The Wilmington morning star., 1947-01-13
National Airlines Seeking New Air Route To Link
Wilmington, Florida Cities With Pacific Coast Area

An application for a southern
transcontinental air route to link
Wilmington directly with California
was filed Friday with the Civil
Aeronautics Board by National Air
lines, Inc, it was announced yester.
day by G. T. Baker, president. Ma
tional, a domestic and international
air carrier serving % seaports
and centers between New York,
Florida, Cuba, and New Orleans,
is one of the major scheduled air.
lines of the United States.
Through its application to the
CAB, National seeks to bridge an
important gap in the country's air.
line pattern. Baker pointed out that
the proposed service would estab.
fish a new transcontinental trunk
which would provide cities in
Florida, along the Gulf Coast, and
through the border states with the
same type of one-plane, through
coast-to-coast air transportation
that northern and central sections
of the country have enjoyed for
years.
The proposed new route, Baker
said, lis a logical westward ex.
tension of Nationals present opera.
tons" He referred to NAILS cur
rently operated shortcut across
the Gulf of Mexico which now saves
two hours between Miami and New
Orleans. Nationals application is
for the projection of this route,
known as A. M. 80, westward from
New Orleans to the co-terminals Of
San Francisco and Oakland. Major
Eastern terminals would be Jack.
sonville and Miami, Florida.
Holds Record
The application is based upon ex-
tensive research and study by Ma
tiona! which has used the southern
transcontinental route for years in
taking delivery Of new equipment
from Pacific Coast aircraft manu-
facturers. President Baker himself
holds the official speed record for
tWin-engined commercial aircraft
between Los Angeles and Jackson
vile, and unofficial records for 4
engined transports have been estab.
lished by NAL planes over the same
distance. t';
A total of II new cities would be
added to- Nationals Route of the
Buccaneers" by Inauguration OF
the new. transcontinental service.
They are: Baton Rouge, La; Dial
las, Fort WORTH Galveston, Hous.
ton, San Antonio, and Ell Paso,
Texas; Hobbs, New Mexico; Tue.
son and Yuma, Arizona; Ell Centre,
Brawley. San Diego, Los Angeles,
Fresno, and San Francisco, Cali.
fornia.
Between New Orleans, western
terminal Of Nationals present ope'
rations, and FL Paso, Texas, two
separate routings r proposed :
one via Baton Rouge, La; Fort
Worth and Dallas, Texas, and
Hobbs, New Mexico; the other,
through Galveston, Houston, and
Sar Antonio, Texas.
National, Baker said, proposes te
operate the new route with a flee
of 300-mile-an-hour Douglas Oct
transports on4which the airline viii
start to take delivery before sum
mer. These planes, which represent
the latest development in air trans,
ports, will be equipped to carry Sc
passengers and a crew Of four =
pilot :co-pilot, and two flight
steWardesses.
Supplements Fleet
The new, DC-6's will supplement
the fleet of *46-passenger DC-4 Buc'
cancer transports and Lockheec
Lodestars with which National is
now flying 80, 298 miles daily.
National has worked its way ur
into the ranks: of the major domest.
ic and international operators III
the comparatively short space o.
IL years G. T. Baker, president
founded the organization in 1884 by
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