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Page ccAM063 (Revised 11/16/2007)

Background: The Air Mail Act of 1925 (Kelly Act) authorized the postmaster general to contract for domestic airmail service with commercial air carriers. It also set airmail rates and the level of cash subsidies to be paid to companies that carried the mail. By transferring airmail operations to private companies, the government effectively would help create the commercial aviation industry. Various routes were designated and contracts for carrying the mail over these routes were then awarded to many different private air service companies. The Contract Air Mail routes became known as CAM's.

AM-63: AM-63 was awarded to Western Air Lines. In 1928 Jack Frye and his partners founded Standard Airlines. In 1929 Standard Airlines merged with Western Air Express to form a powerful air express and transport company. Jack became Director in Charge of Operations. On July 15, 1930 Western Air merged with Transcontinental Airlines. Jack became part owner of the new company and on October 1, 1930 was appointed Vice President in Charge of Operations. Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) was born.
         Western Air Transport broke off from TWA's structure and in 1934 changed its name to General Airlines. In 1941 General changed its name to Western Air Lines. WAL was awarded AM-63 and on May 1, 1944 began flight service between Los Angeles and San Francisco CA.
WAL

63N1 440501 Los Angeles CA WAL Fred W Kelly $3.00
63N1f 440501 Los Angeles CA WAL Fred W Kelly $6.00
63S2 440501 San Francisco CA WAL Fred W Kelly $3.75

R63N3A 460903 to Oakland CA WAL $45.00
63S3 460903 Oakland CA WAL CG MacKenzie $4.50
R63S3A 460903 to Oakland CA WAL $19.50
63N3 460903 Oakland CA WAL Russell T Lund $6.00

63N4 470801 San Francisco CA WAL James P Gaskill $2.25
63N4f 470801 San Francisco CA WAL James P Gaskill $3.00
63N5 470801 Oakland CA WAL Harold W Coward $3.00
63N6 470801 Portland OR WAL James P Gaskill $3.00
63S7 470801 Seattle WA WAL JL Thayer $2.25
63S7f 470801 Seattle WA WAL JL Thayer $3.75
63S6 470801 Portland OR WAL JL Thayer $3.75
63S5 470801 Oakland CA WAL CG MacKenzie $7.50

WAL
Douglas DC-6

63NE8 620429 Sacramento CA WAL Gordon F Shields $10.50
63S8 620429 Sacramento CA WAL Gordon F Shields $2.25


WAL
Boeing 707

63W9 760417 Salt Lake City UT WAL Charles F Laird, Robert D Scott $3.00
63W9f 760417 Salt Lake City UT WAL Charles F Laird, Robert D Scott $2.25
63W10 760417 Las Vegas NV WAL Gerald R Miller $3.00
63E11 760417 Los Angeles CA WAL Jack E Leffler $2.25
63E10 760417 Las Vegas NV WAL Jack E Leffler $3.00

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
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