In my previous post on SAS, I'd come across (and also alluded to) the little-known American Airline AEA (American Export Airlines). AEA, later on, under the wings of AA (American Airlines), would be renamed as AOA (American Overseas Airlines) which, operating out of Manhattan, New York City, existed for just 5 years, between 1945 and 1950, but cast its famous mark as the first ever airline to achieve (scheduled and commercial) landplane-based transatlantic crossing. Prior to that, the (commercial) transatlantic crossings were accomplished by means of seaplanes. AEA was founded in 1937, as a wholly owned subsidiary of the (parent) shipping company American Export Lines. In 1939, AEA ordered 3 (Sikorsky) VS-44 flying boats, submitted a (smart and far-sighted) application to the US Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) for route previleges across the Atlantic from the United States to the United Kingdom, France, and Portugal, and started providing seaplane service to the European cities from New York City-LaGuardia Flying Boat base. (In this post, KLGA/LaGuardia (landplane) airport is the locale of my takeoff and touchdown scenes, below).

In 1945, AEA was awarded (additional) transatlantic rights, which covered destinations in Northern Europe, making it lucrative enough for acquisition by American Airlines since AA wanted to break into the overseas market – at that time – dominated by PAA. The acquisition of AEA by American Airlines was approved on July 5, 1945. AEA was then renamed to American Overseas Airlines (AOA) in November 1945. All my pictures, in this post, are for this AOA. AOA, armed with the 2 key items (1) transatlantic rights into EU cities (2) prior transatlantic experience from seaplanes, launched international landplane flights on October 24, 1945, just the month after the end of war, with a DC-4, on the route from New York to London via Boston, Gander and Shannon. This was the first record of a (commercial and scheduled) transatlantic crossing by a landplane. The DC-4s were reliable but unpressurised, and, were soon replaced, in June 1946, on the Atlantic routes, by Lockheed Constellations (L-049), see pictures below, (DC-6 was yet to be introduced into service). From Summer 1949, the AOA Constellations were supplemented and then largely replaced by Boeing Stratocruisers (B377), see pictures below, the first AOA service by a B377 occurring on 17 August 1949 to London Heathrow.

If you look at the AOA liveries, below, for both the a/c, you'll notice them to be exactly same as that of the (contemporary) American Airlines livery except for the (name) typeface "American Overseas Airlines" (extra "Overseas") on the fuselage e.g. , note the classic "Lightning Bolt" cheatline pattern of American Airlines, complete with (one of the earliest) iconic (AA) logo designs consisting of the giant eagle and the letter "A" on either side of the bird’s raised wings. [Side Note: Of course, that vintage eagle logo has evolved, to this day, as part of the modern AA livery although what's left of the eagle is now merely a symbolic and graphical trace of the original (full) eagle...].

In September 1950, AOA (the transatlantic division of American Airlines) was acquired by Pan Am Airways and merged into what would become Pan American’s Atlantic Division, bringing with it, the impressive service rights to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo, Reykjavík, Stockholm, and Berlin, Frankfurt etc. (e.g., look for "FLAGSHIP COPENHAGEN" and "FLAGSHIP DENMARK" markings in my a/c screenshots below). This prized Atlantic asset of Pan Am, ultimately became part of the (current) Delta Air Lines, following Pan Am's bankruptcy in 1991. Thus, due to a strange of sequence of events, original AOA went through successive ownerships of 3 major US airlines: AA, Pan Am and finally Delta.

Hope you enjoy this collection of pictures, first, of an AOA Lockheed L-049 Constellation lifting off KLGA (landplane) airport (Rwy 4), and next, of an AOA Boeing 377 Stratocruiser lifting off and then landing from the opposite direction into KLGA (Rwy 22), over the waters of Flushing Bay. This (New York) airport approach, along with the majestic skyline and bridges, is one of the most spectacular (and historic) in the world. However, in my SIM, just like London Heathrow and London City, I had to be mindful of freezes around New York airports... (Of course, in case of MSFS, it would be a different and inconsequential matter) ...!!

Nearby of my screenshot locale here, the Marine Air Terminal (now also known as Terminal A) of the LaGuardia Airport was the site of the original seaplane base for overseas flights, from which the Sikorskys (VS-44) and Clippers (B314) etc. of AEA/PAA must have departed on their long transatlantic flights... (with eager and excited passengers on board) ...years before the very first Comet and Boeing (transatlantic) jetliners would arrive on the scene...!

Thanks for your interest...!!

Very nice set of shots! 😉 

Great shots, like this old metal 👍

cheers 😉

Classy set of shots mate !! .

Alaska, pmplayer, johnb et al.: Thanks much...!! These are Classy birds themselves, indeed...!!

(And having just flown the sparkling new (modern cockpit) B787-9...🙂...don't know why...but these rustic ones...still pull me a bit stronger...)