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CAM (Contract Air Mail) First Flights - Index

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Page CAM (Revised 09/16/2010)

Background: Carrying personal mail by state-of-the-art aircraft flown by audacious pilots linked US cities together. The aerodacious significance of air mail and the development of the postal service allowed man's foremost desire to get his written message delivered quickly to the outposts of the US. Progress in transportation was driven by the influence of the mail. Planes and pilots became airlines and air mail became the greatest contribution to commercial aeronautics.

Contract Air Mail: CAM routes were assigned by the US Postal Service to US airlines to carry mail between US cities. CAM route numbers were designated. The first flights flown between origin and destination cities were documented by cancellations and special markings on these first flown air mail covers. Below is an index of CAM first flights comprehensively compiled by the American Air Mail Society in their catalogues.

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INDEX: First Flights by CAM Route #

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

INDEX: First Flights by AM Route #

33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

INDEX: First Flights by Experimental Route #

1001 1002

INDEX: First Flights by AM Route #

49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65
66 67 68 69 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 84
86 87 88 90 91 93 94 96 97 98 99 100 101 103 105
106 107 111 119 120 121 139 140 141 143 144 148 172

INDEX: First Flights by Air Taxi Services Route #

288 289 290 291 292 293 295 296 297 298

INDEX: First Flights by Experimental Route #

2001

INDEX: CAM First Flights by Inaugural Airline Contractor

CAM # Airline Route Date (yymmdd)
1 Colonial Air Transport New York NY - Boston MA 260701
2 Robertson Aircraft Corp Chicago IL - St Louis MO 260415
3 National Air Transport Chicago IL - Dallas TX 260512
4 Western Air Express Salt Lake City UT - Los Angeles CA 260417
5 Walter T Varney Elko NV - Pasco WA 260406
6 Ford Motor Comapny Detroit MI - Cleveland OH 260215
7 Ford Motor Comapny Detroit MI - Chicago IL 260215
8 Pacific Air Transport Seattle WA - Los Angeles CA 260915
9 Charles Dickinson Chicago IL - Minneapolis MN 260607
10 Florida Airways Jacksonville FL - Miami FL 290401
11 Clifford Ball Cleveland OH - Pittsburgh PA 270421
12 Colorado Airways Cheyenne WY - Pueblo CO 260531
13 Philadelphia Rapid Transit Philadelphia PA - Washington DC 260606
15 Philadelphia Rapid Transport Philadelphia PA - Norfolk VA 261010
16 Continental Air Lines Cleveland OH - Louisville KY 280801
17 National Air Transport New York NY - Chicago IL 270901
18 Boeing Air Transport Chicago IL - San Francisco CA 270701
19 Pitcairn Aviation New York NY - Atlanta GA 280501
20 Colonial Western Airways Albany NY - Cleveland OH 271217
21 Texas Air Transport Dallas TX - Galveston TX 280206
22 Texas Air Transport Dallas TX - San Antonio TX 280206
23 St Tammany & Gulf Coast Airways Atlanta GA - New Orleans LA 280501
24 Embry-Riddle Comapny Chicago IL - Cincinnati OH 271217
25 Pitcairn Aviation Atlanta GA - Miami FL 281201
26 National Parks Airways Great Falls MT - Salt Lake City UT 280801
27 Thompson Aeronautical Corp Chicago IL - Bay City MI 280717
28 Robertson Aircraft Corp St Louis MO - Omaha NE 290501
29 Southern Air Transport New Orleans LA - Houston TX 290123
30 Interstate Airlines Chicago IL - Atlanta GA 281119
31 Curtiss Flying Service Chicago IL (Cicero - Grant Park) 290615
32 Varney Air Lines Pasco WA - Spokane/Seattle WA 290915
33 Southern Air Fast Express Atlanta GA - Los Angeles CA 301015
34 Transcontinental & Western Air New York NY - Los Angeles CA 301025

INDEX: AM First Flights by Inaugural Airline Contractor

AM # Airline Route Date (yymmdd)
33 Hawaiian Airlines Hilo HI - Lihue HI 341008
34 Pennsylvania-Central Airlines Corp Washington DC - Buffalo NY 371026
35 Wyoming Air Service Huron ND - Cheyenne WY 380417
36 Transcontinental & Western Air Dayton OH - Chicagi IL 370901
37 Transcontinental & Western Air Winslow AZ - San Francisco CA 370905
38 Transcontinental & Western Air Phoenix AZ - Las Vegas NV 381101
39 National Airlines Jacksonville FL - New Orleans LA 381101
40 Eastern Air Lines Tampa FL - Atlanta GA 381010
41 Pennsylvania-Central Airlines Corp Detroit MI - Sault St Marie MI 380720
42 Eastern Air Lines Houston TX - San Antonio TX 381020
43 Continental Air Lines Pueblo CO - Wichita KS 390623
44 Transcontinental & Western Air New York NY - Kansas City MO 391221
45 Northwest Airlines Minneapolis MN - Duluth MN 400601
46 Pennsylvania-Central Airlines Corp Buffalo NY - Pittsburgh PA 401015
47 Eastern Air Lines St Louis MO - Nashville TN 401015
48 Mid-Continent Airlines Minneapolis MN - St Louis MO 401101

INDEX: Experimental Route First Flights by Inaugural Airline Contractor

EXP # Airline Route Date (yymmdd)
1001 All American Aviation Philadelphia PA - Pittsburgh PA 390514
1002 All American Aviation Pittsburgh PA District 390512

INDEX: AM First Flights by Inaugural Airline Contractor

AM # Airline Route Date (yymmdd)
49 All American Aviation Pittsburgh PA - Non-Stop Pick-up 400812
50 Braniff Airways Houston TX - Key Texas Cities 401015
51 Pennsylvania-Central Airlines Corp Norfolk VA - Knoxville TN 401101
52 Western Air Express Great Falls MT - Lethbridge Canada 410612
53 Chicago & Southern Air Lines Memphis TN - Houston TX 410612
54 Delta Air Lines Atlanta GA - Cincinnati OH 410715
55 Pennsylvania-Central Airlines Corp Pittsburgh PA - Birmingham AL 410715
56 American Airlines Buffalo NY - Toronto Canada 410715
57 United Air Lines Seattle WA - Vancouver WA 410512
58 Transcontinental & Western Air Detroit MI - Cincinnati OH 420815
59 Caribbean-Atlantic Airlines San Juan PR - Christiansted VI 421112
60 Continental Air Lines Denver CO - Kansas City MO 440301
61 Transcontinental & Western Air Washington DC - Dayton OH 430816
62 United Air Lines Washington DC - Toledo OH 430816
63 Western Air Lines Los Angeles CA - San Francisco CA 440501
64 Essair (Pioneer Air Lines) Amarillo TX - Houston TX 450801
65 Northeast Airlines Boston MA - New York NY 450501
66 United Air Lines Boston MA - Cleveland OH 450501
67 Transcontinental & Western Air Boston MA - Pittsburgh PA 450501
68 Western Air Lines Los Angeles CA - Denver CO 460401
69 Northwest Airlines Minneapolis MN - New York NY 450515
71 Colonial Airlines Washington DC - Montreal Canada 460415
72 (Canadian) Colonial Airways New York NY - Ottawa Canada 460219
73 Monarch Air Lines Denver CO - Durango CO 461127
74 Challenger Airlines Denver CO - Salt Lake City UT 470510
75 Florida Airways Orlando FL - Tallahassee FL 470110
76 Southwest Airways Los Angeles CA - San Francisco CA 461202
77 West Coast Airlines Seattle WA - Portland OR 461205
78 Empire Air Lines Spokane WA - Idaho Falls ID 460928
79 Wiggins Airways Boston MA - Albany NY 490919
80 Mid-Continent Airlines Tulsa OK - Houston TX 470201
81 Central Airlines Fort Worth TX - Oklahoma City OK 490915
82 Trans-Texas Airways San Antonio TX - Houston TX 471011
84 Los Angeles Airways Los Angeles CA District 471001
86 Wisconsin Central Airlines Chicago IL - Milwaukee WI 480225
87 Piedmont Aviation Cincinnati OH - Wilmington NC 480220
88 Turner Airlines Indianapolis IN - Grand Rapids MI 491112
90 Mid-West Airlines Minneapolis MN - Omaha NE 491021
91 Parks Air Lines East St Louis IL - Chicago IL 500915
93 Frontier Airlines Winslow AZ - Phoenix AZ 500601
94 Robinson Airlines New York NY - Buffalo NY 480919
96 Helicopter Air Service Chicago IL District 490820
97 All American Airways Washington DC - Pittsburgh PA 490307
98 Southern Airways Memphis TN - Atlanta GA 490610
99 Trans-Pacific Airlines Lihue HI - Hilo HI 510515
100 Flying Tiger Line Boston MA - Los Angeles CA 560528
101 Slick Airways Boston MA - Los Angeles CA 560528
103 San Francisco & Oakland Helicopter Airlines San Francisco CA District 621217
105 Bonanza Air Lines Reno NV - Phoenix AZ 491220
106 Mid-Continent Airlines Sioux City IA - Milwaukee WI 500926
107 Ozark Air Lines Indianapolis IN - East St Louis IL 501106
111 New York Airways New York NY District 521015
119 Seaboard World Airlines Boston MA - Chicago IL 690708
120 Riddle Airlines Boston MA - Chicago IL 560528
121 American Air Export & Import Company New York NY - New Orleans LA 561115
139 Pacific Northern Airlines Anchorage AK - Honolulu HI 690821
141 Kodiak Airways Kodiak AK District 601205
143 Western Alaska Airlines King Salmon AK - Dillingham AK 600228
144 Avalon Air Transport Los Angeles CA - Catalina Island CA 600624
148 Eastern Air Lines Buffalo NY - Toronto Canada 661030
172 Air New England Burlington VT - New York NY 750124

INDEX: First Flights by Air Taxi Services Route #

ATS # Airline Route Date (yymmdd)
288 Florida Air Taxi Gainesville FL - Fort Myers FL 670816
289 Marty's Flying Service Panama City FL - Jacksonville FL 670522
290 Owensboro Aviation Chicago IL - Owensboro KY 670104
291 Cannon Aviation McAlester OK - Tulsa OK 661207
292 Island Mail Anacortes WA - Offshore Islands 670701
293 Buker Airways Springfield VT - Boston MA 660815
295 Hood Airlines Killeen TX - Dallas TX 660604
296 Southeast Airlines Miami FL - Key West FL 651222
297 American Air Taxi Miami FL - Key West FL 651222
298 Greylock Airways Pittsfield MA - New York NY 630819

INDEX: Experimental Route First Flights by Inaugural Airline Contractor

EXP # Airline Route Date (yymmdd)
2001 Eastern Air Lines Philadelphia PA - Camden NJ 390706
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