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Walter Thomas Varney (December 26, 1888 – January 25, 1967) was an American aviation pioneer who founded forerunners of two major U.S. airlines, United Airlines and Continental Airlines, which combined under United Continental Holdings long after his death.
United traces its roots to Varney Air Lines (VAL), which Walter Varney founded in 1926 in Boise, Idaho. Continental Airlines is the successor to Speed Lines, which Varney had founded by 1932 and whose name changed to Varney Speed Lines in 1934.
Walter T. Varney was born December 26, 1888 in San Francisco. Going to Redwood School of Aviation before World War 1. He enlisted and was sent to School of Military Aeronutics at the University of California, finishing his training in 1918. In 1919 he bought Lynch Field in Redwood City.
Apr 6, 2018 · Walter T. Varney, a pilot in the aviation section of the U.S. Signal Corps during World War I, had won an airmail contract in the fall of the previous year. This contract was one of the first to be awarded to a private airline by the U.S. Post Office Department for designated mail-delivery routes.
Later it came under the control of Robert Forman Six (president 1938–82), who gave the airline the name Continental and, in the following decades, transformed the shoestring operation into one of the major American transportation companies, headquartered first in Denver….
Mar 29, 2023 · While United Airlines' history began in 1931, the airline can trace its roots back to 1926 when Walter T. Varney started a mail service between Pasco, Washington, Boise, Idaho, and Elco, Nevada.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Jan. 27 (AP) Walter T. Varney, founder of Varney Air Lines, a predecessor of United Air Lines, died Wednesday. He was 79 years old. View Full Article in Timesmachine »
