Capital Airlines

Clifford Ball Airline

Clifford A. Ball, a McKeesport, Pennsylvania, automobile dealer and owner of a controlling interest in Bettis Field near Pittsburgh, won airmail contract route No. 11 on March 27, 1926. In April of the following year, The Clifford Ball Airline began operating between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Cleveland, Ohio. Clifford Ball Airlines operated from Pittsburgh's first commercial airport, Bettis Field, a former farm field which farmer Barr Peat had allowed to be used for barnstorming. The airplane which flew the first flight from Pittsburgh to Cleveland, a Waco 9 named "Miss Pittsburgh", is currently displayed at the Pittsburgh International Airport. Famed humorist and performer Will Rogers was known to be an early and regular passenger, but scheduled passenger service did not begin until April 28, 1928. The following August, Ball Airline became the first airline to serve Washington, D.C., from the west, offering its flagship "Path of the Eagle" service from Cleveland to Hoover Field across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. A "Path of the Eagle" brochure and schedule are displayed at the Pitcairn Field Web site.

Pennsylvania Air Lines

Ball sold his interests in November 1930 to Pittsburgh Aviation Industries Corp., and the airline became Pennsylvania Air Lines (PAL). PAL was reorganized as Pennsylvania Airlines after the Air Mail scandal of the early 1930s. In 1934 Pennsylvania Airlines acquired Kohler Aviation.

Central Airlines

Central Airlines was founded in 1934 by the men who had formed Pittsburgh Airlines in 1929. Central was notable for hiring Helen Richey, the first female commercial pilot in the U.S. Central Airlines became PAL's main competitor and they engaged in ruinous rate wars with prices well below those charged for railroad seats.

The two companies merged to form Pennsylvania Central Airlines, or PCA, on November 1, 1936.

Pennsylvania Central Airlines

The merged airlines flew Stinson A and Boeing 247 aircraft. Early in its existence, PCA faced a minor crisis in January 1937 when the Bureau of Air Commerce temporarily grounded the airline's Boeing 247s. The six B-247s were all sold off in 1937. The airline's 15 B-247Ds were all gone by the end of 1942. Two remain in museums today—one at the National Aviation Museum at Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and another, the City of Renton, in flying condition at the Museum of Flight, Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington.

PCA, based at the new Allegheny County Airport near Pittsburgh, continued to add routes, notably to Chicago in 1938, and aircraft, notably the Douglas DC-3, in 1940. In 1941 PCA moved its headquarters to the new Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, becoming one of its three original tenants; PCA had been consulted during the airport's design. The row of office buildings next to its hangars became "mahogany row" and the airline adopted the slogan "The Capital Airline", with its aircraft dubbed "Capitaliners". In September 1943 Pennsylvania Central requested the CAB authorize new routes affecting 23 states indicating plans for a major expansion after the war. PCA even had big trans-Atlantic ambitions. PCA did see expansion as the war wound down. The company signed contracts with Douglas Aircraft for DC-4s, on September 28, 1944, worth $10 million.

In 1946 PCA began flying the Douglas DC-4 but found the airplane was unprofitable on some of its low volume short segment routes. One of PCA's DC-4s had been used to transport President Roosevelt to the Casablanca Conference during World War II Ten DC-4s still served Capital at the time of the UAL merger. All were immediately disposed of by United.

By 1946, the combination of expansion and post-war inflation were financially pressing United States airlines. PCA was facing stronger competition on the essential New York to Chicago route. By the end of the first quarter of 1947 Pennsylvania-Central was in such a bad situation that the company president had to seek S.E.C. approval for a refinancing agreement with PCA's bankers.

The crisis led PCA to the election of J.H. "Slim" Charmichael as president, and drastic cuts from 4,800 employees to 3,000. By October 1, 1947, PCA had 25 DC-3s (two cargo only) and three DC-4s. "We had a sick airline on our hands, and we had to get it out of bed, but quickly. We figured our best chance lay in leading not just following the others", Charmichael told the New York Times. The cuts were followed by the acquisition of used, but newer, equipment and the situation was saved.

By 1947 PCA's route network no longer reflected its name. On April 21, 1948, the airline adopted a new insignia, colors and the name Capital Airlines.

Capital Airlines

In 1948 Capital introduced the "Nighthawk", one of the first coach class services, to compete with the railroads between Chicago and New York City, as well as the dominant airlines on the route, United, TWA and American. Each flight left at 1 AM and stopped for ten minutes at Pittsburgh (Allegheny County).