Texas' First Airmail and Passenger Service
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Love Field witnessed two "firsts" in Texas aviation history. National Air Transport (later became United Air Lines) on May 12, 1926, inaugurated first airmail service in Texas, and on Sept. 1, 1927, flew the first passengers and express. The flights were to Chicago. The first airmail packets, weighing a total of 1,556 lbs., were dispatched in two single-engine monoplanes, "Miss Dallas" and "Miss Fort Worth," for a 12-hour flight. At the same time, "Miss Chicago" was on its way to Dallas with 275 lbs. of mail and parcels, including apparel for two clothing stores and a shipment of diamonds; total value $100,000. The first passenger service began at 8 a.m., with departure of a full load of three. About an hour earlier, another plane with two passengers and the first load of express left Chicago for Dallas. These early flights cut rail time by 15 hours, though it took almost 12 hours to fly the 990-mile, 7-stop trip, which cost 10 cents per mile. Each passenger was allowed 25 lbs. in baggage, with overweight charged at a dollar a pound. Air express shipments were limited to 200 lbs. and $5,000 valuation. Early travel, communication and transportation series; erected by Moody Foundation - 1965
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Dallas's Love Field made Texas aviation history twice in the mid-1920s. On May 12, 1926, National Air Transport — a forerunner of United Air Lines — launched the state's first airmail service, sending single-engine monoplanes named "Miss Dallas" and "Miss Fort Worth" on a twelve-hour hop toward Chicago. The following year the same route carried Texas's first air passengers and express, at a dime a mile, cutting fifteen hours off the train.
Why it matters
These flights mark the moment air travel stopped being a stunt and became infrastructure, knitting Texas into a national network of mail, freight, and passengers.
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Related events
- · First Texas airmail flight, May 12, 1926
- · First Texas air passenger service, Sept. 1, 1927
Themes & tags
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