FAM Foreign Air Mail First Flights F19

web-catalog FAM Foreign Air Mail First Flights F19

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Page FAM019 (Revised 12/16/2007)

Background: The Post Office Department designated any contract air mail route flown by an airline into/from a foreign country into/from the US as a "Foreign Air Mail" route. The Foreign Air Mail routes became known as FAM's.

FAM-19: FAM-19 was awarded to Pan American Airways.
        On June 2, 1927 Juan Trippe formed an airline, “Aviation Corporation of America” with two allies. Sonny Whitney and John Hambleton were directors and Juan Trippe was in charge of operations. In order to procure a route to Cuba, the airline merged with two others to form Pan American Airways.
        Trippe became president and general manager. He had obtained a contract from the federal government to fly mail from Key West to Camp Colombia, Havana Cuba. It was the first contract for the carriage of mail to a foreign country from the US. Trippe had bought two Fokker planes and had a ground crew preparing an airport at Meacham Field in Key West FL. He had a deadline with the government to begin the service. Although two runways had been completed, heavy rain had been falling for two days and the airport became a swamp. To meet his contractual deadline, Trippe decided to charter a seaplane to make the flight. He talked pilot Cy Caldwell into making the flight with “La Nina” a Fairchild FC-2 floatplane that Cy was flying for the West Indian Aerial Express. On October 19, 1927 La Niña, piloted by Cy Caldwell and chartered by Trippe, took off from Key West landing at Camp Colombia, Havana Cuba 1H 20M later.
        FAM-19 was awarded to Pan Am and on July 12, 1940 JH Tilton piloted a Boeing 314 from San Francisco and Los Angeles CA west across the Pacific Ocean via Hawaii to New Zealand. FAM-19 complemented FAM-14 routing.

Boeing 314

F19-1a	400712	San Francisco CA-Canton Island	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25
F19-1b	400712	San Francisco CA-Noumea New Caledonia	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25
F19-1	400712	San Francisco CA-Auckland New Zealand	PA	JH Tilton	$7.50
F19-2a	400712	Los Angeles CA-Honolulu HI	PA	JH Tilton	$15.00
F19-2b	400712	Los Angeles CA-Canton Island	PA	JH Tilton	$15.00
F19-2c	400712	Los Angeles CA-Noumea New Caledonia	PA	JH Tilton	$18.00
F19-2	400712	Los Angeles CA-Auckland New Zealand	PA	JH Tilton	$15.00
F19-3a	400714	Honolulu HI-Canton Island	PA	JH Tilton	$9.00
F19-3b	400714	Honolulu HI-Noumea New Caledonia	PA	JH Tilton	$9.00
F19-3	400714	Honolulu HI-Auckland New Zealand	PA	JH Tilton	$9.00
F19-5a	400715	Canton Island-Noumea New Caledonia	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25
F19-5	400715	Canton Island-Auckland New Zealand	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25
F19-7	400718	Noumea New Caledonia-Auckland New Zealand	PA	JH Tilton	$9.00
F19-9a	400719	Auckland New Zealand-Noumea New Caledonia	PA	JH Tilton	$9.00
F19-9b	400719	Auckland New Zealand-Canton Island	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25
F19-9c	400719	Auckland New Zealand-Honolulu HI	PA	JH Tilton	$9.00
F19-9d	400719	Auckland New Zealand-Los Angeles CA	PA	JH Tilton	$18.00
F19-9	400719	Auckland New Zealand-San Francisco CA	PA	JH Tilton	$7.50
F19-8a	400721	Noumea New Caledonia-Canton Island	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25
F19-8b	400721	Noumea New Caledonia-Honolulu HI	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25
F19-8c	400721	Noumea New Caledonia-Los Angeles CA	PA	JH Tilton	$18.00
F19-8	400721	Noumea New Caledonia-San Francisco CA	PA	JH Tilton	$7.50
F19-6a	400722	Canton Island-Honolulu HI	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25
F19-6b	400722	Canton Island-Los Angeles CA	PA	JH Tilton	$18.00
F19-6	400722	Canton Island-San Francisco CA	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25
F19-4	400723	Honolulu HI-Los Angeles CA	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25

F19-16	411104	Los Angeles CA-Suva Fiji	PA	JH Tilton	$15.00
F19-15	411105	San Francisco CA-Suva Fiji	PA	JH Tilton	$7.50
F19-17	411105	San Pedro CA-Suva Fiji	PA	JH Tilton	$15.00
F19-18	411107	Honolulu HI-Suva Fiji	PA	JH Tilton	$9.00
F19-19	411108	Canton Island-Suva Fiji	PA	JH Tilton	$9.00
F19-20a	411109	Suka Fiji-Noumea New Caledonia	PA	JH Tilton	$12.00
F19-20	411109	Suka Fiji-Auckland New Zealand	PA	JH Tilton	$12.00
F19-23	411111	Auckland New Zealand-Suva Fiji	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25
F19-22	411113	Noumea New Caledonia-Suva Fiji	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25
F19-21a	411114	Suva Fiji-Canton Island	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25
F19-21b	411114	Suva Fiji-Honolulu HI	PA	JH Tilton	$15.00
F19-21c	411114	Suva Fiji-San Pedro CA	PA	JH Tilton	$18.00
F19-21d	411114	Suva Fiji-Los Angeles CA	PA	JH Tilton	$15.00
F19-21	411114	Suva Fiji-San Francisco CA	PA	JH Tilton	$11.25

Douglas DC-4 (Trans-Pacific)

F19-27	470221	San Francisco CA-Sydney Australia	PA	--	$7.50
F19-28	470223	Honolulu HI-Sydney Australia	PA	--	$9.00
F19-29	470224	Canton Island Phoenix Group-Sydney Australia	PA	--	$7.50
F19-30	470226	Noumea New Caledonia-Sydney Australia	PA	--	$11.25
F19-31	470225	Lautoka Fiji-Sydney Australia	PA	--	$15.00

F19-34	470710	Sydney Australia-Noumea New Caledonia	PA	--	$11.25
F19-35A	471108	Sydney Australia-Suva Fiji	PA	--	$12.00
F19-35B	471108	Sydney Australia-Canton Island Phoenix Group	PA	--	$15.00
F19-35C	471108	Sydney Australia-Honolulu HI	PA	--	$12.00
F19-35	471108	Sydney Australia-San Francisco CA	PA	--	$15.00

F19-39A	490130	Seattle WA-Canton Island Phoenix Group	PA	--	$18.75
F19-39fA	490130	Seattle WA-Canton Island Phoenix Group	PA	--	$18.75
F19-39B	490130	Seattle WA-Suva Fiji	PA	--	$37.50
F19-39fB	490130	Seattle WA-Suva Fiji	PA	--	$45.00
F19-39	490130	Seattle WA-Auckland New Zealand	PA	--	$37.50
F19-39f	490130	Seattle WA-Auckland New Zealand	PA	--	$37.50
F19-40A	490130	Portland OR-Canton Island Phoenix Group	PA	--	$22.50
F19-40B	490130	Portland OR-Suva Fiji	PA	--	$37.50
F19-40	490130	Portland OR-Auckland New Zealand	PA	--	$45.00
F19-41A	490201	Canton Island Phoenix Group-Portland OR	PA	--	$60.00
F19-41	490201	Canton Island Phoenix Group-Seattle WA	PA	--	$45.00

F19-50A	490704	Seattle WA-Noumea New Caledonia	PA	BB Lien	$202.50
F19-50fA	490704	Seattle WA-Noumea New Caledonia	PA	BB Lien	$202.50
F19-50	490704	Seattle WA-Sydney Australia	PA	BB Lien	$187.50
F19-50f	490704	Seattle WA-Sydney Australia	PA	BB Lien	$187.50
F19-51A	490704	Portland OR-Noumea New Caledonia	PA	BB Lien	$202.50
F19-51	490704	Portland OR-Sydney Australia	PA	BB Lien	$187.50