Capital Airlines (United States)

This article is about the defunct American airline. For other airlines with the same name, see Capital Airlines.

Capital Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
CA(1)[1] CA(1)[1] CAPITAL
FoundedNovember 1, 1936 (1936-11-01)
(as Pennsylvania Central Airlines)
Commenced operationsApril 21, 1948 (1948-04-21)
(as Capital Airlines)
Ceased operationsJune 1, 1961 (1961-06-01)
(merged into United Airlines)
Hubs
Fleet sizeSee Fleet in 1961 below
DestinationsSee Destinations in 1961 below
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., United States
Notes
(1) IATA, ICAO codes were the same until the 1980s

Capital Airlines was a United States trunk carrier, a scheduled airline serving the eastern, southern, southeastern, and midwestern United States. Capital's headquarters were located at Washington National Airport (now Reagan Washington National Airport) across the Potomac river from Washington, D.C., where crew training and aircraft overhauls were also accomplished.[2] In the 1950s Capital was the fifth largest United States domestic carrier by passenger count (and sometimes by passenger-miles) after the Big Four air carriers (American, United, TWA, and Eastern).[3]

Capital merged with United Airlines in 1961.

  1. ^ a b Airport Activity Statistics of Certificated Route Carriers (Report). Air Transport Association of America. December 31, 1959. p. iv.
  2. ^ "World Airline Directory". Flight International. April 8, 1960. 495.
  3. ^ Flight & Aircraft Engineer, Airline Scheduled Traffic, April 8, 1960, Dorset House. Stamford Street, London, S.E.1., page 516