North Central Airlines

IATA	ICAO	Callsign
NC	NC	NORTH CENTRAL

Founded

1944

Ceased operations

July 1, 1979
(became Republic Airlines)

Hubs

Fleet size

Destinations

Company slogan

Good people make an (our) airline great
Route of the Northliners

Headquarters

Minneapolis, Minnesota
(1952-1979)
Madison, Wisconsin
(1947-1952)
Clintonville, Wisconsin
(1944-1947)

Key people

Francis Higgins (President)
Hal Carr (Vice President)

North Central Airlines was a regional airline in the midwestern United States. Founded as Wisconsin Central Airlines in 1944 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, the company moved to Madison in 1947. This is also when the "Herman the duck" logo was born on Wisconsin Central's first Lockheed Electra 10A, NC14262, in 1948. North Central's headquarters were moved to Minneapolis–St. Paul in 1952.

Following a merger with Southern Airways in 1979, North Central became Republic Airlines, which merged into Northwest Airlines in 1986.

In 1939 the Four Wheel Drive Auto Company (FWD), a major manufacturer of four-wheel transmissions and heavy-duty trucks based in Clintonville, Wisconsin, opened a flight department and traded a company truck for a Waco biplane for their company's use. In 1944 company executives decided to start an airline, and service started between six Wisconsin cities in 1946. This led the company to buy two Cessna UC-78 Bobcats, and, soon after, three Lockheed Electra 10As. Certificated flights started with Electras to 19 airports on 25 February 1948; more revenue allowed three more Electra 10As, then six Douglas DC-3s.

In 1952 the airline moved their headquarters from Wisconsin to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and that December their name became North Central Airlines. Soon the airline ran into financial trouble when President Francis Higgins left, making Hal Carr the president. Carr quickly got the company out of debt and made it more reliable. Over time the company expanded their fleet to 32 DC-3s.

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Wikipedia