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Saturn Airways

{{Short description|US charter airline 1948–1976 bought by Trans International}}

{{Infobox airline

|airline =Saturn Airways

|image=SaturnAirways1.jpg

|image_size=250

|alt=

| IATA = KS(1){{cite report|title=Contractions|publisher=Federal Aviation Administration|date=1 January 1969|page=F-4|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/ufl.31262091395045?urlappend=%3Bseq=92%3Bownerid=118024554-100|hdl=2027/ufl.31262091395045|hdl-access=free}}

| ICAO = KS(1)

|bases=Oakland, California

|callsign=SATURN

|founded={{start date|1948|1|1|df=y}}
incorporated in Florida as {{nowrap|All American Airways}}

|ceased={{end date|1976|11|30|df=y}}
merged into {{nowrap|Trans International Airlines}}

|destinations=

|fleet_size = see Fleet

|headquarters= Oakland, California
Miami, Florida
United States

|key_people= Howard J. Korth

|notes = (1) IATA, ICAO codes were the same until the 1980s

}}

File:Douglas DC-8-54(F), Saturn Airways JP6922272.jpg at Los Angeles 1970]]

File:Douglas DC-6B, Saturn Airways JP5929531.jpg San Diego 1963]]

Saturn Airways was a US supplemental air carrier, overseen by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now-defunct Federal agency that, at the time, tightly regulated almost all US air transport. Saturn merged into Trans International Airlines in 1976. From 1965 onward Saturn was majority owned by Howard Korth, who previously controlled AAXICO Airlines, which merged into Saturn in 1965. Originally a Florida company, Saturn moved to Oakland, California in 1967 where its headquarters were located on the grounds of Oakland International Airport."World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 20, 1975. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%200564.html?search=%22Saturn%20Airways%22 500].

History

The company was initially an irregular air carrier known as All-American Airways{{anchor|All-American Airways}} based in Miami, unrelated to the local service carrier All-American Airways that became Allegheny Airlines (later US Airways). The company was incorporated in Florida as of January 1, 1948.{{cite web|url=https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_fl/153702|title=opencorporates.com Florida incorporation record for Saturn Airways|website=opencorporates.com|publisher=opencorporates|access-date=19 August 2024|language=en}} In 1953, the airline had two C-46 aircraft and had breakeven financial results on $425,714 of revenue, 99% of which was passenger revenue, 87% military revenue.{{cite report|title=The Large Irregular Air Carrier Industry in 1953|publisher=Air Transport Association of America|date=15 December 1954|page=B-12|location=Washington, DC|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c100995252?urlappend=%3Bseq=195%3Bownerid=114212424-199|hdl=2027/uc1.c100995252|hdl-access=free}} See External links for a photo of an All American Airways C-46.

In 1960 the airline changed its name to Saturn Airways{{cite journal |journal=Civil Aeronautics Board Reports|volume=32|publisher=U.S. General Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|pages=1299–1304|date=October 1960 – January 1961 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435022360416?urlappend=%3Bseq=1333%3Bownerid=112939649-1361 |hdl=2027/osu.32435022360416|hdl-access=free |title=All-American Airways, Inc., Reissuance of Certificate to Saturn Airways, Inc.}} and began operating Douglas DC-6s. Saturn bought larger DC-7Cs in 1963 from BOAC[https://www.newspapers.com/image/907569986 BOAC sells planes in U.S. Western Daily Press, 10 April 1963] and operated them on transatlantic passenger charter flights. On 5 November 1965 Saturn acquired AAXICO Airlines, in a merger where the surviving management and ownership was from AAXICO, making it effectively an acquisition by AAXICO.{{cite journal |journal=Civil Aeronautics Board Reports|volume=43|publisher=U.S. General Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|pages=150–173|date=July 1965 – January 1966 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32437011658313?urlappend=%3Bseq=178%3Bownerid=107303972-182 |hdl=2027/osu.32437011658313|hdl-access=free |title=Saturn-AAXICO Merger Case}}{{cite journal |journal=Civil Aeronautics Board Reports|volume=49|publisher=U.S. General Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|pages=824–827|date=August–December 1968 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32437011658016?urlappend=%3Bseq=860%3Bownerid=107317431-902 |hdl=2027/osu.32437011658016|hdl-access=free |title=Saturn Airways, Control by Korth}} In 1967 the airline moved from Miami to Oakland.[https://www.newspapers.com/image/477722417 Saturn Arrives In Oakland Sky Oakland Tribune, 22 October 1967]

In December 1967[https://www.newspapers.com/image/477722073/ Giant Jet Delivered To Saturn, Oakland Tribune, 28 December 1967] and January 1968 Saturn took delivery of two Douglas DC-8 Super 61CF jets. This allowed it to operate transcontinental cargo and passenger charter flights, some of which included military flights to South Vietnam. Between 1968 and 1974 it had two DC-8 Series 50 planes in its inventory and added a third Super 61CF in 1972. In May 1972, Universal Airlines, also based at Oakland airport, collapsed. Saturn added nine former Universal Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft to its fleet, taking over Universal's military transport obligation.{{cite journal|journal=Aviation Week and Space Technology|date=15 May 1972 |title=Universal Suspends Operations, Shifts Charters to TIA, Saturn|url=https://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19720515|page=32|volume=72|number=11|issn=0005-2175}} See External links for a photo of an Electra in a transitional Universal/Saturn livery. Saturn also operated nineteen Lockheed Hercules aircraft.

Saturn specialized in unusual cargo, including the Triple Crown-winning racehorse Secretariat, a limousine for Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus, and satellite communication equipment for the 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China, the first time a US commercial air freight flight landed in mainland China in over 20 years.[https://www.newspapers.com/image/183178735 Saturn Airways Thrives On Industrial Drama, Camden (NJ) Courier-Post, 24 December 1973] Saturn also delivered Rolls-Royce engines (in the UK) to Lockheed (at Palmdale) for the L-1011 program using Lockheed L-100 Hercules, and had a special CAB certification to do so.

{{Table alignment}}

class="wikitable plain-row-headers defaultright"

|+ Saturn Airways Financial Results, 1966 thru 1976(1)

! style="text-align: left;"|USD 000 !!1966{{cite report|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435066764275?urlappend=%3Bseq=183%3Bownerid=116245084-199|hdl=2027/osu.32435066764275|hdl-access=free|page=27|title=Air Carrier Analytical Charts and Summaries, Including Supplemental Air Carrier Statistics|publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board|volume=IX-4|date=31 December 1967}}!!1967{{cite report|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435066764325?urlappend=%3Bseq=181%3Bownerid=116245111-193|hdl=2027/osu.32435066764325|hdl-access=free|page=27|title=Air Carrier Analytical Charts and Summaries, Including Supplemental Air Carrier Statistics|publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board|volume=X-4|date=31 December 1968}}!!1968!!1969{{cite journal |url=https://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19700427|title=Supplemental Airline Revenues and Expenses—Year 1969|journal=Aviation Week & Space Technology|date=27 April 1970|page=47|volume=92|issue=17|issn=0005-2175}}!!1970{{cite journal|url=https://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19710503|title=Supplemental Airline Revenues and Expenses—Year, 1970|journal=Aviation Week & Space Technology|date=3 May 1971|page=30|volume=94|issue=18|issn=0005-2175}}!!1971{{cite journal|url=https://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19720612|title=Supplemental Airline Revenues and Expenses—Year, 1971|journal=Aviation Week & Space Technology|date=12 June 1972|page=31|volume=96|issue=24|issn=0005-2175}}!!1972{{cite journal|journal=Civil Aeronautics Board Reports|volume=72|publisher=U.S. General Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|pages=415|date=December 1976 – February 1977|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015023949558?urlappend=%3Bseq=437%3Bownerid=2514689-451|hdl=2027/mdp.39015023949558|hdl-access=free|title=Transatlantic Route Proceeding and Supplemental Renewal Proceeding}}!!1973{{cite report|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.31822024247041?urlappend=%3Bseq=91%3Bownerid=117220965-95|hdl=2027/uc1.31822024247041|hdl-access=free|page=79|title=Supplement to the Handbook of Airline Statistics, Covering Calendar Years 1973 and 1974|publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board|date=November 1975}}!!1974!!1975{{cite report|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.31822008525891?urlappend=%3Bseq=89%3Bownerid=117220925-105

|hdl=2027/uc1.31822008525891|hdl-access=free|page=75|title=Supplement to the Handbook of Airline Statistics, Calendar Years 1975 and 1976|publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board|date=December 1977}}!!1976(2)

style="text-align: left;"|Operating revenue:

| || || || || || || || || || ||

style="text-align: left; padding-left: 2em;"|Military charter

|22,366 ||19,932 ||22,884 ||14,788 ||13,074 ||17,347 || ||24,603 ||34,176 || 38,013 ||39,232

style="text-align: left; padding-left: 2em;"|Civilian charter

|4,256 ||2,057 ||9,925 ||12,261 ||10,712 ||13,695 ||25,392 ||35,861 ||33,854 ||21,772 ||20,094

style="text-align: left; padding-left: 2em;"|Other

|0 ||32 ||28 ||87 ||(458) ||(987) || ||(207) ||3,094 ||1,927 ||532

style="text-align: left; padding-left: 2em;"|Total

|26,622 ||22,022 ||32,836 ||27,136 ||23,328 ||30,055 ||47,511 ||60,259 ||71,914 ||61,712 ||59,857

style="text-align: left;"|Op profit (loss)

|4,401 ||1,704 ||5,030 ||(386) ||957 ||1,679 ||4,413 ||5,925 ||6,557 ||9,160 ||11,066

style="text-align: left;"|Net profit (loss)

|2,100 ||2,287 ||3,734 ||162 ||557 ||534 || ||2,541 ||4,913 ||5,311 ||6,206

style="text align: left;"|Op margin (%)

|16.5 ||7.7 ||15.3 |

1.44.15.69.39.89.114.818.5
style="text-align: left;"|Industry rank(3)

|5 ||5 ||5 ||6 ||6 ||6 ||4 ||4 ||4 ||4 ||4

|+ align="bottom" style="caption-side: bottom; text-align: left;" | (1) Airline only, as filed with the CAB

|+ align="bottom" style="caption-side: bottom; text-align: left;" | (2) 11 months ending November

|+ align="bottom" style="caption-side: bottom; text-align: left;" | (3) Among supplemental air carriers, by revenue

=Trans International Airlines merger=

File:Douglas DC-8-61F N8956U Saturn ORD 24.04.71 edited-2.jpg Chicago 1971]]

File:N12ST Hercules Saturn 29-07-75 (17827544336).jpg East Midlands 1975]]

Saturn merged into Trans International Airlines (TIA) on November 30, 1976,[https://www.newspapers.com/image/717427208 Saturn, TIA Merge, Oakland Tribune, 1 December 1976] making Trans International the largest air cargo operation at the time. A significant motivation in the merger was for Howard J. Korth, CEO and 84% owner of Saturn to step back after over 30 years in the industry. Korth had previously been the 96.5% owner of AAXICO. In approving the TIA merger, the CAB went against the recommendation of its own administrative law judge and its own internal Bureau of Operating Rights, both of which recommended against the merger on competitive grounds. The Board itself, however, saw the two companies as largely complementary. In the year ending September 30, 1974, TIA made 84% of its revenue from passenger travel, whereas Saturn's revenue was 64% air-freight, and, moreover, its only passenger aircraft were currently parked, due to the weak state of the passenger charter market. The CAB saw the combined company as better able to compete against both foreign carriers and US scheduled carriers. The CAB noted Saturn's highest-among-supplementals profits (even above that of TIA, which was almost twice the size of Saturn by revenue), despite being only the fourth largest in revenue.{{cite journal |journal=Civil Aeronautics Board Reports|volume=70 Part 1|publisher=U.S. General Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|pages=92–164|date=March–June 1976 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32437011657950?urlappend=%3Bseq=126%3Bownerid=107206557-130 |hdl=2027/osu.32437011657950|hdl-access=free |title=TIA, Acquisition of Saturn}} In 1975, TIA's revenues were $123.5mm (over $720mm in 2024 dollars) whereas Saturn's were $65.9mm (over $400mm in 2024 dollars).{{cite journal|journal=Aviation Week and Space Technology|date=29 March 1976

|title=TIA, Saturn Merger Approved By CAB |url=https://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19750329|page=27|volume=104|number=13|issn=0005-2175}}

The merger took over two and a half years to arrange and consummate. The possibility was first disclosed April 1974 when the terms were 1.8 million shares of TIA-parent Transamerica Corporation valued at $15 million.[https://www.newspapers.com/image/717278484 T A Will Acquire Saturn, Oakland Tribune, 26 April 1974] The process was still ongoing in 1976, and as shown in the table above, Saturn's profitability improved greatly during that time. Korth renegotiated the transaction to almost 2.6 million shares of Transamerica[https://www.newspapers.com/image/460585184 Transamerica ups Saturn offer, San Francisco Examiner, 21 June 1976] which, when the deal closed in November 1976, was worth $35 million (over $190 million in 2025 terms).

Fleet

At the time the merger with AAXICO was being evaluated by the CAB, Saturn had eight Douglas DC-7Cs, six of them leased, two of them owned.

December 1967:{{cite report|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435030758411?urlappend=%3Bseq=178%3Bownerid=109713549-196|hdl=2027/osu.32435030758411|hdl-access=free|author=Federal Aviation Administration|page=164|title=FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|date=1968}}

As of August 1971:{{cite report|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uiug.30112002853734?urlappend=%3Bseq=259%3Bownerid=106788185-263|hdl=2027/uiug.30112002853734|hdl-access=free|page=251|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|year=1972|title=Regulation of Rates and Practices of Air Carriers and Foreign Air Carriers. Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Aviation of the Committee on Commerce, United States Senate, Ninety-Second Congress, First Session, on S. 2423}}

{{col div}}

{{col div end}}

At the time the merger with Trans International was being evaluated by the CAB, Saturn had:

{{col div}}

{{col div end}}

Accidents and incidents

  • 11 August 1951 C-46F N3908B operating on a flight to Philadelphia from Newark, New Jersey suffered a loss of directional control on takeoff, overrunning the end of the runway into a swampy area. The four crew and 41 passengers on board evacuated safely before the aircraft was consumed by fire.{{cite report|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c2577763?urlappend=%3Bseq=118%3Bownerid=114211564-138|hdl=2027/uc1.c2577763|hdl-access=free|title=Resume of U.S. Air Carrier Accidents, Calendar Year 1951|publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board|page=16|date=April 1952}}{{cite web|url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/335815|title=Runway excursion Accident Curtiss C-46F-1-CU Commando N3908B, Saturday 11 August 1951|website=aviation-safety.net|accessdate=28 November 2024}}[https://www.newspapers.com/image/315407760 2 Hurt As Plane Goes Off Runway, The Central New Jersey Home News, 11 August 1951]
  • 24 January 1967 DC-6 registration N74841 on a training flight applied asymmetric thrust on landing at Oakland, California, causing the aircraft to swerve off the runway and into mud, collapsing part of the landing gear and ripping off two propellers. The pilot in charge was cited for improper supervision. The four crew were safe but the aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair.[https://www.newspapers.com/image/476717244 Unlucky Landing, Oakland Tribune, 25 January 1967]{{cite web|url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/332224|title=Accident Douglas DC-6 N74841, Tuesday 24 January 1967|website=aviation-safety.net|accessdate=28 November 2024}}
  • 31 January 1967 DC-6A registration N640NA was operating on a cargo flight to Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. Due to heavy fog, the crew diverted to San Antonio International Airport. The airplane descended 1100 feet below the glide slope, flew through trees and collided with a cliff, with the resulting destruction of the aircraft and deaths of three crew on board.[https://www.newspapers.com/image/386359600 3 Killed in Crash Of Military Plane, Austin (TX) American, 1 February 1967]{{cite web|url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/332221|title=ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-6A N640NA San Antonio International Airport, TX (SAT)|website=aviation-safety.net|accessdate=28 November 2024}}
  • October 10, 1970 Lockheed L-100-20 Hercules registration N9248R on a flight from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base became disoriented on approach to McGuire Air Force Base due to fog and glare and crashed into trees about a mile short of the runway, killing all three crew on board.{{cite web|url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/330977|title=Accident Lockheed L-100-20 Hercules N9248R, Saturday 10 October 1970|website=aviation-safety.net|accessdate=28 November 2024}}
  • 23 May 1974 Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules registration N14ST was en-route from Alameda, California to Indianapolis when the left wing failed due to metal fatigue, causing the aircraft to crash near Springfield, Illinois. Three crew and a Navy courier perished and the aircraft was destroyed.{{cite report|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924004281170?urlappend=%3Bseq=5%3Bownerid=27021597769510373-9|hdl=2027/coo.31924004281170|hdl-access=free|title=Aircraft Accident Report, Saturn Airways, Inc., Lockheed L-382, N14ST, Springfield, Illinois, May 23, 1974|date=22 January 1975|publisher=National Transportation Safety Board|location=Washington, DC}}{{cite web|url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/329896|title=Aircraft accident Lockheed L-100-30 N14ST Near Springfield, IL|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=Aviation Safety Network|accessdate=28 November 2024}}[https://www.newspapers.com/image/717277618 4 Die in Saturn Plane Breakup, Oakland Tribune, 24 May 1974]

See also

{{commons category|Saturn Airways}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • Photo of an All American Airways C-46: {{cite web|url=http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac3/Non-skeds/All%20American%20Airways%20Curtiss%20C-46.html|title=All American Airways Curtiss C-46 N1674M| website=edcoatescollection.com|publisher=Ed Coates Collection|format=photo|access-date=11 January 2025}}
  • Photo of Lockheed L-188 Electra in transitional Universal/Saturn livery: {{cite web|url=https://www.airhistory.net/photo/36565|website=airhistory.net|title=N857U Lockheed L-188C(F) Electra Saturn Airways|publisher=AirHistory.net - The Aviation History Photo Archive|date=October 1973|format=photo|language=en|access-date=13 February 2025}}

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