Texas Department of Aviation:

An Inventory of Case Files at the Texas State Archives, 1963-1989 (bulk 1967-1978)

Agency History

The Texas Aeronautics Commission (TAC) was created in 1945 by House Bill 309, 49th Legislature. The Commission was composed of three members (later expanded to six members) appointed by the Governor, with Senate confirmation, to six-year overlapping terms. Qualifications for members were ten years continuous residence in the state and ten years successful experience in business, government, or professional activities. A chair was elected by the Commission and an Executive Director was appointed to handle the administrative affairs of the Commission. In 1989, the Commission became the Texas Department of Aviation (House Bill 94, 71st Legislature, 1st Called Session). The governing body of the Department is now the Board of Aviation, of the same makeup as the previous Commission, with one qualification added--members must now have five years experience as either an aircraft pilot, an airport facilities manager, or a fixed-base operator. The Executive Director functions as the Executive Officer of the Department.

The Department of Aviation (like the former TAC) assisted in the development of aeronautics in the state and cooperated with the federal government and other states in establishing a uniform aviation system. Some specific responsibilities were to assist communities and state agencies in the establishment, construction, improvement, and financing of airports and other air navigation facilities; to administer and conduct clinics and courses for general aviation pilots; to certify intrastate airlines and oversee the intrastate air transportation network; to hold investigations, inquiries, and hearings to ensure aviation rules and regulations are met; and to represent state aviation segments before the Civil Aeronautics Board and other such policy-making groups.

In 1991, the Department of Aviation was merged with the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation and the Motor Vehicle Commission to form the Texas Department of Transportation. The Department of Aviation's functions are now carried out by the Department of Transportation's Aviation Division.

Scope and Contents of the Records

The records of the Texas Department of Aviation consist largely of legal documents--applications for certificates, testimonies, prehearing and hearing transcripts, exhibits, orders, motions, dockets, briefs, appeals, and other documents dating from 1963 to 1989 (bulk 1967-1978). The records are case files of hearings before the Texas Aeronautics Commission (predecessor agency to the Department of Aviation) and the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). Hearings are held when airlines apply for certificates of convenience and public necessity to begin service, to fly into new localities, or to make changes in their existing routes. Also present are reports, correspondence, financial statements, clippings, press releases, and consumer complaints. Cases include Southwest Airlines (formerly Air Southwest) initial application for certification; its application for a certificate to fly out of Love Field in Dallas instead of the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport in the late 1960s, its application to provide service to the Rio Grande Valley in the early to mid 1970s, and its application to add various cities to its schedules in the mid to late 1970s. These application hearings generated a series of protests, appeals, and suits filed by opposing parties.

Additional materials include the application of Muse Air and America West Airlines before the CAB for certificates to fly interstate routes, including cities in Texas; files concerning an interstate and intrastate fare investigation held in the District of Columbia Circuit of the Court of Appeals; publications concerning deregulation; and hearings before the Civil Aeronautics Board on low-fare route proceedings concerning Midway Airlines (including Midway Southwest Airlines) offering service out of Midway Airport in Chicago. The TAC was interested in this last case because of the relationship between Southwest Airlines and its subsidiary, Midway Southwest, and the question of whether the two airlines could operate as both intrastate and interstate carriers.

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None.

Restrictions on Use

None.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Case files, Texas Department of Aviation. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession number: 1990/023

These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Department of Aviation on November 2, 1989.

Processing Information

Laura K. Saegert, May 1990

Detailed Description of the Records