Trans International Airlines

Transamerica Airlines was an American airline that ceased operations in September 1986. The company went in 1979 out of the renaming of Trans International Airlines ( TIA), which was founded in 1948 under the name Los Angeles Air Service ( LAAS ). The company led by military and tourist charter flights and worldwide air freight shipments. Furthermore, the company was starting from 1979 also in the transatlantic scheduled air transport sector.

Los Angeles Air Service

The former transfer pilot Kirk Kerkorian acquired 1947, a Los Angeles-based air taxi company that also owned a Douglas DC-3 in addition to two single-engine aircraft. With this ( LAAS ) charter flights from Burbank airport were taken to Las Vegas in 1948 under the name Los Angeles Air Service. That same year, the DC-3 flights nationwide demand (ad- hoc charter) were offered with further Douglas. In the following years, the company was able to expand slowly. Due to the classification as Supplemental Airlines ( "Additional airline" ) subject to the company of a number of state regulations that prohibited a recording of fixed charter flight connections and therefore a long -term resource planning impossible. In the 1950 years, the company acquired Although aircraft types Curtiss Commando, Douglas DC-4 and Lockheed Constellation, but these were leased to other airlines or sold after a short period of use on. The trade in used aircraft has been stagnated to an important business of the company during flight operations. Beginning of 1960, the fleet consisted of the Los Angeles Air Service of only three aircraft.

In 1958 the company won its first tender of the U.S. Department of Defense and led with machines of the type Douglas DC-6 December 1958-September 1959 transatlantic charter flights on behalf of the Military Air Transport Service ( MATS ) between the Charleston Air Base in South Carolina and the Nouasseur Air Base by in Morocco. In the following years the MATS became the main customers of the company. In view of more lucrative contracts that allowed a permanent aircraft utilization, the company appointed in 1960 as the first charter airline jet aircraft of the type Douglas DC -8. The first aircraft was delivered on 20 June 1962. On April 26, 1963, the Company received the first ever company a DC-8 Jet Trader, which allowed a selective transport of cargo or passengers, and thus met the requirements of MATS better. The increasing number of international flights to the U.S. military led to the company on July 18, 1960 changed its name to Trans International Airlines ( TIA).

Trans International Airlines

In 1960, the Trans International Airlines flights to Japan for the first time took on behalf of the MATS. After the company had won in 1962, a company listed at 6.4 million dollars bid, regular charter services from California were flown to the U.S. bases in Hawaii, Guam and the Philippines, which were later continued up to Diego Garcia. In addition, the company introduced during the Vietnam War by numerous troop transports and supply and evacuation flights. Between the orders unneeded aircraft were leased out to other airlines, including Lufthansa and the Canadian Pacific Airlines.

On 5 October 1962, the airline was acquired at a price of 10 million U.S. dollars from the automobile company Studebaker Corporation and relocated after the company headquarters to Oakland. Kirk Kerkorian remained after the sale continues to be managing. After the automaker Studebaker ran into financial difficulties in late 1963, he acquired the company in 1964 and brought it back in 1965 to the stock market. In 1968, Kerkorian sold its majority stake at a price of 104 million U.S. dollars to the financial group Transamerica Corporation, which thus became the new main owner of the company.

The Trans International Airlines led from 1965 transatlantic charter flights for tour groups and clubs by whose permission was however limited in time and had to be renewed annually at first. Moreover, since a single sale of tickets has not been possible, the company established its own travel clubs, was marketed via the low cost flights to Asia and Europe for club members. After selling the company, these flights increasingly gained importance. In order to improve the utilization of long-haul flights, a nationwide shuttle service with the Boeing 727 was established in 1968. End of the 1960s, the company became the market leader in the transatlantic charter flights and ordered three widebody aircraft of the type Douglas DC -10, which were used from 5 May 1973. Besides the tourist charter flights to civilian cargo transport developed into a major business. In 1976 the company acquired the U.S. cargo airline Saturn Airways. The merger of the two companies on November 30, 1976, the Trans International Airlines briefly became the world's largest operators of cargo aircraft. As a result of deregulation initiated in 1978 in the U.S. air traffic, the company could also accommodate transatlantic scheduled flights from 1 May 1979.

Transamerica Airlines

After taking a scheduled air service from Los Angeles and New York to Shannon and Amsterdam, the Trans International Airlines was renamed on 1 October 1979 in accordance with the parent company to Transamerica Airlines. The aircraft used for scheduled flights of the type Douglas DC -8 and the Douglas DC -10 were replaced gradually from mid-1979 through factory new Boeing 747. Even after the establishment of the line of flight operations, the airline continued to lead by tourist and military charter services and cargo flights. Among other aircraft were used for heavy load transport in Guatemala, Guinea and Sudan to the development of oil fields. For this charter contracts cargo aircraft of the type Lockheed L-100 were transferred to the long-term applications.

Beginning of the 1980s, the financial services provider Transamerica Corporation concerted focus more strongly on its core business and began to sell loss-making subsidiaries. After the Transamerica Airlines had flown in a loss of six million U.S. dollars in fiscal year 1985, the parent company was looking for a buyer for the airline. In the absence of an investor and due to increasing losses of flight operations on 30 September 1986 has been set. The aircraft were sold in connection, inter alia, the airline Southern Air Transport, which acquired twelve Lockheed L -100.

Incidents

• On September 8, 1970, a Douglas DC-8- 63CF ( N4863T ) Trans International Airlines crashed after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport from due to a blocked elevator. All 11 people on board the cargo plane were killed.
• On November 18, 1979 launched by the Nellis Air Force Base Lockheed L- 188CF ( N859U ) Transamerica Airlines reported an electronics failure on board. During the descent, the aircraft was introduced too quickly and broke up in the air. The three crew members were killed in the accident.
• On August 23, 1980 collided a Lockheed L-100 -30 ( N18ST ) Transamerica Airlines during flight over California with a skydiver who was killed. The aircraft was only slightly damaged.
• On August 27, 1983 crashed into a Lockheed L-100 -30 ( N17ST ) Transamerica Airlines near the city of Dundo in Angola in poor visibility against a mountain. All seven occupants of the machine were killed.
• On December 29, 1984, a Lockheed L-100 was -30 ( N24ST ) Transamerica Airlines damaged in a firefight on the Cafunfo airport in Angola. The machine had to be written off as a total loss. People were not injured.

Used aircraft

• Boeing 727- 100C
• Boeing 747-100 and 747- 200SCD
• Curtiss C-46
• Douglas DC-3
• Douglas DC-4
• Douglas DC -6A and DC-6B
• Douglas DC-8- 51, DC-8- 54CF, DC-8- 55CF, DC-8- 61CF, DC-8- 63CF, and DC-8- 73CF
• Lockheed L-100 -20 and L- 100-30
• Lockheed L- 188CF
• Lockheed L- 1049G and L- 1049H
• McDonnell Douglas DC-10- 30CF