AAXICO

  1946 to 1966

  United States of America

TYPE: Non-scheduled airline

IATA/ICAO CODES: Nil

HEADQUARTERS: Miami, FL

FORMER NAME: Nil

SUBSEQUENT NAME: Saturn Airways (purchased)

AAXICO (American Air Export & Import Company) was founded in 1946 by President Howard J. Korth, and veteran Navy pilot, and CEO Seymour Kail as a non-scheduled airline. AAXICO's initial flight service consisted of five daily flights between New York and Atlantic City geared toward the horse racing industry. It made as many as 11 round-trips a day during busy summer days, with the last flight scheduled to wait until after the last race. Two years after it started operations, the company had flown over 50,000 passengers and 90 million passenger-miles, making it one of the most successful non-scheduled post-war airlines in the USA.

Gaining publicity as a tourist airline flying charters to exotic destinations, AAXICO started marketing package holiday tours in the late 1940's. Customers were signed up in several neighboring cities, for trips like a two-weeks tour of the Mediterranean at a flat rate that included hotels, meals and air travel. An AAXICO airplane would leap-frog between the customers' cities until loaded, and then head east for the tour, so that no customer had to make a long trip to get to the resort ship.

By 1956, AAXICO had become an all-cargo airline. In the early 1950's, it was a major player in USAF contract cargo work. The company temporarily suspended flight operations on 30 June 1960, in negotiations with the ALPA pilot union. In the early 1960's, AAXICO was carrying 25,000 lbs of cargo daily for the US Department of Defense.

AAXICO ceased operations in 1966, when it was sold to Saturn Airways.

1947* to September 1966*

AAXICO operated as many as 18 Commandos at once in 1961.

In addition to the aircraft below, AAXICO also operated Commandos owned and leased back by its President Howard J. Korth (which see):

• Curtiss C-46A-15-CU Commando: N3953C
• Curtiss C-46A-35-CU Commando: N79094
• Curtiss C-46A-36-CU Commando: N5140B
• Curtiss C-46A-41-CU Commando: N1834M
• Curtiss C-46A-45-CU Commando: N5141B, N10624, N9892F (leased), N1830M, N51424
• Curtiss C-46A-55-CK Commando: N75393
• Curtiss C-46A-60-CK Commando: N10415, N10623
• Curtiss C-46A-60-CS Commando: N79093
• Curtiss C-46D-10-CU Commando: N8008E, N1829M
• Curtiss R5C-1 Commando: N10426, N10427, N7760B, N7761B, N7762B, N7763B, N7764B, N7765B, N7766B, N7768B, N7769B
• Smith Super 46C Commando: N7758B, N7759B

It is to be noted that AAXICO had a very active aircraft sales division, so many of the above aircraft were merely purchased and resold, without ever being operated commercially by AAXICO.