loading image
Operating from 1946 to 1968, China's Civil Air Transport’s (CAT) initial mission was to carry relief supplies on westbound flights from coastal ports to the war-devastated interior, and commercial cargo and passengers on return fights to the coast. In 1946, CAT hired eighty-seven men and women. Setting up headquarters at Shanghai’s Hungjao airfield, five surplus Douglas C-47s and fourteen Curtiss C-46s were purchased, with three more for spare parts. After China’s civil war (1945-1949), CAT relocated to the island of Taiwan in 1950, and evolved from a relief cargo airline to a government contractor and commercial carrier. In 1953, the airline formally became the flag carrier of the Republic of China. With the addition of a Convair 880, on July 11, 1961, CAT became Asia’s first regional airline to offer its passengers jet service. Facing route reduction and increased competition, CAT sold its Convair 880 and replaced, it with a Boeing 727. Tragically, CAT’s new jet was lost near Taipei on February 16, 1968. By May, CAT’s domestic services shut down.
This image was posted on April 28, 2022.
Similar Instagram posts
Continental Airlines began as Varney Speed Lines in 1934.
This image was posted on April 21, 2022.
#defunctthursday #avgeek #aviationhistory #continentalairlines
The first flight of the Boeing 707 took off on its maiden flight #onthisday in 1957.
This image was posted on December 20, 2022.
#boeing707 #boeing #avgeek #airplane
In 1960, Delta Airlines proudly introduced the 615 miles-per-hour Convair 880, produced by the Convair Division of General Dynamics, of San Diego, California.
This image was posted on July 14, 2021.
#wingwednesday #convair880 #deltaairlines #convair
The Sud Aviation Caravelle was one of the first successful commercial jetliners produced in Europe.
This image was posted on April 27, 2022.
#avgeek #aviationhistory #sudaviation #caravelle #airplane
Lufthansa Airlines' inaugural flight landed in #SFO #onthisday in 1960 from Frankfurt, Germany.
This image was posted on May 14, 2018.
#traveltuesday #lufthansa #germany #frankfurt #sfo #sfohistory #avgeek #avationgeek #aviation #aviationhistory #vintageaviation #history #avhistory #aviationgeeks #avgeeks
#Onthisday in 1919, KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V., or KLM Royal Dutch Airlines) was founded.
This image was posted on October 07, 2018.
#avgeek #aviationgeek #aviation #aviationhistory #vintageaviation #history #aviationgeeks #avgeeks #klm #airfrance
Started in 1945 by eleven former members of the Flying Tigers, the nickname for a special operations group of military pilots deployed to China during World War II, the Flying Tiger Line was the first scheduled all-cargo airline in the United States.
This image was posted on May 12, 2022.
#defunctthursday #flyingtigers #avgeek #aviationhistory
#OnThisDay in 1959, TWA (Trans World Airlines) inaugurated transcontinental Boeing 707 jet service from San Francisco International Airport to New York.
This image was posted on March 20, 2017.
#avgeek #aviationhistory #boeing #707 #boeing707 #twa #transworldairlines #vintage #vintageaviation #vintageads #vintangeadvertisements
#Onthiday in 1958, Pan American World Airways received their first Boeing 707.
This image was posted on August 15, 2018.
#boeing #boeing707 #jetage #jet #aviation #avgeek #aviationgeek #panam #panamerican #paa #history