Air Cargo

RUNNING HEAD: Air Cargo

History of the Air Cargo Industry

Francisco Meza

MGMT 410

Professor Robert Dean

April 21, 2012

History of the Air Cargo Industry

The Air Cargo industry was pioneered by Slick airlines and Flying Tiger airlines. One will learn the roles the airlines played in the industry and how deregulation aided in the expansion efforts by the industry. One will learn how The International Air cargo Administration (TIACA) and The Transportation Administration (TSA) have played a role in the regulatory aspects of the industry and in aiding the efforts for the industry to progress.

Flying Tiger and Slick Airlines

Air cargo did not play significant role in transportation, prior to 1949, due to regulation from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and resistance from larger passenger airlines. Failed air cargo operations from big passenger airlines enabled smaller air cargo airlines, such as Slick and Flying Tiger airlines, to emerge as the airlines that could prove to be profitable in freight operations. Slick airlines was founded by Earl F. Slick in January 1946 (Century of Flight, 2012) and Flying Tiger airlines was founded on June 25, 1945, by Robert Prescott, a C-46 “Flying Tigers” pilot during the war (Century of Flight, 2012). The two airlines were fully operational by the end of the 1940’s

Slick and Flying Tiger airlines played different roles in the history of Air Cargo and the two airlines success shaped the Air Cargo industry into what it is today. Slick airlines played a major role in Air Cargo because it was the first airline to operate the DC-6A freighter and it Eventually Slick Airways became the largest cargo commercial operator by 1951 (OPPapers.com, 2012). Flying Tiger airlines played a similar role in Air Cargo history by being recognized as the first airline to have a commercial air cargo route, playing a major role in the construction of the Distant Early Warning Line, and known as being the operator for military...