First Air Express Round-the-World Shipment

[Deleted]

Air Express were early aviation promoters, always looking for practical uses for the airplane. One idea was to use them as carriers of freight. The first practical demonstration of air freight occurred in November 1910 when a department store shipped a bolt of silk by air from Dayton to Columbus, Ohio.

In 1939, 'Howie Wing' was an American old-time radio juvenile aviation adventure serial broadcasted on CBS.

At this time Kellogg's Corn Flakes, established at Battle Creek, MI, sponsored the Howie Wing Radio Program. Airlines had bridged both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and the public's interest in aviation was peeking. To stimulate interest in the Howie Wing program, Kellogg's chose to sponsor the First Air Express Round-the-World shipment.

They prepared two suitcases. One would be sent from Battle Creek by air Round-the-World in an easterly direction and the other to the west. It would be a race to see which suitcase would win its Round-the-World trip. The suitcases would travel on:

Eastern Airlines
American Airlines
Pan American Airways
Air France
KLM Airlines
Imperial Airways
United Airlines
Transcontinental & Western Airlines
Chicago & Southern Airlines

Schedule:
02/22/39 Suitcases departed Battle Creek, MI
03/06/39 At 11:30 AM the suitcases crossed paths while on KLM planes flying between Calcutta and Allahabad, India.
03/18/39 West suitcase arrived back to Battle Creek, MI
03/22/39 East suitcase arrived back to Battle Creek, MI

Results:
Winner: West Suitcase went Round-the-World in 25 Days
Loser: East Suitcase went Round-the-World in 29 Days

Details:
Each Suitcase made approximately 75 different stops while traveling 31,188 miles Round-the-World.

(source:https://www.wingnet.org/rtw/RTW002EE.HTM)


It's rather a crazy story. Unfortunately I couldn't found any details about the flights used by the suitcases. Nevertheless it seems that at least they left Battle Creek Airport (renamed W.K. Kellogg in 1928) by American Airlines flights either to Chicago or Newark.

In 1939, American Airlines named a flagship 'Howie Wing', the first time in air transportation history that a plane had been named for a radio program.

Bernard

[Tom/CalClassic]

Nice research work, Bernard, and an interesting story. Thanks!

[Al]

Wonder which was the most expensive and how much?

[Tom/CalClassic]

Since actually it didn't travel at all (from Michigan to Michigan) it should have been free, right?

[Al]

Funny! Good point.

[nmlw]

An interesting historical luggage test flight Bernard. I wonder if a similar test flight today with my luggage would result as favorably? I would guess, probably not.

[Erik]

The KLM flights on which the suitcases crossed each other's path in India must have been on the Amsterdam-Batavia line. Timetableimages.com has the Summer schedule of that route, following the Winter schedule on which the flights were made.

March 6, 1939 was a Monday and in Summer, the westbound flight was indeed planned for 10.15-12.44 LT on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The eastbound flight in Summer would have been on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays though, 08.45-12.00 LT. It seems either the Winter schedule was different (which is likely) or the eastbound flight had been delayed for a day. The latter is actually likely too, in Winter weather, plus that could even have been a contributing factor to the eastbound suitcase losing. Much to speculate about!

Erik