The Beginning Of NHL Air Travel

Red Dutton pioneered the use of air travel as the New York Americans became the first hockey team to fly between games during the 1938-39 season.

Until the 1960s when expansion rolled around, the majority of travel between NHL cities during season was by train.

Air travel was used here and there sporadically beginning in the late 1930s when teams began to take to the air.

The first team officially to fly to a game was the Detroit Red Wings during the latter half of the 1938-39 season. They flew from Newark, New Jersey to Chicago on United Air Lines.

A few weeks later, Red Dutton's New York Americans came home from Chicago to Newark aboard a DC–3 "Mainliner." Remarkably, there was no major airport in the New York City metropolitan area in 1939.

Pictured here is the first-ever flight by the New York Americans in 1938-39. You can see Hall of Famers like Nels Stewart, Hooley Smith and Red Dutton in the photo.