Braniff

Braniff, in full Braniff International Airways, American airline and one of the world’s major airlines from 1930 to 1982.

The airline can be traced to June 1928, when Thomas E. Braniff (1883–1954) and other investors sponsored the Tulsa-Oklahoma City Airline, flying oilmen between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Braniff Airways was incorporated on Nov. 3, 1930. Routes were soon extended to Wichita Falls, Texas; to Kansas City; and to St. Louis and Chicago. In 1934 the company acquired the U.S. mail route from Chicago to Dallas, which was essential to the company’s prosperity. Between 1934 and 1942 all the home operations and offices were gradually moved from Oklahoma City to Dallas.

In 1952 Braniff Airways merged with Mid-Continent Airlines, Inc., operating routes from Texas and Louisiana to Minnesota and the Dakotas. In 1948 Braniff had begun service to South America and, after purchasing Pan American Grace Airways, Inc. (Panagra), in 1967, merged all the Latin American operations under the Braniff International name. (Panagra had been owned jointly by Pan American World Airways and W.R. Grace & Co.)

In 1971 Braniff International Airways was reorganized as the principal subsidiary of the holding company Braniff International Corporation. In 1982, after a series of financial reverses, the airline ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy.