AIRWAYS HISTORY
20 The summer months were Northeast ’ s busiest in New England and the company sometimes found itself needing extra capacity . DC-4 N60115 was leased from Pan American-Grace Airways ( PANAGRA ) one summer in the early 1950s . The aircraft was photographed at La Guardia in PANAGRA colors with Northeast titles applied . // PHOTO : PROCTOR- LIVESEY-THOMAS COLLECTION it was originally intended to serve . Solomon felt that the company should not only serve New England but should offer New Englanders through-service to other parts of the country and overseas as well .
HELLO NEW YORK , GOODBYE RAILROADS
In 1944 , Northeast was finally granted the longsought route extension to New York from Boston . No longer would passengers from Maine , Vermont , and New Hampshire have to transfer to American Airlines in Boston . Unfortunately , at the same time that the CAB awarded the new route to Northeast , it also granted authority to Eastern Air Lines , United Air Lines , and TWA to begin serving Boston . Thus , the potential of the new route to the nation ’ s largest city was diluted by competition from three more airlines offering service south and west from Boston . Eastern would compete directly with Northeast and American between Boston and New York .
In conjunction with Northeast ’ s New York award , the question of railroad ownership was finally resolved . The CAB still frowned upon the fact that three New England railroads owned a controlling interest in the airline , so the Boston & Maine and its compatriots divested themselves of most of their Northeast stock . The bulk of this stock was purchased by Atlas Corporation which , along with its previously-held shares , became the largest stockholder in Northeast .
With the arrival of Atlas Corporation came another famous aviatrix onto the Northeast scene . Jacqueline Cochran was the wife of Atlas Corporation ’ s president , Floyd Odlum . Ms . Cochran was Director of the Women ’ s Air Force Service Pilots ( WASPs ), the military group of women who flew aircraft in non-combat operations . She was given a seat on Northeast ’ s Board of Directors and remained on the board for years to come .
Sam Solomon ’ s differences of opinion with other company executives and his personal vision for Northeast led him to resign from the president ’ s position in 1944 . Paul Collins , now apparently in better health than when he relinquished the title to Solomon in 1941 , once again took over as President of Northeast Airlines . Solomon became Chairman of the Board of Directors .
Floyd Odlum was not happy . He believed that Solomon was the visionary who should be leading Northeast in postwar peacetime . Had Solomon remained as president of the airline , the future story of Northeast might have turned out differently . It ’ s not surprising that Solomon , realizing he was at odds with Collins and that his talents were being wasted , decided to leave the airline that he had nurtured , and move on . In 1945 , he tended his resignation as Chairman , sold his Northeast stock , and left the company to start his own airline .
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76 AIRWAYS MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2024 www . airwaysmag . com