United Airlines traces its roots to Varney Air Lines. Varney flew its first airmail run on April 6, 1926, between Pasco, Washington, and Elko, Nevada. Under Boeing-linked owners it became United Air Lines in 1931. That company built, sold, and flew airplanes until a 1934 federal antitrust action split plane making from air travel. In 1930 it hired Ellen Church, the world's first female flight attendant.
United bought Capital Airlines in 1961, then the largest airline merger ever. Looser federal rules across the industry later brought turbulence. The company tried employee ownership in the 1990s. In 2002 it began a long Chapter 11 reorganization, a court process that lets a company keep flying while it cuts debt. The big change of the modern era was the 2010 merger with Continental Airlines.
It created what was briefly the world's largest carrier. The combined airline kept the United name and Chicago base but adopted Continental's way of working. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, formed in 1997. It runs seven US hubs, or airports where it connects many flights. It serves more destinations than any other airline. Its United Next plan adds hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A321neo jets.