Aeronautics: Triple Split

Because Postmaster General Farley decreed that no airline holding a mail contract may have a manufacturing affiliate, United Aircraft & Transport Corp., most potent ($30,000,000) U. S. aviation holding company, last week announced plans to split three ways. To take over the assets & liabilities of its various operating and manufacturing subsidiaries three new, independent corporations will be formed —one transport company, one eastern equipment company, one western equipment company. This reorganization was pledged by United when it bid for mail contracts last month. In that scramble it was the most successful competing company, recapturing all but one of its old routes. To keep its pledge and its contracts its new set-up will consist of: United Air Lines Transport Corp., a $10,743,000 company to acquire all outstanding stock of Boeing Air Transport, Pacific Air Transport, Varney Air Lines, United Airports Co. of California, United Air Lines and at least 99% of National Air Transport. This new transport company will be headed by William Allen Patterson, onetime San Francisco banker who became president of United Air Lines last August. United Aircraft Corp., a $15,692,000 company to acquire all outstanding stock of Chance Vought Corp., Hamilton Standard Propeller Co., Northrop Aircraft Corp., Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Co., United Aircraft Exports Inc., The United Airports of Connecticut, and at least 99% of Sikorsky Aviation Corp. This new eastern manufacturing group, with headquarters at Hartford, Conn., will have as president & treasurer virile, energetic Donald Lament Brown, who joined Pratt & Whitney as factory manager in 1925, quickly rose to vice president in charge of production, was elected president in 1930. Boeing Airplane Co., a $4,310,000 company to acquire all outstanding stock of Boeing Airplane Co. and Stearman Aircraft Co. This new western manufacturing group, with headquarters at Seattle, Wash., will have as president Claire L. Egtvedt. chief engineer of Boeing since 1918, vice president & general manager since 1926. The reorganization, already approved by the board of directors, will be effected by an exchange of stock on a pro-rata basis. That it will be approved at a special stockholders’ meeting June 20 is likely because it was originally recommended by the stockholders’ protective committee formed last April under the chairmanship of George Brokaw Compton. Salaries of new officers will be limited to $10,000, bonuses will be banned unless approved by stockholders, and directors may be ousted at any time by stockholders’ vote. Thus from the stage will pass famed United Aircraft & Transport Corp. which last year grossed $26,567,514 from operations, made a net profit of $1,623,022. Of all money spent by the U. S. Government on domestic aviation last year, it got one dollar out of every three. For flying more than half the domestic airmail it received one-third of all mail payments ($5,313, 000). and its manufacturing subsidiaries got about one-third ($5,623,000) of all Army & Navy aircraft expenditures. Over its 6,440 mi. of airways its planes flew more than a million miles a month—more than any other airline in the U. S. At cancellation it had flown 65,000,000 mi., was flying nearly half the passenger-miles of the whole U. S. air transport system.