Colonial Airlines

{{Short description|US scheduled airline (1928-1956) that merged into Eastern}}

{{redirect|Canadian Colonial Airways|the Canadian subsidiary|Canadian Colonial Airways (Canada)}}

{{distinguish||text=Colonial Air Transport, a 1920s US airline associated with Juan Trippe}}

{{Infobox airline

| airline = Colonial Airlines

| logo = Colonial Airlines logo.png

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| founded = March 6, 1928
{{small|(as Canadian Colonial Airways)}}

| commenced = {{start date|1928|10|01}}

| ceased = {{end date|1956|06|01}}
{{small|(merged into Eastern Air Lines}}

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Colonial Airlines was a United States trunk carrier, a scheduled airline that operated from 1928 to 1956 with bases at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York City and at Montréal/Saint-Hubert Airport in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, before merging into Eastern Air Lines.

History

It was founded as Canadian Colonial Airways on 6 March 1928 to operate Foreign Air Mail Route No. 1 (FAM-1) from New York to Montreal via Albany, New York. Services began to Canada on 1 October 1928, in conjunction with Canadian Colonial Airways, Ltd. its 100%-owned Canadian subsidiary. The Fairchild FC-2 was among the aircraft types used.{{cite book|last=Davies|first=R.E.G.| authorlink = R. E. G. Davies|title=Airlines of the United States since 1914|year=1998|publisher=Paladwr Press|location=McLean, Virginia|isbn=9781888962086|pages=100–101}}

Pursuant to the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) of the United States certificated the US version of the airline as a United States scheduled airline on January 9, 1940.{{cite journal|journal=Civil Aeronautics Authority Reports|volume=1|title=Canadian Colonial Airways, Inc.—Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity |date=February 1939 – July 1940 |publisher=Civil Aeronautics Authority|pages=520–524|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b2938502|hdl=2027/uc1.b2938502}} Thereafter, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which succeeded the CAA in 1940, regulated Canadian Colonial Airways as a trunk carrier.

However, the CAB refused a foreign carrier permit for the Canadian subsidiary to operate to the US and directed it to cease flying to the US. The Canadian subsidiary ceased operations on June 30, 1942.{{cite journal|journal=Civil Aeronautics Board Reports|volume=3|title=Canadian Colonial Airways, Ltd.—Permit to Foreign Air Carrier|date=August 1941 – December 1942 |publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board|pages=50–65|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b2938504|hdl=2027/uc1.b2938504}}{{cite journal|journal=Civil Aeronautics Board Reports|volume=4|title=Colonial Airlines, Inc., Mail Rate|date=December 1942 – June 1944 |publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board|pages=71–89|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b2988894|hdl=2027/uc1.b2988894}}

After acquisition by a group of investors, the airline was renamed Colonial Airlines on 30 April 1942.{{sfn|Davies|1998|p=342}}

;Postwar period

Image:Douglas C-54A NC93266 Colonial Als 05.47 edited-2.jpg of Colonial Airlines, used on routes to Canada and Bermuda]]

The airline was awarded a route from Washington, D.C. to Montreal and Ottawa on 10 August 1945, followed by routes to Bermuda in May 1946. Scheduled flights to the latter began on 1 August 1947.{{sfn|Davies|1998|p=342}} The shorter routes were operated by Douglas DC-3s and the longer routes by Douglas DC-4s.

By 1956, Colonial's executive offices were on Park Avenue in New York City and it was flying several routes including five daily nonstop DC-4 flights between LGA and Montreal. It also operated a nonstop DC-4 flight departing LGA at 11 am EST to Bermuda, arriving at Kindley Field 3:35 pm AST, with timetables advertising a "full course hot meal" served en route.{{cite journal|title=Colonial Airlines |journal=Official Guide of the Railways|publisher=National Railway Publication Co.|location=New York|date=February 1956|volume= 88|number=9|page=56}} It also offered a DC-3

puddle jumper flight from LGA making an 11:50 am Monday–Friday flag stop at Poughkeepsie's Dutchess County Airport en route to Montreal and Ottawa, Canada, with intermediate stops at Albany, New York, Rutland, Vermont, and Burlington, Vermont.

Merger with Eastern Air Lines

The airline operated for a period of five years during which a fierce competition was fought for its control between Eastern Air Lines and National Airlines. After several reversals of government policy, Eastern Airlines emerged as the acquirer and the operational merger took place on 1 June 1956.{{sfn|Davies|1998|p=343}} A few years following the merger, many of the Colonial's more rural destinations were deleted from Eastern's route network. Eastern was bought by Texas Air Corporation in 1986. In 1991 Eastern Airlines ceased operation and some of its assets were assigned to Continental Airlines. In 2010 Continental merged with United Airlines.

Fleet

At the time of the merger, Colonial had eight DC-3 and five DC-4 aircraft.{{cite book| first=Robert J.| last=Serling| title=From the Captain to the Colonel| date=1980|chapter=Chapter Nine: The Fifties - Climb and Descent| publisher=Dial Press|location=New York| author-link=Robert J. Serling|isbn=9780803746107}}

Destinations

Those airports marked with an asterisk (*) no longer have scheduled passenger air service.

References

External links

[http://www.airtimes.com/cgat/usa/colonial.htm AirTimes.com]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20061207020805/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Commercial_Aviation/EasternAirlines/Tran13.htm Eastern Airlines History]
[http://www.airtimes.com/cgat/usa/colonial.htm Colonial Airlines Timetables]

Category:Eastern Air Lines

Category:Defunct regional airlines of the United States

Category:Airlines established in 1928

Category:Airlines disestablished in 1956

Category:Airlines based in New York (state)