Flying Tiger Line

The National Skyway Freight Corporation was established in June 1945 by a group of former P-40 'Hump' flyers who had served with General Claire Chennault's 'Flying Tigers' in China during WW2. In 1946, the airline was renamed The Flying Tiger Line and primarily focused on freight operations, military charters, and a scheduled US transcontinental service that commenced in the late 1940s.

FTL expanded its fleet with ten 1049Hs in 1957, in addition to three DC-6As, eight C-54s, and fifteen C-46s. It later acquired three more Super Hs and two on lease. While the airline primarily flew MATS contract charter flights across the Atlantic and the Pacific, it also operated scheduled transcontinental all-freight flights in the USA for several years with the Super Hs. In 1959, flights were operated on the San Francisco and Los Angeles to Chicago, New York, and Boston routes. By 1961, FTL was also flying from Los Angeles to Seattle. In 1960, many group charters were made, especially with Jamaican emigrants to Britain. FTL offered the lowest-ever summer charter rates at £35 the following year, with their 118-seat 1049Hs.