Trans Caribbean Airways

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Not to be confused with Chalk's International Airlines.
San Juan Building with TCA logo

Trans Caribbean Airways was a United States airline owned by O. Roy Chalk. Its hub was San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1945, it was acquired by American Airlines in 1971.[1] Its headquarters was located at 714 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.[2]

History[]

The main headquarters for Trans Caribbean Airways was in New York for most of the time until it was acquired by American Airlines on March 3, 1971. There was a building in San Juan that was owned by TCA and has a full wall done in tile with the TCA logo.[citation needed]

The female flight attendants wore an unusual uniform hat for a U.S. carrier; it was supposed to be a copy of the Spanish Cordobes hat the color Blue trim in Aqua. It represented the Spanish influence of the Caribbean islands. The uniform was designed by Mrs. O. Roy Chalk, wife of the owner. The last paint job on the tail of the aircraft was a navy blue with an orange palm tree.[citation needed]

Planes were also chartered to Military Air Transport for service from McGuire AFB to Frankfurt, West Germany. The troops referred to it as "Trashcan Airlines".

At the time of its acquisition by American Airlines, Trans Caribbean was operating a small fleet of Douglas DC-8[3] and Boeing 727 jetliners.

Destinations[]

According to the Trans Caribbean system timetable dated July 7, 1969, the following destinations were served on the east coast of the U.S. and the Caribbean:[4]

Fleet[]

Trans Caribbean operated the following aircraft types during its existence:[5][6]

  • Boeing 727-100
  • Boeing 727-200
  • Douglas DC-4
  • Douglas DC-6B
  • 2 Douglas DC-8-51
  • 3 Douglas DC-8-54CF (convertible passenger/freighter version)
  • 1 Douglas DC-8-55CF
  • 3 Douglas DC-8-61CF (stretched Super DC-8 version)

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Mating Season, Time, February 2, 1970
  2. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 26, 1970. "Trans Caribbean" 504.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2010-12-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Airline Timetable Images". Timetableimages.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  5. ^ "Aviation Photography, Discussion Forums & News". Airliners.net. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  6. ^ "Trans Caribbean Airways Fleet". Planespotters. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
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