History before WW2:
On the morning of April 15, 1926, a young aviator named Charles A. Lindbergh stowed a bag of mail in his little DH-4 biplane and took off from Chicago for St. Louis. Later that day, he and two other pilots flew three plane loads of mail from St. Louis to Chicago.
At the time, Lindbergh was chief pilot of Robertson Aircraft Corporation of Missouri, which was the second aviation company to hold a U.S. airmail contract. It was one of scores of companies that eventually consolidated to form the modern-day American Airlines.
The consolidation began in 1929, when The Aviation Corporation was formed to acquire young aviation companies, including Robertson. In 1930, The Aviation Corporation's airline subsidiaries were incorporated into American Airways, Inc. In 1934, American Airways became American Airlines, Inc.
On May 13, 1934, Cyrus Rowlett Smith became president of American. Except for a period during World War II, "Mr. C.R." continued as chief executive officer until 1968, when he was named U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
On June 25, 1936, American was the first airline to fly the Douglas DC-3 in commercial service. By the end of the decade, American was the nation's number one domestic air carrier in terms of revenue passenger miles. On Feb. 16, 1937, American carried its one-millionth passenger.
In 1942, American entered the airline catering business with a subsidiary called Sky Chefs, providing food service to its passengers as well as to other airlines.
In 1944, American introduced the first domestic scheduled U.S. freight service with the DC-3. As the business grew, Douglas DC-4, DC-6A and DC-7 freighters were put into service in the 1940s and 1950s.
During World War II, half of American's fleet was turned over to the military airline, Air Transport Command, along with the crews who operated all over the world. The remaining fleet and personnel handled a vast increase in demand for air travel within the United States.
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From 1945 to 1950, American operated American Overseas Airlines (AOA), a trans-Atlantic division, which served a number of European countries. This was American's first European service. AOA was formed as a result of a merger between the international division of American and a company called American Export Airlines. AOA merged with Pan American World Airways in 1950.
In 1946, American established its Tulsa Maintenance & Engineering Base. The end of World War II brought a series of new aircraft to fill the expanded need for air transportation. In 1947, American's first Douglas DC-6 entered service followed by the Convair 240 in 1948. By 1949 American had become the only airline in the United States with a completely post-war fleet of pressurized passenger airplanes.
In 1948, American introduced the Family Fare Plan to enable families to travel together at reduced rates. It also introduced scheduled coach service, an economical and comfortable alternative to first class travel.
In 1952, American introduced the Magnetronic Reservisor to keep track of available seats on flights. In 1953, American pioneered nonstop transcontinental service in both directions across the United States with the Douglas DC-7.
In 1957, the world's first special facility for flight attendant training, the American Airlines Stewardess College, was built in Dallas/Fort Worth.
On Jan. 25, 1959, American became the first airline to offer coast-to-coast jet service with the Boeing 707. Also in Jan. 1959, American introduced the Lockheed Electra, the first U.S. designed turboprop airplane. American continued into the jet age with the introduction of the turbofan engine in 1961, another industry first for American, and with the Convair 990 in 1962, also powered by fan-jets.
At the end of 1959 and into the early 1960s, American, teaming up with IBM, introduced and implemented SABRE (Semi-Automated Business Research Environment), the largest electronic data processing system for business use. By 1964, the SABRE network extended from coast to coast and from Canada to Mexico. It became the largest real-time data processing system, second only to the U.S. government's SAGE system.
American added other jets throughout the 1960s and 70s, including the Boeing 727 (1964) and the Boeing 747 (1966), as the older aircraft were retired. American's last piston airplane flight was operated with a DC-6 in Dec. 1966. In 1968, American was the first to order the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, which made its first scheduled flight in Aug. 1971.
American gained its first Caribbean routes through a merger with Trans Caribbean Airways in 1970. It expanded those routes throughout the early 70s, and acquired other Caribbean routes in 1975 from Pan American World Airways Inc.
In Feb. 1974, Albert V. Casey was elected president and chief executive officer; in April of that year he also assumed the position of chairman of the board.
Also in 1974, American introduced One-Stop-Automated Check-in. American's first Boeing 747 freighter, capable of carrying 221,000 pounds of cargo, went into service in November. In 1975, American began marketing SABRE to travel agencies in the U.S.
On April 24, 1977, American introduced the most popular fare in its history, the Super Saver. Initially offering discount fares from New York and California, Super Saver was expanded to all of American's routes in March 1978 and later to Mexico and Canada.
Airline deregulation took place in 1978 and in January 1979, American launched a major route expansion, inaugurating service to new routes and new destinations across the U.S. and the Caribbean.
American moved its headquarters from New York City to Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas in 1979. The new headquarters complex also included The Learning Center, a training facility; the Flight Academy, the pilot training facility, and the Southern Reservations Office.
In 1980, Robert L. Crandall was elected president and chief operating officer.
With fuel costs soaring, American accelerated the retirement of the Boeing 707 fleet in 1980. By August 1981, American had retired all its Boeing 707s aircraft, including their freighters.
In 1981, American introduced the AADVANTAGE travel awards program, a revolutionary marketing program to reward frequent fliers. Also that year it unveiled "AAirpass," a concept that guaranteed fixed personal and business air travel costs with five-year to lifetime range of options.
On June 11, 1981, American established its Dallas/Fort Worth hub. Later American added new cities and new routes to strengthen its hub-and-spoke networks.
Early 1982 brought American its first 767, its 500 millionth passenger and its Chicago hub.
In April 1982, it began interchange service with Alaska Airlines, linking Anchorage and Fairbanks with Houston and DFW via Seattle with 727s. American also returned to Europe with service between London's Gatwick Airport and DFW in May 1982.
On May 19, 1982, stockholders approved a plan of reorganization and a new holding company was formed, AMR Corporation, which became the parent company of American Airlines, Inc.
In 1983, American added the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 (Super 80) and announced an agreement with Pan American World Airways to exchange Boeing 747s for Pan Am's McDonnell Douglas DC-10s.
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1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright of the United States made the first engine-powered, heavier-than-air flights, near Kitty Hawk, N.C. Their first flight went 120 feet (37 meters) and lasted only about 12 seconds.
1908 Glenn H. Curtiss made the first official public flight of more than 1 kilometer in the United States.
1911 Calbraith P. Rodgers made the first transcontinental flight across the United States. He flew from Sheepshead Bay, N.Y., to Long Beach, Calif., in a series of short flights that took 84 days.
1914 The first regularly scheduled airline service in the United states began when Tony Jannus piloted a flying boat between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida.
1924 Two U.S. Army planes made the first round-the-world flight. They took nearly six months to complete the 26,345-mile journey.
1926 Private airlines took over carrying airmail from the U.S. Post Office Department.
1927 Charles A. Linbergh, a U.S. pilot, made the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight. He flew 3.610 miles from Garden City, N.Y., to Paris in 33 ½ hours.
1927 American Railway Express began air-express service.
1930 Trans World Airlines started the first transcontinental airline service. The trip took 36 hours with an overnight stop in Kansas City.
1931 Two U.S. pilots, Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon, made the first nonstop airplane flight across the Pacific. They flew from Tokyo to Wenatchee, Washington.
1933 Wiley Post, a U.S. pilot, made the first solo round-the-world flight, covering 23,452 miles in 3 days 22 hours 1 minute.
1936 Douglas DC-3 transport planes entered airline service in the United States. They became the most widely used airliners in history.
1936 United Airlines established the first kitchens for serving meals in flight.
1936 Pan American World Airways inaugurated the first transpacific passenger service.
1938 The U.S. Congress established the Civil Aeronautics Board to regulate airline fares, routes, and schedules.
1939 Pan American World Airways established the first regular transatlantic passenger service from New York City to Southampton, England.
1942 The Bell Aircraft Company built the first jet airplane in the United States. It was flown by Robert M. Stanley at Muroc Dry Lake, Calif.
1946 Airlines established flights for around-the-world passenger service. 1947 Charles Yeager, a U.S. Air Force captain, made the first supersonic flight, in a Bell X-1 rocket plane.
1953 The North American F-100 Super Sabre jet fighter made the first level supersonic flight by a jet plane.
1953 TWA began the first nonstop, transcontinental passenger service from Los Angeles to New York City.
1958 The Boeing 707 began the first U.S. jet transport service between the United States and Europe.
1958 National Airlines began the first U.S. jet airliner service.
1959 American Airlines began the first transcontinental jet airliner service.
1967 United Airlines put into service the first airliners capable of carrying over 200 passengers.
1970 The first jumbo jet, the Boeing 747, entered airline service.
1970 The first giant Boeing 747 went into operation for Pan American World Airways. It carried 362 passengers.
1978 The U.S. Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act.
1984 The Civil Aeronautics Board was dissolved.
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