Douglas DC-7C

The 1950s were a time of slow fleet expansion for CANAC, yet rapid expansion in it's route map.

The all-propliner fleet was still relatively young, so the CANAC group was hesitant to replace the fleet. However, they did need larger aircraft for the upcoming US flights. So, in 1955, they ordered 6 DC-7C aircraft. The first one was delivered in 1957. Eventually, the first flight to the US was deployed by a DC-7 on the route San Salvador-New Orleans-New York City on November 14th, 1957. These flights were the first flights connecting Honduras and El Salvador to the US.

The DC-7 was a part of the fleet until retirement in 1973. As a part of the fleet type rules set in place in 1953, half of all the DC-7s were regestered in Honduras and half were in El Salvador.

While the DC-7 was revolutionary for CANAC, it was far from a game changer. In fact, the game changer was right around the corner.