On July 8, 1929, transcontinental travel began. Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) trimotors departed Philadelphia and Los Angeles carrying passengers across the country. A top speed of 110 mph powered the aircraft by day. Trains took over at night. Clement Melville Keys founded TAT in 1928. Later, he merged with Western Air Express to form what became TWA.
On July 7, 1929, transcontinental trips began. TAT initially offered a 48-hour coast to coast trip. The first leg began on the Pennsylvania Railroad overnight from New York City to Columbus, Ohio. There, passengers boarded a TAT trimotor aircraft for Waynoka, Oklahoma. The Santa Fe Railway then took them to Clovis, New Mexico. Finally, a TAT trimotor flew them to Los Angeles.
Two TAT trimotors took off from Grand Central Airport in Glendale, California. The City of Los Angeles christened by Mary Pickford. Gloria Swanson christened the City of Philadelphia. Some 30,000 viewed the christening and the historic beginning of TAT’s transcontinental service to the East Coast. On board the City of Los Angeles were A. L. Rocklin (LA Examiner), T. Delapp (LA Times), Jack Scanlon, M. D. Schaterman, Thomas B. Eastland (San Francisco Director of TAT), R. W. Millar, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Major C. C. Moseley (VP of TAT), and Dr. W. J. Furie.
Charles Lindbergh flew the City of Los Angeles to Winslow, Arizona. The next day, he flew the City of Philadelphia back to Los Angeles. Amelia Earhart and his wife Anne accompanied him. Upon arrival at Grand Central, the City of Philadelphia was christened once more by Gloria Swanson before a crowd of 20,000. It seems TAT was taking advantage of the successful start of the company’s passenger service!