post office in Pasco late on the morning of April 9, three days after leaving Elko. Later history Varney added a Breese-Wilde Model 5 and replaced its original Swallows with C-3 Stearmans and thereafter upgraded as new equipment became available. Subsequent aircraft included the larger M-2 "Bull" Stearman and the Boeing 40 dedicated mail planes, and finally the more modern Boeing 247 twin-engine monoplane. Arriving in 1933, the 247 greatly expanded Varney's ability to carry passengers as well as mail. Varney soon added Salt Lake City, Portland and Seattle to its route. In 1930, Varney was acquired by United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, itself formed by a merger of Boeing and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, and folded into its airlines group along with the other acquired airlines: Pacific Air Transport, Boeing Air Transport, and National Air Transport In 1934, the Air Mail scandal resulted in the passage of the Air Mail Act which forbade aircraft manufacturers from operating airlines. As a result United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was broken up. The airlines group became United Airlines. Since Varney was a part of United, the founding year of United is 1926, and making United the oldest commercial airline in the United States. United Airlines started jet service to Boise on October 16, 1964, and is the only airline to serve Boise continuously since 1933. With the Beeson terminal remodeling at the airport, the last Varney building was torn down in 2002. Continental Airlines Following cancellation of all domestic airmail contracts by the Roosevelt administration in 1934, Robert F. Six learned of an opportunity to buy into the Southwest Division of Varney Speed Lines which needed money to handle its newly-acquired Pueblo-El Paso route. Six was introduced to Louis Mueller, who had helped found the Southwest Division of Varney in 1934, and bought into the airline with US$90,000 becoming general manager on July 5, 1936. The carrier was renamed Continental Air Lines (later changed to "Airlines") on July 8, 1937. Six changed the name to "Continental" because he wanted the airline name to reflect his desire to have the airline fly all directions throughout the United States. Decades later, United (the direct successor to Varney) would merge with Continental as well. See also List of companies based in Idaho Swan Island Municipal Airport List of defunct airlines of the United States References Notes Bibliography Tillman, Barrett. 'Six Million Miles: The Varney Airlines