Aerovias Braniff Timeline
AEROVIAS BRANIFF
TIMELINE
1935 to 1957
1935 to 1957
January 1, 1935
Braniff Airways, Incorporated, merges with Dallas, Texas-based Long and Harman, Inc., Air Lines with Braniff as the surviving entity. As a result of the merger, Braniff begins serving as far south as Brownsville Texas, opening up single-airline service from Chicago to Brownsville, and connecting service to Mexico City, Mexico, via Pan American World Airways Systems
December 29, 1942
The Civil Aeronautics Board authorizes Braniff Airways, Incorporated, to begin serving a route from San Antonio, Texas, to Laredo, Texas, and then just across the Mexican border to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, giving Braniff a second US gateway city to Mexico, Central and South America
September 1, 1943
Braniff Airways, Incorporated, inaugurates new service from San Antonio, Texas, to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, with an intermediate stop at Laredo, Texas, with 21-passenger Douglas DC-3 Super B-Liner twin-engine airliners
Late 1943
Aerovias Braniff, S. A., is formed in Mexico, which is wholly owned by Thomas Elmer Braniff, the president of Braniff Airways, Incorporated. Mr. Braniff states that Aerovias Braniff will begin operations and once it has been fully established then it will be merged with Braniff Airways, as the company’s Mexico subsidiary, which is fully dependent on approval by the Civil Aeronautics Board. This unique arrangement was in accordance with US and Mexico laws governing the merging of two companies based in two different companies.
Mexico law does not allow international carriers to operate local domestic service within the country but only service to and from interior cities to an international destination. However, because Mr. Braniff owns the company and it is incorporated and based in Mexico City, it is a Mexico airline and therefore, can operate domestic service
Photo: Mr Thomas Elmer Braniff and his wife Mrs. Bess Thurman Braniff stand as Honor Guard at the Monument to Independence in Mexico City in 1944. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incorporated, 1944
January 15, 1944
The Mexican Government grants Aerovias Braniff, S. A., the planned eventual subsidiary of Braniff Airways, Incorporated, an operating permit covering 2,643 miles of air route in Mexico, is announced by Braniff Vice President Charles Edmund Beard. Mr. Beard testified before the Civil Aeronautics Board in Washington DC, a few days earlier concerning the new routes.
The new routes granted will connect with Braniff Airways’ US gateway cities of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, (across the border from Laredo, Texas) and Brownsville, Texas. Aerovias Braniff will operate service from Nueva Laredo, to Mexico City, via Ciudad Victoria, Mexico, and from Brownsville, Texas/Matamoras, Mexico, to Tampico, Mexico, via Ciudad Victoria, and from Mexico City, to Tapachula, Mexico, via Cuernavaca, Mexico; Cuautla, Mexico and Salina Cruz, Mexico, and between Mexico City and Merida, Yucatan, via Puebla, Mexico and Vera Cruz, and lastly, from Matamoras to Merida, via a direct trans-gulf flight
April 1, 1944
An additional 3,018 route miles are purchased by Aerovias Braniff bringing its total authorized route miles in Mexico to 4,661. The additional route miles were the former routes of Lineas Aereas Nacionales. Aerovias Braniff is now the largest airline in Mexico
April 1, 1944
Aerovias Braniff opens new offices on the tenth and eleventh floors of the new 15-story International Building in downtown Mexico City, Mexico.
Photo: Aerovias Braniff’s new City Ticket Office was opened in downtown Mexico City. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incoporated
August 1, 1944
The Mexican Government awards Aerovias Braniff additional routes in Mexico, bringing its total to 7,728 miles. The new routes include service from Mexico City to Miami, via Merida, wth a stop at Havana, Cuba; from Mexico City to Panama City, Panama, in the Canal Zone, with intermediate stops at Cuernavaca, Cuautla, Santa Cruz and Tapachula, all in Mexico, and then Guatemala City, Guatemala; San Salvador, El Salvador; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Managua, Nicaragua and San Jose, Costa Rica; and finally from Mexico City to Los Angeles, with intermediate stops at Ciudad Victoria, Monterrey, Piedras, Chihuahua, Hermosillo, all in Mexico, and Nogales, Arizona; Mexicali and Tijuana, both in Mexico
March 1, 1945
The Aerovias Braniff Softball Team is organized by the company’s Personnel Manager Mr. Felipe Angeles. The team is enthusiastically welcomed by employees and local citizens
March 15, 1945
Aerovias Braniff has hired 25 employees and another 50 are in training for meteorology, radio and engineering. The students are paid for attending the training courses.
Photo: A new training class of Pursers and Hostesses are modeling in front of a Braniff Airways Douglas DC-3s at Dallas Love Field, where training was conducted for new Aerovias Braniff employees. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incorporated
April 3, 1945
The preinaugural flight of Aerovias Braniff begins from Dallas Love Field. A former Braniff Airways, Douglas DC-3 is painted in Aerovias Braniff’s new colors and reregistered in Mexico as XA-DUJ, is rolled out of the hangar and moved to the Love Field Terminal building on Lemmon Avenue.
The flight, with Braniff and local dignitaries on board, flies from Dallas to Austin, Texas, where special ceremonies were held. The flight continued on to San Antonio, Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and then turned south to Ciudad, Mexico and arrived in Mexico City, later that evening, completing the first Aerovias Braniff flight
April 4, 1945
The first Aerovias Braniff northbound flight from Mexico City, Mexico, to Nuevo, Laredo, is completed with an intermediate stop at Ciudad, Victoria. The flight also marks the first roundtrip by the new airline
July 1, 1945
Aerovias Braniff inaugurates new service from Mexico City, Mexico, to Merida, Mexico, with an intermediate stop at Veracruz, Mexico although Pan American’s Mexico subsidiary CMA attempted to block Aerovias Braniff’s service vehicles from entering the airport grounds at Veracruz.
However, the military ordered the gates unlocked and Aerovias Braniff was able to service its aircraft. Extra fuel was added so the flight could fly from Vera Cruz to Merida and then return. Merida Airport is not a military airport and CMA could block Aerovias service vehicles once again.
Photo: Aerovias Braniff passengers are enjoying a comfortable flight in the spacious and plush Douglas DC-3 interior. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incorporated
July 17, 1945
In response to landing fees at Merida, Mexico, that were 5 and one-half times greater than those at Chicago Midway Airport, Aerovias Braniff refuses to pay the 85 pesos fee. In response, CMA trucks surround the Aerovias DC-3 and hamper its departure. Aerovias relents and pays the fee and is allowed to leave
August 2, 1945
Mexico’s Secretary of the Department of Communications and Public Works Pedro M. Tornel suspends Aerovias Braniff’s temporary operating certificates for the Mexico City to Merida, Mexico, route, as a result of a petition filed by Compana Mexicana de Aviacion or CMA. Sr. Tornel indicated that Aerovias had not complied with radio telephone and other communications regulations and further had not conformed to the requirements relative to its personnel, landing fields, flight plans and finally that the company exploits the Mexico City-Merida line without the Department of Communications having first authorized its operation.”
Aerovias Braniff files a petition with the Mexico courts for a temporary injunction stopping the Minister of Communications from carrying out his order. The court granted the injunction and a hearing is set
Photo: Aerovias Braniff’s first Douglas DC-3 registered in Mexico as XA-DUJ is undergoing maintenance and repainting in Aerovias colors at the Dallas Love Field Roanoke Drive Base at Dallas Love Field in 1944. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incorporated
August 20, 1945
The Mexico court that issued the injunction against the Minister of Communications begins the hearing concerning the matter. Thomas Elmer Braniff, however, produces a letter dated June 2, 1945, from the Minister of Communications authorizing Braniff to operate the Mexico City–Vera Cruz–Merida route.
Mr. Braniff also indicated that the majority of the airports Aerovias Braniff proposed or was using in Mexico were built by Pan American World Airways under contract from the US War Department and accordingly, these airports are immediately available for public use
November 8, to 13, 1945
Aerovias Braniff inaugurates new service from Mexico City to Los Angeles, California, over a five-day trip of celebration. Intermediate stops along the route included Ciudad Victoria, Monterrey, Chihuahua, Mermosillo, all in Mexico, and Nogales, Arizona, Mexicali, Mexico, and Tijuana, Mexico. Braniff Vice President of Operations Mr. Ray Carroll Shrader hosted the gala event
December 1, 1945
New pilot uniforms are introduced. The uniforms feature a cooler design for the hotter climates in Mexico. Unifrom jackets are modeled from the battle jackets worn by the US Armed Forces
May 19, 1946
Braniff Airways, Incorporated, is awarded a new 7719-mile route system from the US Mainland to Mexico, Cuba, Central and South America, which draws specific interest of Pan American World Airways
July 25, 1946
The Mexican Government insists that there should be a 50/50 division of both schedules and passenger capacity between Mexico and US air carrier or in this case CMA and Aerovias Braniff. Talks had been initiated via an international air route conference that was expected to set precedent on how American airlines will deal with Latin American nations but Mexico’s new edict caused the talks to fail.
Photo: Ms. Estella Gomez Llata was the first flight attendant hired by Aerovias Branif in 1944. She is greeting passengers boarding a company Douglas DC-3. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incorporated
October 26, 1946
The Mexican Government, at the urging of Pan American World Airways, suspends Aerovias Braniff’s Mexico operating certificates causing the airline to shut down immediately. The Minister of Communications and Public Works rescinded the certificates stating that a “technical study” had found that Pan American’s CAM operating subsidiary was providing more than the necessary service and therefore, competition was unneeded.
Aerovias Braniff is able to get a temporary injunction once again concerning the Minister’s orders. However, airport guards at Mexico City, commanded by a nephew of the chief of civil aviation official in the Ministry of Communication, ignored the injunction.
In response, and to appeal to the upcoming change of national administration to hopefully find in favor, Aerovias Braniff sells 51 percent of its stock to Mexico nationals.
Photo: During World War II, Aerovias Braniff flew stateside newspapers into Mexico. This service enabled those working at the US Embassies and other governmental agencies to receive the latest news concerning the war. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incorporated
February 1, 1947
Aerovias Braniff is successful in getting the Mexico Minister of Communications to release the company’s planes and allow it to operate limited charter services. The company flies its first charter between Mexico City and Acapulco, both in Mexico, and additional charter flights will be flown throughout Mexico, in an attempt to recoup some of the company’s investment in scheduled airline operations
Photo: The downtown Mexico City Reservations Office was always busy making reservations for passengers on Aerovias Braniff flights. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incorporated
February 1, 1948
Aerovias Braniff loses a court case to have its Mexico operating certificates reinstated and now petitions the Mexico Supreme Court to rule on the matter.
Photo: Braniff Airways shared an office with Aerovias Braniff in downtown Mexico City. Braniff’s sales office was housed adjacent to Aerovias Braniff’s City Ticket Office. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incorporated
July 1, 1949
The Mexico Supreme Court upholds a lower court’s refusal to reinstate Aerovias Braniff’s Mexico operating permits in a 3 to 2 vote.
Photo: Mr. Douglas Stockdale served as Aerovias Braniff’s Vice President - Traffic. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incorporated
July 17, 1949
Thomas Elmer Braniff files a claim against Mexico, with the United States Department of State for at least $1,250,000 USD in damages caused by the Mexican Government’s abrupt and unjust cancellation of Aerovias Braniff’s operating certificates had destroyed Mr. Braniff’s and his company’s investments in the venture in a manner as though the property of the company had been impounded without compensation.
This was a precedent-setting move by Mr. Braniff. If he were to be successful in his claim at the highest diplomatic level, it could establish a new pattern for settling all current and future damages caused by a foreign government that cause damage to American investments in those countries.
Photo: This attractive Aerovias Braniff letterhead features a note of thank you to a company fan from Mr. Douglas Stockdale. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incorporated
September 1952
United States President Harry S. Truman, in an unprecedented move, cancels the Mexico operating certificates of not only Braniff Airways but also those of Eastern Airlines and Western Airlines. Braniff Airways had been granted routes to Mexico as part of its 7719-mile Latin American route awarded from May 1946 but the company had not been able to receive authority from the Mexico Government to operate the routes.
President Truman felt that by canceling the routes and starting over that a “clean slate” would enable the US carriers to finally receive the rights they seek. The President ordered the State Department to begin fresh negotiations with Mexico to obtain a “fair and equitable bilateral air transportation agreement providing for a sound pattern of air transportation between the two countries.”
Photo: On the backside of the Braniff Airways Quick Reference Timetable from 1945 features a full map of the current and extensive planned routes of Aerovias Braniff. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incorporated
March 7, 1957
The United States and Mexican Governments set forth a memorandum of understanding as part of the Air Transport Agreement between the two countries on this date.
Accordingly, CAB Chairman James R. Dupree designated Braniff Airways, Incorporated, for a route from Chicago to Mexico City, with intermediate stops at Dallas and San Antonio, which would give many cities in the Southwest one-airline service to Mexico.
Photo: The front cover of the last printed Aerovias Braniff Timetable dated September 1945. Copyright, Braniff Airways, Incorporated