Varney Air Lines was an American airline company that started service on April 6, 1926, as an

airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be th ...

carrier. Formed by

Walter Varney Walter Thomas Varney (December 26, 1888 – January 25, 1967) which combined under United Continental Holdings in 2010, long after his death in 1967. Varney was also one of the most prominent airmail contractors of the early 20th century. Varne ...

, the airline was based in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, United States. The airline is one of the predecessors of

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

Historical background

In 1925, the Congress passed HR 7064 entitled ''"An Act to encourage commercial aviation and to authorize the Postmaster General to contract for Air Mail Service"'' (aka "The Kelly Act") which directed the U.S. Post Office Department to contract with private airlines to carry the mail over designated routes many of which connected with the Government operated Transcontinental Air Mail route between New York and San Francisco. Varney won the contract for CAM-5 as the only bidder. Its first flight under contract with the USPOD was from

Pasco, Washington Pasco ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Washington, United States. The population was 77,108 at the 2020 census, and estimated at 80,038 in 2023. Pasco is one of three cities (the others being Kennewick and Richland) t ...

Elko, Nevada Elko is a city in and the county seat of Elko County, Nevada, United States. As of the official 2020 U.S. Census, the city has a population of 20,564. Elko serves as the center of the Ruby Valley, a region with a population of over 55,000. Elko ...

with an intermediate stop in Boise. That air freight contract grew into the birth of one of the world's biggest airlines. Pasco at the time was a rail center, more or less midway between

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, and

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

. Mail trains leaving those cities in the evening arrived in Pasco early the next morning. Mail could be transferred to and from the biplanes cutting coast to coast delivery by days. This was the logic for basing the CAM service in Pasco.

First flight

Pilot Leon D. Cuddeback flew the first eastbound CAM-5 flight, leaving in the early dawn hours from Pasco. Between 4,000 and 6,000 cheering people sent the pilot off with of mail.

Later history

Varney added a

Breese-Wilde Model 5 The Breese-Wilde 5 is a custom-built high-wing monoplane that was produced for and used in the Dole Air Derby of 1927. Design The aircraft were conventional geared high-wing aircraft, powered with a Wright Whirlwind J-5 engine. Operational h ...

and replaced its original

Swallows The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The t ...

with

Stearman C3 The Stearman C3 was an American-built civil biplane aircraft of the 1920s, designed by Stearman Aircraft of Wichita, Kansas. It was also the first Stearman aircraft to receive a type certificate. Development The C3 was a rugged biplane wit ...

s and thereafter upgraded as new equipment became available. Subsequent aircraft included the larger

Stearman M-2 Speedmail The Stearman M-2 Speedmail (nicknamed the Bull Stearman) was a mail-carrier aircraft produced by the Stearman Aircraft Company of Wichita, Kansas. It first flew in January 1929. The Speedmail was a single-seat biplane, with two large cargo compa ...

and the

Boeing Model 40 The Boeing Model 40 is a United States mail plane of the 1920s. It was a single-engined biplane that was widely used for airmail services in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s, especially by airlines that later became part of United Airlin ...

dedicated mail planes, and finally the more modern

Boeing 247 The Boeing Model 247 is an early American airliner, and one of the first such aircraft to incorporate advances such as all-metal ( anodized aluminum) semimonocoque construction, a fully cantilevered wing, and retractable landing gear.

twin-engine monoplane. Arriving in 1933, the 247 greatly expanded Varney's ability to carry passengers as well as mail. Varney soon added

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, Portland, and Seattle to its route. In 1930, Varney was acquired by

United Aircraft and Transport Corporation The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was formed in 1929, when William Boeing of Boeing Airplane & Transport Corporation teamed up with Frederick Rentschler of Pratt & Whitney to form a large, vertically-integrated, amalgamated firm, ...

, itself formed by a merger of

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, and folded into its airlines group along with the other acquired airlines:

Pacific Air Transport Pacific Air Transport was an early US airline, formed in 1926 for carrying mail as well as passengers. It was acquired two years later by Boeing Air Transport. Early history Pacific Air Transport (PAT) was formed in January 1926 by Vern C. Gorst ...

, and

National Air Transport National Air Transport was a large United States airline; in 1930 it was bought by Boeing. The Air Mail Act of 1934 prohibited airlines and manufacturers from being under the same corporate umbrella, so Boeing split into three smaller companies, o ...

. In 1934, the

Air Mail scandal The Air Mail scandal, also known as the Air Mail fiasco, was a political controversy that erupted in 1934 following a United States Congress, congressional investigation into the awarding of airmail contracts to select airlines. The scandal inte ...

resulted in the passage of the Air Mail Act which forbade aircraft manufacturers from operating airlines. As a result, United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was broken up. The airlines group became United Airlines. Since Varney was a part of United, the founding year of United is 1926, and making United the oldest commercial airline in the United States.

Continental Airlines

Following cancellation of all domestic airmail contracts by the

Roosevelt Roosevelt most often refers to two American presidents: * Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919, president 1901–1909), 26th president of the United States * Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945, president 1933–death), 32nd president of the United State ...

administration in 1934,

Robert F. Six Robert Forman Six (June 25, 1907 – October 6, 1986) was an American businessman who was the CEO of Continental Airlines from 1936 to 1980. Beginning his career in the early days of commercial aviation in the United States, he became the CEO ...

learned of an opportunity to buy into the Southwest Division of Varney Speed Lines which needed money to handle its newly acquired Pueblo-El Paso route. Six was introduced to Louis Mueller, who had helped found the Southwest Division of Varney in 1934, and bought into the airline with US$90,000 becoming general manager on July 5, 1936. The carrier was renamed Continental Air Lines (later changed to "Airlines") on July 8, 1937. Six changed the name to "Continental" because he wanted the airline name to reflect his desire to have the airline fly all directions throughout the United States. Decades later, in 2010, United (the direct successor to Varney) would merge with Continental as well.

References

External links

Varney Lines
newsletter, from The Museum of Flight Digital Collections
Weekly News Letter
(Varney Air Lines), from The Museum of Flight Digital Collections 1926 establishments in Idaho 1934 disestablishments in Idaho Airlines based in Idaho Airlines disestablished in 1934 Airlines established in 1926 American companies established in 1926 American companies disestablished in 1934 Companies based in Boise, Idaho Defunct airlines of the United States Defunct companies based in Idaho Transportation in Ada County, Idaho