American Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10
In 1930, no less than 82 airlines—most of them with one or two aircraft—consolidated into American Airways, mainly to profit from the lucrative mail contracts then being offered by the US government. This consolidation gave American Airways one of the largest American route networks, rivaled only by Pan American. Though most of its profit came from mail carrying, American included passenger service as well, operating Curtiss Condors, one of the first airliners to include sleeping berths and stewardesses. In 1934, American Airways was bought by car producer Errett Cord, who renamed it American Airlines; as Cord was concentrating on his automotive business, he hired Texas businessman Cyrus R. Smith to run American. C.R. Smith, as he was better known, would become one of the most influential men in the history of American aviation, alongside Howard Hughes of Trans World Airlines and Juan Trippe of Pan American.
Smith saw a great deal of potential in American Airlines, but did not like the Curtiss Condor. Smith desired an aircraft capable of comfortably flying 14-20 people from New York to Los Angeles with a minimum of stops. To facilitate this, he contracted with Douglas Aircraft to develop the Douglas Sleeper Transport, which would eventually become the DC-3. American Airlines would be the first to operate what would become the most widely-produced and longest-lasting airliner in history. The DC-3 allowed American to operate a daily service between New York and Los Angeles; to further facilitate flights, Smith partnered with New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia to have a new airport built, which would eventually become LaGuardia International Airport.
World War II saw American’s fleet of DC-3s federalized for US Army Air Force use, and its pilots incorporated into the Air Ferrying Service; C.R. Smith joined the USAAF and became the head of the AFS. This would prove helpful to the company as well, as its pilots gained experience flying globally. At war’s end, American embarked on an aggressive expansion of its routes and bought new equipment—and when it could not buy new equipment, it sponsored the creation of new airliners. To replace the DC-3, the airline helped fund the development of the Convair CV-240, the first American postwar airliner; the Douglas DC-7 was developed from the DC-6 to provide American with an aircraft capable of nonstop transcontinental service and one-stop Pacific service. American Airlines was now competing with the other “big three” airlines of the United States—Pan American, TWA, and United—but by 1950, was the second largest airline in the world, second only to Aeroflot of the Soviet Union.
To keep its innovative edge, American kept partnering with aviation companies. To replace the DC-6 on domestic routes, the airline was involved in the development of the Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop in 1959; earlier in the 1950s, American had attempted to acquire deHavilland Comet 1s, but after several Comets were lost in crashes, the airline switched its orders to the Boeing 707. Though Pan American was the first to introduce the 707 on transatlantic routes, American was the first to use it in nonstop jet service from New York to Los Angeles, marketing it as the “Astrojet” and beating its main domestic competitor, United, to the punch. In 1962, it added a third new airliner, the Convair CV-990 Coronado, then the fastest airliner in the world. It also became the first airline to use an electronic booking system in the same year.
By 1970 American was in an excellent position. It was staying in competition with Pan American and TWA internationally and United domestically, and its acquisition of Trans-Caribbean Airways gave it unmatched access to the South American market (a position American retains today). It added wide-body airliners in the form of the Boeing 747 in 1970, while it was the launch customer of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in 1974. The latter provided the only hiccup in American’s continued expansion: the crash of Flight 191 at Chicago in May 1979, which remains the deadliest crash in American aviation history, led to the grounding of the DC-10 and an investigation into poor maintenance practices on the aircraft by American.
American adopted the modern hub/spoke system in 1981, mainly from Chicago-O’Hare and Dallas-Fort Worth, where the airline had moved its headquarters in 1979. It later expanded regional hubs to San Jose, California (after acquiring AirCal in 1987); Nashville, Tennesee; and Raleigh-Durham, though San Jose and Raleigh were later sold to other, smaller airlines. A commuter service, American Eagle, was founded in 1984 (it is described separately below). In 1990, it increased its hold on the South American market by purchasing Eastern Airlines’ route network in the region. In the same year, American took advantage of TWA’s troubles to acquire its landing rights at London-Heathrow, becoming one of only two US air carriers allowed to fly there (United being the other) until 2008. Eventually, in early 2001, American bought out TWA entirely.
The 1990s had seen American Airlines slow down some, partially because of overreach in too many unprofitable routes and an aging fleet of aircraft. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 hurt the airline more—not just because of the post-attack downturn, but also the loss of two American aircraft, their crews, and their passengers on 9/11 itself. Further tragedy struck American only weeks later when Flight 587, an Airbus A300, crashed after takeoff from Kennedy International, killing over 360 people. Labor troubles and problems with the MD-80 fleet inherited from TWA caused further problems: though American was never in danger of bankruptcy, it was forced to curtail a number of domestic and international flights and close its maintenance facility in Kansas City, Missouri.
This temporarily halted American’s troubles, but high operating costs, the 2008 recession, and an aging pilot workforce finally led the iconic carrier to file for bankruptcy in 2011. Almost a hundred aircraft were grounded and some flights were curtailed. To avoid a shutdown of the airline, American began to explore possibilities of a merger with another airline, and in 2013, was able to successfully merge with US Airways, though the latter airline will continue operations for some years to come. This allowed American to emerge from bankruptcy.
Today, American Airlines is the largest airline in the world, thanks to the US Airways merger. Plans are to standardize the over 600 aircraft in the American fleet to the Airbus A320, late model Boeing 737s, Boeing 777s, and Boeing 787 Dreamliners, for which American placed the largest purchase order in American aviation history.
This DC-10 shows American's traditional bare-metal finish, with the red-white-blue cheatline and "AA Eagle" used from the early 1970s to just recently. This is not a solid model or kit, but a toy--Bary Poletto liked to collect those as well.
American Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10
In 1930, no less than 82 airlines—most of them with one or two aircraft—consolidated into American Airways, mainly to profit from the lucrative mail contracts then being offered by the US government. This consolidation gave American Airways one of the largest American route networks, rivaled only by Pan American. Though most of its profit came from mail carrying, American included passenger service as well, operating Curtiss Condors, one of the first airliners to include sleeping berths and stewardesses. In 1934, American Airways was bought by car producer Errett Cord, who renamed it American Airlines; as Cord was concentrating on his automotive business, he hired Texas businessman Cyrus R. Smith to run American. C.R. Smith, as he was better known, would become one of the most influential men in the history of American aviation, alongside Howard Hughes of Trans World Airlines and Juan Trippe of Pan American.
Smith saw a great deal of potential in American Airlines, but did not like the Curtiss Condor. Smith desired an aircraft capable of comfortably flying 14-20 people from New York to Los Angeles with a minimum of stops. To facilitate this, he contracted with Douglas Aircraft to develop the Douglas Sleeper Transport, which would eventually become the DC-3. American Airlines would be the first to operate what would become the most widely-produced and longest-lasting airliner in history. The DC-3 allowed American to operate a daily service between New York and Los Angeles; to further facilitate flights, Smith partnered with New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia to have a new airport built, which would eventually become LaGuardia International Airport.
World War II saw American’s fleet of DC-3s federalized for US Army Air Force use, and its pilots incorporated into the Air Ferrying Service; C.R. Smith joined the USAAF and became the head of the AFS. This would prove helpful to the company as well, as its pilots gained experience flying globally. At war’s end, American embarked on an aggressive expansion of its routes and bought new equipment—and when it could not buy new equipment, it sponsored the creation of new airliners. To replace the DC-3, the airline helped fund the development of the Convair CV-240, the first American postwar airliner; the Douglas DC-7 was developed from the DC-6 to provide American with an aircraft capable of nonstop transcontinental service and one-stop Pacific service. American Airlines was now competing with the other “big three” airlines of the United States—Pan American, TWA, and United—but by 1950, was the second largest airline in the world, second only to Aeroflot of the Soviet Union.
To keep its innovative edge, American kept partnering with aviation companies. To replace the DC-6 on domestic routes, the airline was involved in the development of the Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop in 1959; earlier in the 1950s, American had attempted to acquire deHavilland Comet 1s, but after several Comets were lost in crashes, the airline switched its orders to the Boeing 707. Though Pan American was the first to introduce the 707 on transatlantic routes, American was the first to use it in nonstop jet service from New York to Los Angeles, marketing it as the “Astrojet” and beating its main domestic competitor, United, to the punch. In 1962, it added a third new airliner, the Convair CV-990 Coronado, then the fastest airliner in the world. It also became the first airline to use an electronic booking system in the same year.
By 1970 American was in an excellent position. It was staying in competition with Pan American and TWA internationally and United domestically, and its acquisition of Trans-Caribbean Airways gave it unmatched access to the South American market (a position American retains today). It added wide-body airliners in the form of the Boeing 747 in 1970, while it was the launch customer of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in 1974. The latter provided the only hiccup in American’s continued expansion: the crash of Flight 191 at Chicago in May 1979, which remains the deadliest crash in American aviation history, led to the grounding of the DC-10 and an investigation into poor maintenance practices on the aircraft by American.
American adopted the modern hub/spoke system in 1981, mainly from Chicago-O’Hare and Dallas-Fort Worth, where the airline had moved its headquarters in 1979. It later expanded regional hubs to San Jose, California (after acquiring AirCal in 1987); Nashville, Tennesee; and Raleigh-Durham, though San Jose and Raleigh were later sold to other, smaller airlines. A commuter service, American Eagle, was founded in 1984 (it is described separately below). In 1990, it increased its hold on the South American market by purchasing Eastern Airlines’ route network in the region. In the same year, American took advantage of TWA’s troubles to acquire its landing rights at London-Heathrow, becoming one of only two US air carriers allowed to fly there (United being the other) until 2008. Eventually, in early 2001, American bought out TWA entirely.
The 1990s had seen American Airlines slow down some, partially because of overreach in too many unprofitable routes and an aging fleet of aircraft. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 hurt the airline more—not just because of the post-attack downturn, but also the loss of two American aircraft, their crews, and their passengers on 9/11 itself. Further tragedy struck American only weeks later when Flight 587, an Airbus A300, crashed after takeoff from Kennedy International, killing over 360 people. Labor troubles and problems with the MD-80 fleet inherited from TWA caused further problems: though American was never in danger of bankruptcy, it was forced to curtail a number of domestic and international flights and close its maintenance facility in Kansas City, Missouri.
This temporarily halted American’s troubles, but high operating costs, the 2008 recession, and an aging pilot workforce finally led the iconic carrier to file for bankruptcy in 2011. Almost a hundred aircraft were grounded and some flights were curtailed. To avoid a shutdown of the airline, American began to explore possibilities of a merger with another airline, and in 2013, was able to successfully merge with US Airways, though the latter airline will continue operations for some years to come. This allowed American to emerge from bankruptcy.
Today, American Airlines is the largest airline in the world, thanks to the US Airways merger. Plans are to standardize the over 600 aircraft in the American fleet to the Airbus A320, late model Boeing 737s, Boeing 777s, and Boeing 787 Dreamliners, for which American placed the largest purchase order in American aviation history.
This DC-10 shows American's traditional bare-metal finish, with the red-white-blue cheatline and "AA Eagle" used from the early 1970s to just recently. This is not a solid model or kit, but a toy--Bary Poletto liked to collect those as well.