Continental Airlines Convair 340

Continental Airlines began service with the Convair 340 to Albuquerque by 1954. The Convair airliner carried more passengers at higher air speeds and were used to upgrade and replace the older Douglas DC-3’s. Proceeding the model 340 was the Model 240 which began service in 1949 and was named from, 2 engines, 40 passengers. The 340’s were an upgrade from the original 240’s and were used on Continental’s Denver-Albuquerque-El Paso route. Some of the tail numbers that provided service to Albuquerque included N90852, N90854, N90856 and N90858. The Convair 340’s were then replaced by larger four-engine Vickers Viscount aircraft by 1959. The first color photo is of the original Convair 240 on the ramp of the Albuquerque Terminal followed by two Convair 340’s.