on March 28 1931, as a subsidiary of United Aircraft & Transport Corporation to hold its airline subsidiaries.īeyond being arguably the oldest US airline still in operation (as Varney Air Lines was established on April 6 1926), United also made history for hiring the world’s first female flight attendant. Wanting to consolidate all five of his airlines into one corporate umbrella, Boeing formed United Air Lines, Inc. Initially, just two subsidiaries of the company, Boeing expanded his airline holdings to include Stout Air Services (April 1929), Varney Air Lines (January 1930) and National Air Transport (May 1930).Īlthough this gave Boeing a route card that stretched from Seattle to Chicago to Vancouver, and included half of all airmail and passenger flights in the US at the time, Boeing did this under five different names. The following year, Boeing acquired and merged with engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, with William Boeing forming a holding company, United Aircraft & Transport Corporation (UATC), to hold all the stock in his various aviation businesses – including his airlines. Sensing an opportunity to expand, William Boeing established Boeing Air Transport in 1927, with his new air carrier taking possession of the aircraft that would’ve otherwise gone to the Post Office.ĭoing brisk business as one of the few airmail airlines in the Pacific Northwest, Boeing Air Transport soon acquired its main competitor – Pacific Air Transport – on January 1 1928. Instead of accepting the aircraft, the Post Office privatized all its airmail routes, including the ones it would’ve used the Model 40 on. In 1925, Boeing built the Model 40 mail plane for the US Post Office. At one point, Boeing even became the US military’s largest supplier of fighter aircraft! Though only two B&W Seaplanes were built, Boeing soon got a reputation for producing small, yet durable fighters for the US military. before changing its name to the Boeing Airplane Company in 1917. Seeing this, Boeing formally incorporated the Pacific Aero Products Co. Known as the B&W Seaplane (and later, the Boeing Model 1), it proved better than most of its contemporaries. George Conrad Westervelt, to build a seaplane that was better than anything then on the market. Boeing partnered with his close friend US Navy engineer Lt. In 1916, wealthy lumber industrialist William E. Currently one of the largest airlines in the world and a member of the “Big Four” US airlines, the history of United Airlines is both long and interesting, with much of it playing a large role in how the airline operates today.
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