Can Continental Airlines Continue to Work Hard, Fly Right and Fund the Future
History of Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines began service in 1934 as Varney Speed Lines, named after one of its initial owners, Walter T. Varney operating out of El Paso, Texas and extending through Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico to Pueblo, Colorado. The airline started with Lockheed Vegas, a single engine plane that carried four passengers. The airline later flew other Lockheed planes, including the Lodestar. It was renamed Continental on 1 July 1937 after a new owner Robert Six had taken a forty percent ownership with Varney 's co-founder Louis Mueller. Six relocated the airline 's headquarters to Stapleton Airport in Denver in October, 1937. Robert F. Six was one of the legendary patriarchs of U.S. aviation had a reputation as a scrappy, pugnacious and risk-taking executive who presided over the airline he largely forged in his image for more than 40 years. During World War II Continental 's Denver maintenance facilities became a conversion center where the airline converted B-29s and P-51s for the United States Army Air Force. Profits from military transportation and aircraft conversion enabled Continental to contemplate expansion and acquisition of new aircraft types which became available following the war.[3] Among those types were the DC-3, and Convair 240. Some of the DC-3 's were acquired as surplus planes after WW-II. The Convair was the first airplane operated by Continental that was pressurized. The airline 's early route network was limited to the southwestern United States for many years. In 1953, Continental merged with Pioneer Airlines, gaining access to 16 additional cities in Texas and New Mexico which integrated well with the carrier 's initial El Paso-Albuquerque-Denver route.
The environment
Many countries have national airlines that the government owns and operates. Fully private airlines are subject to a great deal of government regulation for economic, political, and safety concerns. For instance, the government
Continental Airlines began service in 1934 as Varney Speed Lines, named after one of its initial owners, Walter T. Varney operating out of El Paso, Texas and extending through Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico to Pueblo, Colorado. The airline started with Lockheed Vegas, a single engine plane that carried four passengers. The airline later flew other Lockheed planes, including the Lodestar. It was renamed Continental on 1 July 1937 after a new owner Robert Six had taken a forty percent ownership with Varney 's co-founder Louis Mueller. Six relocated the airline 's headquarters to Stapleton Airport in Denver in October, 1937. Robert F. Six was one of the legendary patriarchs of U.S. aviation had a reputation as a scrappy, pugnacious and risk-taking executive who presided over the airline he largely forged in his image for more than 40 years. During World War II Continental 's Denver maintenance facilities became a conversion center where the airline converted B-29s and P-51s for the United States Army Air Force. Profits from military transportation and aircraft conversion enabled Continental to contemplate expansion and acquisition of new aircraft types which became available following the war.[3] Among those types were the DC-3, and Convair 240. Some of the DC-3 's were acquired as surplus planes after WW-II. The Convair was the first airplane operated by Continental that was pressurized. The airline 's early route network was limited to the southwestern United States for many years. In 1953, Continental merged with Pioneer Airlines, gaining access to 16 additional cities in Texas and New Mexico which integrated well with the carrier 's initial El Paso-Albuquerque-Denver route.
The environment
Many countries have national airlines that the government owns and operates. Fully private airlines are subject to a great deal of government regulation for economic, political, and safety concerns. For instance, the government