The Leavens brothers establish a small charter operation at Toronto’s Bake Airport in 1927. Single-engine operations continue apace during the next 20 years, with a scheduled frequency offered between Leamington and Pelee Island, Ontario.
An application is filed with the Air Transport Board in 1945 for the inauguration of feeder services in Ontario’s southeastern peninsula. When they are not approved, the company fails.
LEBANESE INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES, S. A.L.: Lebanon (1956-1969). Two wealthy Lebanese, the Arida brothers, form this carrier at Beirut in 1950 to operate passenger charters to Europe and South America. Irregular operations begin in the Mideast, however, in 1953 with 2 Curtiss C-46s flying cargo over a route from the Lebanese capital to Kuwait. In January 1956, service is inaugurated from Beirut to Baghdad via Doa and to Dhahran via Kuwait.
Rights to operate to South America are gained in 1957 when LIApurchases and absorbs the small competitor Compagnie de Tourisme Mondial, S. A.L.
A C-46A with 4 crew and 23 passengers, fails its takeoff from Beirut on October 3 on a flight to Kuwait City and plunges into the sea; there are no survivors.
In 1958, Sabena Belgian World Airlines, S. A. purchases an interest and provides DC-6s, which serve to increase the route network to Baghdad, the Gulf states, Tehran, and twice weekly to Brussels via Rome and Paris. The second C-46 is sold in 1959 and Sabena’s interest is withdrawn in 1960.
In 1962, Sheikh Najib Alamuddin begins to campaign for an amalgamation of all Lebanese airlines into a single national carrier. In March 1963, LIA enters into a joint agreement with Air Liban, S. A.L. and Middle East Airlines, S. A.L. (2); the associates operate under joint schedules and merge the operations of their aircraft. Operating revenues reach $2,240,000.
In 1964, a Boeing 720B is chartered to handle the Beirut to Paris via Milan frequencies; it brings the airline into the jet age.
Bookings increase to a new high of 27,376 and revenues jump 44% to $4 million.
Airline employment in 1965 stands at 521. The company purchases 2 Convair CV-990s from American Airlines to be added to its fleet of 3 Douglas DC-6Cs, 1 leased B-720B, and 1 chartered Sud-Est SE-210 Caravelle; an option is taken on a third Coronado. CV-990A service begins on December 23; twice-weekly Coronado services are flown to Rome and Paris, together with a weekly flight to Zurich.
Late in the year, two of the three jointly operating carriers are fully merged and take the name Middle East Airlines Airliban, S. A.L. (MEAA). Bookings increase to 28,254 and cargo traffic is up by 10%.
Operations continue apace in 1966. The second ex-AA CV-990A is delivered in February and allows all of the principal routes to become jet. Competition from MEAA is severe and LIA falls into fiscal difficulty.
By the summer of 1967, the carrier is $5 million behind on its lease payments to American Airlines. Rather than simply repossess the jetliners, the American major works out an arrangement whereby it acquires a 31% equity stake in LIA, as well as technical and management contracts.
One of the Coronados is leased to Balkan Bulgarian Airlines between June 1 and December 1, 1968.
Israeli commandos hit Beirut International Airport on December 28, destroying or damaging beyond repair two Douglas DC-7s and two Convair CV-990As.
The company, which has continued to be closely associated with MEAA, is finally purchased by that concern in April 1969. The resulting entity is Middle East Airlines, S. A.L. (2).
LEBANON AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: United States (1975-1976). The Lebanon Airport Development Corporation of West Lebanon, New Hampshire, begins to offer a scheduled air taxi service to Whitefield, New Hampshire, in 1975. Daily Aero Commander 500B roundtrips are only maintained into early 1976.
LEBAP-TURKMENISTAN: Turkmenistan (1993-1995). LEBAP is established at Ashkabad in 1993 to offer regional passenger and cargo services. Revenue flights commence with a fleet of 10 Yakovlev Yak-40s. Schedules are maintained until 1995.
LEBCA (LINEA EXPRESA BOLIVAR, S. A.): Venezuela (19581968). LEBCA is set up at Maracaibo in early 1958; capitalized at B 500,000 ($167,000), U. S. citizens hold 29% of the shares with Venezuelan interests the rest. Employing a Fairchild C-82 Packet and a Curtiss C-46, the company begins all-cargo contract flights to Miami on August 18. In 1959, the carrier receives both U. S. and Venezuelan cargo service operators certificates, greatly increasing the company’s value.
A C-46D with two crew and two passengers crashes into La Culata Peak, Venezuela, on January 21; there are no survivors.
Additional contracts and services are undertaken between Florida and Venezuela in 1960-1961 and a C-46A with three crew is damaged beyond repair in a forced landing at David, Panama, on May 19 of the former year; there are no fatalities
In January 1962, three Canadair DC-4M2 Argonauts are purchased from the British independent airline Overseas Aviation, Ltd.
A DC-4M freighter with three crew is lost off Caracas, Venezuela, on July 6; there are no survivors. A C-46F with three crew is damaged beyond repair after ground looping at Carora, Venezuela, on November 2; there are no fatalities.
A variety of freight operations are undertaken in 1962-1964 as five more C-46s and three DC-3s join the fleet. A second DC-4M2 Argonaut is written off at Miami on August 27 of the latter year.
In 1965, two Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellations formerly operated by Seaboard & Western Airlines are obtained and placed into service on the company’s Caracas-Miami scheduled all-cargo route.
Two more L-1049Hs arrive in 1966, one each from Slick Airways and one from Trans World Airlines (TWA). The Ministry of Communications names LEBCA the nation’s official cargo airline on September 14, 1967 and in a reorganization, all of the shareholding is acquired by the state airline VIASA (Venezolana Internacional de Aviacion, S. A.). LEBCA ceases operations on January 22, 1968 and on April 24 its traffic rights are assigned by VIASA to its newly formed subsidiary Tran-scarga (Transportes Aereos de Carga, S. A.).
LECONTE AIRLINES: United States (1981). Owned by Camps, Inc., Leconte is established at Wrangell, Alaska, in October 1981 to provide scheduled flights to Yakutat, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, and Ketchikan. Revenue operations, some of which are flown as feed for Alaska Airlines, commence with a fleet of Cessna 185s and 207s, a Piper PA-31310 Navajo, and a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver. A victim of the effects of the PATCO air traffic control strike, the company shuts down in November.
World History
