TEXAS INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES

摘要

The story of the guppy and the whale begins in 1944 when Texas International Airlines was founded in Houston as Aviation Enterprises. The carrier received its air mail and passenger certificate as a feeder carrier in 1947 and changed its name to Trans-Texas Airways (TTA). Originally, it flew routes throughout the State of Texas with a small fleet of DC-3 aircraft. The airline had several nicknames. Many called it "Tree Top Airlines" or "Tinker Toy Airways" because the carrier was famous for its short hops between Texas cities. This allowed people to cut down their travel time by flying instead of driving. By November 1949, the carrier had several DC-3 aircraft which were called "Starliners." At the time, the airline was flying the "Route of the Starliners" which serviced Alpine, Beaumont/Port Arthur, Beeville, Brownsville, Brownwood, Carrizo Springs/Crystal City, Coleman, Dallas, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, EI Paso, Fort Stockton, Fort Worth, Galveston, Harlingen, Houston, Laredo, Lufkin, Marfa, McAllen, Palestine, San Angelo, San Antonio, Uvalde, Van Horn, and Victoria. Now, it should be pretty clear why TTA was nicknamed "Tree Top Airlines."