Fueled by the deregulation of US airlines, Capitol Air was one of several airlines catapulted into temporary success after the transition from charter to scheduled operations.
Founded on June 11, 1946 as Capitol Airways by Army Air Corps pilots Jesse F. Stallings, Richmond McGinnes, and Francis Roach, incorporated in Delaware, but headquartered in Smyrna, Tennessee, initially operating twin-engine Douglas DC-3s and Commandos Curtiss C-46. Military service was an important part of his early history.
In 1954, for example, it was transporting priority cargo for the US Air Force and two years later it was contracted to transport passengers for the Logistic Air Support Program (LOGAIR).
The Douglas DC-4 and Lockheed L-749A Constellation, its first four-engine pistonliners, facilitated the international expansion of charter flights.
“One (of BOAC’s 749As) had served Capitol Airways, which had three other 749As, having purchased the first from Avianca in 1957,” according to MJ Hardy in “The Lockheed Constellation” (Arco Publishing Company, 1973, p. 51 ). “Later, Capital built a fleet of a dozen Super Constellations.”
At the end of the decade, its US operations moved from Tennessee to Wilmington, Delaware’s New Castle Airport.
Constellation’s fleet continued to grow with the acquisition of the first L-1049G Super, or stretched-fuselage, in January 1960, which had been produced for Howard Hughes and first delivered to him four years earlier on 24 February. It marked the beginning of a significant number of them.
“In the summer of 1962, Seaboard World Airways leased seven of its Super Constellations (three L-1049Ds and four L-1049Hs) to Capitol Airways, which, exercising an option to buy, eventually purchased two L-1049Ds and one L-1049H. . ”, according to Hardy (ibid., p. 73).
The Caribbean/Mexico and transatlantic operating authorizations, received respectively on September 30, 1965 and April 5, 1966, allowed it to expand its charter service, whose lower fares were facilitated by lower operating costs, high daily use of 12-15 hour aircraft, lower overheads, high-density single-class accommodation and guaranteed load factors provided primarily by tour operator bookings.
Still providing this service for the military, however, one of its major contracts involved a transatlantic route from Frankfurt’s Rhein-Main Air Base to Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina, with an intermediate stop at Base of the Bradley Air National Guard at Windsor Locks. , Conn.
Although its fleet of 17 standard and stretched-fuselage Constellations had been its long-range workhorse during the 14-year period from 1955 to 1968, they began to be replaced in the 1960s with early Douglas DC-8-33 turbojets. JT4A. The N900CL aircraft, one of these, was initially operated by Pan Am. These were supplemented by turbofan-powered JT8D DC-8-54JT Jet Traders, which featured front, left and swing-up cargo doors, allowing airlines carry all kinds of cargo. , for all passengers or mixtures of the two on the main deck.
“The introduction of the convertible aircraft led to a new type of customer, the supplemental carrier,” according to Terry Waddington in “Douglas DC-8” (World Transport Press, 1996, p. 52). “The first to place an order was Trans International Airlines (TIA), a specialist in military charter flights…”
1967 turned out to be an important year in the history of Capitol. On March 21 it became a public company and the following day added “international” to its name, thus becoming Capitol International Airways.
The stretch-body DC-8-61s, configured for 252 single-class passengers in a three-three single-aisle layout and purchased from Eastern Airlines, soon complemented the standard-length DC-8-33 and -54, that facilitates the distribution of low seats. military and civilian charter operations per mile.
In the early 1970s, he moved to Smyrna, Tennessee.
Deregulation served as a threshold for scheduled service. Granted such authorization in September 1978, it began passenger operations to Brussels from New York the following year, on May 5, and from Chicago and Boston on June 19.
Like other international companion airlines, such as Trans International (later Transamerica) and World Airways, it applied the low-cost, single-class charter formula to the scheduled arena, achieving low cost per seat-mile and high profitability. load factor. and challenging established carriers.
Branded “Sky Saver Service”, it consistently attracted demand that exceeded capacity and sparked explosive growth. Annual passenger totals increased gradually, from 611,400 in 1980 to 1,150,000 in 1981 and 1,824,000 in 1982.
Unaware of airlines shaped by deregulation whose low fares could only be made profitable by used aircraft, high-density seating, and lower-paid non-union employees, passengers often voiced criticism of Capitol Air’s no-interline policy and its refusal to provide meals and hotel rooms during delays and compensation for missed connections with other airlines. However, its fares in the New York-Los Angeles market ranged from $149 unrestricted based on a roundtrip purchase to $189 one-way, while unrestricted fares from major carriers in the market hovered around $450. As a result, Capitol Air’s load factors exceeded 90 percent.
Its JFK ground operations, initially located in the Delta-Northwest terminal, were mostly manual, with stamped boarding passes, the old peel-and-stick seating charts, with the selection itself moved from the main check-in counter to a medium. terminal service center and finally to the departure gate: destination baggage tags, handwritten tickets, completed weight and balance sheets, and baggage and cargo loading without containers. However, the reservation system was computerized (Gabriel I), its call center was located in Garden City, Long Island, and air and hotel packages were offered through its Sky Saver Tour department.
A significant change in the carrier’s image occurred in 1981 when Capitol International acquired its first two wide-body DC-10-10s registered N904WA and N905WA from Western. Configured for 345 single-class passengers in a two-five-two cabin layout forward and three-four-three amidships and aft, they were deployed transcontinental and to the Caribbean, offering audiovisual entertainment on board.
Later DC-10 acquisitions, seating 360, offered a uniform ten-a-day configuration at all times.
1982 marked several improvements: a name change to the more streamlined “Capitol Air”, a relocation to the British Airways Terminal at JFK, an expanded system schedule with connecting flights from other airlines, and an upgrade to Braniff’s computerized reservations system. Cowboy with expanded automation. functions
Two other aircraft types broke the Douglas/McDonnell-Douglas DC-8-61, DC-8-63 and DC-10-10 monopoly: a single Boeing 727-200 registered as N590CA and a single 315-passenger Airbus A300B4-103 registered D-AHLZ.
Capitol Air advertised itself as “Capitol Air, Lowest Fare,” according to its system calendar from Dec. 1, 1982 to March 15, 1983. “Serving the public for 36 years,” it emphasized.
He explained his “Capito Ideas” as follows: “The best possible service at the lowest possible rate: fleet of Super DC-8 and DC-10 wide-body jets; complimentary meals, snacks and beverages; full bar service ; movies and stereo on all DC-10 and some DC-8 flights (specifically to Zurich to compete with Swissair); duty-free shopping on international flights; modern airport terminals; and simplified baggage service.”
He regarded its scope as “the starry skies of Capitol Air”, stating that “there are now 13 Capitol cities in the world, with more to come:” Aguadilla, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Puerto Plata, San Francisco, San Juan and Zurich. “Best of all,” he noted, “Capitol’s Star-Spangled service includes heavenly prices wherever we go.”
It offered daily nonstop flights from JFK to Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in the US, with two roundtrip flights to Los Angeles (flights CL 211 and CL 209) and one stopover via Chicago (flight CL 219). ; Aguadilla and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean, with departure sectors from San Juan operating as Flight CL 215 and CL 217); and Brussels, Frankfurt and Zürich in Europe. Other segments that bypassed JFK included Chicago-Miami-San Juan, Chicago-Los Angeles, Chicago-San Francisco, and Boston-Philadelphia-San Juan.
He explained his fare as follows: “We’re the ones who started it all. Capitol originated the concept of unrestricted, low-fare, one-class flights. No advance purchase, no minimum stay, no hassles. And we refuse to be underestimated for this type of service.
“So we stay on top of the competition to make sure our fares are always the lowest. And we keep fares low without cutting back on our Star-Spangled service, the kind you always expect on more expensive airlines.
“How low are Capitol fees?” he asked her. “Our unrestricted daily fares often save you up to 50% compared to other airlines’ economy class. That’s right, we said economy, not first class. No wonder Capitol is the best buy in the sky wherever you go!” let’s fly! that.”
Capitol’s successful low-cost, full-service challenge to major airlines including American, TWA and United in the US, as well as Lufthansa, Sabena and Swissair across the Atlantic, was short-lived as they temporarily reduced its Rates to retain or recover market share, forcing it to serve niche routes without competition, such as Aguadilla and Puerto Plata. But finally the established operators entered these markets.
George Batchelor, the last owner of Capitol Air, gradually transferred assets to Arrow Air, an airline that had transitioned from charter to scheduled service and was also under his financial control, leaving Capitol Air employees without paychecks. payment for several weeks.
Finally, now decommissioned and heavily in debt, it was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and on November 23, 1984 ceased operations, ending a 38-year career as a charter and scheduled passenger carrier.
article sources
Capitol Air System schedule, December 1, 1982 – March 15, 1983.
Hardy, M. J. “The Lockheed Constellation.” New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc., 1973.
Waddington, Terry. Douglas DC-8. Miami: World Transportation Press, 1996.
