Varney Air Transport

Continental Airlines was founded as the Southwest Division of Varney Speed Lines (the other division of Varney Speed Lines was in California) to fly over the contract mail route from Pueblo to El Paso. The service started in Jul1934 with the addition of a passenger leg between Denver and Pueblo. The name changed to Varney Air Transport in Dec1934 and again to Continental Air Lines in Jul1937. Continental took over the Local Service carrier Pioneer Air Lines in Apr1955
[CONTINENTAL AIR LINES was formed as VARNEY SPEED LINES in 1934. Adopted present name in 1937. Acquired PIONEER AIR LINES in 1954, NEW YORK AIR in 1987, FRONTIER AIRLINES , and PEOPLEXPRESS in 1987. Merged with TEXAS INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES in 1982 and the two airlines began operating under the C.A.L. name. CONTINENTAL WEST operated for a short time on the West Coast It was formed by Frank Lorenzo as a shuttle airline but merged back into the main company]
UAL (United Air Lines) was formed in 1929 as a holding company for UNITED AIRCRAFT & TRANSPORT. This was a merger of Boeing Air Transport, Pacific Air Transport , National Air Transport & Varney Air Lines. United Airlines began its own air freight delivery service just before the beginning of World War II. On 23Dec1940, the airline inaugurated what some historians believe was the first all-cargo service in U.S. airline history. The airline used DC-4 aircraft to deliver mail from New York to Chicago and back. Acquired CAPTAL AIRLINES in 1961. Had it’s lo-cost subsiduary, TED absorbed in 2009. Continental Airlines merged in in 2011. Launch customer for Boeing 247, Douglas D6 in 1947, Convair CV340 in 1952, B720 in 1960, B727-100 in 1964, B737-200 in 1967, B767 in 1982 and B777-200 in 1995. Joint first operator of DC8 in 1959) with Delta A.L. International and domestic, passenger and cargo airline