Foundation Anniversary: Braniff International Airways — November 3, 1930

Braniff Airways, Inc. was formed in Oklahoma on 3 November 1930 by Oklahoma City insurance executive Thomas E. Braniff as president, E. E. Westervelt as vice president, and First World War aviator Paul R. Braniff as secretary and treasurer. Ten days later, on 13 November 1930, the carrier inaugurated scheduled passenger service linking Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Wichita Falls, Texas, using two six-passenger Lockheed Vega aircraft. The brothers had previously incorporated Paul R. Braniff, Inc. in Oklahoma on 29 May 1928 and operated its first scheduled flight on 20 June 1928 over the 116-mile route between Oklahoma City and Tulsa with a five-passenger Stinson Detroiter.

A note on this date. Braniff's corporate history carries two founding dates: 3 November 1930, when Thomas E. Braniff, Paul R. Braniff, and E. E. Westervelt incorporated Braniff Airways, Inc. in Oklahoma ahead of its 13 November 1930 scheduled service launch, and 20 June 1928, when predecessor Paul R. Braniff, Inc. (incorporated on 29 May 1928) flew its inaugural scheduled passenger service between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. This anniversary follows 3 November 1930 and states both dates. We publish it with the warning rather than leave the page out, and if you can point us to a register or an archive that carries it we will confirm or correct it.

Dates verified on Braniff International Airways Official Corporate History, Metropolitan Airport News and Oklahoma Historical Society.