Robert Six

Infobox Person
name = Robert F. Six


image_size = 108px
caption = Portrait of Robert F. Six
birth_date = birth date|1907|06|25
birth_place = Stockton, California
death_date = death date and age|1986|10|06|1907|06|25|mf=y
death_place = Los Angeles, California
occupation = CEO, Continental Airlines, 1936-1981
spouse = Ethel Merman (1953-1960) Audrey Meadows (1961-1986)
parents =
children =

Robert Forman Six was born June 25, 1907, in Stockton, California. He was the CEO of Continental Airlines from 1936 to 1981. He died October 6, 1986, in his Los Angeles International Airport office. Six's career began in the earliest days of U.S. commercial aviation. His determined, scrappy, risk-taking nature paid off for Continental Airlines, the company that would for fifty years be forged in his image. Owing in large part to the foundation laid by Six, Continental is today one of the largest and most profitable legacy airlines in the world.

In 1971, Robert Six was nominated and inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame. [cite book |last=Holmes |first=Charles W., Editor |title=Honoree Album of the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame, Colorado Aviation Historical Society |year=1999 |publisher=Audubon Media Corp. |location=Audubon, IA]

Early years

Robert Six started his business career in sales for a public utility company and was fired for taking flying lessons on company time. Six was one of the last of the colorful group of innovators, pioneers, and visionaries who built the airline industry into what it is today. He saw his own airline grow from a tiny, three-stop operation into a major trunk carrier with services spanning the U.S. and extending to Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Six learned how to fly in a single-engine OX-5 Alexander Eaglerock biplane. After about 10 hours aloft, he received the pilot's license number 5772 in 1929, at the age of 22. He bought an OX-5 Travelair from Walter Beech, founded the Valley Flying Service, and proceeded to sell scenic rides to passengers and race on weekends

Though many credit Six with being the founder of Continental Airlines, its history dates back to 1934 when the carrier was operated under the name of Varney Speed Lines by its owners Walter Varney and Louis Mueller. The future legacy airline operated between El Paso, TX and Pueblo, CO with stops in Las Vegas, Santa Fe and Albuquerque, NM. Mueller gained control of the carrier and in 1936 and sold 40% of the company shares to Six. In July 1937, Robert Six changed the name of Varney Speed Lines to Continental Airlines and the carrier moved its headquarters to Denver, Colorado.

World War II and the post-War years

During the 1940' and 50's, Continental Airlines, led by Robert Six, was able to expand its fleet of aircraft with profits from World War II when it provided air transportation to the military. Continental also performed military aircraft modification work at its Denver maintenance facilities. Six spent some time during World War II, in the United States Army Air Corps was involved in planning improved ferry routes to fly American aircraft to the European theater. Six's work there represented significant improvements over original routes which had seen aircraft losses due to weather. He returned to Continental before the war ended and resumed his leadership role.

In 1953, Continental merged with Pioneer Airlines, gaining access to 16 more cities in Texas and New Mexico. This merger allowed Continental Airlines to operate routes between Texas and Colorado/New Mexico, connecting with the line's Denver-Albuquerque-El Paso services. It was during this time that Robert Six met and married singer/actress Ethel Merman in 1953.

By the end of the 1950s, Continental Airlines had seen a broad expansion of its routes. In 1957 it flew for the first time from Chicago to Los Angeles (both nonstop, and via Denver); and from Denver to Kansas City. Continental was an early operator of the Boeing 707, taking delivery of its first 707s in 1959. Six, not being satisfied with jet service alone, introduced dramatic service innovations with Continental's 707 operations which were described as, "...nothing short of luxurious" by the Los Angeles Times, and, "...clearly, the finest in the airline industry" by the Chicago Tribune.

Continental goes Big Time

Six always knew a business opportunity when he saw it. In 1953, he married Broadway legend Ethel Merman who he had met in a New York nightclub. Merman, a two times divorcee, felt enchanted by Six's strong demeanor and common sense. Following a brief courtship, they married and she took a hiatus from her Broadway career and moved to Colorado with him. Life with Six became oppressive and they divorced in 1960. Miss Merman had failed him in becoming a public relations prop for Continental.

In 1961 in Honolulu, Six married Hollywood star Audrey Meadows of "Honeymooners" television fame (Meadows played the role of Alice Kramden). The feisty Meadows was a good match for Six's sometimes stubborn nature. She served effectively as an advisory director on Continental's board, offering many of the suggestions that made Continental's inflight and ground services preeminent. In 1963 Continental moved its headquarters from Denver to Los Angeles.

This change coincided with rapid growth of the carrier's route network. Continental added all jet service from Los Angeles to Houston (both nonstop, and with services via Phoenix, Tucson, El Paso, Midland/Odessa, Austin, and San Antonio); and from Denver and to Seattle, Portland, New Orleans, and Houston (both nonstop, and with services via Wichita and Tulsa/Oklahoma City). In a separate route award Continental was selected to serve the route from the Pacific Northwest to San Jose and Ontario, CA. 1969 saw the introduction of service from Los Angeles to Honolulu/Hilo; and in 1970, Continental's first Boeing 747s arrived. DC-10s were added to the fleet in 1971.

During the Vietnam War Continental provided cargo and troop transportation for U.S. Army and Marine forces to Asian and the Pacific bases. As a result of Continental's experience in Pacific operations, the carrier formed subsidiary Air Micronesia, picking up island-hopping routes between Saipan/Guam and Honolulu, which Continental operated with 727 aircraft. One of Six's persistent goals was for Continental to become a major player in Pacific air traffic, a legacy which would only occur subsequent to his retirement.

Continental's growth during this period was about more than route miles. Quality was the watchword in every detail of the carrier's operation; and in one anecdotal indication of Six's passion for premium customer service, every page of the airline's Customer Service Manual was inscribed with these words: "Nothing in this manual supersedes common sense." At Six's insistence, Continental (with Pan Am) was a launch airline for the Boeing 747 aircraft. Its upper-deck first class lounge won awards worldwide for the most refined cabin interior among all airlines, as did meal services developed by Continental's Cordon Bleu-trained executive chefs. Continental's 747 services from Chicago and Denver to Los Angeles and Honolulu set the standard for service in the western U.S. When asked by one Denver customer service agent in 1974 why he flew Continental wherever he could, Hollywood legend Henry Fonda remarked, "This operation is class; strictly class!" Ironically, the 747 in 1970s Continental service was shortlived, the airline discovering the DC-10 more ideally suited their route structure and passenger loads.

Triumph and loss

After the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, like many U.S. carriers, Continental expanded rapidly. New nonstop services from its Denver and Houston hubs included: New York (LGA/JFK), Newark, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington (National and Dulles), Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Reno, San Jose and San Francisco, as well as to smaller cities in the Midwest and western U.S., and international routes to London, Tokyo, Manila, Sydney and Melbourne, and destinations throughout Mexico. This rapid growth required the expansion of Continental's existing fleet of 747, DC-10, 727-200 and DC-9 aircraft with large numbers of MD-80, 737-model and Airbus aircraft, and the formation of alliances with larger commuter airlines in Houston and Denver to serve smaller communities in the Rockies, Plains and Southwest.

In 1981, Texas Air Corporation, controlled by airline industry entrepreneur Frank Lorenzo acquired a controlling interest in Continental Airlines following a contentious battle for control with Continental's management, including Six and then-president Al Feldman, who were adamant in their resistance to Lorenzo. Continental's labor unions joined the anti-takeover battle because of their fears over "Lorenzo's deregulation tactics" and his prior dealings with airline labor unions. However, Texas Air was able to prevail and in June 1982, Texas International was legally merged into Continental Airlines. TI ceased to exist but the new Continental moved its headquarters to Houston, home of Texas Air.

In spite of labor friction and turmoil resulting from the acquisition, by the time of Six's death in 1986, the airline he molded and forged had become one of the largest airlines in the U.S. Continental's innovative and popular services centered on the busy Denver, Houston, and New York/Newark hubs. In recent years Continental has become one of the most financially successful of the U.S. legacy carriers, with operations in almost every state and extensive services to Europe, Latin America, and the Pacific basin.

References

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succession
preceded = (none)
office = CEO of Continental Airlines
years = 1936 – 1981
succeeded = Various Leadership until Gordon Bethune