Flagships to Luxury Liners: My American Airlines Fleet

RStretton · 05-27-2012, 05:01 PM

Hi all - I'm back from a short break in Rarotonga and with a week extra to catch up on everything ready to continue the look through my collection of US classics. We're nearing the end of the US Trunk carriers and the last of the big 4 to get a look in is American Airlines.

American Airlines Inc was officially formed in 1934 after the Air Mail Act of the same year required no existing airlines to be able to bid for the new contracts (most carriers simply renamed themselves). Prior to this AA had been American Airways since 1930 and prior to that a wide variety of smaller companies since at least 1927. American was grandfathered into the regulated era as one of the four majors with a Trunk transcontinental route that went from New York-Washington-Nashville-Dallas-Phoenix-Los Angeles. It also had routes connecting BOS-DTW-MDW and MDW-STL-OKC-Dallas as well as others in the North-East.

In May 1934 Cyrus Rowlett (C.R.) Smith became President and he would lead the carrier for the next four decades and be seen as one of the greatest men of aviation history. The fleet in 1934 consisted of Curtiss Condors and Vultee V1As but in December the first DC-2s arrived. Of course it was C.R. Smith who drove the creation of the greatest and most revolutionary passenger aircraft ever to fly - the venerable DC-3 and AA took their first in 1936. From this time on American's fleet would be known and named as Flagships.

By the end of the 1930s AA was the largest airline in the world. During WW2 AA was a major force in aerial trooping and C.R. Smith himself took a leave of absence to become head of Ferrying Command. He returned at the end of the war. American began DC-4 service on March 7th 1946 competing against UA DC-4s and TWA L-049s. However the smaller unpressurized DC-4s were no real competition for the Connies and AA was really awaiting the DC-6 of which it had 50 on order. Still 52 DC-4s were operated domestically by AA.

On short haul routes AA took the lead in replacing its DC-3s far earlier than all other carriers and had retired its last by 1949. They were replaced by a huge fleet of Convair 240s which also enabled the last DC-4s to be retired by 1948. From then on the fleet was Convairs for short-haul and DC-6s for long-haul. As is well known however, initially the DC-6 (for which AA was launch customer) was troublesome with crashes highlighting a design fault and forcing a grounding in late 1947 (8 months after service entry). They were flying again 6 weeks later but the grounding was costly for American.

On June 1st 1945 American was able to gain international routes when it purchased American Export Airlines (started in 1937) and renamed it American Overseas Airlines. They were owned by the American Export shipping line but the US govt had decreed that companies couldn't own multiple types of transportation networks so had to be sold and AA snapped them up. AEA had been operating routes for the Air Transport Command but as AOA they operated the first scheduled transatlantic flight by a landplane, using a war surplus C-54 on Oct 24th 1945.

By the end of 1945 AOA operated to London and Ireland from New York, Boston, Chicago. Washington and Philadelphia. By the end of 1946 L-049 Constellations joined the fleet and in 1947 Helsinki, Glasgow and Rekjavik were added to the network.

In 1949 Boeing 377 Stratocruisers joined the fleet. However in a rare mis-step C.R. Smith didn't consider flying to war ravaged Europe worthwhile and needing funds, to combat the losses caused by the DC-6s grounding, in 1948 AA tried to sell AOA to Pan Am. The merger was rejected by the CAB but in 1950 it was approved by the President and AOA ceased to exist in Septermber of that year. All the Strats and Connies joined Pan Am.

In the next instalment we'll look at how AA moved into the 1950s and the jet-age of the late 50s. Below is my piston AA/AOA fleet (minus Connie). I need to get myself a CV-240:

For my other threads on US classics see:

Braniff International: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...iff-fleet.html
Continental Airlines: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...ollection.html
Delta Air Lines: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...nes-fleet.html
Eastern Air Lines Pt1: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...ern-fleet.html
Eastern Air Lines Pt2: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...ick-fleet.html
National Airlines: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...nes-fleet.html
Northeast Airlines: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...ollection.html
Northwest Airlines: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...nes-fleet.html
Pan Am: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...-am-fleet.html
TWA: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...ollection.html
United Airlines: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...nes-fleet.html
Western Airlines: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...nes-fleet.html

Ironclaw · 05-27-2012, 09:42 PM

Thanks
I really enjoy these kinds of threads
AAL is one of my favorites.

FlyingDream · 05-28-2012, 09:00 AM

Nice and cute models! Very infomrative too. Thanks for sharing.

RStretton · 05-28-2012, 08:32 PM

By 1950 American's fleet consisted of 74 CV-240s and 49 DC-6s with a further 22 DC-4s used for cargo services. By the middle of 1952 17 DC-6Bs would be added. The 6B is considered today to be the finest douglas pistonliner being a strectched improved version of the standard six. AA wasn't satisfied though and wanted to be able to better compete with TWA's L-1049s and have a plane that could fly non-stop coast-to-coast. This led to Douglas developing the DC-7 (called the 'Mercury' in AA service) and in 1951 25 were ordered.

American became the launch customer in November 1953 and immediately started the first non-stop LAX-NY service in both directions. The flights took 8 hours but this was a 12 hour reduction on the times in 1945! By the middle of 1958 the AA fleet stood at:

55 CV-240s
2 DC-4s
50 DC-6s
33 DC-6Bs
58 DC-7/7Bs

During the mid 50s AA benefitted from new route awards opening up Chicago to service connecting the coasts. It also gained Houston-New York services via Nashville but at the same time lost its monopoly on the Dallas-New York routes to Braniff.

In 1957 American opened the very first Stewardess College, at Fort Worth, and 500 women were trained a year in the late 50s.

1:400 is really missing an AA DC-7 but here's the DC-6 with the L-188 (see below):

Not wanting to be left behind as the jet-age loomed American ordered 35 of the new L-188 Electra turboprop from Lockheed in 1955 as the launch customer for the type. They looked great in AA's silver scheme and began service in January 1959. In the New York-Chicago route they helped AA win back its competitive edge against Capital and its Viscounts.

Only two days after the Electra entered service American started real jet ops with its first 707-123 (on Jan 25th 1959). The 707 Jet Flagship became the first non-stop transcontinental jet service. American was the first airline to operate its own jets on domestic routes. 25 were initially delivered of the short 707-123 though follow up orders increased the fleet to over 50. The 707s also introduced a subtley modified livery.

By the middle of 1960 the American fleet was:

23 707-123
40 CV-240s
47 DC-6s
25 DC-6Bs
33 DC-7s
34 L-188s

Though the DC-7s were newer than the DC-6s they were less reliable (due to their engines) so were retired first.

In July 1960 American got its first of 25 Boeing 720-023s and in March 1961 was the first arline to begin to receive fanjet (turbofan) 707s. By Jan 1962 all its 707s and 720s had been refitted as fanjets and were known as 707 Astrojets.

Not content with its 707s American also ordered Convair 990s in 1958 with the hope of introducing superfast coast-to-coast flights. The 990, as is well known, was not a success but by god it looked great in the AA colours! They joined the route network from March 1962 but American was never really satisifed with them and they were gone by 1969.

Below are three of American's forst four jet types (only missing the 707-123):

During the period of the first jet indigestion AA was still in profit - but its profits were less in 1961 than in 1960 and an attempt to merge with the loss making Eastern was not successful. This in hindsight was probably just as well!

1963 was the year in which American undertook its first major livery change with the introduction of the lightning bolt scheme so this seems a good point to break off. In the next part we'll look at the rest of the 1960s for C.R. Smith's airline.

Below are all my 1940-1963 American Airlines aircraft:

A Tupolev · 05-28-2012, 08:57 PM

Nice fleet! And you don't have to worry about going bankrupt.

RStretton · 05-30-2012, 10:42 PM

Not a lot of love for AA hey?

Moving into 1963 American began to rollout its new look (actually first introduced in Oct 1962). This had a simplified Eagle in a roundel on the tail, simplified lightning bolt coming to a point at the nose and streamlined titles.

By the middle of 1962 the fleet stood at an impressive 187 aircraft of which 94 were still pistonliners. The first new type to wear the updated colours was the 707-323C which entered service in November 1963. By mid 1970 American would operate 42 of the larger 707 variant alongside 53 707-100s and 22 720s.

It was on the short and medium haul routes however that American really needed jets and they were one of the main forces in the creation of Boeing's 727, of which they initially ordered 25. The 727 had unrivalled economics on these shorter routes and due to its amazing wing could operate into shorter runways that had never before received jets. AA's first 727-023s joined in April 1964 whilst by 1968 they were receiving the stretched 727-223. By 1966 the 727-023 was AA's most numerous jet type with 36 in service.

In 1964 American introduced Astrovision which using rack mounted TV's and nose and fuselage mounted cameras enabled flyers to view their takeoff and landings as well as passing scenery. They also set the pace for in-flight entertainment with movies and stereo music channels.

In December 1965 American's last all new jet of the decade entered service in the shape of the 69 seater BAC One-Eleven 400. These little jets were largely self-sufficient on the ground and could operate into even smaller fields enabling American to finally retire their last DC-6s and Convairs and compete more favourably against Mohawk (which also had One-Elevens).

1968 was also the year that C.R. Smith left (though he'd be back) for a position in the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, serving as secretary of commerce. Smith was succeeded at American by a lawyer named George A. Spater, who changed the company's marketing strategy and attempted to make the airline more attractive to vacationers instead of to the traditional business traveler.

Part of this was an updated livery introduced in May 1968 when AA took on the red,white and blue with which we are all still familiar today. As is well known initially the Eagle was displaced but after an outcry it returned to the tail above the new sans-serif AA logo.We shall look at how AA fared in the 1970s and 80s in the next part of this series.

Below is my Lightning Bolt AA Fleet (CV-990, 707-323C, 727-023, One-Eleven 400, L-188 - all Aeroclassics and 707-123 DragonWings):

DLmd11 · 05-30-2012, 11:11 PM

Great fleet and a nice narrative on AA's past. I have been an AA nut for many decades.

Unfortunarely AA is not the airline today the CR Smith made it. So sad to see such a great airline with this history and magnitude in the condition that bad management has made it today.

I seriously hope they survive and come out with a positive reputation that they once had.

Good luck AA.

B2707300SST · 05-31-2012, 06:12 PM

Very nice group. AA has also been a focus of mine as well. My collection is turbines only..from the Electra to the 777. Both the disc and AAEagle are covered. AA has been an airline often seen overhead from my early days at SYR, where If flew on AA, Mohawk, and Allegheny BAC 1-11's up to the present where AA's JFK based fleet is always on the move. There's something about their beautiful bare metal scheme set off with red, white and blue. It's the one scheme I can't see ever needing to be "tweaked". Your collection is a nice illustration of just how many types they've flown throughout the decades.

Not to hijack your post, but as another AA fan, here's a birds eye view from back in 2010 when I polled my fleet. I will do groupings by decade after my next move. I have since added both Electras.

RStretton · 05-31-2012, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B2707300SST

Very nice group. AA has also been a focus of mine as well. My collection is turbines only..from the Electra to the 777. Both the disc and AAEagle are covered. AA has been an airline often seen overhead from my early days at SYR, where If flew on AA, Mohawk, and Allegheny BAC 1-11's up to the present where AA's JFK based fleet is always on the move. There's something about their beautiful bare metal scheme set off with red, white and blue. It's the one scheme I can't see ever needing to be "tweaked". Your collection is a nice illustration of just how many types they've flown throughout the decades.

Not to hijack your post, but as another AA fan, here's a birds eye view from back in 2010 when I polled my fleet. I will do groupings by decade after my next move. I have since added both Electras.

Nice photo - I really want the DC-10 but haven't seen one for sale as of yet.

B2707300SST · 05-31-2012, 08:20 PM

Richard,
I hope you find your DC-10. The Dragon mould in chrome, like their AA MD-11 and MD-82 is one of their best releases.

RStretton · 05-31-2012, 11:46 PM

Into the 1970s. As a result of the complicated, political and much delayed Trans-Pacific route case awards American started the new decade with its first real international routes having gained not aonly access to Hawaii (along with many others) but also onward service to American Samoa, Fiji, NZ and Australia. Services started in 1970 the same year that AA's first widebody joined - the 747-123. AA initially used leased PA 747s on trans-cons but its own series 123s started ops in June seating 366 passengers.

That year AA attempted to merge with Western but the CAB overruled the merger, however in the same year merger talks began with Trans-Carribean and this was looked upon more favourably. TCA had routes from New York to points in the Caribbean and merger was effective from March 1971. Within 6 months AA's strong domestic feed had allowed it to gain leadership on the much fought over NY-SJU route.

In 1971 American's main widebody - the DC-10 entered service on the Chicago-LAX route and AA became the first customer to put it into operation (in a 264 seater layout).

By 1972 American's fleet was an all-jet one with all Electra's and even the One-Elevens gone. The 707 was still common (51 707-123, 41 707-323s and 4 720-023s) but these were gradually being supplemented by a large 727 fleet (58 727-023 & 42 727-223). The remainder of the fleet was widebodies in the form of 16 747s and 14 DC-10s.

However things were not running smoothly and Spater's presidency was ended when he admitted to making an illegal $55,000 corporate contribution to President Richard Nixon's reelection campaign. C.R. Smith came out of retirement at the age of 74 to head the company again but only for 7 months when Albert Casey joined as CEO.

Under his stewardship AA was able to staunch the losses caused by the economic situation and widebody fleet so that by 1978 there was a record profit of $134 million. The 707s were gradually being retired and 747s (too large for AA) either sold or converted to freighters. In their place a fleet of 727-200 Advanced models were introduced and all existing series 200s upgraded.

In 1979 Casey surprised everyone by moving American's headquarters to Dallas from New York. Soon after AA introduced 'Super Saver' fares on its TransCon routes and prepared itself for the battle of deregulation by undertaking a two-tier wage structure with its employees. This stood it in good stead for the battles to come and despite a crash of a DC-10 in 1979 the airline was well prepared for the 1980s.

Below are my American 1970s fleet (missing the DC-10). First we have the 707s:

and 707-123 and 707-323

The 707 and 727:

The 707 and 747:

and all 4 together:

dongfanghong · 06-01-2012, 07:46 AM

I like airline of the steel tube is too beautiful, American civil aviation history.

neilmisra · 06-01-2012, 09:39 AM

Very lovely and quite rare collection you have there

AnonCollector · 06-01-2012, 06:33 PM

so, which models or manufacturers do you think got the metal finish just right?

(I don't mean to start a chrome vs non-chrome argument, but maybe I will)

qantas747sp · 06-02-2012, 03:13 PM

wow! great collection & good pix!

alexczarn · 06-02-2012, 07:07 PM

Awesome story and awesome models mate!

RStretton · 06-04-2012, 07:47 PM

In 1980 Casey was replaced as President of AA by Robert Crandall who had been with the airline since 1973. He aggressively sought to position AA for success in deregulation and American became one of the most succesful of the legacy carriers during the 1980s due to his decisive but sometimes painful actions.

In mid 1980 AA still operated 65 707s which though not particularly old were very thirsty. Crandall retired them all in a move which surprised the industry and was followed by TWA. By mid 1982 only 6 remained and they were soon gone too. The fleet was revitalised with new MD-80s and 767-200s though initially AA was still taking onboard plenty of 727-200 Advanced models and some DC-10-30s also.

In 1982 Crandall oversaw the creation of the AMR Corp as a holding company for the airline to be able to attract finance more easily. He also fired 7,000 staff in an austerity drive and built up American's hub operations especially at the new DFW - ruthlessly destroying Braniff.

Plus AA owned the Sabre reservations system which was the best in the industry and a good source of revenue. In 1985 American surpassed United in passenger traffic and regained after 20 years the title of number one airline in the United States.

Throughout the 1980s AA only delved into the buyers market once when in 1986 it bought out AirCal - an ultimately fruitless purchase but one which did open up some Pacific presence to the carrier.

As the 80s closed American pursued a strategy of acquiring key overseas routes from troubled or failed airlines, cutting costs and fighting price wars with competitiors. In 1989 it purchased TWA's Chicago operations and London routes, to which it added, in 1991, six more TWA London routes at a price of $445 million. Also that year American purchased Eastern's latin american network.

Despite this AA didn't escape the economic volatility of the early 90s which saw it in the red for 3 years 90-93. However throughout the 90s and 00s AA continued to be a dominant presence in the USA and though it now finds itself in bankruptcy (at least partially because all its competitors were able to unfairly use Ch11 to restructure themselves to their benefit) it would be a real shame in my opinion if it were to be taken over by US as has been mooted.

The 1980-00s aren't really my area but I have a few AA models from this era:

And to finish off all my Red, White & Blue's together:

B2707300SST · 06-04-2012, 07:55 PM

Very refreshing to see someone post their fleet. My two guidelines are turbine engines and chrome or polished metal. The only exception is for the aircraft that AA flies/flew without the bare metal finish. How long have you been collecting, and what source are you pulling your info from? Might make a good read. Perhaps you own "Silverbird"?, the AA book out a few years ago.

RStretton · 06-05-2012, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B2707300SST

Very refreshing to see someone post their fleet. My two guidelines are turbine engines and chrome or polished metal. The only exception is for the aircraft that AA flies/flew without the bare metal finish. How long have you been collecting, and what source are you pulling your info from? Might make a good read. Perhaps you own "Silverbird"?, the AA book out a few years ago.

Thanks. I've been collecting now for about 3 years and I'd say about 80% of my 360 or so models come from Waffle Collectibales.

The source for much of the info in this thread is George W. Cearley's 'American Airlines - America's Leading Airline': Amazon.com: American Airlines America's Leading Airline: Jr. George W. Cearley: Books

His books are very good but rather hard to find. I'm lucky enough to have four.

Other info has come from a history of AMR I found somewhere on the web.

Adrian · 06-05-2012, 06:01 PM

Richard - I love your history threads. Have you considered getting all the AA DC-3 variations out there with different titles made by AC and GJ?

For me the Aeroclassics AA Convair 990A in the lightning bolt scheme does not look quite right, as the roof titles are not raked enough and should be at the same angle as the rest of the fleet. What do you think?

B2707300SST · 06-05-2012, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RStretton

Thanks. I've been collecting now for about 3 years and I'd say about 80% of my 360 or so models come from Waffle Collectibales.

The source for much of the info in this thread is George W. Cearley's 'American Airlines - America's Leading Airline': Amazon.com: American Airlines America's Leading Airline: Jr. George W. Cearley: Books

His books are very good but rather hard to find. I'm lucky enough to have four.

Other info has come from a history of AMR I found somewhere on the web.

I've been collecting since DW release of their Canada 3000 A330-200, (1999?). I was surprised at their attention to the accuracy of the engines and slightly taller vertical tail of that series airplane. A few hundred models later, and still collecting 1/400 - but sparingly. My sources have been varied. I've found Buchair, USA to be a great source of models online, and in the local NYC area. Collecting has taken me all over the globe, (via the web), for the right release.

AA in 1;400 have always been on my radar until the fleet was complete. There was waiting on some for prices to drop; for others, just availability. For example: the A300. It's not perfect, but it was a year before one popped up for sale at a reasonable price.

I see you're a fan of George W. Cearly as well. His books are great. I have a couple....the one that stands out is his UAL book. Signed, as many have been. Also on hand is Eastern Airlines and the DC-8. The link to Amazon shows several of the AA available. Since the subject of AA is always on the bucket list, it went on the 1-click purchase today. I'm interested to see what his take on Astrojets is like. The Convair 990, 720B, and 727 years are really great, and sure he covered them quite well.

Enjoy your airplanes...are you thinking about adding a 747SP or MD-82 to your fleet?

plane_mad New Zealand · 06-05-2012, 07:04 PM

Beautiful collection you have there mate, get a DC-10 in there n she will be sweet. Im rather jelous of your collection to be honest

Fantastic

Josh94JB26 · 06-05-2012, 08:53 PM

Hey Richard what is the maker of your 747 up there?

RStretton · 06-05-2012, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adrian

Richard - I love your history threads. Have you considered getting all the AA DC-3 variations out there with different titles made by AC and GJ?

For me the Aeroclassics AA Convair 990A in the lightning bolt scheme does not look quite right, as the roof titles are not raked enough and should be at the same angle as the rest of the fleet. What do you think?

I'm pretty much out of room for more American models sadly other than modern ones (which have a different area) though I do want to get a CV-240.

Quote:

Originally Posted by B2707300SST

AA in 1;400 have always been on my radar until the fleet was complete. There was waiting on some for prices to drop; for others, just availability. For example: the A300. It's not perfect, but it was a year before one popped up for sale at a reasonable price.

Enjoy your airplanes...are you thinking about adding a 747SP or MD-82 to your fleet?

I'd like to get an A-300 and an MD-82 too. I've been lucky that the models have appeared in Waffle's collection sales at decent prices. I'm certainly not going to spend $$$ to get the DW MD-82 and though I haven't seen a photo of the new Jet-X MD-82 if it's like the Delta one then the nose is a bit off-putting.

Being in New Zealand postage is a big issue and Waffle is easy to deal with (as he calculates postage when you buy not after) and his rates are decent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by plane_mad New Zealand

Beautiful collection you have there mate, get a DC-10 in there n she will be sweet. Im rather jelous of your collection to be honest

Fantastic

I would if I could find one. The DC-10 seems to be a bit hard to find in AA colours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josh94JB26

Hey Richard what is the maker of your 747 up there?

The 747 is a Dragonwings one: http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...view-3082.html

Thanks for all your replies - I'm glad you are enjoying the threads. Next will be the last of the Trunks (Capital) and then we'll move onto the territorial carriers and the local service airlines.

Josh94JB26 · 06-05-2012, 10:00 PM

Very cool, I also have the same DW 747, I bought it at a show a few months back for $10

Very nice collection.

plane_mad New Zealand · 06-06-2012, 01:20 AM

Im guessing that this brand is inferior? ive never heard of it but it looks cheap, and from a distance without knowing anything, looka ok.
1/400 DC-10-30 American Airlines (mdp5820-1) Model-Power Diecast Model Airplanes 1:200 Scale Up

or

http://www.ebay.com/itm/INFLIGHT-200...item43b06d158b

RStretton · 07-12-2012, 11:03 PM

Another update - thanks to Waffle's collection sales I was finally able to get hold of my AA CV-240 and she's a beauty.

The CV-240s were the backbone of American’s short haul fleet throughout the 1950s until their disposal began in 1957. Most saw service into 1960 with the last sold at the end of 1964. NC94223 was originally ‘Flagship Albany’ before becoming ‘Flagship Gettysburg’. She was sold to Trans-Texas Airways and converted to a CV-600 five years later in February 1967. She served the renamed Texas International until January 1978 and operated with SMB Stage Line and Emery during the 1980s until being stored at Dallas Love Field in early 1990 and broken up.

She looks awesome with my DC-3 and DC-4 too: