11/29/1953: American Airlines Introduces the Douglas DC-7
The DC-7's introduction allowed American Airlines to become the first to offer non-stop transcontinental service.
The DC-7's introduction allowed American Airlines to become the first to offer non-stop transcontinental service.
DALLAS — Today, in 1953, American Airlines (AA) introduced its first Douglas DC-7 (N305AA) into transcontinental service.
The inaugural flight was operated from New York Idlewild (now JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX). By doing so, AA became the first airline to provide non-stop transcontinental service in both directions. Trans World Airlines (TWA) commenced non-stop eastbound services in October.
Indeed, the DC-7 was built to meet AA's requirements. The airline had requested that Douglas build an aircraft that could compete with TWA's Super Constellations and fly coast-to-coast in around eight hours.
The planemaker was initially hesitant to build the DC-7 until AA placed an order for 25, covering Douglas' development costs.
In AA service, the type was initially configured for 65 passengers in an all-first-class layout. As more examples arrived, the airline expanded its transcon offering, and by the end of 1954, AA offered three non-stop flights per day between New York and LAX.
The DC-7 was a development of the DC-6B and included significant advances over its predecessor. It was the fastest aircraft in service at the time, cruising at a top speed of 580 kilometers (360 miles) per hour.
However, the introduction of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 jetliners put an end to the DC-7. AA retired its final DC-7 in August 1962. The airline operated 34 of the original variant and 24 of the upgraded -7Bs.
However, 15 of the airframes found a second life with AA after being converted to freighters. They remained in service until 1967.
Featured image: Pictured at San Diego (SAN) is AA DC-7 (N362AA). Photo: Jon Proctor (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2), via Wikimedia Commons
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