JUAN TRIPPE LINKS

The annals of commercial air transport are filled with illustrious names - some remain known to generations long after the actual people have passed on. But it's no exaggeration to say that one individual truly belongs in a class by himself.

Had there never been a Juan Terry Trippe, the whole evolution of the air transport system we take so much for granted now would have been very different.

Take jets, for example. In the mid-1950's virtually all airline decision-makers - that is, all but Pan Am's Juan Trippe - were contemplating an easy and gradual transition from the proven and reliable fleets of piston driven airplanes they were still buying, to the eventual use of turbine-powered planes. But Trippe saw an opportunity no one else could visualize. It was assumed that the future was going to mean jet travel for the masses someday, but only he could see that future was only two or three years away.

Never mind that the spectacular failure of the first generation British Comet jet transport (beautiful, but fatally flawed) had left the world deeply skeptical of the future for civilian jet transports. By dint of his commanding vision, business acumen, persuasive personality, and not least his gambler's risk-tolerance, Juan Trippe re-ordered the universe of commercial air transport. Boeing's Bill Allen and Donald Douglas were artfully maneuvered into creating stunning new jet airplanes to match Trippe's vision for Pan American and in short order, the rest of the world's air carriers were forced to follow his lead. Before the '50's were over, there was a new standard for air travel - years ahead of what had been previously accepted as state of the art. The "jet-age" 1960's would simply not have been without Juan Trippe.

This is only a single example of what Juan Trippe meant to the world. His accomplishments and historical stature deserve a wealth of informational resources, and to that end we are pleased to provide these links to sources that point to his life and accomplishments. Link to Slideshow

MAGAZINES

Flying Magazine. September 1935
The Marvelous History of the Pan American Airways
By Robert H. Rankin

Inc. at 30, Special Anniversary Issue. April 2009
The Great Leaders Series: Juan Trippe, Founder of Pan American World Airways
By Mike Hofman

LIFE. October 1941
Juan Trippe: Pan Am Airways' Young Chief Helps Run a Branch of U.S. Defense

Smithsonian Magazine. November 2007
Sky King: Pan Am founder Juan Trippe turned Americans into Frequent Fliers
By Owen Edwards

Smithsonian.com

Why does the 747 Have a Hump?

By Owen Edwards

Time Magazine. July 31, 1933
Cover story.

Time Magazine. March 28, 1949
Cover story.

Time Magazine. December 7, 1998
Juan Trippe: Pilot of the Jet Age
By Richard Branson

World War II Magazine, 2011

Juan Trippe's World

By John D. Lukacs

JUAN TRIPPE ONLINE

CharlesLindbergh.com
Juan Trippe Biography (1899-1981) Biography
By Richard Branson

Encylopedia.com

"Juan Terry Trippe"

Harvard Business School: Leadership
American Business Leaders of the Twentieth Century

HistoryDraft.com

Juan Terry Trippe Timeline

National Aviation Hall of Fame
Juan Terry Trippe: https://nationalaviation.org/enshrinee/juan-terry-trippe/

Yale Alumni Magazine, November/December 2012
The Man Who Shrank the World
By Judth Ann Schiff

PHOTOS

Life Magazine Photo Archive - Juan Trippe, 1941 - hosted by Google: Follow the trail of Juan Trippe Life Magazine images by clicking on the last thumbnail of each set...