Company History 9: American Airlines

In 1926, Charles A. Lindbergh was the chief pilot of Robertson Aircraft Corporation, which was based at an airfield in Forest Park. Soon Robertson Aircraft Corporation and about 85 other small airline companies were consolidated in 1929 and 1930 into the Aviation Corporation, which eventually formed American Airways, the immediate predecessor of today’s American Airlines. It was in 1934 that the company reorganized American Airways and became American Airlines, Inc. Not long after, American developed an air traffic control system that would later be used by all airlines and administered by the U.S. government. The company also introduced the first domestic scheduled U.S. freight service in 1944.

On April 15, 1926, Charles Lindbergh flew the first leg of the first round trip Chicago to St. Louis airmail flight. Flying the airmail was a dangerous business and Lindbergh had to jump from more than one aircraft because of weather or mechanical difficulties. This flight is considered to have been first start of American Airlines’ long history.