UNITED AIR EXPRESS AIRLINES, LTD. 229 Ikorodu Road, P. O. Box 2278, Lagos, Nigeria; Phone 234 (1) 496 6641; Fax 234 (1) 263 2873; Year Founded 1984. UAEAis set up at Lagos in November 1984 to operate lightplane passenger charters and air taxi flights to domestric bush locations. In March 1992, a scheduled airline division is established under the leadership of chairman/CEO Capt. T. Bello. Employing turboprops, the carrier introduces regional services to Sierre Leone and other West African destinations. These flights are maintained until 1994, when the unprofitable unit is closed down.
After several years of renewed charter operations, Capt. Bello’s concern resumes regular airline operations late in the 1990s. Scheduled destinations visited at the beginning of 2000 include Freetown and Abuja.
UNITED AIR LINES (1): United States (1928-1934). United Air Lines is not the initial name of what would one day become the country’s largest air transport concern. Rather, the name comes deep into a process of amalgamating into a single system a strong confederation of various airlines already in existence. The merger ball begins to roll on January 1, 1928 when Boeing Air Transport (BAT) takes control of Vernon Gorst’s Pacific Air Transport (PAT). On October 30, the holding company Boeing Airplane and Transport Corporation is formed to operate Boeing Air Transport and Pacific Air Transport as subsidiaries. On December 17, PAT is merged, becoming a BAT division.
On February 1, 1929, Boeing manufacturing and airline interests are merged with the manufacturing concerns of the Pratt & Whitney engine company to form United Aircraft and Transport Corporation. Boeing Airplane Company President Philip C. Johnson hires William A. “Pat” Patterson away from San Francisco’s Wells Fargo Bank on April 15 to become his assistant. The latter is soon deeply involved in handling the day-to-day operations of the growing airline conglomeration.
The new giant now purchases several other manufacturers, including Sikorsky and Stearman. Stout Air Services is purchased by United on June 30 and gives its new owners a chance to extend their San Fran-cisco-Chicago route on to Detroit and Cleveland while acquiring Ford Tri-Motors in the process. To train pilots and ground crews for the corporation, Boeing School of Aeronautics is established on September 16.
After a short but bitter boardroom fight with the North American Aviation Corporation, United takes over National Air Transport (NAT) on May 7, 1930. That move allows United to complete its transcontinental system by taking over NAT’s Cleveland-New York route. Johnson and company officials have their plans confirmed during their participation in the May 15-June 9 “Spoils Conference” held between Postmaster General Walter F. Brown and representatives of the major air transport concerns in his office in Washington, D. C. Route negotiations and awards, however, are made by the government with the individual carriers and not with Johnson or the United conglomerate as a whole. President Johnson is able to maintain all routes, but gains no new ones.
Varney Air Lines (VAL) comes under the corporation’s umbrella on June 30, the same day stewardesses are initially employed on Boeing 80As flying the San Francisco-Chicago route. The weaving together of these various subsidiaries into an integrated coast-to-coast network will take about a year. While landing at Baker, Oregon, with a broken fuel line on August 22, a Boeing 40B-4 of the VAL subsidiary crashes; none aboard are hurt, but the plane is destroyed by fire. En route from Cleveland to New York on September 21, the engine of a NAT Boeing 95 catches fire over Warren, Ohio, forcing the aircraft to make a safe emergency landing.
On New Year’s Day 1931, a Boeing 40B-4 of VAL being ferried from Medford to Seattle makes a successful crash landing at Crescent Lake, Oregon. A VAL Boeing 40B-4 en route from Seattle to Pasco crashes into Baldy Mountain at Washougal, Washington, on January 22 (one dead). En route to San Diego from Seattle on March 2, a BAT Boeing 40B-4 catches fire south of Glide, Oregon, and makes a successful crash landing. En route from Chicago to Cleveland on April 29, NAT Ford 5-AT-81 with 10 aboard and engine failure, strikes a tree and barn but lands upright safely in a field at Elyria, Ohio.
On July 1, United Air Lines is formed to merge the various semiautonomous airline subsidiaries and divisions then under control of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation. The new entity, under President Philip C. Johnson, is, in fact, a management concern for the four subsidiaries, which now become “divisions.” For the time being, they are allowed to continue operations under their previous identities ender the direction of BAT President/United Vice President William A. “Pat” Patterson.
In order for the company’s leadership to be located in the center of the transcontinental trunk line, corporate headquarters for United Air Lines are now transferred to Chicago from Seattle. Service is expanded to include 46 cities in 20 states.
Just after takeoff on September 16 from Oakland, a VAL division Boeing 40B-4 crashes into the mud flats of San Francisco Bay (four dead). A few days later, NAT Ford 5-AT-87 piloted by Ralph Reed makes a safe crash landing for unknown reasons at Ashley, Indiana.
On November 23, a Boeing 40B-4 of the BAT division crashes in a snowstorm near Salt Lake City (one dead). Trying to find Pasco, Washington, in the fog on November 26, a VAL division Boeing 40B-4 crashes (one dead).
En route to Newark from Cleveland on Christmas Eve, NAT pilot James O. Johnson’s Curtiss Carrier Pigeon II suffers wing failure over Allport, Pennsylvania; knocked out, Johnson revives in time to bail out at 500 feet.
In December, the carrier becomes the first in the world to fly 50 million miles, with almost half undertaken at night. Also, during the year, a Boeing 80A is the first aircraft to carry the United Air Lines name; it is painted in shades of green, orange, and tan and also sports the company logo, a modified map of the U. S.
En route to Salt Lake City from Oakland with mail on February 2, 1932, a BAT Boeing 40B crashes in bad weather at Rio Vista, California (one dead). Five days later, a BAT Boeing 40B mailplane crashes east of Knight, Wyoming (one dead). En route from Newark for Cleveland on March 31-April 1, a NAT Boeing 95 mailplane crashes on a farm at Bedford, Ohio, in bad weather (one dead).
Flying from San Diego to Seattle on May 16, a PAT Boeing 40C piloted by Harry Crandall with two passengers, crashes in fog at Burbank (three dead). On May 30, a VAL Boeing 40B-4 literally loses an engine while landing at Portland, Oregon, and explodes (one dead).
A Boeing 40B-4 flown by PAT pilot E. L. Remelin catches fire 2,000 ft. above Fresno on June 2; Remelin makes a safe emergency landing and escapes the burning aircraft. Construction is started on the first Boeing 247 airliners later in the month. While taking off from Boeing Field, Seattle, on July 11, Ford 5-AT-108 loses its left engine and makes an emergency crash landing off the runway in a field; no injuries are reported.
NAT pilot Paul Reeder escapes when his Boeing 95 mailplane crashes into Pennsylvania’s Snow Shoe Mountains on September 27. Ice in the carburetor of a BAT Boeing 40B-4 forces the plane to crash-land east of Council Bluffs, Iowa, on December 13. Flying a BAT Boeing 40B mailplane out of Oakland on December 17, pilot Claire K. Vance hits near the crest of Rocky Ridge, California, and is killed.
On January 24, 1933, a PAT Ford 5-AT-98, the Dawson, lifting off from Eugene for Seattle, hits a power pole and crashes (two dead). Taking off from Toledo, Ohio on February 25, a Boeing 95 hits a boundary fence and crashes; pilot Nicholas Laurenzana is unhurt.
Postmaster General Brown requires United on February 28 to divest itself of shares covertly purchased in Eastern Air Transport and its North American Aviation holding company. The stock is sold to General Motors. By this time, the transcontinental mail route monopoly is over and the carrier’s percentage of total domestic mail payments has dropped from a high of 66% in 1928 to 34%.
On March 30, the United group takes delivery of the first of 54 ordered Boeing 247s, the first modern airliner. Group Vice President Patterson works with ALPA to protect the jobs of pilots who are threatened with layoffs due to the use of the new aircraft. A NAT Boeing 40B-4 is lost in a safe crash landing at Liberty, Missouri, on April 7. On May 12, a NAT Boeing 247 crashes in fog at Provo, Utah, during its delivery flight; the plane will be repaired. The second Boeing 247 is placed into limited service on May 22. As the month closes, BAT Capt. John McCullough Hodgson completes his two-month task of delivering the first 25 B-247s to the different divisions.
On June 12 and in conjunction with a heavy advertising campaign, Boeing 247s begin thrice-daily trips each day over the transcontinental route, New York to San Francisco via Cleveland, Chicago, Des Moines, Omaha, Cheyenne, Salt Lake City, Reno, and Sacramento. Time on the initial westward flight, piloted by NAT Capt. Warren Williams, is 21 1/2 hours and 20 hours on the eastward flight. Also in June, the number of New York-Chicago return frequencies is increased from six to eight per day, including four provided by the new Boeings. A severe windstorm destroys a BAT
On July 1, William A. “Pat” Patterson becomes president of BAT, PAT, NAT, and Varney Air Lines; he continues as vice president of United Air Lines. The NAT Ford 5-AT-80 collides with a Boeing 80A on the ground at Chicago Municipal Airport on July 2, but no injuries are reported. Boeing 247s begin service on the company’s Chicago to Dallas (DFW) run on August 15. During the summer, a fully operational B-247 is housed in the Travel and Transport Building at Chicago’s Century of Progress International Exposition.
By September, United is offering 10 daily roundtrips between New York and Chicago. The Boeing time is 10 are 5 hrs. 30 min. on the westbound route and 4 hrs. 45 min eastbound. During the next three months, the new 10-passenger airliners establish several records. On September 25, the Kansas City-Chicago run is made at a speed of 204 mph. Meanwhile, on September 16, a NAT Boeing 95 piloted by Harold L. Neff crashes in a storm north of Jackson, Michigan; the pilot is found three days later near the wreck of his aircraft, but dies of his injuries. Also during the month, the Varney system is absorbed.
While approaching Chicago on October 10 on the final leg of a flight from Newark via Cleveland, the cargo aboard a NAT Boeing 247 explodes. The burning plane crashes five miles east of Chesterton, Indiana, 10 mi. W of Gary, and all seven aboard are killed, including Alice Scribner, the first United stewardess to die in the line of duty.
Two days later, newspapers report that parts of the wreckage had shown traces of gunpowder. Rumors of a Chicago gangland “hit” against a passenger will persist thereafter. Indeed, investigators will conclude that the aircraft has, indeed, been destroyed by an explosive device, using nitroglycerine rather than gunpowder, but attached to a timing device. No one is ever prosecuted in the first proven case of sabotage in the history of commercial aviation.
Also in October, a BAT 247 piloted by A. W. Stainback makes the Salt Lake City to Cheyenne 421-mile flight in 1 hr. 59 min. During the month, Popular Aviation magazine sponsors a B-247 model-building contest and begins the distribution of 6,000 sets of plans.
Just after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, on November 9, a PAT Boeing 247 hits a tree and crashes (four dead). While being ferried from Chicago to Kansas City on November 24, a NAT Boeing 247 is unable to make altitude after taking off from the former location and crashes (three dead). To reassure the public concerning its B-247 transport, UAT in early December delivers one of its new transports to the Army Air Corps Materiel Division at Wright Field, Ohio, for tests. The military will endorse the aircraft and the airline will make certain that newspapers from The New York Times report the findings.
In late December, George Boyd flies a Boeing, with the assistance of a tail wind, from Salt Lake City to Rock Springs in 38 min. at an average speed of 256 mph. Also, a Boeing flown by John Wolf is able to make the 418-mile New York to Cleveland frequency in just 1 hr. 55 min. for an average speed of 218 mph. Profits for the year total $175,000.
On February 9, 1934 as a result of the so-called “Air Mail Scandal,” the U. S. government cancels existing airmail contracts and calls upon the U. S. Army Air Corps to fly the mail. United continues passenger service on a reduced basis. En route to Cheyenne from Salt Lake City in heavy fog on February 23, a B-247 crashes into the 8,000-foot level of the Wasatch Mountain Range (eight dead). The loss suffered during the 90-day company shutdown is $1,117,567.
The Army experiment ends on March 30 and the Post Office advertises for new contracts that will be awarded to carriers not attending the June 1930 “Spoils Conference”. Because mail contracts were all let to its divisions, United Air Lines, unlike the other majors, is not initially required to find a way around the prohibition or use the ruse of a slightly changed name. Still, President Johnson, aided by United Aircraft’s Joseph Ripley and Joseph McCarthy, design a reorganization plan designed to meet government requirements.
Most of the corporation’s old routes are regained when new contracts are let on April 20; however, the Chicago-Dallas via Kansas City run is lost to Braniff Airways and the Omaha to Watertown run is halted. UAL becomes an operating company on May 1 as the Boeing (including Varney), National, and Pacific Air Transport companies (divisions) go inactive. The New York-Seattle via Salt Lake City and San Francisco route, together with the Seattle to San Diego route, are reopened on May
8. The board of directors approves the reorganization plan on May 14. A Boeing 247 crashes in bad weather near Selleck, Washington, on June 7; the seven survivors are rescued after a harrying night.
On June 12, Congress passes the Air Mail Act of 1934 that effectively removes manufacturers from the air transport business and gives them until December 31 to do so. As the end of the first UAL approaches, President Johnson, himself soon to be replaced, takes time out on July 12 to authorize the lease of a new B-247D to famed racing pilot Col. Roscoe Turner for use in the forthcoming MacRobertson England-Australia race.
The holding company’s separate subsidiaries are broken out on July 20 into three separate companies. With the individual divisional identities integrated, the air transport concern, United Air Lines Transport Corporation (or United Air Lines for short), is now reincorporated as a new entity. Patterson succeeds Johnson as the airline’s president and will remain so until 1962. Johnson is forced to retire under terms of the new airmail law that prohibits employment in the commercial airline industry by any company official having attended the 1930 “Spoils Conference,” On August 31, United Aircraft and Transport Corporation is dissolved.
UNITED AIR LINES (2): United States (1934-1974). United Air Lines (2) is often ranked as the world’s largest privately owned air carrier and the only one to service all 50 United States. A member of the early, exclusive group of airlines known as the “Big Four,” it is born as the result of corporate mergers and political maneuvers that began in 1928 and it will continue beyond 1974, when its name is changed yet again.
The “new” United grows steadily following its May 1, 1934 transformation from a collection of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation subsidiary divisions to a free-standing air transport operation. President William A. “Pat” Patterson visits Newark and averts a pilot strike by agreeing to visit every station during the next two months seeking suggestions for improvements. These discussions will lead to the seniority system later adopted by all airlines.
Noted aviator Col. Roscoe Turner and his recently recruited, equally famous copilot Clyde Pangborn, accept their UAL B-247D at Seattle on September 10 and promptly fly it down to Los Angeles in a record 5 hrs. 33 min. On September 18, the company, acknowledging the superiority of its competitors’ Douglas transports, becomes the third transcontinental carrier to introduce the sleeper version of the DC-3, the DST.
Still, significant effort is made to upgrade existing equipment, bringing on line a new version of the B-247, the B-247D, the same make aircraft that Turner and Pangborn employ in the MacRobertson race, which begins from England on October 20. The intrepid airmen cover the 11,323-mile course to Melbourne, Australia, in 92 hrs. 55 min., taking third place behind a specially designed de Havilland Comet and the Douglas DC-2 Uiver of KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) , which was not stripped down but had actually flown passengers and mail as part of the Dutch carrier’s normal scheduled service.
Having taken the decision to retire its early, unmodified B-247s, UAL agrees, on October 31, to lease three machines to National Parks Airways. The first of the airline B-247Ds are employed in November to open faster New York-San Francisco schedules. Eastbound flight times are reduced to 17 hrs. and westbound times to 20 hrs. On December 6 and 26, respectively, sales contracts are signed for the delivery of unmodified B-247s to Western Air Express and Pennsylvania Airlines and Transport. On December 31, assets are $3.66 million and liabilities total $773,043.
Having returned with his racer to the U. S., where it is reconverted back to airliner status by the removal of extra fuel tanks, Roscoe Turner flies the UAL MacRobertson B-247D, now fleet flagship with its achievement painted on its fuselage, from Seattle to Chicago on January 1, 1935. Thirty days later, an agreement is concluded that will provide Wyoming Air Service with sufficient B-247Ds to maintain its Denver-Cheyenne route thrice daily.
On April 7, a B-247D flies the 724-mile Newark to Chicago via Cleveland route in a record 4 hrs. 4 min. The memory of the removal of former President Johnson has so enraged his successor “Pat” Patterson that United files a $2.8-million suit against the government in the U. S. Court of Claims on June 4. Both to recoup losses and to clear Johnson’s name, the suit challenges the legality of the airmail cancellations.
All B-247D frequencies on the New York to Chicago return service rise to 10 per day in summer, with at least three continuing to or arriving from San Francisco. San Diego to Seattle return services climb to three per day while San Francisco to Los Angles and San Diego return flights total five. In the first arrangement of its type between American and European transport concerns, UAL, in July, joins with The French Line, owners of the SS Normandie, and Imperial Airways, Ltd. to promote seamless worldwide travel for American tourists.
A close association is begun with William A. Coulter’s Western Air Express Corporation. Routes and schedules are integrated, giving Harris “Pop” Hanshue’s former airline access to United’s transcontinental route. In addition, the major will sell or lease 28 Boeing 247s/247Ds to Western over the next 3 years. On October 7, a B-247D crashes while landing at Cheyenne (three dead) and while on a night check flight over Cheyenne on October 30-31, a B-247D crashes (four dead).
Having required a year and $1 million, the remaining units of the carrier’s B-247 fleet complete upgrade to B-247D status. Having begun discussions with Douglas Aircraft Company for a transport with twice the capacity and range of the DC-3 several months earlier, President Patterson is able to persuade Donald Douglas to begin designing a DC-4 while he approaches the rest of the “Big Four,” plus Pan American Airways (PAA), for joint funding.
The United Air Line Employee’s Credit Union, the industry’s first, is incorporated in Illinois on November 1.
On December 6, three B-247Ds are sold to SCADTA (Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aereos, S. A.) in Colombia. Flying his B-247D low over a Nevada mining camp isolated by blizzard later in December, pilot Don Broughton keeps his ship level while stewardess Ida Novelli shoves food and supplies out to six trapped miners waiting below.
Enplanements for the year are 201,338 and revenue passenger miles flown total 98.65 million. The company suffers a net loss of $1,392.
Meeting in Chicago on January 14, 1936, President Patterson joins with Eastern Air Lines President Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, American Airlines President C. R. Smith, and Transcontinental and Western Air Lines’ CEO Jack Frye to announce creation of the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) and appointment of Edgar S. Gorrell as its first president.
Also during the first quarter, the first of 13 surplus B-247s are sold to Pennsylvania-Central Airlines and an effort to purchase Pennsylvania Airlines before its merger with Central Airlines is blocked by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
On March 23, the company joins with American Airlines, Eastern Air Lines, Transcontinental and Western Air Lines (TWA), and Pan American Airways (PAA) in pledging equal shares of $100,000 each toward the development of the Douglas DC-4E (the “e” stands for “experimental”) prototype. Douglas will commit approximately $300,000 in initial engineering costs. The aircraft will be constructed to United’s Chief Engineer G. T. Mead’s previous year specifications: 44 passengers, 175 mph, and 27-tons weight.
Having recognized that its Boeings cannot effectively compete with the new Douglas sleeper transports, the DC-3 DST, or provide adequate service to high altitude airports in the west, United, on April 6, orders 20 of the more powerful Douglas airliners.
Also in April, the company, having provided close assistance, reaps the acclaim when the first major motion picture to accurately depict airline operations is released. Paramount’s 13 Hours by Air stars Fred Mac-Murray as the captain of a DC-2 transporting a diverse group of passengers from Newark to San Francisco. The plot will be repeated in nearly all airline-oriented films made thereafter.
On June 17, UAL becomes the world’s first airline to fly a cumulative 100 million miles. Concerned by rising costs, Pan American Airways (PAA) and Transcontinental and Western Air Lines (TWA) withdraw from the DC-4E project in July, withholding their $100,000 payments and casting their support to the smaller Boeing 307 Stratoliner concept.
While landing at Newark in a snowstorm on November 23, the landing gear of a B-247D crumples; no one is hurt seriously.
Powered by Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radials, the first DC-3A is delivered on November 27 and begins a testing program. At this point, a new United logo—a patriotic shield—appears and the word “Mainliner” is painted in bold red letters on fuselages in honor of the main line route the aircraft fly from coast to coast. The inaugural Douglas transport is christened Mainliner Reno. The Mainliner Los Angeles and Mainliner California arrive on December 5 and 9 and are followed by three unnamed units between December 11 and 23.
While attempting to exit California’s Newhall Pass in rain while en route to Burbank from Oakland on December 27, a B-247D crashes (13 dead). The sixth DC-3A of the month arrives on December 31; christened Mainliner Des Moines, it, like its predecessors, is equipped with Skylounge luxury chairs. Also in December, United opens the industry’s first flight kitchen, at Oakland, California. During these 12 months, a net profit of $371,000 is recorded.
The DC-3 Mainliners commence service on the Los Angeles-San Francisco route on January 1, 1937. Eighteen days later, the Sky-lounge service is introduced on the New York to Chicago DC-3 frequency. The $2.07 extra charge is not well received and the service will be discontinued with the aircraft changed into normal 21-seat arrangement. During January, seven additional DC-3As are acquired, including the Mainliner Sacramento, Mainliner San Francisco, Mainliner New York, Mainliner Akron, and Mainliner Spokane.
The Mainliner Pennsylvania arrives on February 1. On February 9, the copilot’s microphone is accidentally lodged between the control column and seat support of one of the unnamed DC-3As received in December. Piloted by Capt. A. R. Thompson, with 10 others aboard and en route to Oakland from Los Angles, the aircraft crashes into San Francisco Bay (11 dead). The tragedy is the first fatal accident suffered by a DC-3.
During the remainder of the month and in March, five additional DC-3As are received, including the Mainliner Massachusetts, Mainliner Chicago, Mainliner Bellingham, and Mainliner Medford.
Meanwhile in February, the carrier acquires AM-17 and the Cheyenne to Denver route for $209,000 from Wyoming Air Service. Four surplus Boeing 247s/247Ds are now made available to Wyoming Air Service, later Inland Air Lines, and will be delivered over the next four years. Also in March, the cause of the February 9 tragedy is discovered; American Airlines President C. R. Smith phones President Patterson to tell him of how a copilot’s microphone, which had fallen from its position to become wedged in the steering controls, had nearly caused a similar disaster for an AA flight at Newark. Upon examination of the February wreckage, investigators find a wedged microphone, just as described by Smith to Patterson.
On July 9, the first of eight DSTs are received. With several available, they are placed into service during the month’s last week between New York and San Francisco via Chicago, Cheyenne, and Salt Lake City. Those received in July and into the next month include Mainliner Cheyenne, Mainliner Fresno, Mainliner Ohio, Mainliner Eugene, and Mainliner Utah.
In midyear, a Denver-Cheyenne route is purchased from Wyoming Air Service. In August, United opens at Oakland, California, the world’s first flight kitchen designed to prepare food for dining aloft; the facility is oversee by a Swiss chef hired away from the Clift Hotel in San Francisco. The DC-3As Mainliner Indiana and Mainliner Oregon are delivered on September 8 and 9, respectively. During the early fall, the B-247 Flying Lab, piloted by Benjamin O. Howard, undertakes a series of rain and snow radio static investigations. Off course in a snowstorm, an unnamed DC-3A, also delivered in December 1936, crashes into a mountain at Hump Ridge, Utah, on October 17 (19 dead). A net loss of $754,486 is suffered.
New Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propellers are installed, beginning in March 1938, on an order for 10 DC-3As. They will be retrofitted to aircraft already received. The 100th DST/DC-3A delivered is the Mainliner Nebraska, which arrives to enter company service on March
25. The nine remaining Douglas transports are received between March 7 and May 1, and include Mainliner Connecticut, Mainliner Denver, Mainliner South Bend, Mainliner Pendleton, Mainliner Cleveland, Mainliner Detroit, and Mainliner Vancouver.
On May 24, an unnamed DST received less than a month before crashes while attempting a one-engine-out landing at Cleveland (10 dead). Piloted by Carl Cover, the Douglas DC-4E prototype makes its maiden flight from Clover Field, Santa Monica, California, to Mines Field, later Los Angeles (LAX) on June 7. Six months of scheduled testing lie ahead for the huge airplane (now significantly heavier with 52 seats instead of the requested 44), although minor modifications will require the time to be stretched much further.
Passed earlier by the U. S. Congress, the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, signed into law by President Roosevelt, takes effect on August 22. The legislation emancipates the airlines from Post Office control and establishes the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) as the airline industry regulatory agency. United is awarded “grandfather” certificates on all domestic routes it was operating before the new law comes into force.
In the aftermath of the September 21 New England hurricane, American Airlines, the principal carrier in the Northeast, is overwhelmed in its efforts to open air-only communications to replace the ruined ground transport infrastructure.
At the request of ATA President Edgar Gorrell, Eastern Air Lines, United, and Transcontinental & Western Air Lines, under special permission from Washington, are allowed to contribute aircraft and flight crews to fly emergency relief services over the American routes from New York to Boston.
Five United DC-3As immediately begin to fly mercy missions in and out of Boston. For a week, these aircraft join planes from the other carriers in flying over 8,000 return passengers and 317,000 pounds of mail from New York and Massachusetts.
Two new flight aids, a radio altimeter and an automatic direction finder, are demonstrated before Department of Commerce (DOC) and Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials by the carrier’s B-247 flying laboratory during a flight over New York on October 9. Lost and out of fuel, an unnamed DC-3A, en route to Sacramento from Medford Oregon, lands in the Pacific Ocean off Point Reys, California, on November 29 (five dead).
A doctor in the employ of United now discovers that a new drug intended to allay morning sickness in pregnant women might help queasy passengers more than the previously employed ammonia spirits; as a result, the carrier begins to recommend the use of Dramamine to combat air sickness. The company’s net loss for the year is $900,000.
The 25,000th New York-Chicago-San Francisco transcontinental flight is completed on January 12, 1939. The company leases four DC-3As to Eastern Air Lines to help that carrier meet peak winter traffic demands on its New York to Miami route. On March 20, United and the Airmen’s Association of America, representing the carrier’s mechanics and related ground service employees, sign the airline industry’s first collective bargaining agreement.
The revolutionary DC-4E receives certification from the DOC on May 5 and is officially turned over to United Air Lines, which christens it the Super Mainliner. On June 1, Patterson’s company becomes the first U. S. airline to operate a modern four-engine land plane in transport service when it places the DC-4E into experimental service over its network.
On June 26, William Coulter and a group of Western Air Express stockholders attempt to sell their carrier to the Chicago-based major. Asked for its approval, the CAB, despite the recommendation of an impartial examiner, jurist Roscoe Pound, refuses on July 19. Later in the summer, the Super Mainliner is returned to its builder.
Too advanced to be competitive against the smaller DC-3A and with performance less than expected, the manufacturer and the “Big Four” airlines (minus TWA) will elect to develop a smaller DC-4 or, in later military terms, C-54. The DC-4E is sold by Douglas to Japan’s Mitsui Trading Company, Ltd. for Japan Air Lines Company, Ltd. (1); no more are built. The Japanese pay $950,000 for the airplane, which is shipped to Tokyo by sea on September 29. After it is reassembled by Douglas technicians, the Super Mainliner will be the model for that nation’s first four-engine land plane, the unsuccessful Nakajima G5N bomber/transport Shinzan (Mountain Recess).
United joins with American Airlines, Eastern Air Lines, and Pan American Airways (PAA) on January 26, 1940 to order 61 DC-4s, a redesigned type smaller than the DC-4E. Between January 25 and February 13, four additional DC-3As are placed into service, including Mainliner Nevada, Mainliner Brooklyn, and Mainliner North Platte. Four Lockheed Model 18 Lodestars are also acquired.
Originally ordered by KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) as the Havik, a DC-3A, which cannot be delivered, is acquired on April 2 and christened Mainliner Tacoma. Los Angeles-San Francisco multistop B-247 Sky Coach flights commence on April 10. By employing fully depreciated airliners, the carrier’s experimental service will be offered at $13.90 until 1942 as the first air coach or “economy” operation by an American trunk line. The Mainliner Bethlehem, Mainliner Tacoma, Mainliner Nevada, Mainliner Illinois, and one unnamed DC-3Aunit arrive during a nine-day period between April 20 and April 29. On June 25, United joins with the other three members of the “Big Four” and ATA to form Air Express, Inc., a research organization concerned with increasing air freight service. Two DSTs, including the Mainliner Iowa, are leased from Western Air Lines in August.
While the merger case is under review by the government, an interchange service is inaugurated on September 1 between Los Angeles and New York. The carrier begins a long charter association with the National Football League in the fall. The first team flown, at least partially, is the Green Bay Packers. After arriving at Chicago by train, the 33-man team, plus coach Earl “Curly” Lambeau, public relations man George Calhoon, the trainer, equipment men, and the writer Walter “Red” Smith, board two DC-3s for a flight to New York and a game with the Giants. Players are split by position on the two aircraft in case of an accident.
Unfortunately, the flight is grounded by weather at Cleveland and the trip must be completed by train; the aerial return to Chicago after the
7-3 loss is uneventful. The following week, the squad tries flying again, winging from Chicago to Detroit for a game with the Lions; after the smashing 50-7 win, the team returns to the airport to find all planes grounded, except for the Green Bay Specials. The third week, the last flight of the season, is a charm; a roundtrip Chicago-Cleveland flight is made without incident—except for a 13-13 tie-game.
A government contract is now accepted by United and on October 7 the training of aircraft mechanics begins at the company’s Oakland Training Center. En route from San Francisco to Salt Lake City on November 4, an unnamed DC-3A goes off course and crashes into Bountiful Peak in the Wasatch Mountains (10 dead). In one of the largest delivery months in airline history to date, nine more DC-3As arrive during November, including Mainliner Chicago, Mainliner Washington, D. C., Mainliner Santa Barbara, Mainliner Medford, Mainliner Salem, Main-liner Youngstown, Mainliner Philadelphia, and Mainliner Toledo.
On December 4, an unnamed DC-3A en route to Chicago from New York ices up while landing at the Illinois airport and crashes (10 dead). On December 23, the carrier, in complete association with the Railway Express Agency, begins the first all-cargo service in U. S. airline history from New York to Chicago via Cleveland. Departing the “Big Apple” at 11:30 p. m. and arriving in Illinois at 3:40 am., this night frequency is essentially a scheduled freight-express operation made by loading packages into unconverted day-Mainliners that are flown as supplement to normal daily passenger and cargo frequencies. RAA will continue in operation until 1975.
Three DC-3As are chartered to fly the Big Ten champion University of Michigan football team to California to play the University of California at Berkeley. Head coach Fritz Crisler claims the airlift helps Tom Harmon and his teammates to win by five touchdowns. A net profit in excess of $1 million is earned for the year.
United establishes the first airline pension program on January 1, 1941, and a Salt Lake City hangar fire destroys a Boeing 247D and the Douglas DC-3A Mainliner California on January 12. Although the case examiner recommends the merger, the full membership of the CAB now refuses to grant permission for the WAE-United amalgamation and all relations between the two are ended on March 11. The company’s attempt to obtain a Los Angeles terminus for its transcontinental service is, thus, temporarily ended. Two days later, ATA and the “Big Four” establish Air Cargo, Inc. to further examine the questions of all-cargo services.
In April, four more DC-3As are delivered, including Mainliner Utah. During the spring, a DC-3 freighter, in one of the heaviest airlifts to date, transports a 1,000-lb. diesel-engine crankshaft from Chicago to San Francisco. At the same time, the DC-4 order is, with those for other carriers, jointly cancelled.
In early May, the four Lockheed Model 18 Lodestars acquired just a year earlier are sold to the U. S. Army Air Corps for $95,000 each; they will become C-56Ds. Seattle to Vancouver service is inaugurated over AM-57 on May 12. The New York-Cleveland-Chicago all-freight service ends on May 31 and three more DC-3As arrive in June, including Mainliner Washington and Mainliner Allentown.
The Philadelphia Eagles become the second pro football team, after the Green Bay Packers, to fly with United. On September 11, the Eagles depart their training camp at Two Rivers, Wisconsin, take a train to Chicago, and board a pair of DC-3s for Philadelphia, where they will play (and lose 24-0) their opening game of the season with the New York Giants. Like the Packers, the Eagles also divide their players by position between the two Douglas transports.
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor on December 7 and the U. S. declares war on Japan the next day. On December 16, United management orders that absolute priority be given to military requirements for official travel and that charters to professional sports teams end “for the duration.” A number of company flights now transport cargo shipments of factory blueprints from the East Coast to the West Coast.
A total of 563,883 passengers are flown over 270 million revenue passenger miles during this last year of peace. With the lowest mail payments in the industry, United turns in another $1- million-plus net profit primarily from the transport of live passengers.
In January 1942, two Boeing B-17s are modified into camera ships at the company’s Cheyenne maintenance facility. Seven weeks later they will reconnoiter those areas of Japan to be attacked by Col. Jimmy Doolittle’s Tokyo raiders. The fleet at the beginning of the year comprises 62 aircraft: 12 Boeing 247Ds, 16 DSTs, and 39 DC-3As.
Sky Coach discount service ends on April 23 as the number of aircraft needed for its success has been diminished by the transfer to the military, beginning on March 15, of 36 of the company’s DC-3s and B-247s.
An unnamed DC-3A crashes near Salt Lake City on May 2 (17 dead). On May 15, the company begins Operation Alaska, a contract airlift of military and other supplies to Anchorage, Alaska, from Patterson AAF base, Ohio, via Chicago, Minneapolis, Fargo, Regina, Fort St. John, Whitehorse, and Fairbanks. The route is 3,489-miles long.
Following a successful personnel transfer from Anchorage to Cold Bay on May 31, the DC-3 of Capt. Bob Dawson returns to make a second flight from Anchorage to Unmak with a cargo of aircraft bombs. No sooner does the aircraft land than the Aleutian post is attacked by JNAF Zero floatplanes. The UAL airliner is not hit and its shaken crew safely returns to Anchorage.
During the first week of June, four DC-3s are transferred to Western Air Lines. As part of their campaign against Midway Island in the Pacific, Japanese naval forces attack the Aleutian Islands on June 3, capturing Attu and Kiska while grasping at underdefended Dutch Harbor. In a textbook example of the mobilization foreseen and promised by ATA president Gorrell at the beginning of the year, the U. S. Army orders 11 airlines to halt their normal passenger and contract cargo activities. Their aircraft are dispatched to Edmonton, Alberta, for participation in a massive contract airlift that is quickly organized for the defense of Alaska.
Over 100 aircraft from UAL and 10 other carriers execute daily roundtrips between Edmonton and Dutch Harbor through mid-July, transporting troops and supplies. Over 90% of the pilots involved had never flown to or from Alaska before and few had encountered such tough weather conditions. The first Alaskan route is followed on June 27 by a second from Salt Lake City via Edmonton.
Beginning in mid-July, the company contributes aircraft to a 50-transport group from 6 contract carriers (also including American Airlines, Braniff Airways, Chicago & Southern Air Lines, Pennsylvania Central Air Lines, Transcontinental and Western Air Lines, and Northeast Airlines) that are rushed to Presque Isle. From here, the planes, joined by 110 Air Transport Command C-47s, will transport the supplies and men required to set up and man the bases at Newfoundland, Labrador, Greenland, and Iceland that will facilitate Operation Bolero, a mass bomber ferry from the U. S. to England.
The Edmonton-hubbed flights are suspended on August 4 to allow for the Aleutians battles; during the lull, pilot Orvis M. Nelson is elected first vice president of ALPA. It is he who successfully negotiates with the AAF for the retention of civilian status by pilots flying under contract to the military. At month’s end, the company’s Dayton to Nome Operation Alaska route is turned over to Northwest Airlines.
At midyear, the remainder of the B-247 fleet, except for the test plane Flying Lab, is purchased by the government. The company is now requested by the Army to retire from Alaska and begin Operation Pacific supply flights to the South Pacific. Patterson agrees to begin an 8,269mi. route from San Francisco to Brisbane, Australia, within 45 days. In early August, a contract is signed for transpacific operations; 25 aircrews are trained and outfitted with Consolidated C-87 Liberator freighters.
The first Consolidated C-87 Liberator is delivered to United at Mills Field, San Francisco, in early September. The 25 crews prepared for Operation Pacific receive check rides.
Five more C-87s arrive on September 23 as Capt. Jack O’Brien, UAL’s Ops Pacific superintendent, takes off for the South Seas. Guadalcanal and Port Moresby become stops on this new 50-hr. (flying time) run to Australia. Other points visited by United’s Liberators include Hickam Field, Hawaii, Canton Island, Nandi, Fiji, New Caledonia, and/or Palmyra Island and Christmas Island.
Also in September, following an unsuccessful attack on Oregon by a Japanese submarine-based Yokosuka E14Y1 floatplane, company car-goliners are called upon to rush several Curtiss P-40 fighters to the area. These are flown across the Rocky Mountains from Chicago with their fuselages inside the DC-3s and their wings slung in special brackets below. No Japanese submersibles are ever attacked.
Capt. O’Brien returns to Mills Field on October 1, completing United’s first transpacific flight, some 16,500 miles. By this time, a contingent of company ground crews is sent to the South Pacific, serving first at Honolulu and Brisbane.
On October 6, a loan of $250,000 is made to the Mexican carrier LAMSA (Lineas Aereas Mineras, S. A. de C. V.), which was founded and owned by the American Gordon S. Barry. Multistop all-cargo services are started on behalf of the war effort from New York to Salt Lake City on November 1 and an unnamed DC-3A crashes at Dayton, Ohio, on November 18.
Alaska service is resumed on a temporary basis in January 1943, from Seattle to Anchorage and the Aleutians via Ketchikan, Juneau, Yakutat, and Cordova. When service to the north is completed, United will have flown over two million miles in Operation Alaska without a serious accident. The Mainliner Medford is lost in a crash at Oakland, California, on January 11.
While on approach to Canton Island on February 7, a C-87, with 16 passengers crashes into the sea; two Army officers and the copilot survive. The Alaska route is shortened during late February to include just two intermediate stops at Juneau or White Horse and Anchorage. The shift is made possible by the creation of a joint UAL/Air Transport Command meteorological bureau, the Alaska Air Transport Meteorological Office, established under the direction of chief United weatherman Howard Hoffman.
On March 1, the Court of Claims decides that the 1934 cancellation of airmail contracts was legal and simultaneously rules that United is due $364,000 for revenues lost to its former subsidiary lines due to the suspension. On May 10, the carrier is given CAB permission to serve Washington, D. C. All-cargo flights from New York to Salt Lake City end on May 31.
By July, the carrier has completed the training of 5,000 AAF aircraft mechanics and 1,000 Navy. The Australian terminus is now transferred to Townsville, 600 miles north of Brisbane. At about the same time, Capt. Seely Hall becomes the new Ops Pacific superintendent. The first C-54s (military DC-4s) begin to replace the company’s Ops-Pacific Liberators at mid-month.
Just after takeoff from Auckland, New Zealand, on August 2, on a flight to Port Moresby, a C-87 with 24 Japanese POWs crashes in heavy rain; 12 prisoners and 2 of 5 crewmen survive.
On September 17, the previous year’s loan to LAMSA (Lineas Aereas Mineras, S. A. de C. V.) is adjusted to 75% ownership (worth $3 million) and an effort to connect with Denver from Ciudad Juarez and El Paso receives CAB permission to expand south below the Colorado capital to meet the Mexican partner at Nogales, Arizona.
In October, LAMSA’s name is changed to Lineas Aereas Mexicanas, S. A. de C. V. Employing three DC-3s returned by the military, an allcargo transcontinental Cargoliner service is started from New York to San Francisco on October 16. During the fall, Ops Pacific crews flying to Australia are often sent to satellite destinations such as Nadzab Field in New Guinea and Kwajalein.
The Mainliner Tacoma is returned on December 5 and on December 12, stockholders approve a recapitalization plan and a change in the company name to United Air Lines, Inc. The company’s South Pacific-based Ops Pacific ground crews are transferred to Guam on December 26.
The 50,000th transcontinental flight is completed on January 18, 1944 and the first new Douglas transport received since 1941 is the DC-3A Mainliner Oakland, delivered on February 3. United appeals to the CAB in April for routes from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Honolulu. On May 3, one of the company’s last C-87s blows a tire during takeoff from Canton Island and crashes (two dead). This is the third and final fatal crash during 7,000 flights the company starts during its wartime Operation Pacific.
Service to Boston is authorized by the CAB on June 12. President Patterson is the only trunk line CEO to support Pan American Airways (PAA) requests to Congress for the establishment of a single foreign flag carrier.
With the time now right, United reorders 15 DC-4s on September 11, along with 20 DC-6s. On September 22, the carrier signs its first labor agreement with the Flight Engineers Association, a union formed by United flight engineers back in the spring.
Flights to Alaska cease on November 15 and after its having compiled significant research, Air Cargo, Inc. is closed down on November 29. Company statisticians report that load factor has now risen to 96% from 66% in 1941. Stewardess supervisor Ada Brown returns to flying the line on December 16; her purpose is to begin the organization of a flight attendants’ union.
United Air Lines (2) receives a special National Safety Council award in January 1945 recognizing three years and more than one billion passenger miles of accident-free operations. Pacific flights end on March 31.
By the beginning of April, Ada Brown and her associates have signed up three-fourths of all company stewardesses into a new organization called not a union, but the Air Line Stewardesses Association (ALSA). On April 15, Los Angeles joins San Francisco as a terminus on the carrier’s cross-country all-cargo service.
Transcontinental service is started from Boston in May, with Hartford and Cleveland as stops in the east. Although the war is still not over when the company’s operational involvement ceases, the record is proud: United aircrew have flown nearly 200,000 men and 20,000 tons of material over 21 million miles, including 1,800 trips on the Alaskan run and 1,700 on the Pacific.
The National Mediation Board (NMB) certifies the International Association of Machinists (IAM) as the bargaining agent for United mechanics and related crafts on July 3, replacing the Airmen’s Association of America. Bomber modification ends at Cheyenne on July 31. In August, the Association of Air Line Stewardesses (AALA), later the Air Line Stewardesses Association (ALSA), is named the bargaining unit for United stewardesses on labor contracts. Also in August, following cessation of hostilities with Japan, a group of pilots, led by Orvis Nelson, attempt to persuade management to open a Far East division. On VJ-Day, 12 C-54s piloted by company crews are in the air armada flown over Tokyo during the surrender ceremony. Also in September, the NFL’s Green Bay Packers resume charter flights. The company now begins flying mail for the armed forces between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Two ex-AAF C-54s are received on October 17 under lease from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC); they enter service as the Mainliner Yosemite and Mainliner Yellowstone. The DC-4 order is cancelled on October 24 when the government begins to make available war-surplus C-54s, easily convertible to civil standard. President Patterson obtains 25. During the fall, Patterson and other top officials visit 36 stations in 32 days aboard a DC-3, checking conditions and personnel.
The first refrigerator plane with a full payload arrives at New York from the West Coast on November 3, continuing on to Boston, from whence it will fly fresh fish back to California. On November 10, the training of more than 7,000 military personnel is completed at the Oakland training center. Still hoping that LAMSA (Lineas Aereas Mexi-canas, S. A. de C. V.) will be able to expand up to Arizona, that Mexican operator receives a $ 1-million cash infusion on November 27, along with the B-247 Flying Lab, now reconfigured to civil airliner standard.
United ends the training of U. S. military personnel at Oakland on November 10 after having qualified more than 7,000 ground crew members. Also during November, eight C-54Bs are converted to DC-4 civil standard and are christened Mainliner Ranier, Mainliner Golden Gate, Mainliner Lake Huron, Mainliner Crater Lake, Mainliner Lake Tahoe, Mainliner Lake Tahoe II, Mainliner Olympic, and Mainliner Lake Ontario. Seven more C-54Bs are acquired in December and, upon conversion, they will become Mainliner Lake Champlain, Mainliner Lake Michigan, Mainliner Lake Erie, Mainliner Lake Superior, Mainliner Mississippi River, Mainliner Missouri River, and Mainliner Ohio River.
The fist United-Iam labor agreement also takes efect during December and, for the year as a whole, the net profit is $39,348,000.
The entire fleet on January 1, 1946 comprises 77 DC-3s, including 21 C-47s leased from the government. On the same day, the carrier pioneers for the industry the 40-hour workweek. The DC-3A Mainliner Tacoma, with 3 crew and 21 passengers, crashes into Elk Mountain, near Laramie, Wyoming, on January 31; there are no survivors.
Airline employment swells to 8,000 with the return of 1,500 personnel from the war and 5 more C-54Bs arrive during the month to become Mainliner Colorado River, Mainliner Hudson River, Main-liner Delaware River, Mainliner Wabash River, and Mainliner Columbia River.
The previous experimental all-cargo association with the Railway Express Agency is revised to allow United to begin offering its own cargo initial peacetime tariffs on February 1. The first DC-4 is delivered on February 11; a military C-54 converted to Douglas DC-4 civil standard, it is the first Mainliner 230 (referring to the 230-mph cruising speed) and is christened Mainliner Chicago. Three daily New York-California Car-goliner frequencies are now offered per day. Only one C-54B is purchased in February; it will become Mainliner Lake Michigan.
The Mainliner Chicago begins 14-hour coast-to-coast New York to San Francisco service on March 1. Like American Airlines, United’s Douglas transports are initially at a disadvantage in cross-country service competing against the 80-mph, faster Lockheed L-049 Constellations of Transcontinental and Western Air Lines (TWA), which operate nonstop. Eight days later, Vice President-Operations Jack Herlihy arranges a contract with Senior Pilot Orvis Nelson and several associates to fly a route, on behalf of the military, between San Francisco and Hickam Field, Hawaii. DC-4 New York to Chicago flights begin in midmonth. Employing two unconverted ex-AAF C-54Bs, Nelson initiates United’s military contract on March 18. Meanwhile, two more C-54Bs are purchased from the RFC during the month for conversion into Main-liner Puget Sound and Mainliner Chesapeake Bay.
The group charter by the All-America Football Conference signed on April 13 is called the largest in airline history. On April 25, the carrier signs its first labor agreement with ALSA, which is retroactive to January 1. The carrier flies its first charter for a major league baseball team, the New York Yankees, on May 9.
New York to San Francisco overnight service is opened on May 10 and an unnamed DC-4 crashes at Chicago on May 29. The carriage of dogs, suspended at Pearl Harbor, is resumed on June 2. With agreements made with all affected parties and permission from the CAB obtained the next day, United inaugurates DC-3 frequencies to Avalon Airport, on Catalina Island, from Los Angeles, Burbank, and Long Beach, beginning July 1.
The CAB on July 2 grants San Francisco-Honolulu authority. On July 19, application is made to the CAB for permission to inaugurate scheduled helicopter service between Chicago (MDW) and a number of suburban communities; permission is forthcoming. The company redefines its transcontinental route during the summer.
On August 1, the 21 leased DC-3s are purchased from the War Assets Administration for a combined price of $290,000. The same day, an $11-million order is placed with Boeing for 7 Model 377 Stratocruisers; the giant aircraft will be delivered in a 55-seat sleeper version. The next day service is initiated from New York to the Pacific Northwest.
On August 24, the newly organized San Francisco 49ers of the All-America Football Conference (later merged into the NFL) fly to their very first away game, an exhibition in San Diego against the Los Angeles Dons.
A C-54B is acquired on October 4 for conversion into the Mainliner Cape Cod. On October 9, the DC-4 Lake Michigan, with 4 crew and 37 passengers crash-lands in fog 1.5 km. from the airport at Cheyenne, Wyoming, while on final approach (two dead).
The Cleveland Browns are the second AAFC team to fly with the airline, choosing to visit New York via a pair of leased DC-3s, again with players apportioned between the two aircraft, for their fourth game (versus New York) on October 11.
Another C-54B is purchased on November 9 to become Mainliner Schuykill River. While on final approach to the airport at Cleveland, Ohio, on November 11, a DC-3 with 3 crew and 17 passengers crashes (two dead). On November 12, orders are placed for 7 Boeing 377 Stratocruisers.
The first of three new DC-6s to be received before month’s end arrives on November 24, the same day American Airlines receives its first new Douglas Flagship. As the type has yet to receive government certification, both companies must begin a five-month interim period of crew training and route proving.
The DC-4 Lake Champlain must be written off after a bad landing at Los Angeles on December 24; fortunately, none of the 4 crew or 41 passengers aboard are killed.
At year’s end, United turns back its California-Hawaii contract, by which time, its supervisor, Orvis Nelson, has organized his own company, Transocean Air Lines. The first C-54G is acquired for the airline from RFC on December 28; it will become Mainliner Potomac River.
The first production DC-6, Mainliner San Francisco, arrives in January 1947 and it, too, begins a series of proving flights. Like the DC-4s, these new pressurized aircraft are known by their cruising speed, becoming Mainliner 300s. A stock offering is undertaken on February 14. The company gains direct entry from the east into Southern California on March 6 when it purchases Western Air Lines’ Denver to Los Angeles route; the arrangement must be approved by the CAB. On March 27, United and Western file a joint route and equipment transfer application with the CAB and in early April, four DC-4s are leased from Eastern Air Lines. Pressurized operations are inaugurated by the carrier’s new Douglas DC-6s on April 27, as a new five-mile-per-minute DC-6 flies New York to San Francisco via Lincoln (Nebraska) in 11 hours; the eastbound returns take only 10 hours. Although United offers fewer frequencies than American Airlines, the new Douglas transports allow a more even competition with the Constellations of Transcontinental and Western Air Lines (TWA).
DC-6s begin the new roundtrip Hawaiian service on May 1. A Main-liner 300, with 44 passengers aboard, inaugurates the first service to Honolulu from San Francisco.
The same day, overnight San Francisco-New York DC-6 flights are inaugurated; without traffic stops, they require only 9 hrs. 55 min. flying time. On May 17, the CAB authorizes consolidation of the western part of the carrier’s transcontinental route.
The DC-4 Lake Tahoe, with 4 crew and 44 passengers, is caught by a sudden wind shear while taking off from New York (LGA) on May 29 and crashes (43 dead).
Also in May, having obtained a Sikorsky S-51, the carrier begins experimental rotary - wing flights connecting Chicago (MDW) with a number of suburban communities. Passenger loads do not cover costs and permanent service is not initiated; the S-51 helicopter is sold.
New York-Chicago9Los Angeles flights begin on July 17. On August 25, the CAB authorizes the United-Western route and equipment transfer, which was actually consummated on August 1; for $3.75 million plus a $1-million loan, United receives Western’s Denver9Los Angeles route plus five DC-6s ordered for its operation. The next day, overnight freight service is initiated to Los Angeles from New York via Philadelphia, Detroit, and Chicago. One million ton-miles in a month is topped for the first time in September.
An in-flight fire causes Flight 608, the DC-6 Mainliner Seattle with 5 crew and 47 passengers en route from Los Angeles to Chicago, to crash at Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park on October 24; there are no survivors.
Through month’s end, a total of 35 DC-6s have been delivered since April.
As a result of the Bryce Canyon disaster and several other DC-6 accidents industry-wide, the pressurized fleet is grounded, along with those of other carriers, beginning on November 12. Meanwhile, during October, a Fairchild C-82 Packet is employed in an experimental “flying mail car” service over AIM 1. The last DC-3A, Mainliner Milwaukee, is accepted on November 15. Frequencies on the Hawaii run are briefly suspended until arrangements are made to lease DC-4s from Transocean Air Lines (TAL) and Matson Navigation Company. On December 5, a CAB report blames fuel overflow into the heating system as the cause of the Bryce Canyon disaster.
Setting a new pattern for the centralized control of airline activities, United opens an operations hub at Denver in January 1948. Having been modified to eliminate the problem causing in-flight fires, the government releases the DC-6 to reenter commercial operation; United service with the type is resumed on March 21. Counting all services since the first flight of predecessor Varney Air Lines, the company passes the half-billion plane-mile mark on April 6. On April 28, all maintenance work is centralized at a new San Francisco “push button” overhaul base.
En route from San Diego to New York on June 17, a DC-6 hits a power wire and crashes while making a forced landing at Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, killing all 4 crew and 39 passengers, including showman Earl Carroll and actress Beryl Wallace.
On July 1, the company inaugurates 7 hr.10 min., twice-daily DC-6 roundtrips from Chicago to Providence, Rhode Island, via Toledo, Cleveland, and Hartford, Connecticut. UAL will be the only airline to consistently offer air service to the citizens of Providence over the next 50 years.
A DC-6 with a defective engine crash-lands at Harrisburg while on a July 29 New York to San Francisco flight; no injuries are reported. Also in July, the company transports its 10 millionth passenger and flies its 5 billionth passenger mile. United inaugurates ILS (Instrument Landing System) operations on July 8. Still, with the bloom off the postwar travel boom, it becomes necessary to lay off 4,000 employees or 25% of the total workforce by year’s end.
Formerly known as the Mainliner Oakland, the DC-3A Mainliner Ogden is sold to Piedmont Air Lines on March 21,1949 along with the Mainliner Boston. Several new Boeing B-377 Stratocruisers are delivered later in the year, beginning with the Mainliner Hawaii on September 28 and the Mainliner Kauai on October 28. Airline dependability shows continued progress with United, for example, reporting in December that it has completed 98% of all scheduled miles during the year.
World History
