AIRWAYS HISTORY
8 9 10 In 1954 , TAN Airlines began a reduced fare service from Miami all the way to South America , catering to less-affluent travelers by flying antiquated C-46 aircraft . This bold expansion by C . N . Shelton irritated Juan Trippe of Pan American , who filed complaints with the CAB . The Honduran carrier also expanded to other points in Central America . // MAP : SCOTT STACHE ; PHOTO : SCOTT STACHE COLLECTION ; TIMETABLE : DAVID H . STRINGER COLLECTION
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Airways operating a luxurious DC-4 service .
But the ingenious Shelton reduced airfares and , while conceding that his aircraft were inferior to Pan American ’ s , insisted that safety was not compromised . With the reduced airfare , passengers — mostly less affluent Hondurans — flocked to TAN and the airline immediately increased flights to two roundtrips per week between Miami and Tegucigalpa .
With the added frequency — and to provide additional cargo service — TAN acquired its second Curtiss C-46 aircraft on November 17 , 1950 .
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In 1951 , the runway at Honduras ’ second largest city , San Pedro Sula , was lengthened , enabling TAN to extend its CAB permit to include this robust agricultural exporting center on its flights to Miami via Havana .
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