Delivered to American Airlines in May 1939, this DC-3 still retains its right-hand door when operating a scheduled service from Miami Intnl to Key West for PBA in 1987. Sold to Mexico as XA-RPE in 1989.

Naples Airlines Martin 404 gets away from Miami International for another intra-Florida scheduled flight.

Delivered new to American Airlines as NC18141 in March 1939. Bought by PBA in March 1974. Here passengers for Key West walk towards the right hand passenger door - a feature of some prewar DC-3's.

A very nice DC-3 in a freshly painted Eastern Express outfit, but owned and operated by PBA. Sadly it would only fly in these colours for five months, until being put out of service in September 1988. This venerable aircraft is a real oldie, a pre-war DC-3 (delivered to Braniff in 1940) that never saw any military service. It was sold in 1991 and became N28AA.

One of six Martin 404's stored at PBA's base in Florida, soaking up the spring sunshine. A few months later this Martin was ferried to Mississippi, where it survives in poor condition, tucked away in a wooded area at Gulfport-Biloxi airport. It was still there in February 2017.

This ex TWA and Piedmont aircraft served with PBA between 1975 and 1985. It is seen here while stored at PBA's home base, shortly before being ferried to Mississippi for continued storage, together with four other PBA Martin 404s. That's where it would finally meet its doom: it was broken up there in 2002.

Delivered to Eastern in 1937, this aircraft had the highest flying time of all aircraft in the world at the moment this photo was taken, although later some old 747s surpassed it. It was withdrawn from commercial use in October 1988, by which time it accumulated an amazing total time of 91,402 hours, an absolute record for any pre-1970s aircraft. In 1993 it entered at long-term restoration project, and it is now preserved in Eastern's "The Great Silver Fleet" livery as NC18121.

N40407 , withdrawn from use, but looking a lot better than PBA Cessna 402 N68PB next to it. A few months later this aircraft was ferried to Gulfport-Biloxi, MS and later to Bay St. Louis-Stennis, MS for continued storage. Unfortunately it was dismantled there in 2002, and its cockpit section went to Chino, CA for display in the Yanks Air Museum.

A beautiful line-up, but a sad sight nevertheless… A sign of changing times, six Martin 404's withdrawn from use and parked in a remote corner of the airport. There are four PBA and two Marco Airways Martins here, from front to back: N40407, N967M, N969M, N40424, N40415 and N40413. The two PBA Cessna 402s are N68PB and N402PB. N967M was scrapped here in 1993-1994, but the other five were flown out later in 1988. Unfortunately none of these aircraft survive today.