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Trans International Airlines
Founded	1947; 78 years ago; as Los Angeles Air Service
Ceased operations	September 30, 1986;; 38 years ago
Parent company	Studebaker (1962–1964) ; Transamerica Corporation (1968–1986)
Headquarters	Oakland, California; Las Vegas, Nevada
Key people	Kirk Kerkorian

Trans International Airlines (TIA) started as a United States supplemental air carrier. From 1964, such carriers were simply charter carriers, but until 1964 they also had the ability to fly a limited amount of scheduled service. After US airline deregulation in 1979, it also operated scheduled passenger service flying as Transamerica Airlines as well as passenger and cargo charter flights during its last decade. Its headquarters were at Oakland International Airport (OAK) in Oakland, California.^[1]

History

In 1947, future travel and entertainment mogul Kirk Kerkorian purchased Los Angeles Air Service, a small irregular air carrier, for $60,000. As tourism to Las Vegas, Nevada, boomed, so did the fortunes of the airline. From a single Douglas DC-3, the company expanded rapidly, adding Douglas DC-6s and Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations, and it became the first charter airline to operate jet aircraft with the introduction of the Douglas DC-8 on trans-Pacific routes as well as the Boeing 727 on shorter routes. The airline later added McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Boeing 747 wide body jetliners to its fleet.

To better reflect its growing route structure, the airline was renamed Trans International Airlines in 1960. Between 1966 and 1986 TIA operated regular charter flights between the U.S. and Europe. International destinations were Paris Orly (ORY), London Gatwick (LGW), Brussels Zaventem (BRU) and Frankfurt (FRA). TIA contributed to cheap transatlantic flights which did not exist at the time.

In 1962, as part of its diversification strategy that had seen companies such as Onan, Gravely Tractor and Cincinnati Testing Labs join its automotive operations, the Studebaker Corporation purchased the airline, retaining Kerkorian as president. In June 1964, Studebaker sold the company back to Kerkorian and a partner, with Studebaker's president citing a desire to concentrate on manufactured goods like appliances, auto parts and tractors, instead of air travel.^[2] Kerkorian took the company public in 1965, then sold his interests in 1968 to insurance conglomerate Transamerica Corporation, profiting an estimated $85 million. He reinvested proceeds from the sale in Las Vegas property, notably the International Hotel. In 1966, the airline moved its headquarters from Las Vegas to Oakland, California.^[3]

Transamerica Corporation later assumed the passenger contracts of bankrupt Universal Airlines and in December 1976, bought Saturn Airways, and merged their operations into TIA. The airline remained focused on charter and cargo operations until the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, which gave it the opportunity to offer scheduled passenger service. In 1979 the airline was renamed Transamerica Airlines and on November 2 of that year it commenced scheduled transatlantic passenger flights to Shannon (SNN) and Amsterdam (AMS). The May 1, 1982 Transamerica route map depicted scheduled nonstop flights being operated between Amsterdam and New York City as well as between Shannon and Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and Oakland, CA.^[4] By 1983, the airline was flying scheduled service into Paris Orly Airport (ORY) on a weekly round trip routing of Paris-Shannon-Los Angeles-San Francisco with this flight being operated with a Super DC-8-73 jetliner.^[5]

Following the popular Alex Haley book Roots, Transamerica flew charter flights between New York and Africa known as the "Roots" program. Other popular programs were to the Caribbean, South America, and Hong Kong. The airline also flew more than a hundred flights for the Jeddah hajj pilgrimage wet leased on behalf of Union des Transports Aériens (UTA) and Air Afrique.

During this time, the airline was under U.S. military contract and it operated a number of military charters. Most notable of these was the route that connected Clark Air Base, Philippines and Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to Travis Air Force Base, California during the late 1970s, using DC-8s. TIA was heavily involved in the transport of troops during the Vietnam, Angola, and Middle East conflicts and the relocation of refugees.

In the early 1980s, Transamerica Corporation (per stockholder reports) announced its intention to divest all holdings that were not financial in nature. Transamerica Airlines, among the top five profitable holdings, was divested in 1986. Although there were potential buyers, it was more profitable to sell the airline in pieces and parts. The airline was dissolved and ceased operations on September 30, 1986.

Second Trans International

In 1984, Transamerica Corporation bought moribund Central American International, a former uncertificated carrier that the CAB certificated in 1981,^[6] and used its charter certificate to re-activate the Trans International Airlines (TIA) name.^[7] The new TIA, flying Super Douglas DC-8-61 aircraft, was led by Robert R. Lindberg as Chairman and CEO, and William A. Hardenstine as President (the latter formerly of World Airways). TIA operated in the mid-1980s, and was based at Orlando International Airport (MCO), Florida. TIA was sold as a going concern at approximately the same time as the larger Transamerica Airlines divested its aircraft.

Transamerica destinations in 1984

According to its May 1, 1984 system timetable, Transamerica Airlines was operating scheduled passenger service to the following destinations with the carrier using the two letter airline code "TV":^[8]

Also according to the above referenced timetable, all Transamerica passenger flights were being operated at this time with Boeing 747 aircraft with the exception of the New York-Shannon route which was being flown with Douglas DC-8-73 aircraft (which the airline called the "Super-73").

Two years earlier in 1982, a Transamerica Airlines route map listed the following destinations being served with scheduled passenger flights: Amsterdam (AMS), Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), New York City (JFK), Oakland, California (OAK) and Shannon (SNN).^[9]

Transamerica also operated charter flights from New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Cozumel, Mexico (CZM) during the mid 1970s.

Accidents and incidents

8 September 1970: Trans International Airlines Flight 863, DC-8-63CF N4863T, a ferry flight from New York to Washington, DC, crashed shortly after takeoff when a foreign object lodged in the right elevator, jamming it and forcing the aircraft into a extreme nose-high attitude, from where it stalled and crashed. The National Transportation Safety Board cited the failure of the captain to adequately monitor the condition of the aircraft and reject the takeoff on time. All 11 crewmembers, the only people on board, were killed.^[10]

18 November 1979: Transamerica Lockheed L-188C Electra N859U operating Logair flight 3N18 for the US Air Force departed Hill Air Force Base en-route to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas. While climbing between 12,000 and 13,000 ft, all electrical power was lost; the crew requested an immediate descent. The aircraft attained high airspeed and high rate of descent and disintegrated in flight, killing all three crew members. Probable cause was progressive failure of the electrical system leading to disabling or erratic performance of critical instruments and lighting in night-time instrument conditions. The crew became disoriented and lost control.[11] The aircraft was inherited from Universal Airlines via Saturn Airways. Two other Universal Electras (N851U, N855U) previously crashed near Hill Air Force Base.

23 August 1980: Transamerica L-100-30 N18ST was descending into North Island Naval Air Station from Pensacola Naval Air Station at 5,000 ft when its tail hit and killed a parachutist near Otay, California. Aircraft and crew landed safely with minimal damage.^[12]^[13]

27 August 1983: Transamerica L-100-30 N17ST crashed in fog at an elevation of 2,650 near Dundo, Angola,^[14] killing all seven crew on board.^[15]

29 December 1984: Transamerica L-100-30 N24ST was destroyed on the ground by gunfire at Cafunfo, Angola.^[16]^[17]

Fleet

Trans International Airlines and/or Transamerica Airlines operated the following aircraft at various times during their existence:^[18]

References

^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 30, 1985. 127.
^ "STUDEBAKER UNIT SOLD TO GLENKIRK; Trans International Bought for Undisclosed Amount". The New York Times. 12 June 1964.
^ "Shortlines". Aviation Week & Space Technology. 85 (1): 33. 4 July 1966. ISSN 0005-2175.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^ http://www.departedflights.com, May 1, 1982 Transamerica Airlines route map
^ http://www.departedflights.com, July 1, 1983 Official Airline Guide (OAG) Worldwide edition: Los Angeles, Paris Orly, San Francisco & Shannon flight schedules
^ "Central American Int'l, Charter Authority". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office: 90–139. August–September 1981. hdl:2027/osu.32437000534194.
^ Air Line Pilots Ass'n v. Department of Trans, 791 F.2d 172 (D.C. Cir. 1986).
^ http://www.departedflights.com, May 1, 1984 Transamerica Airlines system timetable
^ http://www.departedflights.com, May 1, 1982 Transamerica Airlines route map
^ Accident Report, Trans International Airlines Corp. Ferry Flight 863, Douglas DC-8-63F, N4863T, J.F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, September 8, 1970 (PDF) (Report). National Transportation Safety Board. 18 August 1971.
^ Accident Report, Transamerica Airlines, Inc., Lockheed L-188, N859U, Salt Lake City, Utah, November 18, 1979 (PDF) (Report). National Transportation Safety Board. 26 August 1980.
^ "Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules N18ST, Saturday 23 August 1980". asn.flightsafety.org. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
^ Skydive death probed, Chula Vista (CA) Star-News, 28 August 1980
^ "DUE - Dundo, LNO, AO - Airport - Great Circle Mapper". gcmap.com. Great Circle Mapper. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
^ "Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules N17ST, Saturday 27 August 1983". asn.flightsafety.org. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
^ "Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules N24ST, Saturday 29 December 1984". asn.flightsafety.org. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
^ "CFF - Cafunfo, LNO, AO - Airport - Great Circle Mapper". gcmap.com. Great Circle Mapper. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
^ "Transamerica". rzjets. Retrieved 6 September 2019.

Aviation Safety Network: Aviation Safety Database: Trans International Airlines
"Background and Latest Buzz on L.A.'s Richest People: Kirk Kerkorian," Los Angeles Business Journal, May 21, 2001
Mondout, Patrick, "Transamerica Airlines" at Super70s.com