Braniff International Airways
Braniff Airways, Inc., which operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until the cessation of air operations, was a trunk carrier, a scheduled airline in the United States that operated from 1928 until 1982 and continues today as a retailer, hotelier, travel service, and branding and licensing company, administering the former airline's employee pass program and other airline administrative duties. Braniff's routes were primarily in the Midwestern and Southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. In the late 1970s, it expanded to Asia and Europe. The airline ceased air carrier operations in May 1982 because of high fuel prices, credit card interest rates, and extreme competition from the large trunk carriers and the new airline startups created by the Airline Deregulation Act of December 1978. Two later airlines used the Braniff name: the Hyatt Hotels-backed Braniff, Inc. in 1983–89 and Braniff International Airlines, Inc. in 1991–92.
In early 2015, the private irrevocable trust that owned and administered Braniff's intellectual property and certain other company assets since 1983 released the assets to a private entity associated with the trust, which founded a series of new Braniff companies that were incorporated in Oklahoma, for historical purposes and for administration of the Braniff trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property. These companies included Braniff Air Lines, Inc., Paul R. Braniff, Inc., Braniff Airways, Inc., Braniff International Hotels, Inc., and Braniff International Corporation. During 2017 and 2018, some of the original Braniff companies were reinstated for historical purposes and administration of Braniff's intellectual property assets, including those of Mid-Continent Airlines, Pan American Grace Airways, and Long and Harman Airlines, Inc. However, in early 2022, the private trust that originally owned Braniff's intellectual property since 1983 reacquired these assets along with the original Braniff companies and corresponding assets.
The corporate evolution of Braniff International
In 1926, the first Braniff airline entity, Braniff Air Lines, Inc., was incorporated in Oklahoma; in 1928, the company was reincorporated as Paul R. Braniff, Inc., again in Oklahoma; in 1930, the company was reincorporated as Braniff Airways, Incorporated in Oklahoma; in 1946, the company became publicly known under the trade name Braniff International Airways. In 1966, the company was reincorporated as Braniff Airways, Incorporated, in Nevada; in 1973, the company was reincorporated as Braniff International Corporation and Braniff Airways, Incorporated, became the wholly owned subsidiary of Braniff International; in 1983, the company was reincorporated in Delaware as Dalfort Corporation, which included Braniff, Inc., as the wholly owned airline subsidiary of Dalfort Corporation; in 1990, the company was reincorporated in Delaware as Braniff International Airlines, Inc.; and in 2015, the company was reincorporated as Braniff Airways, Incorporated, in Oklahoma, which included its operating subsidiaries and original parent company.History
Braniff Air Lines, Inc.
In April 1926, Paul Revere Braniff incorporated Braniff Air Lines, Inc., which was a planned flight school and aircraft maintenance entity that never came to fruition. However, the name and company were retained by his brother, Thomas Elmer Braniff, and him until 1932.Oklahoma Aero Club
In 1927, Paul R. Braniff, his brother Thomas, and several investors formed Oklahoma Aero Club to fly the founding executives using a Stinson Detroiter, purchased by Paul Braniff, registered as NC1929, on hunting, fishing, and business trips. Paul Braniff was the sole pilot, and flew the investors to their meetings. These included Frank Phillips, founder of Phillips Petroleum; E. E. Westervelt, manager of Southwest Bell Telephone; Fred Jones, Ford dealership owner; Virgil Browne of Coca-Cola Company; and Walter A. Lybrand, an Oklahoma City attorney.Scheduling conflicts between the executives caused the new venture to be disbanded. Eventually, the Braniff brothers, Mr. Lybrand, and Mr. Westervelt bought out the interests of the other investors.
Paul R. Braniff, Inc.
In the spring of 1928, insurance magnate Thomas Elmer Braniff founded an air carrier, maintenance, aircraft dealer, and flight school organization with his brother Paul, called Paul R. Braniff, Inc., which did business as Tulsa-Oklahoma City Airline. The new company, founded in May 1928, began regularly scheduled service from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, using six-passenger Lockheed Vega single-engined aircraft on June 20, 1928.The first flight was flown by Paul Braniff along with the company mechanic. The flight from Oklahoma City SW 29th Street Airport to Tulsa McIntire Airport was uneventful, but the return flight was delayed several hours for thunderstorms in the area. The one-way fare between the two cities was $12.50 or $20.00 round trip with a baggage allowance of 25 pounds and a charge of 10 cents for each pound over the maximum allowable amount. The fare included ground transportation from both airports to the downtown areas of each city, which was provided by Yellow Cab Company. The new airline was solely dependent on passenger-carrying fares for its revenue, since it had not entered into any mail or express contracts with the United States Post Office.
Universal Airlines and Braniff Air Lines, Inc.
The new Braniff venture was profitable within a month of service inauguration, but with the weakening economic conditions, the company found itself in need of a merger partner. In 1929, the Braniff brothers sold the assets of the company to Universal Aviation Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri, when the organization started operating as Braniff Air Lines, Inc. In 1930, the company was bought by the Aviation Corporation, which was the predecessor of American Airlines.Braniff Airlines, Inc., and the carrier grew by adding service from Oklahoma City to San Angelo, Texas, with intermediate stops at Wichita Falls, Breckenridge, and Abilene, Texas, by the summer of 1929 and service at Denison, Texas, was added on July 5, 1929. An additional route was operated between Oklahoma City and Ft. Worth with intermediate stops at Wewoka, Oklahoma, and Dallas Love Field and a third route operated between Oklahoma City and Tulsa with intermediates stops at Wewoka and Seminole, Oklahoma, with all beginning on July 15, 1929. The new airline performed as one of the best in the Universal System with a 99% completion rate reported during the month of July 1929 and the airline also led the other divisions in number of passengers carried.
Service was added between Oklahoma City and Amarillo during the summer of 1929. Package express and air freight service was added to the list of Braniff services on September 1, 1929, and included Dallas Love Field.
Braniff Airways, Incorporated
In the fall of 1930, Tom and Paul Braniff once again founded a new airline called Braniff Airways, Incorporated, which was organized on November 3, 1930, and began service on November 13, 1930, between Oklahoma City and Tulsa and Oklahoma City and Wichita Falls Texas. Braniff Airways purchased two six-passenger, 450-horsepower Lockheed L-5 Vega single-engined aircraft capable of cruising at speeds of 150 miles per hour. Braniff's advertising touted the new carrier as the World's Fastest Airline.Braniff quickly expanded its route system to include Kansas City Fairfax Airport on December 5, 1930. The new service operated nonstop between Kansas City and Tulsa and additional new cities were added in early 1931. By the end of 1930, the airline had added new service to its route map and employed six people and the new service between Tulsa and Kansas City had increased system route mileage to 241 miles. On February 25, 1931, Braniff welcomed in the new year by adding Chicago Midway Airport to its route map. The new service operated nonstop between Kansas City and Chicago once each day. The flight originated at Wichita Falls and continued to Midway Airport with intermediate stops at Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Kansas City.
The summer of 1931 welcomed St Louis to the Braniff system on June 15, with nonstop service offered between St Louis and both Chicago and Tulsa. Additional Lockheed Vegas were added to the fleet during 1931 and 1932.
Braniff's first airmail route
The fledgling airline shut down to reorganize in March 1933, with the company airborne again in less than a year. Paul Braniff, travelled to Washington, DC, to petition for a Chicago-Dallas airmail route. The United States Postal Service granted Braniff their first airmail route soon after, and the new route was inaugurated in May 1934, which effectively saved the company from failure. In early 1935, Braniff became the first airline to fly from Chicago to the U.S.–Mexico border. In August 1935, Paul Braniff left to pursue other opportunities and Charles Edmund Beard was placed in charge of daily operations. In 1954, Beard was appointed president and CEO of Braniff with Fred Jones of Oklahoma City becoming chairman of the board.Midwestern expansion
On December 28, 1934, Braniff purchased Dallas-based Long and Harman Air Lines, that operated passenger and mail routes from Amarillo to Brownsville and Galveston. Braniff Airways merged with the company on December 28, 1934, and began operating Long and Harman's routes on January 1, 1935, which took the airline from Chicago to Brownsville, Texas, and as far west as Amarillo, Texas.Wartime service
During the war, Braniff remanded all of its Douglas DC-2 fleet and a substantial number of its new 21-passenger Douglas DC-3 fleet to the United States Army Air Forces. The DC-3 had just entered the fleet in December 1939. All of the Airline's DC-2s were given to the military for wartime service and none were accepted back into the fleet at the end of the war. Besides offering its aircraft to the United States military, it also leased its facilities at Dallas Love Field to the military, which became a training site for pilots and mechanics.Braniff was given a contract to operate a military cargo flight between Brownsville, Texas, and Panama City/Balboa City, in the Canal Zone. The route was called the Banana Run because Braniff's pilots made agreements with the banana producers in Panama to move their bananas to the United States to sell. Because of the war, they could not fly their produce out of the country, but Braniff devised at least a small way to assist the growers. Because of Braniff's superb service during the war and over the Banana Run, the airline was rewarded with a significant international route award just a year after the war ended.