The history of US aviation has seen numerous airlines come and go over the years. One fairly short-lived carrier was Aeroamerica, which flew for less than a decade. Founded in 1973, it took the interesting approach of establishing a second hub thousands of miles from its Seattle base, namely in Berlin. Let’s take a look back at this curious carrier’s history.
In the beginning
Aeroamerica came into existence (in terms of being incorporated) in August 1973. Its founder was Seattle-based entrepreneur Arthur Joël Eisenberg. Five months later, in January 1974, the US Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) certified Aeroamerica as a commercial airline. This allowed the carrier to commence operations later that year, using six Boeing 720 jets.
The Boeing 720 was a short-fuselage derivative of Boeing’s four-engine 707 design, which many consider to have catalyzed the jet age. Aeroamerica’s initial six 149-seat examples were all second-hand. Indeed, five came from Braniff, and one from Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus.
Aeroamerica initially flew its jets on routes out of Seattle, with secondary bases in Boston, Portland, and Spokane. However, in an interesting turn of events, the airline also set up a hub in Germany, at Berlin-Tegel. It began basing aircraft there in October 1974, and became a leading charter carrier thanks to a deal with package operator Berliner Flugring.
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What aircraft did Aeroamerica fly?
According to data from ATDB.aero, Aeroamerica flew a total of 26 aircraft over the years. The Boeing 707 family and its derivatives dominated the carrier’s fleet, with 13 of its 26 jets being examples of the aforementioned short-fuselage Boeing 720. In terms of regular 707s, Aeroamerica flew three 707-120s, one 707-138, and six 707-320s.
Aeroamerica also operated three aircraft that did not come from the Boeing production line. Two of these were Douglas aircraft, with one interestingly being an example of the DC-8, which was a close competitor of the 707. It also flew a piston-engined DC-6 for five months in 1976. Finally, Aeroamerica’s only UK-built aircraft was a single BAC 1-11 twinjet.
The end of the line
The advantage of operating out of Berlin Tegel was that, being situated in West Germany, only airlines based in France, the UK, and the US could use the airport. As such, by the late 1970s, Aeroamerica’s operations became focused on its charter flights from Berlin to the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean. It eventually based six aircraft in West Germany.
However, the story of Aeroamerica was over almost as soon as it had begun. It began running into difficulties in 1977, with a significant German labor dispute in July that year. Just over two years later, in November 1979, it closed its Berlin base, after Berliner Flugring decided not to renew its charter flight contract with Aeroamerica. After refocusing on the US market, it eventually ceased operations in 1982 following an FAA maintenance violation.
What are your memories of Aeroamerica? Did you ever fly with this US-German carrier? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
