Standard Air Lines
Encyclopedia
Standard Air Lines was founded by Jack Frye
, Paul E. Richter
and Walter A. Hamilton in 1927. The three had founded Aero Corporation of California in 1926 in Los Angeles
and Standard was made a subsidiary
of Aero in 1927.
Standard Air Lines was a transport agent for U.S. Air Mail and also flew passengers to destinations throughout the Southwest United States
, including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tucson, Douglas, Arizona
and El Paso.
On November 28, 1927, Standard Air Lines began operations as Arizona’s first inter- and intrastate scheduled air carrier. In 1929, it started a rail link at El Paso, Texas, to carry passengers farther east by train. This was the first regular trans-continental rail and air passenger to and from California.
Standard Air Lines began business as a three-times a week passenger and express service between Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tucson. The initial fleet consisted of two Fokker airplanes (NC7713 and NC8011) and seven OX5-powered Eaglerock airplanes. Standard carried 61 passengers during it first month of operations in December 1927.
Initially, aircraft left Los Angeles on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:00 AM Pacific Time (PT), arrived in Phoenix at 3:30 PM Mountain Time (MT), and at Tucson at 5:00 PM MT. For the return trip, aircraft left Tucson at 8:00 AM MT on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, arriving at Phoenix at 9:25 AM MT and Los Angeles at 1:30 PM PT.
Passenger fares were, for Los Angeles to Phoenix $47.50; Los Angeles to Tucson $60.00; Phoenix to Tucson $12.50. Express rates per pound were, for Los Angeles to Phoenix $1.30; Los Angeles to Tucson $1.60; Phoenix to Tucson $.50.
Late in its life, Standard Air Lines extended its range to other cities. Its western terminus was Los Angeles, and it ultimately served Phoenix, Tucson, and Douglas, AZ, with El Paso, TX as its eastern terminus.
On August 4, 1929, eight months before its ultimate sale, Standard Air Lines became the western link in an air-rail transcontinental schedule. Passengers traveled from New York to St. Louis by rail, connected with a Southwest Air Fast Express Ford Trimotor to Sweetwater, TX, then took an overnight train, "The Texan," to El Paso. In El Paso, passengers connected with Standard Air Lines for Los Angeles. Under ideal conditions, the coast-to-coast voyage took 43 hours and 40 minutes, a savings of about 16 hours over the all-train routing.
The airline was described in advertising brochures as "The Fair Weather Route," with the pleasant desert terrain beneath used as a marketing point. Advertised flight duration from Los Angeles to El Paso was 8 hours and 45 minutes.
Standard Air Lines remained in business for about 30 months. Frye, as well as being the founder of the company, was also an active pilot of the line. Because of the Great Depression
, Frye and his associates sold the airline to Western Air Express in March 1930. Concomitant with the sale, Frye joined Western Air Express on the Board of Directors and as Chief of Operations.
Later in 1930, Western Air Express merged with Transcontinental Air Transport
in 1930 to form T&WA (TWA
). Frye became president of T&WA in 1934 and Richter became Vice President. TWA was known as "The Airline Run by Flyers."
Jack Frye
William John "Jack" Frye was an aviation pioneer, who with Paul E. Richter and Walter A. Hamilton, built TWA into a world class airline during his tenure as chairman from 1934-1947....
, Paul E. Richter
Paul E. Richter
Paul E. Richter, 1896 to 1949,Aviation pioneer, co-founder of TWA."The Airline Run by Flyers" During the "Golden Age" of flying, Paul E. Richter played a decisive role in creating and building all aspects of commercial aviation and military air transport...
and Walter A. Hamilton in 1927. The three had founded Aero Corporation of California in 1926 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Standard was made a subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of Aero in 1927.
Standard Air Lines was a transport agent for U.S. Air Mail and also flew passengers to destinations throughout the Southwest United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
, including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tucson, Douglas, Arizona
Douglas, Arizona
Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. Douglas has a border crossing with Mexico and a history of mining.The population was 14,312 at the 2000 census...
and El Paso.
On November 28, 1927, Standard Air Lines began operations as Arizona’s first inter- and intrastate scheduled air carrier. In 1929, it started a rail link at El Paso, Texas, to carry passengers farther east by train. This was the first regular trans-continental rail and air passenger to and from California.
Standard Air Lines began business as a three-times a week passenger and express service between Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tucson. The initial fleet consisted of two Fokker airplanes (NC7713 and NC8011) and seven OX5-powered Eaglerock airplanes. Standard carried 61 passengers during it first month of operations in December 1927.
Initially, aircraft left Los Angeles on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:00 AM Pacific Time (PT), arrived in Phoenix at 3:30 PM Mountain Time (MT), and at Tucson at 5:00 PM MT. For the return trip, aircraft left Tucson at 8:00 AM MT on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, arriving at Phoenix at 9:25 AM MT and Los Angeles at 1:30 PM PT.
Passenger fares were, for Los Angeles to Phoenix $47.50; Los Angeles to Tucson $60.00; Phoenix to Tucson $12.50. Express rates per pound were, for Los Angeles to Phoenix $1.30; Los Angeles to Tucson $1.60; Phoenix to Tucson $.50.
Late in its life, Standard Air Lines extended its range to other cities. Its western terminus was Los Angeles, and it ultimately served Phoenix, Tucson, and Douglas, AZ, with El Paso, TX as its eastern terminus.
On August 4, 1929, eight months before its ultimate sale, Standard Air Lines became the western link in an air-rail transcontinental schedule. Passengers traveled from New York to St. Louis by rail, connected with a Southwest Air Fast Express Ford Trimotor to Sweetwater, TX, then took an overnight train, "The Texan," to El Paso. In El Paso, passengers connected with Standard Air Lines for Los Angeles. Under ideal conditions, the coast-to-coast voyage took 43 hours and 40 minutes, a savings of about 16 hours over the all-train routing.
The airline was described in advertising brochures as "The Fair Weather Route," with the pleasant desert terrain beneath used as a marketing point. Advertised flight duration from Los Angeles to El Paso was 8 hours and 45 minutes.
Standard Air Lines remained in business for about 30 months. Frye, as well as being the founder of the company, was also an active pilot of the line. Because of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Frye and his associates sold the airline to Western Air Express in March 1930. Concomitant with the sale, Frye joined Western Air Express on the Board of Directors and as Chief of Operations.
Later in 1930, Western Air Express merged with Transcontinental Air Transport
Transcontinental Air Transport
Transcontinental Air Transport was an airline founded in 1928 by Clement Melville Keys that merged in 1930 with Western Air Express to form what became TWA....
in 1930 to form T&WA (TWA
Twa
The Twa are any of several hunting peoples of Africa who live interdependently with agricultural Bantu populations, and generally hold a socially subordinate position: They provide the farming population with game in exchange for agricultural products....
). Frye became president of T&WA in 1934 and Richter became Vice President. TWA was known as "The Airline Run by Flyers."
External links
- Standard Air Lines USA
- WILLIAM JOHN "JACK" FRYE
- Presented at the Conference of Historic Aviation Writers XI, October 17-19, 2003, Oklahoma City, OK, Business Productivity and History of Three Standard Air Lines Transport Aircraft: Davis-Monthan Aviation Field, December 11, 1927-March 4, 1930, by G.W. Hyatt