Northeast Airlines

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For other uses, see Northeast Airlines (disambiguation).
Northeast Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
NE NE NORTHEAST
Founded20 July 1931
Commenced operations11 August 1933 (1933-08-11)
(as Boston-Maine Airways)
Ceased operations1 August 1972 (1972-08-01)
(merged into Delta Air Lines)
Hubs
DestinationsSee Destinations
HeadquartersBoston, Massachusetts

Northeast Airlines was an American trunk carrier, a scheduled airline based in Boston, Massachusetts that chiefly operated in the northeastern United States, and later to Canada, Florida, the Bahamas, Los Angeles and other cities. It was acquired by and merged into Delta Air Lines in August 1972.[1]

History[edit]

Northeast DC-6B at Boston, 1966

The airline began as Boston-Maine Airways,[2] founded as a Pan Am contract carrier on July 20, 1931, by the Boston and Maine Railroad and Maine Central Railroad, flying from Boston to Bangor via Portland. It flew only sporadically until August 11, 1933, when National Airways began to operate its flights under contract. National also operated Central Vermont Airways, a subsidiary of the Central Vermont Railway, and the two carriers together had a network across New England to New Hampshire, Vermont, and Montreal.[1] Amelia Earhart and Eugene Vidal were among the co-founders of National, and Earhart was a prominent salesperson for the airline in its early years.[3] National initially operated Stinson Airliners, and switched to a fleet of 10-passenger Lockheed Electras in November 1936.[3]

On May 31, 1939, Boston-Maine was certificated to be a United States scheduled airline by the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) under the terms of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, which granted certificates to airlines that had been providing bona fide scheduled service prior to the Act. The CAA noted that Boston-Maine was 25% owned each by the Boston and Maine Railroad and Maine Central Railroads.[4] The next year, the airline regulatory functions of the CAA would be moved to the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which would closely regulate Boston-Maine/Northeast as a trunk carrier for the rest of its existence.

The name Northeast Airlines was adopted on November 19, 1940, which was duly approved by the CAB, including the required signature of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[5] During World War II Northeast pioneered transatlantic service for the military under contract from the U.S. Army Air Forces.[1] In June 1944, the CAB approved the takeover of moribund Mayflower Airlines, giving Northeast routes to Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard from Boston.[6][7] After the war, Northeast began hourly service between Boston and New York using DC-4s.[3] Northeast applied for authorization to operate passenger service across the Atlantic but were stymied by the Civil Aeronautics Board, which in June 1945 awarded the routes to Pan American World Airways, American Export Airlines and TWA.[8]

Northeast Airlines Financial Results, 1962 thru 1971
USD mm 1962[9] 1963[10] 1964[11] 1965[12] 1966[13] 1967[14] 1968[15] 1969[16] 1970[17] 1971[18]
Op revenue 51.39 43.91 42.70 48.21 62.27 78.58 111.71 122.09 122.84 126.00
Of which subsidy 0.99 3.44 3.63 2.20 2.82
Op profit (loss) (6.36) (8.64) (0.99) 0.21 0.43 (3.03) 0.86 (17.07) (4.70) (8.84)
Net profit (loss) (8.24) (15.30) 2.88 0.47 0.13 (6.53) (2.42) (28.84) (10.72) (13.99)
Op margin -12.4% -19.7% -2.3% 0.4% 0.7% -3.9% 0.8% -14.0% -3.8% -7.0%
Net margin -16.0% -34.8% 6.7% 1.0% 0.2% -8.3% -2.2% -23.6% -8.7% -11.1%
Subsidy/op revenue 2.2% 8.0% 7.5% 3.5% 3.6%

In 1956 Northeast began service to Washington National Airport, and received a temporary certificate to serve Florida, for which the airline purchased a fleet of new DC-6Bs. Northeast ordered ten Vickers Viscounts in the late 1950s and used them until financial problems in the early 1960s forced the company to return them to the manufacturer. Beginning on December 17, 1959, Northeast became one of the early jet operators, flying a leased TWA Boeing 707-331 round trip between New York and Miami.[1] In 1960 Northeast leased six Convair 880s and flew them to Florida for several years.

Convair 880 at New York, 1961

Howard Hughes acquired control of the airline in 1962. The airline's temporary Miami route authority was terminated by a CAB decision that year, and Hughes decided to exit from the company, selling control to a trustee in 1964.[1] Northeast launched an aggressive campaign against the CAB's decision, and got a permanent Florida certificate in 1965.[3] In 1965 the airline was bought by Storer Broadcasting, who tried to rejuvenate Northeast in 1966 with a new marketing campaign and new aircraft.[1] Northeast ordered a fleet of Boeing 727-100s for their Florida routes, and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s and Fairchild FH-227s for shorter routes. These "Yellowbirds" featured a new yellow and white livery. In 1966 Northeast was the launch customer for the Boeing 727-200, which they began flying in December 1967.[1] Except for Florida their network was all north and east of Washington National Airport until 1969 when they added three 727 nonstops between Miami and Los Angeles, with Fort Lauderdale getting a short-lived LAX nonstop soon after (fuel stops were sometimes required on these transcontinental 727 flights). Northeast obtained rights to fly between Miami and Montreal in 1967, followed by rights to serve the Bahamas in 1968, and rights to serve Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and Bermuda in 1969, along with a new Miami-Los Angeles route authority.[3]

As George C. Eads said about Northeast in his definitive book on local service carriers (the next tier of airlines down from the trunks in the CAB's categorization of airlines), "Although classified as a trunk, since it was certificated under the grandfather provisions of the Civil Aeronautics Act, it has always resembled a local service carrier with a few trunk routes appended."[19] Indeed, in 1971, the largest local service carrier, Allegheny Airlines had operating revenue over 40% bigger than that of Northeast.[20] Like Local Service Carriers, Northeast needed government subsidies. Despite subsidies, it had a long history of incredibly poor financial results (see nearby table). Some of that had to do with its route network, as Eads said. But some of it was self-inflicted. In 1968 Northeast, for some reason, ordered eight Lockheed L-1011s which were to be delivered in a 268 seat configuration. The total order was to cost $128mm including spares.[15] In early 1970, following another abysmal set of financial results in 1969, Northeast cancelled the order, taking a $3.6mm charge against 1969 to do so.[16]

727-200 at New York, 1970

In 1969, following a long period of financial difficulties, Northeast announced its intention to merge with Northwest Airlines. The merger was approved by both the CAB and President Richard Nixon in 1970, but it was conditional upon relinquishing the Miami-Los Angeles route. Northwest terminated the merger negotiations in March 1971, and Northeast announced a new merger plan with Delta Air Lines the following month. The Delta merger was approved in May 1972, with the same condition that Delta could not operate the Miami-Los Angeles route.[3] The merger was completed in August 1972.[1]

Northeast's contribution to Delta included access to the Boston market, which Delta had not served. Delta added the Boeing 727-100 and 727-200 to their fleet, types they did not operate prior to acquiring Northeast. Delta used these as the workhorses of their fleet in the 1970s and 1980s and at one point was the world's largest operator of the Boeing 727-200.[21]

The airline's IATA code was NE.

Destinations[edit]

Northeast Airlines served the following destinations during its existence:[22]

Domestic[edit]

International[edit]

An asterisk (*) denotes this airport is no longer served by scheduled air service.

Fleet[edit]

Prop Aircraft

Turboprop Aircraft

Jet Aircraft

Accidents and incidents[edit]

A series of crashes damaged the airline's image:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Northeast Airlines". www.deltamuseum.org. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  2. ^ Not to be confused with Boston-Maine Airways founded in 1999
  3. ^ a b c d e f g A Pictorial History of Northeast Airlines, 1933-1972 (PDF). Boston: Northeast Airlines. 1972.
  4. ^ "Boston-Maine Airways, Inc.—Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity". Civil Aeronautics Authority Reports. 1. Civil Aeronautics Authority: 145–150. February 1939 – July 1940. hdl:2027/uc1.b2938502.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  5. ^ "Northeast Airlines, Inc.—Amendment of Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 2. Civil Aeronautics Board: 444–446. July 1940 – August 1941. hdl:2027/uc1.b2938503.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  6. ^ "Acquisition of Mayflower Airlines, Inc., by Northeast Airlines, Inc". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 4. Civil Aeronautics Board: 680–685. December 1942 – June 1944. hdl:2027/uc1.b2988894.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  7. ^ "Acquisition of Mayflower Airlines, Inc., by Northeast Airlines, Inc". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 6. Civil Aeronautics Board: 139–141. July 1944 – May 1946. hdl:2027/uc1.b2988895.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  8. ^ "Northeast Airlines, Inc., et al., North Atlantic Route Case". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 6. Civil Aeronautics Board: 319–369. July 1944 – May 1946. hdl:2027/uc1.b2988895.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  9. ^ Northeast Airlines Annual Report 1962 (Report). Northeast Airlines. 30 April 1963. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  10. ^ Northeast Airlines Annual Report 1963 (Report). Northeast Airlines. 29 May 1964. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  11. ^ Northeast Airlines Annual Report 1964 (Report). Northeast Airlines. 30 June 1965. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  12. ^ Northeast Airlines Annual Report 1965 (Report). Northeast Airlines. 15 March 1966. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  13. ^ Northeast Airlines Annual Report 1966 (Report). Northeast Airlines. 2 March 1967. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  14. ^ Northeast Airlines Annual Report 1967 (Report). Northeast Airlines. 15 March 1968. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  15. ^ a b Northeast Airlines Annual Report 1968 (Report). Northeast Airlines. 18 February 1969. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  16. ^ a b Northeast Airlines Annual Report 1969 (Report). Northeast Airlines. 2 March 1970. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  17. ^ Northeast Airlines Annual Report 1970 (Report). Northeast Airlines. 11 March 1971. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  18. ^ Northeast Airlines Annual Report 1971 (Report). Northeast Airlines. 16 March 1972. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  19. ^ Eads, George C. (1972). The Local Service Airline Experiment. Brookings Institution. p. 7. ISBN 9780815720225.
  20. ^ 1972 Air Transport Facts & Figures (PDF) (Report). Air Transport Association. p. 22. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  21. ^ http://www.delta.com, Delta Museum, Delta's 85 Years of Service, Aircraft By Type
  22. ^ "Northeast Airlines June 1, 1969 System Timetable". DepartedFlights.com. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  23. ^ "Northeast Airlines August 1971 Route Map".
  24. ^ "Aircraft By Type". www.deltamuseum.org. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  25. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Sikorsky S.41B NC41V Gloucester, MA". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  26. ^ https://www.gendisasters.com/maine/13168/portland-me-airplane-crash-aug-1949 [dead link]
  27. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-3A N17891 Berlin Airport, NH (BML)".
  28. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-6A N34954 Rikers Island, NY".
  29. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-53-DO (DC-3) N34417 New Bedford, MA".
  30. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-240-2 N90670 Nantucket Memorial Airport, MA (ACK)".
  31. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  32. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  33. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Fairchild FH-227C N380NE Lebanon Airport, NH (LEB)".

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northeast Airlines.
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