Continental Airlines History | Golden Jets to 2012 – Airline Employee Shop

Continental Airlines History

Continental Airlines grew from a single 1930s mail route in the Southwest into one of America's largest airlines, known for its Golden Jets, its "Proud Bird with the Golden Tail" and one of the great turnarounds in airline history. Here's the short version, plus the Continental Airlines collection that celebrates it.

Varney Speed Lines to Continental (1934–1937)

The airline began in 1934 as Varney Speed Lines, founded by Walter Varney and Louis Mueller, flying a route from El Paso to Pueblo, Colorado, by way of Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Robert F. Six bought into the company, renamed it Continental Air Lines in July 1937, and moved headquarters to Denver that fall.

The Robert Six era

Six ran Continental for more than four decades and gave it flair. The 1950s slogan invited travelers to "Fly the Blue Skyway," and in 1958 the airline introduced Vickers Viscounts with 52 seats, all first class. Continental put Boeing 707 "Golden Jets" into service in June 1959, making it the third U.S. airline to fly jets domestically. Saul Bass designed the jet-stream logo in the late 1960s, and from 1967 to 1981 the airline advertised itself as "The Proud Bird with the Golden Tail." Headquarters moved from Denver to Los Angeles in the early 1960s.

Texas International, Houston and two bankruptcies

Six stepped down in 1980. Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air Corporation took control, and on October 31, 1982, Texas International Airlines was merged into Continental. The airline moved its home to Houston, went through Chapter 11 in 1983 and again in 1990, and emerged in 1993 with a new globe logo.

Worst to First

Gordon Bethune arrived in 1994, when Continental ranked last in on-time performance. By 1995 it ranked first and turned its first profit in about a decade. The later slogan "Work Hard. Fly Right." summed up the culture, and its final hubs were Newark, Houston, Cleveland and Guam.

Merger with United

Continental and United announced their merger in May 2010 and closed it that October. The airlines flew under a single operating certificate from November 30, 2011. The last flight under the Continental code, CO 1267 from Phoenix to Cleveland, operated on the night of March 2, 2012.

A few things collectors love

  • Broadway star Ethel Merman, then married to Robert Six, christened Continental's first Viscount in 1958. Six later married Audrey Meadows of The Honeymooners.
  • For its 75th anniversary in 2009, Continental painted an aircraft in a retro "Blue Skyway" livery.

Shop Continental

Find Continental logo coffee mugs, coasters, tote bags and vintage baggage-label and Golden Jet designs in the Continental Airlines collection, and see the Texas International collection for its Houston cousin.

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