As aviation matured, airlines, aircraft manufacturers and airport operators merged into giant corporations. When cries of  "collusion" were raised by the media, the conglomerates were dismantled by the government. With William A. Patterson at the helm, United, now an independent air transport corporation, charted an ambitious course for the future.

A Giant No More...
The "Air Mail Scandal" of 1930 was, in a sense, a blessing for the pioneering companies that were part of the vast United conglomerate. At that time, it included airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturing companies, and several airports.

The word "scandal" was hurled by an overzealous media who accused then-Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown of master-minding a "spoils conference" in May 1930, to dispense favors to his airline cronies. Actually, Brown was a visionary who simply wanted a network of air mail contract routes served only by financially healthy airlines.

Bowing to media and political pressure, President Franklin Roosevelt in 1934 ordered Postmaster General James Farley to cancel all air mail contracts - - even while Congress was still investigating media charges of "collusion."

When the smoke cleared, United regained all of its air mail routes, but was forced to divest itself of its non-airline affiliates. The company also lost its president, Philip G. Johnson, who was barred from holding an airline position because of his participation in the Brown conference.

As an independent air transport corporation, United found itself with a new president named William Allan Patterson and a new freedom to make equipment decisions independent of the Boeing Airplane Company in Seattle, and the engine and parts manufacturers in the East.

United was free to establish its own course in commercial aviation.