Beautifully engraved and highly desirable Stock Certificate from National Airlines. This desirable document has an ornate border
around it with a vignette of two allegorical men sitting on both sides of the National Airlines Logo. The certificate was issued in the 1970's for 100 shares of common stock.
This airline was well known for its quality of employees and service to its passengers.
Certificate Vignette
The certificate has the printed signature of the company's President, L. B. Maytag and Secretary John M. Lindsey.
National Airlines began in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1934 with the
award of a 142-mile mail route between
St. Petersburg and Daytona Beach, via Tampa, Lakeland and Orlando.
Service over the route was inaugurated on October 15, 1934. The
fleet consisted of two second-hand Ryan
aircraft. The airline had five employees, including the president
and founder, G. T. Baker.
On July 8, 1937, the company was charted under the laws of the State
of Florida as National Airlines, Inc.
Routes were extended to Jacksonville and to Miami in that year and
from Jacksonville to New Orleans in
1938. The company relocated its general offices and principal base
of operations in Jacksonville in 1939.
During World War II the carrier operated a portion of its fleet for
the Air Transport Command and operated
Air Corps contract schools for pilots, mechanics, radio operators
and navigators.
In 1944 National became a major airline with the award of the New
York-Florida route. On February 14, 1946,
National inaugurated with DC-4s the first non-stop service between
Miami and New York and the first
four-engine commercial flights between the two cities.
National was certified into Havana, Cuba, in 1946 and was awarded a
new route from Miami and Tampa to
New Orleans in the same year. in mid-June 1946, National moved its
General Office to Miami and four years
later moved its engine overhaul base to Miami from Jacksonville.
Havana service was suspended indefinitely
in 1961, after the United States and Cuba broke off diplomatic
relations.
In 1947 National received permission to inaugurate the so-called
"Great Circle" route over water between
Miami and New York, and reduced the flying time from five to four
hours.
National pioneered in 1950 on the East Coast with low night coach
and excursion fares to Florida, and with a
Florida summer vacation program that contributed to creating a
year-round operation for the state's tourist
industry.
On January 1, 1952, National became free of subsidy and was placed
on a mail service rate that made it
self-sufficient over its entire system.
In 1956 the National system was extended to Houston and to Boston.
National leased Boeing 707 jets to become the first domestic
operator of jets in the United States and
inaugurated jet service between New York and Miami on December 10,
1958.
On March 11,1961,National's system was expanded with the award of
the Southern Transcontinental Route.
The route extended the carrier from Houston to Los Angeles/ Long
Beach and to San Diego, and from
Houston to San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose via Las Vegas.
L. B. Maytag, who resigned as president of Frontier Airlines in
March 1962, purchased controlling interest in
National on April 26, 1962. Mr. Maytag was elected president and
chief executive officer on that date. Dudley
Swim, of Carmel, California, was elected chairman on September 12,
1962.
National in 1964 became the first exclusively jet-powered U. S.
airline. In 1967 and 1968 the airline doubled
its jet fleet and phased out all prop-jet aircraft. On April 21,
1968, the last of the prop-jet electras was retired
and National became all pure-jet with a fleet of DC-8s and B-727s.
Miami's first Boeing 747 service was inaugurated by National on
October 2, 1970, with daily nonstop flights
between Miami and New York. The second of the 352-passenger B-747s
went into nonstop operation between
Miami and Los Angeles on October 25, 1970. the 747s were sold in
1976.
After exhaustive study of second-generation wide-cabin jets,
National selected McDonnell Douglas DC-10s as
the finest, most economical and most adaptable to it;s route system.
in 1969 the company ordered nine
DC-10s, and in 1971 ordered two intercontinental versions of the
DC-10. Four additional DC-10s were ordered
in January 1973.
The first DC-10 service between New York and Miami, Palm Beach and
Tampa was introduced by National on
December 15, 1971. Service expanded as additional new jets joined
the fleet.
The "good neighbor" DC-10 demonstrated that it has unusual customer
appeal. This wide-cabin jet is
comfortable, reliable, quiet and smoke-free.
Ground was broken in 1968 for a $45 million expansion program by the
Dade County Port Authority for
National Airlines at Miami International Airport. The project was
completed in 1974.
A $17 million IBM electronic computer reservation system, called
Res-A Vision, was completed and put into
operation in 1970. The communications network enables National
reservations agents throughout the carrier's
system to exchange information immediately with two computers in the
Miami headquarters. The system
allows passengers to make reservations with a minimum of delay and
error.
National became the third U. S. transatlantic passenger carrier on
June 16, 1970, with the inauguration of daily
nonstop round-trip service between Miami and London. This
transatlantic route has proved appealing to
passengers who wish to avoid the congested gateways and inclement
weather of northern airports. Service with
the intercontinental DC-10-30s was inaugurated on the route in the
fall of 1973.
Dudley Swim, Chairman of the board, died in Carmel, California, on
January 31, 1972. Mr. Maytag was
elected chairman on February 11, 1972. E. F. Dolansky, formerly
executive vice president, was appointed
president and chief operating officer on December 7, 1976. Mr.
Maytag retains the title of chairman and chief
executive officer.
National's European horizons were further expanded June 22, 1977,
when the airline inaugurated Miami-Paris
nonstop service with DC-10-30 aircraft. National provides the only
U. U. flag airline service to Paris from the
South.
In May 1978 the airline introduced nonstop flights between Florida
and Frankfurt and Amsterdam. New York-
Amsterdam service was inaugurated in December 1978.
National also extended its route system in 1979 by adding service
between Miami and San Juan, and to
Seattle from Houston and Los Angeles.
National's success was its downfall, as all of its aircraft and
equipment was paid for. A bidding war began
over the takeover of National's system. In 1980 Pan American World
Airways acquired National Airlines and
operated its routes poorly. De-regulation was passed and suddenly
Pan American was debt ridden. This was
the beginning of an eleven year downslide.