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#Onthisday in 1932, Pacific Air Transport (PAT), part of United Air Lines, became a tenant at San Francisco Airport. PAT was founded in 1926 by Vern C. Gorst, a transportation-minded entrepreneur with ties to the Pacific Northwest and California. Foreseeing the potential economic opportunities in airmail routes, PAT bid on and won Airmail Route CAM 8, which ran between Seattle, Washington, and Los Angeles, California. PAT flew two-passenger Ryan M-1 mail planes with passengers often packed in with mail sacks. In 1926, the eighteen and a half hour, multi-stop journey from Los Angeles to Seattle cost $132. Pacific Air Transport was acquired by Boeing Air Transport in 1928, yet continued to operate as a separate division retaining its identity. Both companies would become part of United Air Lines in the 1930s. Several commercial air carriers of the day flew in and out of San Francisco Airport for mail and passenger service, but few used it as a fixed-base of operation. As facilities improved, however, airlines began leasing storage and maintenance space in the hangars and counter space in the terminal building. Image: Mills Field Municipal Airport of San Francisco, 1927. SFO Museum Collection. 2011.032.0032 This image was posted on December 22, 2017.

This post mentions the following things involved with the SFO Museum collection:

United Airlines. It is related to United Airlines (the company) .