It was in November 1919 when Cebu received its very first airmail. It is said to have also been the first plane to have landed in Cebu, at three-seater civilian variant of the Curtiss flying boat called the Sea Gull.

Renowned American aviators Maj. Joseph E.H. Stevenot and Alfred J. croft had set out to fly another first in Philippine aviation history and proven the feasibility of mail throughout the archipelago by airplane.

After a 24-hour delay, they took off from Manila on November 25, 1919 and headed south with a bag of mail destined for Cebu and Iloilo. They stopped for refuelling first in Mindoro and then in Capiz. They had to hail fishermen to row them ashore and haul their fuel to the plane in bancas.

From Capiz, the plane then left for Cebu and reportedly touched water a little more than two hours later. It took Stevenot and Croft six hours and 23 minutes of flying time to get to Cebu.

They were met at the dock by a large crowd among whom were high-ranking officials of the Cebu Chamber of Commerc. After changing from rain-soaked flying attires to dry ones, Stevenot and Croft then ceremonially delivered the mail to the local postmaster, some which were addressed to Osmeña and American colonial Governor-General Francis Harrison. The letter envelopes bore the cachet: Inter-island Aerial Mail-First Trip.

The aviators later attended a reception hosted by the Chamber. The following day, they took the Chamber's three top officials for test rides over the city.