo from the 1930's

In 1930 Braniff Airways was newly founded. It started servive with two Lockheed Vegas. Considered the fastest airliner of the early 30s. First cities served by Braniff were Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Wichita Falls, TX. Later, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas and Fort Worth.

In 1934 it received its first mail contract from Chicago to Dallas via Kansas City, Wichita, and Oklahoma City. They later expanded service to ten Texas cities, and became known as "The Great Lakes to the Gulf" route. 

Braniff aquired two 110 mph Ford Tri-Motors. These planes carried a two-man crew and twelve passengers. They were retired in the Spring of 1935 when Braniff took delivery of the Lockheed "Electra 10." Braniff aquired the Lockheed Electra 10 in March 1935. 

This was Braniff's first twin-engine aircraft capable of going greater distances and at greater speeds. Chief Pilot Ray Shrader flew a fleet of seven new Electra 10s early in 1935 from Lockheed's Burbank Plant. By June, all seven Electra 10s were in service on Braniff's growing route system. This plane basically doubled Braniff's capacity.

Electra 10 print                                                      Tom Braniff with "Electra 10" at Fort Worth's 
                                                                            Meacham Field

Meanwhile Braniff supplemented its Electra and Vega fleet with Douglas Transports with Wright-Powered Cyclone Engines during 1935.

By 1936, Braniff had a fleet of Seven Lockheed Electras, four Lockheed Vegas, two Tri-motored Stinsons and one Stinson Reliant.

In 1937 the Braniff base was moved to Dallas and new DC-2's were aquired (1939 also  DC-3's). 

Braniff's Airlines aquired the new Douglas DC-4 Aircraft after WW II.

In 1946 Braniff was allowed to fly to South America and became "Braniff International Airways".

The new 1946 International logo

(You can find more informations about Braniff at http://www.braniffpages.com)

Cubana began in October 1929 as Compania Nacional Cubana de Aviacion Curtiss. Formed by the Curtiss Aviation Group it began flights with Curtiss Robin (Thrust) and the next year using a Ford 4-AT aircraft. 
In 1930 the first flight of the route Havana-Santiago de Cuba was established, that transports air mail with an Ford tri-motor that did scale in Santa Clara, Morón and Camaguey.  In that same year, the Cuban government granted to the Company the Contract for the Air Postal Service. 
1931 Cubana receives a twin-engined anphibious Sikorsky S-38 to operate among Holguín and Baracoa, with scales in Antilla and^Cayo Mambí and Lindberg inaugurates the routes of the Pan American from Cuba to Sudamérica in the Sikorsky American Clipper. 1932 inaugurates the service of passengers among Santiago of Cuba and Guantánamo. 
Timetable from 1933/34

In May 1932 the airline was acquired by Pan American and the airline renamed Compania Nacional Cubana de Aviacion. 
In 1935 Cubana substitutes the tri-motors Ford with equipment Lockheed L-10 Electra and
one Sikorsky S-38, increasing its annual utilities.  That equipment permits to expand the itineraries to almost all the island, the national routes of the Company were expanded to Baracoa, Antilla, Guantánamo and Cayo Mambí.  With the Electra, the time of the flight Havana - Santiago de Cuba is reduced from 6 h.15 min to 4 h.15 min.  The service was called "The Cuban Air Ltd."  For the need of  technician personal of flight and the development acquired in the aeronautic infrastructure, is based on 1936 in Havana.

In 1939 in the Republican Cuba had already 21 airplanes registered, and of them, 12 airplanes belonged to the Compañía Nacional Cubana de Aviación.
In the early 1940s, Cubana de Aviación S.A. made regular flights in the Caribbean area. 

By 1945 the airline name had been shortened to Compania Cubana de Aviacion and first international flights were started with DC-3 aircraft to the USA (Miami). 

In the 1950s and 1960s Cubana incorporated to its fleet several types of airplanes, which allowed it to make regular flights to all the continent and to Europe. Its main international destinations were Madrid, New York, Miami and Mexico City. Modern airplanes like the Super ”G” Constellation, DC-4, Bristol Britannia 318, Viscount and Super Viscount, together with crews and technical personnel of high experience and expertise, placed the name of Cubana de Aviación in a privileged place at regional and world levels; in 1959, the year of its 30th anniversary, the Interamerican Security Council awarded a special prize to Cubana for having had no accidents since its creation. 

In 1959 the two main airlines which operated in Cuba merged and became a state-owned enterprise, named Empresa Consolidada Cubana de Aviación. 

Beginning in the 1960s, a close cooperation was established between Cuba and the former U.S.S.R. The most modern aircrafts constructed by the main soviet designers: Ilyushin (IL), Tupolev (TU), Antonov (AN) and Yakovlev (YAK) were incorporated to Cubana´s fleet. Airplanes like the IL-14, AN-24 and YAK-40, operating in national and international Caribbean routes; like the IL-18, TU-154 and YAK-42 for short and mid range flights; cargo airplanes like the AN-12 and the IL-76 and long range airplanes like the IL-62 have been successfully used by the enterprise during the past 35 years. 

In 1928 C. E. Woolman, the principal founder of Delta Air Lines, leads movement to buy Huff Daland Dusters (with 18 planes Huff Daland's was one of the largest privately-owned fleet in the world). Renamed Delta Air Service for the Mississippi Delta region it served. 

In 1929 Delta operates first passenger flights with a Travel Air over route stretching from Dallas, Texas, to Jackson, Mississippi, via Shreveport and Monroe (Travel Air S-6000B airplanes carry five passengers and one pilot). 

In 1930 service begins to Atlanta. Lack of mail contract forces suspension of passenger service. Company renamed Delta Air Corporation. 

In 1934 Delta receives Air Mail Route 24 from Post Office; resumes passenger service. Begins operating as Delta Air Lines. 

Timetable from 1935Timetable from 1938

In 1935 Delta offers first night service with the Stinson Model A.

In 1936 it introduced a fleet of Lockheed Electra 10 A. It was first Delta aircraft with two pilots. Delta used Electras on its Atlanta-Dallas service, one return flight being made by day and one by night. The introduction of this type resulted in a reduction of 2¼ hours in the time previously taken to fly between these two cities.

By the end of the 1930s the airline expanded its routes in the midwest and eastern 
US. In 1940 Douglas DC-2 and DC-3 were introduced. Flight attendants, called "Sewardesses," added to flight crews.
Delta headquarters moves from Monroe to Atlanta in 1941. In 1945 the airline took the current name. In 1953 Delta bought Chicago and Southern Airlines and it was known as Delta C&S Air Lines for the next two years.

(You can find more informations about Delta at http://www.delta.com)

Eastern Airlines began in 1927 as Pitcairn Aviation. In November 1927, the government awarded Pitcairn Aviation a 595-mile route linking Atlanta with Miami. Pitcairn found himself in possession of the "eastern airline", a total of 1,387 air miles from New York to Miami via Atlanta.

Pitcairn had come through with an airplane to meet contract requirements but, inauguration of schedules was delayed several times awaiting installation of airway beacons. On May 1, 1928, two northbound flights took off from Atlanta, another from Greensboro and two southbound schedules originated in the New York area.

On December 1, 1928 service was inaugurated from Atlanta to Miami via Jacksonville , completing the New York-Miami air link, giving Florida its first domestic air service.

In 1929, Daytona Beach, Orlando, Tampa and Macon were added to Pitcairn’s routes and the fledgling airline began to consider passenger service. This project was interrupted by a change in management. Pitcairn preferred to concentrate his energies on aircraft manufacturing and sold his airline to North American Aviation, Inc. in June, 1929. Six months later, in January, 1930 the name of the corporation was changed to Eastern Air Transport, Inc.
Timetable 1931 
                                                                 Timetable 1933

By its second anniversary, the airline covered 16 cities with routes of 1,572 miles.  Mail poundage had increased 800 percent. Passenger service began August 18, 1930 between New York (the airport was at North Beach, Long Island, now LaGuardia) and Richmond, with stops at Newark and Camden, N.J., Baltimore and Washington. The 310-mile passenger route was flown daily except Sundays. Its fleet at the time consisted of three Ford Trimotors and two Fokker F-X aircraft. The new mode of transportation caught on so rapidly that six Curtis Condor planes were added to the fleet and service was extended to Atlanta, via Greenville, Spartanburg, Charlotte and Greensboro. Passenger service was extended from Atlanta to Miami on January 1, 1931.

In subsequent years the aviation industry and Eastern underwent many changes and grew rapidly. Control of North American Aviation was taken over by General Motors. New planes like the Lockheed Electra 10 A made their appearance and the route structure expanded. 

While most of the major airlines were focusing on transcontinental flights, Eastern's specialty was the East Coast, and it was here that it established a near monopoly. 

In 1934 all airmail contracts were cancelled by the government and the Army Air Force flew the mail for a short period. Twelve Army fliers, courageous but woefully inexperienced in night and bad weather flying, lost their lives before this dark chapter in aviation history closed. Out of this experience came a national realization of the importance of commercial airlines.

After the government returned the mail operation to the commercial lines, new route patterns were formed. North American formed a new corporation, Eastern Air Lines, Inc., and out of the contract negotiations Eastern received a New York-New Orleans route via Atlanta and acquired a contract to fly mail from Chicago to Jacksonville. This became the nucleus of Eastern’s system.

Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, ace of aces in World War I, had become associated with Eastern while he was president of North American Aviation. He was named General Manager of Eastern in January, 1935. In July, Eastern moved it's maintenance and operations headquarters from Atlanta to Miami. 

In August 1936 two Eastern Airline pilots flew a Lockheed Electra 10A on a round trip flight from New York to England, taking newsreel footage of the Hindenburg disaster to Europe, and returned with Newsreel footage of the coronation of King George VI. This was the first round trip Atlantic crossing by an Electra in Airline livery.

In 1938, with a group of associates, Capt. Rickenbacker purchased the company and became President and General Manager. His first move was to replace a patchwork fleet that included some of the original Mailwings and Curtis Condors. Rickenbacker was responsible for setting up Eastern's Great Silver Fleet, a famous fleet of DC-2 aircraft that operated on the East Coast. Subsequently the DC-2 was replaced by it's refined sister ship, the world famous DC-3.

At the end of it's first decade, the company had 1,032 employees and operated a daily schedule of 34 flights over 4,518 route miles with 22 airplanes.

World War II found Eastern Airlines in a position of stability that permitted it to go "all out" in assisting the war effort. Half of the fleet of 40 airplanes was turned over to the Armed Forces by V.J. Day and approximately 1,200 employees had been furloughed to enter military service. 
In March 1942, it began military support flights connecting Florida, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Further routes were added to Trinidad in the Caribbean. Eventually, in September 1942, Eastern created its Military Transport Division (MTD) based in Miami comprising a fleet of Curtiss C-46 Commando aircraft. Its service was later extended to South America and across the Atlantic to Africa by way of Ascension Island.
In the civilian sector, Eastern gained a big victory when the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the organization that decided which airline would fly which route, allowed Eastern in June 1944 to compete on the prized New York-Boston route; previously American Airlines had held a monopoly on the route.

Immediately after the war, Eastern earned a big share of the rapid expansion in commercial aviation. New four-engine airliners spurred to a high state of development in war service, joined the airlines. DC-4's were acquired in 1946, the year service was inaugurated to Puerto Rico, followed by Constellations in 1947, Super Constellations in 1951 and twin-engine Martin 404's in 1952.

(You can find more informations about Eastern at http://www.evair.com/ealhistory.htm)

In 1928 the Polish Civil Aviation Division at the Ministry of Transportation develops a program to make fundamental changes in air transportation, including the dissolution of all private aviation companies. On December 29th, 1928 one state enterprise, "Linje Lotnicze LOT Sp. z o.o.", replaces those companies. 

Poster of 1929

1929, January 1st - LOT begins its operations. Its network is being expanded to include two new routes: from Warszawa to Katowice and Bydgoszcz. Advertisement activity: posters and folders advertising Polish air transportation, promotional flights and sightseeing flights over Warszawa and the surrounding area. May - organization of a special additional flight connecting Warszawa with Poznan on the occasion of the National Expo. The company's name is expanded to include the word "Polish" - full name is: "Polskie Linje Lotnicze LOT Sp. z o.o." 

In 1930 LOT Polish Airlines purchases 10 three-engine Fokker FVIIb 3M aircraft. 

1931: The "crane" is acknowledged as the emblem of LOT Polish Airlines. The Warszawa-Lvov-Czerniowce-Bucharest route is established. 

1932: The growing number of passengers and increasing interest in air transport results in a speedy expansion of LOT's network. LOT starts to operate flights to Sofia, Athens, Helsinki, Thessalonica, Berlin, Budapest, Venice, Rome, Copenhagen, and to Riga and Tallinn via Vilnius. 

Timetable from 19341938

1934: Five years after its establishment LOT relocates its registered seat at the new Warszawa airport, Okecie, a modern airport with technical facilities including hangars, workshops and warehouses. 

In 1936 LOT purchased 4 Electra 10A and in 1937 another 6 (so LOT used altogether 10 Electra 10 A). 

1937: LOT's aircraft are the first to begin flying to Lydda in Palestine and to Beirut in the Middle East. The route to Lydda goes through Lvov, Czerniowce, Bucharest, Sofia, Thessalonica, Athens and Rhodes. The fleet undergoes expansion. Its main aircraft are the American Douglas DC-2s, Lockheed L-10s and L-14s. The carrier also features the older Fokkers and German Junkers JU-52. 

1938: After changes made to certain principles of the Polish written language, the enterprise's name is changed from "Polskie Linje Lotnicze LOT" to "Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT". 
In the late 30-ies LOT Polish Airlines network covers the major part of the European continent. Warszawa has direct connections with 21 cities in 13 countries and LOT's fleet numbers 26 aircraft. 

1939: During military activity in September (beginning of World War 2nd), 16 of the 26 planes of the Polish fleet were given to Romania. In 1942 6 LOT Electra's were given to the Romanian airline LARES.
Evacuation of the majority of employees and LOT assets. During World War 2nd all hangars and airport buildings are destroyed. 

1945: Reactivation of the pre-war enterprise, LOT Polish Airlines - under imposed government management. March - May: a network of domestic LOT branch offices is established. July 18th - The State Enterprise LOT Polish Airlines is established by a decree of the Council of Ministers. The director general is Wojciech Zielinski, a pre-war LOT proxy.

1946: Ten Li-2 planes are received from the military and the first post-war route is started up between Warszawa and Gdansk. LOT purchases 9 Douglas DC-3 plans and restarts its domestic network of flights and international flights to Berlin, Paris, Stockholm and Prague. 

(You can find more informations about Polish LOT at www.lot.com)