The only U. S. carrier initially established as an all-cargo airline on a transoceanic route, Seaboard & Western Airlines is organized in New York City by former Army Air Transport Command pilots Arthur and Raymond Norden, Carl D. Brell, Warren H. Renninger, and Wallace P. Neth on September 16, 1946.
Unlike most of the domestic cargo operations established just after World War II, this one sets out to provide scheduled cargo service over the highly competitive North Atlantic. The company’s lone war-surplus Douglas C-54 (military DC-4) inaugurates roundtrips on May 10, 1947, with a flight to the emerging trading center that is Luxembourg. This is the first commercial all-cargo run across the Atlantic.
On July 8, Seaboard is certified as a “Large Irregular” by the CAB and begins to offer semi-regular, on-demand transatlantic charters. During the remainder of the decade, company business grows rapidly, largely as a result of contracts with the International Relief Organization (IRO).
A highlight occurs on July 9, 1948 when a C-54 makes the first freight flight into New York (IDL); arriving from Paris, the cargo is a French racehorse Whirling Ruston. When the aircraft departs later in the day, it represents the first flight to Europe, freight or otherwise, from Idlewild. A Curtiss C-46 Commando freighter is leased from the USAF in August and on October 3, a C-54 transports a record 15,530 pounds of freight from Idlewild to Europe.
On June 18, 1949, the company shares a contract with Transocean Air Lines (TAL) from the IRO and Youth Argosy for the transport of U. S. students to Europe and the carriage of displaced persons from Europe to America. Two more C-46s are chartered from the USAF in August.
On May 20, 1950, the CAB grants the carrier permission to fly educational and religious group charters, including summer student charters, to Europe on behalf of Youth Argosy.
On June 6, as the result of infringements of privilege by other carriers of the permission granted on May 20, the CAB orders changes. Among these is a demand that Seaboard stop flying what appears to be regularly scheduled passenger and cargo flights instead of charters. On July 5, a flight scheduled to depart with 65 passengers is postponed when the DOD requisitions the two C-54s involved for Korean service.
A C-54B with six crew crashes while on final approach to the airport at Reykjavik, Iceland, on March 30, 1951; although the aircraft is destroyed, there are no fatalities.
One of the leased C-46s is lost in an accident early in the year and the other two are returned to the military. The fleet of C-54/DC-4s is increased in December from 5 to 12 and $10 million worth of orders are placed with Lockheed for 4 L-1049D Constellation freighters, plus a stock of spare parts.
A C-54A with four crew must be written off after a hard landing at Pisa, Italy, on January 27, 1952; there are no fatalities.
On March 15, one of the big Douglas transports lands at Belgrade as the first U. S. commercial airliner to enter Yugoslavia since World War II. The next day, another C-54A transports a record 16,014 pounds of cargo from Germany to New York.
On June 18, Seaboard is granted unlimited landing rights in Luxembourg for the next 21 years and on October 8, Hamburg is added as a stop on the West German freight service. In November, the company contracts with Aer Lingus Irish Airlines, Ltd.’s international division, Aerlinte Eireanne, Ltd., to provide flight equipment that will allow the Irish carrier to begin transatlantic flights during the new year.
The CAB in 1953 declines to give Aer Lingus Irish Airlines certification into the U. S. for more than two years and the plan by Seaboard to offer it flight equipment now falls through. On March 12, a new contract is signed for weekly cargo flights to Hamburg. A 16,000-pound section of an oil tanker is flown from New York to Italy on July 21, the largest single unit of anything thus far flown across the Atlantic. In November, a record 2.99 million ton-miles of freight are flown.
On May 19, 1954, a five-year certificate is awarded by the CAB for a transatlantic freight route from New York to Germany and Switzerland; there will be a delay in obtaining final approval. The first L-1049D is delivered on August 19 and is christened American Air Trader; the Zurich Air Trader and the Paris Air Trader will follow during the next month. On September 1, the company wins a $3-million, half-year military charter (later renewed) to fly freight, personnel, and dependents between the U. S. and Europe. This DOD pact gives Seaboard the resources and stature necessary to receive permanent scheduled certification.
With White House approval from President Eisenhower (necessary in cases involving foreign destinations) finally received, the CAB, on August 16, grants Seaboard route authority to Europe from U. S. cities in the Northeast. This scheduled service, company officials know, might be risky, as the carrier will have to compete with a variety of international passenger airlines that also carry freight across the Atlantic.
The DC-4s and Connies, flying from not only New York, but Philadelphia and Baltimore as well, launch charter flights on September 14 to Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Zurich via London and Paris.
During the summer of 1955, three L-1049Ds are leased for two years to British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), which will operate them from New York to Bermuda. On October 2, a contract is signed with United Air Lines permitting a single airway bill for freight shipments to and from Europe and to and from any point in the U. S. served by United. Cancellation of the unprofitable London to New York route after 10 months by the U. K. independent Airwork, Ltd. is seen as a boon by Seaboard, which immediately prepares to assume it, ordering five L-1049Hs.
Scheduled roundtrip C-54 cargo service to Europe is inaugurated on April 10, 1956. Late in the month, the three Constellation freighters leased to the British flag carrier are returned. During the summer, the American Air Trader and Zurich Air Trader are modified to L-1049H standard. A 20-ton Univac computer is flown to Germany on August 6-7; the cargo is the heaviest shipped by air across the Atlantic to date.
Late in the year, the first of five ordered Lockheed L-1049H freighters are placed on the line and the Paris Air Trader, fitted with wing tanks, is leased to Eastern Air Lines to fly the winter’s holiday route from New York to Miami.
Interline cargo-handling agreements are signed with Allegheny Airlines (1), Central Airlines, and Trans-Texas Airlines on August 17, 1957. Daily Constellation cargo flights are launched on September 1. A C-46 is leased in Germany and stationed at Frankfurt to feed incoming cargo to other European destinations.
The fleet at the beginning of 1958 comprises 3 C-54s and 10 L-1049Hs, plus 1 L-1049E now purchased from Cubana (Compania Cubana de Aviacion, S. A.) and an L-1049G leased from Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. Several of the Constellations are placed under charter to British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) to operate roundtrip New York-London cargo services and during the first quarter, Sabena Belgian World Airlines, S. A. charters three L-1049Hs for the duration of the Brussels Exhibition.
The 1952 agreement with Aerlinte Eireann, Ltd. to provide flight equipment for transatlantic services is renewed. As a result, thrice-weekly L-1049H roundtrips commence on April 28 between Dublin and New York via Shannon. The frequency becomes daily during the summer, at the same time an L-1049H is chartered to TAP-Air Portugal, S. A.
Boston becomes a stop on the Irish contract route in October. On November 10, an L-1049D with five crew goes out of control while landing at New York’s Idlewild Airport and crashes into a Trans-Canada Airways, Ltd. Vickers Viscount 757; both aircraft are burned out without loss of life.
Buoyed by additional military contracts received during and since the previous year, the company seeks to increase its fleet late in 1959 by ordering five Canadair CL-44Ds.
Despite this growth, working the North Atlantic is proving to be as tough a proposition as company officials originally feared. Additionally, the MATS comes to rely upon its own airlift assets to a greater degree, reducing the number of its contract flights. In the three-year period from 1959 to 1961, the carrier suffers a cumulative net loss of $4 million.
A new management team is brought in on November 1, 1960, headed by President Richard M. Jackson and is asked to make dramatic efforts to save the transocean pioneer from bankruptcy. On December 14, Aer Lingus Irish Airlines is able to introduce B-720Bs on its transatlantic service and terminates the contract with Seaboard for L-1049Hs.
Following a complete company reorganization and refinancing, Jackson’s operation assumes a whole new corporate image as Seaboard World Airlines in April 1961.
SEABOARD WORLD AIRLINES: United States (1961-1980). Following a complete corporate shakeup, Seaboard & Western Airlines is renamed in April 1961. Five new Canadair CL-44Ds purchased under the previous identity are placed into service during the remainder of the year.
In 1962, the carrier records its first profit in six years, some of it based on the lease of a Lockheed L-1049E, formerly flown by Cubana (Com-pania Cubana de Aviacion, S. A.), to Intercontinental Airways and the charter of three L-1049Ds and four L-1049Hs to Capitol Airways.
Widespread use of the fixed-cost block space takes off in 1963 as the airline requires shippers to pay for leased blocks of space used or not. One of the most profitable arrangements will be concluded in the spring when British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and Seaboard enter into a joint venture contract. Under terms of their pact, Seaboard operates transatlantic services four times a week and BOAC three. BOAC pays for two pallets on every Seaboard flight and Seaboard does likewise. Although both partners expect to make money, late departure penalty clauses will, on occasion, be invoked. BOAC replaces its DC-7Cs with new Canadair CL-44Ds on September 30.
Revenues for the year total $27,248,174.
By 1964, the worst of its previous financial difficulties appear to be behind the airline. The workforce totals 1,015 and the fleet comprises 17 aircraft. As the year progresses, most of the Lockheed L-1049Hs are retired in favor of seven Canadairs, which provide the bulk of the company’s all-cargo service. Interline agreements are in hand with the European airlines Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G., Swissair, A. G., and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) whereby they now begin to book a set proportion of Seaboard’s daily capacity (block-space).
In June, President Richard M. Jackson is able to lease a Douglas DC-8-63F from its manufacturer, thereby joining the ranks of the larger allfreight airlines—and entering the jet age. Incidentally, that airliner, employed on a Monday to Friday transatlantic schedule, is thereafter leased to Trans-Caribbean Airways on weekends.
A total of 83,572 passengers are flown on military contracts. Revenue freight ton-miles flown are 83,109. Revenues advance 12.8% to $31,247,905 and profits jump 53% to a record $2,759,195.
Although the future appears bright by late December, the Christmas to New Year holidays actually conclude the what turns out to be the company’s best year. Thereafter, the battle to survive is a losing one. Undiversified, Seaboard is forced to compete over its routes with the freight capacity of the passenger airlines, which annually become more competent in the cargo field.
Although there are bright spots and despite military charter assistance, the air freight industry as a whole will fail to achieve the traffic potential its prophets have foretold. As a result, few companies are able to reach the fortieth anniversary of the 1945 cargo spurt.
The workforce in 1965 is 1,164 and the fleet comprises 6 aircraft: 3 CL-44Ds and 3 DC-8Fs. Orders remain outstanding for one more DC-8F and two DC-8-63Fs. A second DC-8-63F is leased in the fall. Construction begins on a $4-million cargo terminal and operations center at New York (JFK).
Freight ton-miles increase to 135,649,019 and 74,518 charter passengers are flown. Profits climb to $4.7 million.
Early in 1966, two additional DC-8Fs are received. Employing its mixed fleet, Seaboard continues its worldwide, undiversified services, receiving permanent certification on February 12. Confirmed on its transatlantic routes by the CAB, the freighter extends its authority to Italy, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. In March, a retired L-1049 is sold to LAPA (Lineas Aereas Patagonica Argentinas, S. A.) and two are provided to Capitol Airways.
Boston is added as a U. S. co-terminal. The improvements at New York’s Kennedy Airport are completed late in the year.
A total of 233,055,000 freight ton-miles are flown during the year.
In March 1967, Seaboard World’s New York (JFK) cargo terminal and operations center, now valued at $5 million, goes into operation. Construction is started on a similar facility at London (LHR). The employee population numbers 1,501 and the fleet consists of 6 DC-8Fs, including 1 received this year. Orders remain outstanding for 2 Boeing 707-320CFs and 12 DC-8-63CFs.
A total of 32,000 charter passengers are flown and the number of freight ton-miles flown increases to 264,771,850.
The employee population numbers 2,000 in 1968. The two Boeing freighters are received during the first quarter. Later, three DC-8-63Fs also arrive. New terminals at Frankfurt and London are occupied and during the last quarter, the airline becomes the leading transatlantic air freight operator.
Charter passenger boardings skyrocket an unbelievable 522% to 199,000 as Seaboard also puts in 281.28 million freight ton-miles. Revenues advance 19.3% to $65,494,000.
The workforce in 1969 is 1,615. Nine additional DC-8-63Fs are delivered throughout the year and on June 28, service to Europe is launched from the Midwest and Pacific coast.
While on a training flight from Oakland on October 17, a DC-8-63CF with five crew aboard is destroyed as the result of a bad landing back at its point of origin; there are no fatalities.
On the year, a total of 289.97 million freight-ton miles are flown.
Airline employment is reduced 13% in 1970 to 1,856. A pilots strike begins on October 24, but ends by agreement two days later.
A total of 173,835 military contract passengers are flown this year and the company’s 14 DC-8 Jet Traders fly 274.6 million freight-ton miles, a 5.6% decline. Revenues are $83.8 million, expenses $76 million, and an operating profit of $7,762,000. A net $1.49-million loss must, however, be absorbed.
Despite a decline in military demand as Vietnam requirements decrease, Seaboard still flies 363.99 million freight ton-miles in 1971. MAC-generated personnel enplanements total 99,820.
The workforce in 1972 numbers 1,850. Military traffic ferried by the nation’s second largest all-cargo carrier continues to decline, but is replaced by civilian services.
Some 70,000 military personnel are boarded during the year, a decline of 42.6%. On the other hand, freight traffic is up by 24.4%. The company remains the leading all-cargo operator on the North Atlantic, hauling 15.5% of the total tonnage transported there. On record revenues of $99.2 million, a $5.24-million net profit is reported.
In 1973, 160 employees are laid off. In February, Seaboard wins the approval of the U. S. and West German governments for a high-volume, 30,000-kg. rate, a tariff later approved by 4 other European governments. In addition, three B-747-245Fs are ordered for delivery the following summer as daily transcontinental all-cargo service across the U. S. is started in late spring. Additional marketing efforts are aimed at securing freight and mail business to replace declining Southeast Asian military business.
Company officials join with their counterparts from Eastern Air Lines in petitioning the CAB for an interchange service that will provide the first all-cargo through service between Europe and the U. S. Southwest.
Despite a downturn in FTKs flown to 580 million-plus, Seaboard is still able to report the highest commercial freight tonnage in its history to date. Income declines to $74.8 million and expenses, due to fuel costs and business decline, rise to $72.46 million. Still, profits are generated: $2.34 million (operating) and $2.39 million (net).
Airline employment in 1974 is 1,780. The first of three ordered B-747-245Fs “Containerships” is delivered on July 31; in August, it is placed into service, flying contract services for the U. S. military between New York and Frankfurt via Paris. Simultaneously, an intermodal air-truck container program (which uses 8' x 8' x 20' containers) is inaugurated.
Freight traffic accelerates 11.8% reaching 619.56 million FTKs flown. Revenues rebound, climbing to $98.19 million; high operating expenses are exactly the same amount. This “draw” results in zero operating profit. A net profit of $2.5 million is secured, only a slight gain over the previous year.
Sixty-nine new employees are hired in 1975. Both the massive “Con-tainerships of the Air” and the intermodal program are aggressively marketed.
FTKs operated dip 5% to 591.73 million. Expenses are $116.82 million and outpace total income of $110.16 million. As a result, a $6.66-million operating loss must be absorbed. A net gain of $970,000 is, however, realized.
The employee population is increased by 11.6% in 1976 to 1,635. The second B-747-245F Containership joins the fleet on April 30; it is the first aircraft in the world to be powered by Pratt & Whitney’s up-engined JT9D-70A engines. The second Jumbojet allows the carrier to transport its huge containers on every transatlantic flight and to provide direct New York-Frankfurt services.
Shortly after the arrival of the new freighter, Chairman Richard Jackson is interviewed by Arthur Wallis. The article, “It’s Tough at the Top But That’s the Way Seaboard’s Richard Jackson Likes It,” appears in Interavia 31 (June 1976): 529-530.
Still, freight traffic declines by 4% on the year to 626.3 million FTKs. On operating revenues of $110.73 million, expenses are $109.63 million and the operating profit is $$1.1 million. After accounting changes leave a net loss of $2.29 million.
FTKs operated decline again in 1977, down to 544.08 million. Fiscal losses continue to mount.
In February 1978, Tiger International purchases 9.9% shareholding of President Jackson’s carrier. Effective May 1, the company begins guaranteed next-day transatlantic parcel express service to London, Paris, and Frankfurt. Destinations visited in Europe now include Shannon, Glasgow, Brussels, London, Hamburg, Frankfurt, London, Munich, Stuttgart, Paris, Nuremberg, Basel, Geneva, Rome, Milan, Zurich, Stockholm and Copenhagen.
The fleet includes 2 B-747-245Fs, 7 DC-8-63CFs, 3 DC-8-16CFs, 1 DC-8-50F. Another B-747-245F remains on order and beginning in October, the two on hand are so configured as to allow the transport of cargo containers on the main deck and passengers in the upper-deck compartment.
During the same month, a B-747-273C is chartered from World Airways.
The workforce is increased 2.1% during the year to 1,652. Cargo grows by 5.1% to 573.32 million FTKs and 9,625 charter passengers are flown.
The number of employees grows 5.6% in 1979 to 1,767.
Beginning on August 31, company ALPA members stage a brief, two-day strike; a mediated agreement takes effect on September 1.
The last two B-747-245Fs are delivered on September 6 and 29, respectively.
Passenger charters all but vanish during the year, dropping 92.5% to 5,000. Freight, on the other hand, continues to advance, climbing by 16.9% to 670.01 million FTKs.
Tiger International finds its competitor sufficiently attractive to purchase; on October 1, 1980, at a cost of $450 million, Seaboard is merged into the only real all-cargo success to this point, The Flying Tiger Line, and the leased World Airways B-747-273C is returned.
SEABORNE AIRLINES: 34 Strand Street, Christiansted, St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands 00820, United States; Phone (340) 773-6442; Fax (340) 713-9077; Http://www. seaborneairlines. com; Code BB; Year Founded 1990. Chuck Slagle and Kenneth Dole established Seaborne Aviation at Ketchikan, Alaska, in 1990 to offer summer cruise ship passengers sight-seeing flights over the glaciers. The seasonal flights are made with a single float-equipped de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 VistaLiner (a specially modified Twin Otter with huge passenger windows) chartered from Nevada-based Twin Otter International. When on the water, maneuverability is provided by reversible pitch propellers.
Wishing for off-season income, Slagle establishes Seaborne Seaplane Adventures at Charlotte Amalle in the winter of in 1992 to provide interisland passenger charters. Aerial sight-seeing shore excursions for cruise ships are undertaken from the former Antilles Air Boat base at St. Thomas with the float-equipped VistaLiner that has been ferried down from Alaska. Seaborne’s north and south operations continue with success in 1993.
The service proves so popular that in 1994 Seaborne is able to obtain a Part 135 air taxi certificate and begin seasonal twice-daily return flights between St. Croix and St. Thomas on December 6. Flights from the former point are operated off a floating dock at the Kings Alley in downtown Christainsted.
Scheduled twice-daily roundtrips from St. Croix to St. Thomas begin in 1995, along with sight-seeing tours to the British Virgin Islands. A second VistaLiner is acquired to handle the cruise ship traffic. The VistaLiner fleet is expanded by one more turboprop in 1996 and en-planements for the first full year of service total 62,534.
Seaborne receives Part 121 regional air carrier authority in 1997 and enhances its schedule, boosting its St. Croix-St. Thomas shuttle to seven daily roundtrips. The fleet now includes 4 VistaLiners and Seaborne is the only regional airline operating exclusively on floats in the Virgin Islands. Passenger boardings rise 2.3% to 64,006.
Enplanements slip 0.4% in 1998 to 64,000. Customer bookings accelerate 19.5% in 1999 to 76,000.
Airline employment stands at 75 at the beginning of 2000. On April 30, the company’s floating dock is moved to the former seaplane ramp; although the area has no permanent structures, plans are announced for the creation of an entire seaplane base.
At mid-year, the Virgin Island and Alaska operations are split. Local entrepreneur and 4,000-hr. airline captain Maurice Kurg takes over operation of the former and reorganizes it, changing its name to Seaborne Airlines. On August 15, Seaborne is sold to a Chicago-based investment group led by principals David E. Ziemer, Omar ErSelcuk, and Richard A. Jensen. Capt. Kurg, who has become an equity partner, remains pres-ident/CEO.
The new group will provide the capital needed to strengthen Seaborne’s fundamental base of operations, while supporting a well-balanced growth strategy. The arrangement shows immediately in the construction of a new seaplane maintenance and passenger facility at the carrier’s Christiansted base.
World History
