National Airlines (NA)
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This article is about one of the airlines that have shared this name. For other uses of the name, see National Airlines. For 'national airlines' see Flag carrier.
National Airlines (IATA: NA, ICAO: NAL, and Callsign: National) was founded in 1934 and was based in Jacksonville, Florida.
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[edit] History
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.
In 1970, the company opened a terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport called the Sundrome, which is now occupied by JetBlue Airways. It was designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. 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.
[edit] 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
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- National Airlines (1934-1980)
- National Airlines (1934-1980) Former Flight Attendants Organization
- National Sundowners Flights of Memories 1937-1980
