All American Aviation was an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

company founded by Lytle Schooler Adams in 1937. It evolved over the decades to become

Allegheny Airlines Allegheny Airlines was a local service carrier that operated out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1952 to 1979, with routes primarily located in the eastern U.S. It was the forerunner of USAir that was subsequently renamed US Airways, which i ...

, then

USAir US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it was renamed Allegheny Airlines an ...

and subsequently

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

, with the latter's merger with

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

in 2013 creating the largest airline in the world.

History

All American Aviation was founded in 1937 as a

patent holding company A patent holding company (PHC) exists to hold patents on behalf of one or more other companies but does not necessarily manufacture products or supply services based upon the patents held. Patent holding companies may exist for tax reasons. Pate ...

. Its sister company, Tri-State Aviation, was founded on the same date, serving as the physical operating company. Founder Lytle Schooler Adams was the first president of both companies. Adams had started experimenting with an

airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be th ...

pick-up system in 1927, developing numerous patents on the system, which he rolled into All American Aviation in 1937. Initial flights of the airline pick-up service were made by a

Stinson Reliant The Stinson Reliant is a popular single-engine four- to five-seat high-wing monoplane manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Company, Stinson Aircraft Division of the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation of Wayne, Michigan. Design and development ...

single engine high-wing monoplane. Mail containers were suspended from ropes or cables suspended from two poles. The aircraft swooped down with a suspended hook hanging below and snagged the rope or cable. This was further developed in a system that could pick up personnel. The

du Pont family The du Pont family () or Du Pont family is a prominent family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817), a French minor aristocrat. Currently residing in the U.S. states of Delaware and Pennsylvania, the Du Ponts have been ...

brothers Richard C. du Pont and Alexis Felix du Pont, Jr. bought stock in the company in 1938—on the same date as a bill was passed in Congress to enable the

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

to start large scale experimentation on the airmail pick-up system. Through some manipulations, the du Ponts were able to acquire majority stock and voted Richard du Pont as the new president. Actual service did not commence until 1939. The pioneering experimental airmail pickup service was built on routes radiating from a hub at

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, from which the airline provided service throughout the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

valley. All American received a

certificate of public convenience and necessity A certificate of public convenience and necessity or certificate of public convenience is a type of regulatory compliance certification for public service industries. Private companies wishing to provide essential public services in certain countr ...

from the

Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1940 from a split of the Civil Aeronautics Authority and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services (including scheduled passe ...

for regular passenger, mail and express service. Concurrent with the introduction of passenger service, the company changed its name in 1949 to All American Airways. This should not be confused with the

irregular air carrier Supplemental air carriers, until 1955 known as irregular air carriers, and until 1946 as nonscheduled air carriers or nonskeds, were a type of United States airline from 1944 to 1978, regulated by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), a now-defunct ...

also known as All American Airways which later changed its name to

Saturn Airways Saturn Airways was a United States, US supplemental air carrier, overseen by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now-defunct Federal agency that, at the time, tightly regulated almost all US air transport. Saturn merged into Trans Internation ...

. Through the years, the company grew and the name was again changed, becoming

on January 1, 1953,

on October 28, 1979, and US Airways on November 12, 1996. Following its 2013 merger with

, the US Airways brand was phased out by 2016 as planes, uniforms, and other assets were steadily rebranded to American Airlines.

Fleet

Pre World War II *Stinson SM-1D-300 *Stinson SR-10C (4) Post World War II *

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

Convair 580 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inro ...

References

External links

* Th
George J. Frebert collection on Delaware Aviation
at

Hagley Museum and Library The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. Covering more than along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Po ...

includes material on All American Aviation and its air mail pick-up system. {{Navboxes , list = {{US Airways Group {{American Airlines {{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed {{authority control Airlines established in 1937 Airlines disestablished in 1952 Companies based in Pittsburgh Defunct airlines of the United States Defunct companies based in Pennsylvania US Airways Group American companies established in 1937 Airlines based in Pennsylvania Aviation companies

History

Fleet

See also

References

External links