Supplemental air carrier

[14] But as war ended, easy availability of war-surplus aircraft and war-trained pilots resulted in a flourishing of operators using the nonscheduled loophole.

The study concluded May 1946 with the CAB coining the term "irregular" for such operators (versus "regular" service seen as typical of scheduled flights) and required them to register (essentially to gather data)[15] and subjected them to the parts of the 1938 Act that forbade unfair and deceptive practices.

[17][18] The CAB issued a total of 162 "letters of registration" for "large" irregular carriers (those with transport-type equipment), as distinct from FBO-type operators for which the exemption was intended, finally freezing approvals in August 1948.

[48] In 1951, the Senate again weighed in, lambasting the CAB for oppressing the irregulars while subsidizing "high-cost luxury air service for a small part of the population.

"[49] So the CAB rolled irregular carrier issues into an investigation, kicking the problem into the future, while, as discussed below, still pursuing specific offenders.

North American was effectively a rogue scheduled airline, highly profitable for its partners, who had the money to delay shutdown until 1957 through public relations, lobbying and litigation all the way to the US Supreme Court.

Of 49 exempted in 1955, only 23 survived the 1959 certification process (with a further two to be decided), although appeals and litigation delayed the end of many carriers the CAB deemed unacceptable.

[130] In February 1960, the US Department of Defense (DOD) published a report endorsed by President Eisenhower: MATS was to reduce flights in favor of airlines and only "air carriers" per the 1958 Federal Aviation Act were to fly military charters.

[132] With Part 45s excuded, the CAB ended competitive bidding and set uniform military charter rates at significantly higher levels, in particular, ones profitable for scheduled carriers.

The investigation showed the crew was incompetent and put the safety record of the supplementals in the spotlight, revealing it to be 30 times worse than that of scheduled carriers.

CAB enforcement actions against combines, the impact of new military charter allocation rules, the DOD's crackdown after the 1961 Imperial Airlines crash and the shifting legal status of supplementals, including recertifications, all contributed to a big reduction in the ranks of supplementals from 49 in 1955 to 13 by the end of 1965,[145] this number also reflecting the November 1965 merger of AAXICO Airlines into Saturn Airways (known as All-American Airways in 1955).

Overseas National Airways entered bankruptcy in 1963 but was revived as effectively a new company by an investor group at the end of 1965, with jets in service by summer 1966.

[206][207] ONA's CEO noted even the clergy would lie to fly such charters because the CAB was withholding low fares from the public for no good reason.

In the early 1970s, there were a half billion dollars in annual illegal transatlantic scheduled fare rebates, but the CAB turned a blind eye until a US Department of Justice investigation resulted in fines and consent decrees from 19 airlines in 1975, including Pan Am, TWA and most European flag carriers (e.g. Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, KLM, etc).

[214] The CAB's aggressive stance on possible illegal charter activity contrasted with its slow response to consumer complaints against scheduled carriers, one case taking eight years to resolve.

When negotiations between supplementals and IATA broke down, the CAB imposed minimum charter prices ("guidelines") as part of a plan to help financially-distressed Pan Am.

[228] Senator Ted Kennedy, with the assistance of future Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer, held hearings on this topic in November 1974.

[232] Meanwhile, Timm was caught vacationing with scheduled airline CEOs, paid for by aircraft manufacturers[233] and President Ford did not reappoint him as CAB Chair for 1975.

One was the last flight out of Da Nang on 29 March 1975, with thousands of desperate people rushing a World Boeing 727, injuring many including CEO Ed Daly.

[236] The other was World's activities airlifting Vietnamese orphans, including outfitting a 747 as a flying hospital, bringing hundreds of children to the US[237] (part of a wider effort known as Operation Babylift).

[251] In the six months ending March 1978, the London-New York market expanded by 39%; the number of low fares (including charters) sold across the Atlantic exploded by over 300% in the first quarter of 1978 over the prior year.

In the face of regulatory uncertainty, ONA liquidated outside bankruptcy, selling aircraft into a strong market.In October 1978, President Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act, which was literally the end for supplementals.

TIA also offered scheduled service, but when its parent put it up for sale in 1986, the airline (then called Transamerica) was worth more dead than alive.

US Department of Transportation data shows charters accounted for about half a percent of US airline industry revenue passenger miles in 2023.

[268] Among the original scheduled carriers grandfathered under the 1938 Act, the only one that ceased operations rather than merge was tiny two-aircraft Wilmington-Catalina Airline (later known as Catalina Air Transport).

[271] Oddball international carrier Resort Airlines, with scheduled authority limited to flying all-expense paid tours, went out of business in 1960.

In the early days of local service carriers the CAB declined to renew the temporary certificates of Florida Airways,[272] Mid-West Airlines[273] and E.W.

[274] A later exception was former air taxi operator TAG Airlines, certificated by the CAB for scheduled service on a single city pair, only to suffer a crash[275] that put it out of business.

[276] A broader exception were the CAB-certificated scheduled freight carriers, where mortality was substantial: four out of eight went out of business (Airnews, U. S. Airlines, Aerovias Sud Americana, Slick Airways).

[277] Only TIA's revenues of $231 million (about $1.1 billion in 2024 dollars) were comparable to some of the smaller domestic scheduled airlines like the local service carriers.

Graph 1: RPM = revenue passenger mile = one customer flown one mile. A 2000-mile flight with 150 customers creates 150×2000 = 300,000 RPMs. Supplemental market share was modest, often not even commanding a majority of the charter market. Regulatory changes let scheduled carriers capture most of the 1960s Vietnam War military charter boom, clearly visible in the graph. Note total charter share dropped sharply in late 1970s deregulation. By contrast, 2023 US industry charter RPM share was a much smaller 0.5%
Continental Sky-Van (no relation to Continental Air Lines ) was an Oakland airline started by ex-Army Air Force pilots that operated from February [ 1 ] to December 1946. [ 2 ]
Lone Star Air Cargo Lines (as distinct from Lone Star Airlines or Lone Star Airways) [ 3 ] was Dallas -based and lasted from early 1946 [ 4 ] to early 1947 [ 5 ] —its bankruptcy auction featured seven DC-3s . [ 6 ]
Main article: Standard Air Lines (1945–1949)
Standard Air Lines (no relation to the 1920s airline or Standard Airways ) was the first irregular carrier shut down (in July 1949) by the CAB for scheduled flights. Its partners helped found North American Airlines Group . This aircraft crashed two months after photo date, killing 35 of 48 on board
The CAB suspended New England Air Express' s operating rights in 1951 for mistreating passengers, [ 7 ] a judgment affirmed by a Federal appeals court in 1952 [ 8 ]
American Air Transport and Flight School flew under the name of Miami-based Cloud Coach, a ticket agent for irregular air carriers. [ 9 ] The CAB revoked the airline in 1952 for flying scheduled Florida flights [ 10 ]
The CAB traced this aircraft, "Two Eight Mike" (for its registration), as it transitioned from Monarch Air Service to Currey Air Transport in 1952 within in the Skycoach combine. [ 11 ]
Graph 2: RPM = revenue passenger mile Coach class was an irregular carrier innovation. The CAB forced scheduled carriers to adopt it, but still took over a decade to become the prevailing class
Air Transport Associates lost its letter of registration in 1953 after a failed court appeal [ 23 ] of a 1951 CAB enforcement action. The carrier was a Seattle to Alaska specialist. [ 24 ]
The CAB shut down Air America in January 1954 for scheduled New York-Los Angeles flights. [ 25 ] The carrier flew for the North Star combine [ 26 ] but was unrelated to the later CIA airline
Caribbean American Lines (titles just aft of door) flew for the North Star combine. The CAB shut it down early 1956, [ 27 ] after earlier subjecting it to stringent conditions as an alternative to revocation for flying scheduled service New York-Chicago-Los Angeles [ 28 ]
Miami-based Peninsular Air Transport was part of the family-run Peninsular Group combine providing scheduled service, primarily Miami-New York/Chicago. The CAB revoked its authority March 1957. [ 33 ] [ 34 ]
Not really an airline. Same aircraft (registration N4761C) as in prior picture. Peninsular (or its alter ego, Aero Finance) flying in the livery of " South East Airlines ", the Peninsular Group combine 's ticket agency
Main article: North American Airlines Group
Five irregular carriers flew under the North American Airlines name, one legally named North American Airlines. The biggest of the combines shut down in 1957, after the US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the CAB's 1955 shutdown order.
The CAB revoked Long Beach -based [ 51 ] Air Services in March 1959 [ 52 ] for being a North Star combine carrier. [ 53 ] Note livery similarities between this aircraft and Air America aircraft above
In 1953 Teterboro -based Meteor Air Transport had three C-46s and two DC-3s and was profitable with 88% of revenue military, 39% passenger. [ 58 ] By 1957 it had DC-4s on transatlantic charters [ 59 ] and an FBO subsidiary, [ 60 ] but in 1958 the IRS seized its assets. [ 61 ] In 1960, no one came to a CAB hearing to determine its future. [ 62 ]
Scott Aero Services in Long Beach [ 79 ] became U.S. Aircoach in February 1950 [ 80 ] and a year later had five DC-4s [ 81 ] and the CAB cited it for scheduled Hawaii flights. [ 82 ] By 1953 it had only a DC-3 and a C-46 . [ 83 ] It did not fly 2Q1954 to 3Q1955 [ 84 ] and again for almost a year ending Sep 1958. [ 85 ] The CAB ended the carrier for financial weakness and lack of compliance disposition in 1959 [ 86 ] [ 87 ]
In 1953, Burbank (initially El Paso )-based S.S.W. , Inc., had a single C-46 with 60% military revenues and lower-than-breakeven results. [ 92 ] From September 1957 it was dba Universal Airlines , [ 93 ] no relation to later Universal Airlines of Ypsilanti . CAB suspended its license in September 1959 [ 94 ] after stranding passengers because it could not afford to fix its DC-6 . [ 95 ] Finally lost its license in 1960 [ 96 ]
Graph 3: The US military was the dominant source of revenue for irregular/supplemental airlines during the 1950s, if not always a majority. Note the relatively small contribution from civilian charters
Main article: California Eastern Airways
California Eastern Airways (CEA) went bankrupt in 1948, emerging as an uncertificated carrier for the military. The CAB recertificated CEA as a supplemental in 1959, only for CEA to sell its certificate to President Airlines in 1960 to focus elsewhere, eventually becoming a major government contractor.
The CAB suspended Aviation Corp. of Seattle dba Westair Transport for 13 months [ 107 ] for violations contributing to 28 deaths in a June 1950 ditching , [ 108 ] that occurred months after the Civil Aeronautics Administration asked the CAB to suspend Westair. [ 109 ] On suspension, Westair operated illegally for Flying Tiger Line . [ 110 ] In 1959 the CAB approved the same management for a supplemental certificate. [ 111 ] The IRS seized its assets January 1960 [ 112 ]
Main article: Transocean Air Lines
Transocean Air Lines was one of the most capable nonskeds, with global operations. Its aircraft featured in the 1954 Hollywood film The High and the Mighty , based on a novel by Ernest K. Gann , who flew for Transocean. The carrier collapsed in early 1960
Unpaid taxes forced Miami-based Continental Charters (no relation to Continental Air Lines ) into bankruptcy in 1954. [ 113 ] New owners bought it for literally $20, the CAB refused to allow them to operate, [ 114 ] but by piggy-backing on litigation [ 115 ] the moribund carrier was able to stave off the final end until March 1961 [ 116 ]
In 1950 the CAB curbed New York-based Economy Airways from scheduled service to New Orleans & Houston, [ 117 ] by 1953 it had four C-46s but a significantly negative net worth. [ 118 ] By 1956, the CAB suspended its operating authority, [ 119 ] with full revocation in 1961 [ 116 ]
A 1950 crash (1 dead) [ 120 ] forced a change in Regina Cargo Airlines ownership, moving it from Teterboro to Miami . It crashed again in 1953 (21 dead). [ 121 ] Regina had Peninsular Group combine links. Its new owner at first hid his ownership from the CAB, but it did not seem to mind. [ 122 ] [ 123 ] In 1960 Regina became Imperial Airlines . A 1961 crash (77 dead) [ 124 ] ended Imperial [ 125 ] and changed the supplemental business
Graph 4: Driven by the Vietnam War, the US military spent $575 million in Fiscal 1967 (over $5.4 billion in 2024 terms) on international charters, but the vast majority went to scheduled carriers rather than supplementals
Main article: Airline Transport Carriers
California Hawaiian Airlines (CHA) was a dba of Airline Transport Carriers (ATC), which tried Los Angeles-New York before founding California Central Airlines (CCA), a pioneering intrastate airline (1949–1955). In 1952 ATC started CHA, which survived 1954 ATC bankruptcy (CCA did not). The CAB shut ATC in 1962 after the military deemed it unsafe
Miami-based cargo-line Argonaut Airways' s owner died in a 1958 plane crash. [ 165 ] The CAB's positive view of Argonaut had depended on his ability to cover its significant negative net worth. [ 166 ] Argonaut voluntarily gave up operating authority in 1962. [ 167 ]
Main article: Paramount Airlines (1961–1962)
Paul Mantz was a race and Hollywood stunt pilot. His airline, Paul Mantz Air Services , worked for the North Star combine in 1953, but the CAB let him to keep his operating authority. New owners renamed it Paramount Airlines in 1961 and started flying for the Skycoach combine. The CAB used a new law to shut it in 1962.
Main article: United States Overseas Airlines
First operation was as Ocean Air Tradeways in 1946 with a DC-4 flight to Saudi Arabia with aviation pioneer Charles F. Blair Jr in the cockpit. United States Overseas Airlines allied military charters to scheduled flights that reached as far as Okinawa , but the CAB shut them in 1964 for being "irredeemably financially unfit"
Main article: AAXICO Airlines
In 1955 the CAB awarded AAXICO Airlines a scheduled cargo certificate, but the airline reverted to being a supplemental in 1962. Financially successful, it merged into Saturn Airways in 1965, with AAXICO the surviving mgmt/ownership
Main article: Zantop Air Transport
Zantop Air Transport was an uncertificated carrier specializing in flying auto parts and military charters that became a supplemental in 1962 by buying the Coastal Air Lines certificate. The Zantop brothers sold out in 1966 and the airline became Universal Airlines (see below)
Main article: Standard Airways
No relation to Standard Air Lines , Standard Airways started as San Diego-based Standard Air Cargo and led an intermittent existence. From late 1960 to 1964 it flew "Pink Cloud" propliner scheduled flights to Hawaii , but a 1963 accident shook its weak finances and it stopped operating January 1964. Revived by an investor group in 1966, it flew DC-9s and Boeing 707s with an unusual red and gold livery until collapsing in 1969
Main articles: Vance International Airways and McCulloch International Airlines
In 1960 the CAB certificated Vance Roberts's tiny Seattle operation as a supplemental, which incorporated in 1965 as Vance International Airways (VIA). By 1970, investors forced the turnover of VIA to Robert P. McCulloch , creating McCulloch International Airlines (MIA), which initially took potential buyers to McCulloch's Lake Havasu City real estate development
Main article: American Flyers Airline
Texas-based American Flyers Airline (AFA) grew from pilot Reed Pigman's post-war flight school, under his control until he died crashing an AFA Electra in 1966. A Pittsburgh investor bought AFA in 1967 and moved it to Harrisburg in 1969. Money-losing AFA was sold to Universal Airlines in 1971
US soldiers board ONA DC-8 at Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon in 1970. Note aircraft name.
Main article: Universal Airlines (United States)
Detroit and later Oakland -based Universal Airlines was Zantop Air Transport after a 1966 ownership change. Universal bought American Flyers Airline for its transatlantic rights in 1971, but failed the next year, leaving a need to fly autoparts, quickly filled by Zantop International Airlines
Main article: Modern Air Transport
Long Island -based Modern Air Transport (MAT) moved to Trenton, New Jersey in the 1950s. From the late 1950s the airline flew customers for a Florida land company, which bought MAT in 1966, moving it to Miami. Never profitable thereafter, MAT's only money-maker were Cold War West Berlin charters. Cut off by its parent company, MAT collapsed in 1975
Main article: Johnson Flying Service
Montana-based Johnson Flying Service (JFS) started mountain flying in 1924, mostly for the US Forest Service . Evergreen Aviation bought JFS in 1975; the CAB stopped earlier attempts by Executive Jet Aviation (today's NetJets) and US Steel
Main article: Saturn Airways
Miami-based All American Airways , unrelated to the local service carrier All American Airways that became US Airways , changed its name to Saturn Airways in 1960 and bought AAXICO in 1965, leaving AAXICO in control. Post-AAXICO Saturn was profitable, freight-oriented and Oakland -based. It sold out to Trans International in 1976
Main article: Overseas National Airways
Founded in San Francisco, Overseas National Airways was a big military operator until 1963 bankruptcy. Investors revived ONA in New York in 1965, making it the second-largest supplemental by 1969. ONA voluntarily liquidated outside bankruptcy in 1978 after failed diversification, heavy losses and three crashes within 16 months
Main article: Capitol Air
Nashville-based Capitol Airways (not to be confused with trunk carrier Capital ) had a base at Wilmington, Delaware 1958–1970 before moving base and HQ to Smyrna, Tennessee . Capitol was prominent throughout the CAB era but, as Capitol Air , was an early deregulation casualty in 1984
Main article: Trans International Airlines
Los Angeles Air Service traded aircraft as much as it flew until owner Kirk Kerkorian changed the name to Trans International Airlines (TIA) in 1960. Kerkorian sold to Transamerica Corporation in 1968 for a fortune. TIA bought Saturn in 1976 to end the CAB era as the largest supplemental. But when offered for sale in 1986, then Transamerica Airlines was worth more dead than alive.
Main article: Rich International Airways
A rare airline founded by a woman, Miami-based Rich International Airways (RIA) started in 1970 as an uncertificated carrier flying cargo C-46s to the Caribbean. Certificated in 1977 as a supplemental cargo carrier, RIA reorganized as a passenger charter carrier in 1984 but collapsed in a 1996 Federal Aviation Administration post- ValuJet Flight 592 crackdown
Main article: Southern Air Transport
The CIA secretly bought Miami-based, mostly-cargo Southern Air Transport (SAT) in 1960, flying it in support of US operations in Vietnam. The CIA sold then- uncertificated SAT in 1973. SAT recertificated as a supplemental in 1977, becoming a large freight airline after deregulation, collapsing 1998
Main article: Zantop International Airlines
The Zantop brothers had Ypsilanti -based Zantop International Airlines (ZIA) flying autoparts as an uncertificated carrier within a month of the 1972 collapse of Universal . ZIA certificated as a supplemental in 1977 and survived into the 21st century as a freight airline after deregulation
Main article: Evergreen International Airlines
Evergreen Helicopters bought Johnson Flying Service in 1975 to create Evergreen International Airlines (EIA). EIA became a substantial jet operation after deregulation, ceasing 2013. An Oregon aviation museum survives, its centerpiece the Spruce Goose of Howard Hughes
Main article: World Airways
Ed Daly bought World Airways in 1950, moving it from Teterboro to Oakland in 1956. World rode the Vietnam boom to become the largest supplemental in the 1960s, ending the CAB era second only to Trans International in 1978. World briefly tried scheduled service after deregulation but reverted to charters and cargo until ceasing operations in 2014, the last of the supplemental air carriers