American Airlines

History

The earliest predecessor company of American Airlines to commence operations was Robertson Aircraft Corporation, which began mail flights on April 15, 1926.

American Airlines was established in 1930 through the union of more than eighty small airlines. The two primary organizations from which American Airlines originated were Robertson Aircraft Corporation and Colonial Air Transport. The former was first created in Missouri in 1921, with both being merged in 1929 into holding company The Aviation Corporation. This, in turn, was made in 1930 into an operating company and rebranded as American Airways. In 1934, when new laws and attrition of mail contracts forced many airlines to reorganize, the corporation redid its routes into a connected system and was renamed American Airlines. The airline fully developed its international business between 1970 and 2000. It purchased Trans World Airlines in 2001.

American Airlines played a direct role in developing the Douglas DC-3, which grew out of a marathon telephone call from American Airlines CEO C. R. Smith to Douglas Aircraft Company founder Donald Wills Douglas Sr.. During the call, Smith persuaded a reluctant Douglas to design a sleeper aircraft based on the DC-2 to replace American's Curtiss Condor II biplanes. The existing DC-2 cabin was 66 inches (1.7 m) wide, making it too narrow for side-by-side berths. Douglas agreed to proceed with development only after Smith informed him of American Airline's intention to purchase 20 aircraft.

The prototype Douglas Sleeper Transport (DST) first flew on December 17, 1935, which marked the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers' flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Its cabin was 92 in (2.3 m) wide. A modified version configured with 21 seats instead of the DST's 14 to 16 sleeping berths was given the designation DC-3. There was no prototype for the DC-3; the first unit built followed seven DSTs off the production line and was delivered straight to American Airlines. American Airlines inaugurated its passenger service on June 26, 1936, with simultaneous flights departing from Newark, New Jersey, and Chicago, Illinois.

American also had a direct role in the development of the DC-10, which resulted from a specification from the airline to manufacturers in 1966 for a widebody aircraft smaller than the Boeing 747 but capable of flying similar long-range routes from airports with shorter runways. McDonnell Douglas responded with the DC-10 trijet shortly after the two companies' merger. On February 19, 1968, the president of American Airlines, George A. Spater, and James S. McDonnell of McDonnell Douglas announced American's intention to acquire the DC-10. American Airlines ordered 25 DC-10s in its first order. The DC-10 made its first flight on August 29, 1970, and received its type certificate from the FAA on July 29, 1971. On August 5, 1971, the DC-10 entered commercial service with American Airlines on a round-trip flight between Los Angeles and Chicago.