National Heads North

Less than ten years ago National Airlines was the Toonerville Trolley of the airways. By last week little N.A.L. (1,087 route miles between New Orleans, Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami and Key West) was ready for big-time commercial aviation, with a brand-new Civil Aeronautics Board license in its pocket. As soon as it can get the planes, National can start regular flights to New York through the prize air-travel territory of Savannah, Wilmington, N.C. and Norfolk. The expansion was financed by increased operating revenues (May's take: $156,000) and a $113,333 1/3 stock issue which was offered at $13.75, jumped to $15 within a week.

To chunky N.A.L. President George Theodore Baker, 43, the new route looked mighty good. In 1929 he had begun operating a charter-and-barnstorming company near Chicago; five years later switched to St. Petersburg, Fla. There National's assets consisted of tireless George Baker and a rickety, single-engined Ryan cabin plane which he flew from cow pastures at Jacksonville to empty lots at Daytona Beach.

Passengers were devil-may-care businessmen or vacationers. Baker kept his line going by doing everything himself. When a passenger arrived at the field George stopped sweeping up the hangar and tinkered with the motor a bit, opened the office, sold the ticket, carried the baggage to the plane, and finally hedgehopped his passenger to the other end of the line. Once a plane landed on the back of a cow lying on the poorly-lighted Daytona Beach runway. But George's luck held: the cow was killed, but the passengers unscathed.

Now, with seven Lockheed Lodestars on his present line, George Baker has adopted more orthodox airline methods, made N.A.L. a solid, going concern. As such, its New York service will break potent Eastern Airline's 15-year virtual monopoly on the rich north-south run along the Atlantic Coast.

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