| Founded | August 1944 as Parks Air Transport |
|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 23 June 1950 |
| Ceased operations | 25 September 1950 |
| Operating bases | East St. Louis |
| Fleet size | 5 |
| Destinations | 6 |
| Headquarters | Cahokia, IL |
| Key people | Oliver Parks |
Parks Air Lines, named for its founder, Oliver Parks, was a US scheduled airline that initially appeared likely to be one of the most significant carriers of its kind, but in the end, operated only a single route for three months in 1950. In 1946 and 1947 the airline was certificated as a local service carrier (also known at that time as a "feeder airline") by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now-defunct federal agency that, at the time, tightly regulated almost all US air transportation. The CAB awarded the airline, then known as Parks Air Transport, a substantial network of routes to mostly smaller cities mostly centered on St Louis. But after lengthy delays in initiating service, the CAB instituted proceedings to strip Parks of its network. Parks started service just in advance of the CAB's decision, but after a brief period of operation and some litigation, merged into Ozark Air Lines, the carrier to which the CAB gave most of Park's route authorities. This marked the start of Ozark's operations.
This was Oliver Parks's second use of the name "Parks Air Lines". He previously used it for his aviation activities prior to the Great Depression, including pilot training and aircraft manufacturing.[1]