Juan Terry Trippe (June 27, 1899 – April 3, 1981) was an American

commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...

pioneer,

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

and the founder of

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

, one of the iconic airlines of the 20th century. He was involved in the introduction of the Sikorsky S-40, which opened trans-Pacific airline travel, the

Boeing 307 Stratoliner The Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner (or Strato-Clipper in Pan American service, or C-75 in USAAF service) is an American stressed-skin four-engine low-wing tailwheel monoplane airliner derived from the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, which entered co ...

which introduced

cabin pressurization Cabin pressurization is a process in which conditioned air is pumped into the cabin of an aircraft or spacecraft in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for passengers and crew flying at high altitudes. For aircraft, this air is u ...

to airline operations, the Boeing 707 which started a new era in low cost jet transportation, and the Boeing 747

jumbo jets A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabin ...

. Trippe's signing of the 747 contract coincided with the 50th anniversary of

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

Early years

Trippe was born in

Sea Bright, New Jersey Sea Bright is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was reflecting a decline of 406 (−22.3%) from the 1,818 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increa ...

, on June 27, 1899, the great-great-grandson of Lieutenant John Trippe, captain of the . Because he was named "Juan", he is widely assumed to have been of

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

descent, but his family was actually Northern European in ancestry and settled in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in 1664. He was named after Juanita Terry, the

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n wife of his great uncle. Trippe attended the Bovea School and graduated from

The Hill School The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...

in 1917. He enrolled at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

but left when the United States entered

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to apply for flight training with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. After completing training in June 1918, he was designated as a Naval Aviator and was commissioned as an

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

. However, the end of

precluded him from flying in combat. Demobilized from active duty, he returned to Yale, graduating in 1921. While there, he was a member of St. Anthony Hall and of the

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

society. Trippe was treasurer at the first meeting of the

National Intercollegiate Flying Association The National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) is a professional organization that provides a forum of competition and learning for aviation students from colleges all around the United States. Official NIFA Mission Statement "The National ...

in 1920.

Career

After graduation from Yale, Trippe began working on Wall Street, but soon became bored. In 1922 he raised money from his old Yale classmates, selling them stock in his new airline, an air-taxi service for the rich and powerful called Long Island Airways. Once again tapping his wealthy friends from Yale, Trippe invested in an airline named

Colonial Air Transport Colonial Air Transport was an early airline that flew between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts. History It was established as Bee Line on 16 March 1923 and operated out Naugatuck, Connecticut; in 1926 was reorganised in New York City by ...

, 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 Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, the company would evolve into the unofficial United States flag carrier,

Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

, commonly known as Pan Am. Pan Am's first flight took off on October 19, 1927, from Key West, Florida, to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba, in a hired

Fairchild FC-2 The Fairchild FC-1 and its derivatives were a family of light, single-engine, high-wing utility monoplanes produced in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. The aircraft was originally designed to provide a camera platform for Sherman Fairch ...

floatplane being delivered to West Indian Aerial Express in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. The return flight from Havana to Key West, in a Pan Am

Fokker F.VII The Fokker F.VII, also known as the Fokker Trimotor, was an airliner produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, Fokker's American subsidiary Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, and other companies under licence. Design and d ...

, took place October 29, being delayed from October 28 by rain. Later, Trippe bought the

China National Aviation Corporation The China National Aviation Corporation () was a Chinese airline which was nationalized after the Chinese Communist Party took control in 1949, and merged into the People's Aviation Company of China () in 1952. It was a major airline under the ...

(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 The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

with the famous

China Clipper ''China Clipper'' (NC14716) was the first of three Martin M-130 four-engine flying boats built for Pan American Airways and was used to inaugurate the first commercial transpacific airmail service from San Francisco to Manila on November 22, 193 ...

. 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. "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 The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. At , it is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel fra ...

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 Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group ( ...

hotel group. Trippe quickly recognized the opportunities presented by jet aircraft and ordered several Boeing 707 and

Douglas DC-8 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in July ...

airplanes. Pan Am's first scheduled jet flight was operated on October 26, 1958 by 707 ''Clipper America'' from

Idlewild International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...

(now JFK) to Le Bourget Airport,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. 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. 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 The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

and

Tupolev Tu-144 The Tupolev Tu-144 (russian: Tyполев Ту-144; NATO reporting name: Charger) is a Soviet supersonic passenger airliner designed by Tupolev in operation from 1968 to 1999. The Tu-144 was the world's first commercial supersonic transport ai ...

, and the 747 became the iconic image of international travel. In 1965, Trippe received the

Tony Jannus Award The Tony Jannus Award recognizes outstanding individual achievement in scheduled commercial aviation by airline executives, inventors and manufacturers, and government leaders. The award is conferred annually by the Tony Jannus Distinguished Avia ...

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

Trippe was a member of

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. It is a private members-only club based in St Andrews in Scotland. It was previously known colloquially as "The R&A", but in 2004, a new organisation kn ...

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and president of the

Maidstone Club The Maidstone Club is a private country club on the Atlantic Ocean in the village of East Hampton, New York. Maidstone has both an 18-hole and nine-hole private golf course. History The Club derives its name from the original name for East Ha ...

in East Hampton, New York, from 1940 to 1944. Trippe married Elizabeth "Betty" Stettinius Trippe (1904–1983), the sister of

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Edward R. Stettinius Jr. Edward Reilly Stettinius Jr. (October 22, 1900 – October 31, 1949) was an American businessman who served as United States Secretary of State under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman from 1944 to 1945, and as U.S. Ambassado ...

, in 1928. They had four children, Elizabeth ("Betsy"), John Terry, Charles White, and Edward Stettinius Trippe, who now resides in

Tucker's Town, Bermuda Tucker's Town is a small community in St. George's Parish, Bermuda at the mouth of Castle Harbour. It is the only part of the parish on the Main Island, and includes the Tucker's Town Peninsula that today is the site of many homes belonging to ...

, where he is executive director of the Tucker's Point Club and serves on

Bermuda International Airport L.F. Wade International Airport , formerly named Bermuda International Airport, is the sole airport serving the British overseas territory of Bermuda in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is located in the parish of St. George's and is northeast of B ...

's advisory board. The couple remained married until Trippe's death in 1981.

Death and legacy

Trippe suffered a stroke in September 1980, which forced him to cut back on his workload; he died after suffering a second stroke at his

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

home on April 3, 1981, at the age of 81. He is buried in

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blo ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. In 1985, Trippe was posthumously awarded the

Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

President Ronald Reagan. Trippe was inducted into the

Junior Achievement JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide is a global non-profit youth organization founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and Winthrop M. Crane. JA works with local businesses, schools, and organizations to deliver experiential learning ...

U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1990. An endowed chair at the Yale University School of Management is the "Juan Trippe Professor in the Practice of International Trade, Finance, and Business". In 1982, Trippe was inducted into the

International Air & Space Hall of Fame The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Si ...

at the

San Diego Air & Space Museum San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM, formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, ...

.Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. . Trippe is widely regarded as the last of the greatest aviation pioneers along with industry titans such as American Airlines' C. R. Smith, United Airlines' William A. "Pat" Patterson, Eastern Airlines'

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker or Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.Collett E. Woolman. Under his control,

became one of the premier international airlines in the world. He is also credited as playing an instrumental role in the development of an intercontinental version of the Boeing 707 and the

as Trippe's determination to get a jet that could cross the Atlantic was instrumental not only in Douglas developing a long-range DC-8, but also Boeing's famed 707 as they had to redesign it in order to stay competitive with Douglas.

In popular culture

A character based on Trippe was played by

Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons *Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament Others *Pat O'Br ...

in Ray Enright's 1936 film '' The China Clipper''. Trippe was played by Alec Baldwin in

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

's 2004 film '' The Aviator''.

References

External links

''Time'', Dec. 07, 1998, ''JUAN TRIPPE: Pilot Of The Jet Age''''Popular Science'', November 1941, ''Here's My Story''National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinees biography
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trippe, Juan 1899 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Airline founders American airline chief executives American aviation businesspeople Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Businesspeople in tourism Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany InterContinental Hotels Group people Medal for Merit recipients Military personnel from New Jersey Pan Am people People from Sea Bright, New Jersey Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients The Hill School alumni United States Naval Aviators Yale University alumni