PIA – A History: A Sinking Feeling…and other events of 1949

In the prior installment, we reviewed and analyzed events of 1948. Now we shift to 1949. Let’s start with air service changes.

AMERICAN AIRLINES

On February 1, a 40-seat Convair 240, christened Flagship Peoria the same day, replaced a 21-seat DC-3 on the remaining northbound and southbound flights which stopped at Peoria. It appears, however, that those flights which American Airlines dropped on November 1, 1948 never returning in the spring as promised.

CHICAGO & SOUTHERN AIR LINES

The Civil Aeronautics Board conducted hearings April 20 on this carrier’s bid to eliminate Peoria from its Chicago-New Orleans route. Officials testified that the service was unnecessary, and that the Peoria stop was unprofitable. In mid-September, the CAB examiner recommended allowing the airline to end service. A decision to allow the change was made on October 27, an service to Peoria ended effective December 26.

EASTERN AIR LINES

The Peoria Journal noted March 10 that service to southern points would have been via Indianapolis, but the airline was never able to serve Peoria.

PARKS AIR TRANSPORT

In September 1947, the Civil Aeronautics Board approved Parks Air Transport routes between Indianapolis and Des Moines and between St. Louis and Minneapolis, both of which would have had Peoria stops. But the carrier struggled to start service. In March 1949, CAB ordered the airline to begin flights by July 1 or its PC&N was revoked. When Parks failed to head the CAB's order, hearings were held to determine disposition of routes awarded to Parks. Mid-Continent Airlines expressed interest in these routes.

SLICK AIRWAYS

On May 1, this San Antonio, Texas-based cargo airline was granted a certificate of Public Necessity & Convenience to serve Peoria, though specific routes are unconfirmed (Peoria was probably a stop between Chicago and St. Louis).

TRANS WORLD AIRLINE (TWA)

All eastbound and westbound flights stopping at Peoria also began stopping at Quincy-Hannibal on March 1. An eastbound-only cargo flight here was dropped on June 2 but then resumed on November 1. Interestingly, on the latter date, TWA dropped a westbound passenger flight, leaving Peoria with two flights in each direction.

A SINKING FEELING

The Peoria Park District failed to generate sufficient revenue to pay for necessary maintenance and expansion, estimated to cost $100,000 annually. So an airport authority was given consideration at a board meeting in May 1949. Creation of a separate taxing body was permissable under the Federal Airport Authority Act, and twelve cities in the state were already operating their airports this way.

New Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) construction standards increased capital expenditures. They were cited as the cause for delays in construction of PIA’s control tower, begun in December 1947. The situation grew much worse on Sunday morning, November 13, when a two-foot sag was discovered on an Air National Guard taxiway strip in front of the hangars. The area had to be cordoned off and planes removed to avoid further damage.

Edward Mohn & Sons had paid $100 per acre for mineral rights on 220 acres of airport property, and plans to undermine the ANG hangars, north-south runway and northeast-southeast runway risked further sagging and damage to airport property. Cost of remedy – purchasing Mohn’s mineral rights – was deemed prohibitive. The situation threatened the viability of the Peoria Municipal Airport.

In the next installment, we’ll cover the creation of the Greater Peoria Airport Authority, resolution of the Mohn mine situation and new service by Ozark Air Lines.

– David P. Jordan