Air America (airline)
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| Founded | 1950 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 1976 | ||||||
| Fleet size | 80+ | ||||||
| Destinations | 2 | ||||||
| Parent company | American Airdale Corporation | ||||||
| Headquarters | Washington, DC | ||||||
Air America was an American passenger and cargo airline covertly owned by the US government in 1950 as a dummy corporation for Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations in China. The CIA did not have enough work to keep the asset afloat and the National Security Council farmed the airline out to various government entities that included the USAF, US Army, USAID and for a brief time France. Essentially, Air America was used by the US government covertly to conduct military operations, posing as a civilian air carrier, in areas the US armed forces could not go due to treaty restraints contained in the 1954 and 1962 Geneva Accords.
The Air America name was resurrected during the mid 1980s and used by a scheduled passenger airline based in Los Angeles which operated Lockheed L-1011 TriStar wide body jetliners with flights serving Baltimore (BWI), Detroit (DTW), Honolulu (HNL), London, England (LGW) and Los Angeles (LAX).
In August 1950, the CIA, at the direction of the National Security Council, formed a Delaware corporation named Airdale. Airdale formed a subsidiary corporation named CAT, Inc. CAT purchased 40% of the assets of Civil Air Transport (CAT), an airline that had been started in China in 1946 by Gen Claire Lee Chennault (of Flying Tigers fame) and Whiting Willauer. Sixty percent remained with Chinese investors. CAT Inc. also formed Asiatic Aeronautical Company Ltd, a Republic of China company.
In 1957 Airdale changed its name to Pacific Corporation. CAT, Inc. changed its name to Air America, Inc. in 1959 after settling objections from Air France. Asiatic Aeronautical Company, Ltd changed its name to Air Asia Company, Ltd the same year. Civil Air Transport remained in existence throughout the tenure of Air America from 1950 through 1976, and for several years was the flag carrier for the Republic of China. This status was lost after a landing accident and China Airlines became the flag carrier. Civil Air Transport became a ticketing company used mostly for inter-company travel.
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Wikipedia