1924
- April 29: Congressman Clyde Kelly, (R)PA, introduces H.R.7064, “A Bill to encourage commercial aviation and to authorize the Postmaster General to contract for air mail service.”
1925
- February 2: Congress passes the Air Mail Act of 1925, also known as the Kelly Act for Congressman Kelly, who introduced it in the US House and shepherded the legislation to enactment. The Act authorizes the USPS to begin divesting its air mail routes to commercial enterprises on a bid basis, at the limit of 80% of the air mail postage. This Act is the beginning of all commercial aviation in the United States.
- July 15: The PMG advertises for air mail contract routes, including the Minneapolis-Chicago route.
- September 15: The Minneapolis-Chicago route, Contract Air Mail route 9 (CAM-9) bids open.
- October 7: The PMG determines there are no qualified bidders. The route is not awarded.
- October 29: The USPS re-advertises for air mail service of CAM 9.
- December 29: CAM 9 bids reopen. There are 3 bidders: Charles Dickinson @ 48% of revenue; Hamilton Aero Mfg. Co., @ 75%; and National Air Transport @ 64%.
1926
- January 11: The US Postal Service awards CAM 9 to Dickinson Air Line.
- May 20: Congress passes the Air Commerce Act. This Act authorizes the federal government to create licensing requirements for pilots and mechanics, and the registration of aircraft.
- June 3: The Air Mail Act of 1925 is amended to change the rate of subsidy from a percentage of postage to a fixed rate based on pounds of mail, with a maximum of $3.00/lb.
- June 7: Charles “Pop” Dickinson inaugurates CAM 9 service.
- August 16: After a difficult and money-losing summer, Dickinson notifies the PMG of his intent to “be relieved of their contract responsibility.” This initiates a 45-day countdown to his termination of air mail flights.
- August 16: The USPS again advertises for CAM 9 air mail service bids.
- September 1: Col. Lewis Brittin founds Northwest Airways as a Michigan corporation with operations based at Speedway Flying Field (site of today’s Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport). Harold H. Emmons of Detroit is the first president; Col. Brittin is vice president and general manager.
- September 4: CAM 9 bids again open. Northwest Airways, Inc. is the sole bidder @ $2.75/lb.
- September 7: The USPO awards CAM 9 to Northwest Airways.
- October 1: Northwest Airways takes to the sky, carrying air mail from the Twin Cities to Chicago with a “fleet” of two rented, open-cockpit biplanes – a Thomas Morse Scout and a Curtiss Oriole.
- November 2: Northwest introduces the nation’s first closed-cabin commercial plane – the three passenger Stinson Detroiter.
1927
- July 5: St. Paul businessman Byron Webster becomes Northwest’s first ticketed passenger, paying $40 for a 12 1/2-hour, one-way flight from the Twin Cities to Chicago via La Crosse, Madison, and Milwaukee, Wis. Charlie “Speed” Holman, Northwest’s first pilot, is at the controls.
- Northwest adds the Laird biplane to its fleet for mail service.
- In 1927, Northwest carries a total of 106 passengers – about one-fourth the capacity of a single Boeing 747.
1928
- February 1: Northwest becomes an international airline with weekly Twin Cities-Winnipeg flights via Fargo, N.D. Fargo-Winnipeg service is suspended after three months due to opposition from the Canadian government.
- April 2: The first scheduled air express is carried into the Twin Cities.
- September 1: The first coordinated air-rail mail service begins from the Twin Cities to Chicago.
- September 15: Service expands to Green Bay, Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Neenah-Menasha and Appleton, Wis.
- Northwest expands its fleet with Waco biplanes, mostly for airmail service, six-passenger single-engine Hamilton Metalplanes and 14-passenger Ford Tri-Motors.
1929
- May 1: Service expands to Rochester, Minnesota.
- June 26: Ford Tri-Motor NC7416 crashes in St. Paul.
- August 1: Twin Cities businessmen led by Richard C. Lilly of St. Paul purchase Northwest Airways from the original Michigan investor group. Lilly is named president. First night air mail flight between the Twin Cities-Chicago. The Government adopts Northwest’s “U.S. Air Mail” insignia for all air mail carriers.
Timeline Navigation
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