AIRWAYS HISTORY
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3 tiny country of El Salvador was too small for an airline market . Guatemala was the fortress base of Pan American World Airways . All that remained was the quiet and peaceful country of Honduras .
Now , at the age of 39 , still backed by Chinese financing and the money he had made trading in the surplus aircraft market , Shelton decided to apply the same airline formula in Honduras : international instead of domestic service , because TACA de Honduras and Pan American affiliate SAHSA were embroiled in head-to-head domestic competition .
TAN AIRLINES TAKES OFF
Honduran law required that 50 % of public utilities , including airlines , be owned by Hondurans . And the Civil Aeronautics Board had its own regulations regarding ownership of foreign airlines — they had to be controlled by nationals of that country . Or , as Shelton saw it , at least on paper .
Shelton ’ s imaginative approach to foreign ownership was to find prominent citizens who could afford to purchase 50 % of the company but , in truth , were willing to just swear that they owned it — on paper , not in reality — which allowed him to remain in full control .
On August 14 , 1947 , Transportes Aereos Nacionales , SA ( TAN ) was incorporated under Honduran law with capital of US $ 150,000 divided into 300 shares , each with a face value of US $ 500 . Of the total stock , 299 shares were ostensibly
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