After graduation, Trippe began working on
Wall Street, but soon became bored. In 1922, he raised money from his Yale classmates, selling them stock in his new airline: an air-taxi service for the rich and powerful called Long Island Airways. Again tapping his wealthy college friends, Trippe invested in an airline named
Colonial Air Transport, which was awarded a new route and an airmail contract on October 7, 1925. Interested in operating to the
Caribbean, Trippe created the Aviation Corporation of the Americas, based in
Florida. The company would evolve into
Pan American Airways—Pan Am for short—and eventually become the unofficial United States flag carrier. Pan Am's first flight took off on October 19, 1927, from
Key West, Florida, to
Havana, Cuba, in a hired
Fairchild FC-2 floatplane being delivered to West Indian Aerial Express in the
Dominican Republic. The return flight from Havana to Key West, in a Pan Am
Fokker F.VII, took place October 29, being delayed from October 28 by rain. Later, Trippe bought the
China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) to provide domestic air service in the
Republic of China, and became a partner in
Panagra. In the 1930s. Pan Am became the first airline to cross the
Pacific Ocean with the
China Clipper. Trippe served as the chairman of the
board of directors of the airline for all but about two years between the founding of the company and
World War II.
"Sonny" Whitney, a stockholder, managed to seize this position. He later regretted his action and allowed Trippe to retake it. For a long time Trippe refused to pardon Whitney. At one point, he even agreed to meet Whitney for lunch for a reconciliation, but changed his mind and turned around shortly after departing from his office in the
Chrysler Building. Pan Am continued to expand worldwide throughout World War II. Trippe is responsible for several innovations in the airline world. A firm believer in the idea of air travel for all, Trippe is credited as the father of the
tourist class in the airline industry, and was the driving force behind Pan Am's formation of the
InterContinental hotel group. Trippe quickly recognized the opportunities presented by
jet aircraft and ordered several
Boeing 707 and
Douglas DC-8 airplanes. Pan Am's first scheduled jet flight was operated on October 26, 1958, by 707
Clipper America from
Idlewild International Airport (now JFK) to
Le Bourget Airport,
Paris. The new jets allowed Pan Am to cut the flight time nearly in half, introduce lower fares, and fly more passengers in total. In 1965, Trippe asked his friend
Bill Allen at Boeing to produce an airplane much larger than the 707. The result was the
Boeing 747, and Pan Am was the first customer. Trippe signed the 747 contract on
Boeing's 50th anniversary. Originally, Trippe believed the 747 would ultimately be destined to haul cargo only and would be replaced by faster, supersonic aircraft which were then being developed. The supersonic airliners failed to materialize, with the exception of the
Concorde and
Tupolev Tu-144, and the 747 became an iconic image of international travel. In 1965, Trippe received the
Tony Jannus Award for his distinguished contributions to commercial aviation. Trippe gave up the presidency of the airline in 1968. He continued to attend meetings of the board of directors and maintained an office in the company's
Park Avenue office tower. ==Personal life==