2. Texas Air Lines Convair 440 "1946-1955"

After the setup of Texas Air Lines in 1946, operations had begun in January of 1947 with second hand DC-3s and earlier model CV240s. Several days after operations began, the airline would place an order for its first new airplanes, the Convair 440. Simultaneously with this order, the airline would apply for an Air Mail Route, which it would obtain not long after the first CV440s would arrive on property in 1949. US Air Mail Route 14, which started in Houston and ran through Arizona to Los Angeles. This lucrative contract would give Texas Air Lines it's first market foothold, as well as it's first destinations outside Texas when it added Douglas, Tucson, Phoenix, and Yuma in Arizona, and Los Angeles in California.

The Convair 440 (and later as a 580) would serve Air Mail Route 14 until the end contract air mail in 1977. Convair 440s would serve all over Texas, connecting communities with previously no air service to population centers such as Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. By 1969, Texas Air Lines' Convair 440 Metros had begun their conversion to Turboprop 580s and received updated weather radar, enhanced cargo capability, and upgraded avionics. The Last Convair flight would take place in 1985, with rising maintenance costs and more efficient smaller aircraft being available.