North American Airlines

North American Airlines, Inc. (“North American, NYSE: NAA”) was a major American Airline headquartered in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. It was the world’s 12th largest airline when counting destinations served, and maintained a fleet of 329 aircraft, excluding those operated by its regional affiliate, North American Express.

North American operated an extensive route network across the United States, and serves cities in 38 countries across the globe. North American’s largest hub is located in Baltimore, Maryland, with over 512 daily departures to destinations in 26 countries. St. Louis, Missouri, North American’s midwestern hub, serves over 450 daily flights to countries in 4 continents.

The airline was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, having relisted as “NAA” following the company’s bankruptcy in 2008.

North American was acquired by St. Louis-based Capital Airlines in 2016, and the merger was completed by 2017. The company elected to keep the North American name.

On March 23, 2020, North American announced its intent to purchase Memphis-based National Airlines. The merger completed on August 16, 2020, and North American ceased to exist the same day.

Beginnings
North American, in its current form, was founded in 1920 in Raleigh, North Carolina, under the name “North American Air Taxi Service,” by Eugene Bagby. Bagby’s plans for the city of Raleigh called for a fleet of air taxis to transport wealthy citizens across the city. Unaided by the lack of airstrips in the city center, NAATS was losing upwards of $50 a week, and in 1922 Bagby decided to relaunch North American as a cropdusting service. Although Bigby had been born and raised in Raleigh, he packed up shop for Omaha, Nebraska.

The company, now known as “North American-Nebraskan Aerial Crop Dusting Service,” thrived in the Great Plains, and in 1924, began its first passenger operation. The service operated two daily flights, connecting Eppley Field in Omaha, to Columbia-Jefferson City, Missouri (which now functions as a large maintenance base for the airline).

Unfortunately in 1931, Bagby was killed when an intoxicated NAATS pilot inadvertently inverted the airplane he was traveling on as they approached Columbia.

Following Bagby’s death, the city of Jefferson City came together and raised $240 for the airline to continue operation in the wake of their leader’s tragic death. Albert “The Yack” Yackanoni was named CEO, and a different path for the air service took shape. Omaha continued to serve as the primary base for the service, connecting new cities such as Liberal, KS, Lincoln, NE, Mankato, MN, and Ames, IA, to Omaha. Such cities were important to the grain industry that dominated Omaha, but weren’t located near major roads.

In 1934, North American lost another Ford Trimotor aircraft en route from Eppley Field to Dubuque, and its reputation in the public eye was severely damaged. After securing a contract with the U.S. Mail in February of that year, the airline renamed itself to “North American Air Mail Lines,” and discontinued passenger service until 1944, following World War II. During that period, the airline moved its headquarters from Omaha, NE, to Houston, TX. The airline once again began carrying passengers from Houston and Omaha to various cities across the United States, functioning largely as an east-west connector.

1940’s-Jet Age
The 1940s and 1950s were a very prosperous time for the airline. Utilizing a vast fleet of Douglas DC-3’s, the airline connected cities across the nation. In 1961, the airline purchased 45 Boeing 707’s, and began service to Paris, London, and other cities outside of the United States. As a part of its international expansion, the airline used gateways such as Baltimore and Houston-Hobby. Douglas DC-9’s were the backbone of the airline’s domestic network, filling in gaps across the nation to connect passengers to their vast European and South American system.

North American maintained an “around-the-world” flight path from 1962 until 1975, originating in San Francisco, then preceding to Honolulu, Taipei, Hong Kong, Saigon, Hyderabad, Muscat, Istanbul, Frankfurt, London, and Dublin before ending in Baltimore. Flight 3 began in San Francisco, while Flight 1 began in Baltimore, each operating in a different direction. Multiple times, this route saw maintenance delays on the Boeing 707, and was swapped for the much smaller, range-limited DC-9, having to make fuel stops up to 4x more frequently. The final NA1 arrived in San Francisco from Honolulu on December 1, 1975, 32 hours late, and weight reduced to 12 passengers. North American claims this route cost the airline upwards of $45 million over the 13-year period.

Hubs
North American maintains three hubs across the Continental United States, and one operating base in Europe. Each hub is used has its own primary function.

Baltimore-Washington: The airline’s largest hub and headquarters. Over 500 daily flights to 28 countries in Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia.

St. Louis: Capital Airlines’ largest hub, now 2nd largest. Serves as primary gateway into the American Midwest. Large concentration of regional flights. Owns rights to St. Louis Cardinals stadium, still called ”Capital Park.”

Las Vegas: Hubbed in 2015 as a move into the Mountain West. Competes with United Airlines’ hub in Denver, Delta in Salt Lake City, and American/US Airways in Phoenix. Growth remains stagnant with limited international presence. Future unknown. Dehubbed as of November 2019.

Oakland: 3rd largest hub, primary transpacific gateway. Growth is limited due to a shortage of gate space, however the airline is working with the city to expand current terminals and utilize remote stands. Serves destinations across Asia, Oceania, and Europe.

Dublin: North American maintained an extensive joint venture with Irish-based Aer Lingus, and in 2019 opened a maintenance base, as well as a crew base at the nation’s largest airport. Operates flights to all hubs, plus Austin and Fort Lauderdale.

Former Hubs
Houston-Intercontinental | 1972-2013

Washington-Dulles

Phoenix

Los Angeles

Fleet
North American operated a fleet of 329 mainline aircraft, from 3 manufacturers—Boeing, Airbus, and McDonnell Douglas. The airline’s fleet had been influenced by multiple mergers and acquisitions over the last three decades, such as Capital Airlines, and Coastal Airways.

Cabin
North American operated as a full-service carrier, and as a result, had invested a large amount into its cabin and hard product over the last few years. Following the merger with Capital Airlines, a large amount of aircraft needed to be retrofitted to the North American standards. A large operation involving over 200 Capital aircraft introduced Coach Select as well as the removal of In Flight Entertainment, in favor of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), which had been introduced by North American in 2011, following the fleetwide launch of Gogo Wifi.

In 2018, North American introduced a new business class product, known as “Signature.” The introduction coincided with the announcement that the company would be removing its first class product, instead focusing on improving the business class experience fleetwide. As of October 17, 2019, 14 long-haul aircraft had been retrofitted, mostly used on routes between BWI, OAK, and business markets such as LHR and NRT. North American’s economy class product was known as Coach. All narrowbody and widebody aircraft, including most two-class Regional Jets were equipped with both Coach and Coach Select. Newer deliveries and retrofits are equipped with seat back tablet and smartphone holders. However, some customers have complained that the holders have bent the frames of their tablets, rendering them useless.